The following is a guest article written by Yuri Tsutsumi, who traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area with other graduate students from the University of Tokyo—under the leadership of Professor Hideto Fukudome—in January 2025. SPICE/Stanford collaborates closely with the Graduate School of Education at the University of Tokyo and met with the students during their visit to the Bay Area.

Arriving at Jtown Pizza Co. on North 6th Street, our meeting place for the Japantown study tour in Downtown San Jose led by Dr. Gary Mukai, I noticed a striking contrast between the scenery to the east and west sides of the street. On the east side stood brand-new, reinforced-concrete construction apartment buildings, while on the west side was an ivory-colored, two-story wooden building with an archaic balcony. Right beside it, I spotted a restaurant sign reading “Minato,” a familiar Japanese proper name. As I walked out onto Jackson Street, I saw more signboards of stores and restaurants related to Japan and Hawaii. In the United States, it’s probably not unusual for the atmosphere of a neighborhood to noticeably change just bygoing straight down a street, but here it felt especially distinctive. Photo of Jtown Pizza Co. (below) courtesy the Graduate School of Education at the University of Tokyo. 

Image

The few-block area known as “Nihonmachi”—Japantown in Downtown San Jose—has retained much of its original appearance to this day. Local Japanese American organizations—as well as non-Japanese Americans, including Chinese Americans—have made great efforts to preserve and revitalize Japantown, including its once neighboring Heinlenville, a former site of a Chinatown in San Jose. Jtown Pizza Co. now occupies what was once a Chinese restaurant called Ken Ying Low. In addition to preserving Japantown as a historic area, the Japanese American Museum of San Jose was established in 1987. The museum showcases Japanese American life from the earliest generation of immigrants to the postwar period. Artifacts like soy sauce barrels and numerous farming tools offered me a glimpse into the lives of 19th-century Japanese American farmers. A wide range of historical archives on wartime internment, along with a recreated barracks room interior and exterior from one of the camps that gave off a dusty smell, allowed me to imagine the harsh conditions endured by internees. Through this study tour, I came to realize that, although many years have passed and the environment surrounding Japanese Americans has drastically changed, the everyday lives of 19th-century Japanese American farmers and those interned during the war shared much in common with our lives in Japan today—e.g., keeping a soy sauce barrel for planting, playing baseball and sumo with close friends and neighbors on weekends, going to a local bathhouse, and so on. Thanks to the people dedicated to preserving Japantown’s heritage and passing it down to future generations, I was able to catch a glimpse of what everyday life was like back then.

In graduate school, I came to appreciate once again how much I can learn from academic books and papers digitally archived in the university library. Those learnings were, of course, invaluable—yet at the same time, this study tour made me realize how much more I could learn by engaging all five senses. During the tour, there were the firsthand stories of Japanese Americans, the scent of dust in the reconstructed camp room at the museum, the umami-rich taste of loco moco gravy at the Hawaiian restaurant Hukilau where we had lunch during the tour, the strong California sunlight breaking through the clouds, and the texture of the wooden buildings. Although there are many ways and tools to learn, stepping beyond the university library to immerse myself in other people’s lives holds deeply important meaning. What makes this kind of learning possible are the people who continue to play a crucial role in maintaining the vitality of Japantown, the museum that collects, preserves and shares Japanese American history, and the generous financial support that sustain these efforts. I am truly grateful for this opportunity and hope that these learning experiences, which gave me insight into past generations of Japanese Americans, will continue to be offered to future generations.

To stay informed of SPICE news, join our email list and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

Since 2022, SPICE has had the honor of collaborating with CatchLight, a visual-first media organization that leverages the power of visual storytelling to inform, connect, and transform communities. CatchLight Global fellowship, launched in 2017, supports creative leaders who want to cultivate significant audience engagement through inventive distribution methods that will increase the impact of their work.

To help support the distribution of the visuals produced by CatchLight Global Fellows to schools, SPICE has been producing teacher guides in collaboration with several of the Fellows. This work has been made possible and generously supported by the Chao Minami Family Fund.

One of the 2019 CatchLight Global Fellows with whom SPICE has collaborated is Sparsh Ahuja, Founder and CEO of Project Dastaan. On April 17, 2025, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco hosted an Opening Celebration of a Project Dastaan exhibit. This special presentation at the Asian Art Museum is Project Dastaan’s first showing in the United States.

Dr. Padma Dorje Maitland, Malavalli Family Foundation Associate Curator of the Art of the Indian Subcontinent at the Asian Art Museum, introduced artists Sparsh Ahuja and Sam Dalrymple of Project Dastaan. Padma Dorje Maitland noted “Project Dastaan is an exciting example of global citizens using digital media to explore a difficult subject with sensitivity and compassion. This program offers an accessible, interactive space for individuals and families of South Asian diasporas to reflect on the Partition’s intergenerational impact. For audiences beyond these diasporas, it’s a chance both to learn about the Partition and to consider the moments of ‘partition’ in their own histories.” This comment prompted Amanda Minami—member of CatchLight Board of Directors and philanthropist promoting innovation at the intersection of science and the arts—and I to discuss how our Japanese American relatives were impacted following the Pearl Harbor attack and forced by the U.S. government to leave their homes on the West Coast to incarceration camps. 

Image

During a moving presentation by Sparsh Ahuja and Sam Dalrymple, they shared that “Project Dastaan is a peacebuilding initiative which examines the human impact of global migration through the lens of the largest forced migration in recorded history, the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan. Project Dastaan is a homage to the legacy of the millions of refugees in the subcontinent who had their lives changed overnight.” Photo above: Sparsh Ahuja and Sam Dalrymple projecting an image of Sparsh’s grandfather holding photos of himself and his wife; photo courtesy, Padma Dorje Maitland. They noted that “These stories are but a snapshot of the countless individual journeys taken by refugees during the crisis.”

To encourage educators to use Project Dastaan’s films in their classrooms, SPICE Curriculum Writers Irene Bryant, Stefanie Orrick, and Waka Takahashi Brown developed a guide for Project Dastaan. A free classroom-friendly teacher’s guide is available for download on the SPICE website and the CatchLight website. Activities in this guide include a pre-test, informational handout and assignment, and an exercise in conflict analysis. In addition, there is an extension activity that tasks students to research different modern-day conflicts, as well as an optional activity where students view one or two short films and engage in a post-viewing discussion.

Image

The SPICE staff highly encourages educators and students to visit the Project Dastaan Virtual Reality (VR) experience at the Asian Art Museum; photo above courtesy, Sree Sripathy. It is offered every Thursday night from 5:00 to 7:00pm, April 17–May 29, 2025.

SPICE is grateful to Amanda Minami, Elodie Mailliet Storm (CEO, CatchLight), and Erica Garber (Vice President of Development & Public Programs, CatchLight) for their unwavering support of SPICE’s collaboration with CatchLight and its Global Fellows.

To stay informed of SPICE news, join our email list and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

Stanford University’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) is delighted to welcome a new cohort of fellows joining us starting in summer 2025.

APARC offers multiple prestigious fellowship opportunities for Stanford doctoral students, emerging scholars of exceptional promise, and accomplished faculty and mid-career experts researching contemporary Asia topics. Supported by these fellowships, our incoming fellows will complete dissertation research, work on book manuscripts, undertake new research projects, and engage with the center's scholarly community.

Meet the Fellows

Minyoung An is a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of Arizona. Her research lies at the intersection of gender, transnational migration, and knowledge production, combining statistical modeling, computational methods, and in-depth interviews.

Her dissertation analyzes gendered migration patterns in South Korea and among international PhD students in the U.S., revealing how gender inequality in countries of origin produces distinct selection effects and return migration dynamics. She also studies academic career trajectories and prestige hierarchies, exploring how gender and national origin affect integration into global academia.

At the Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab, she will pursue two projects that extend this research agenda: one using computational analysis of social media data to examine gendered migration intent, and another investigating the academic trajectories and institutional reception of international scholars from East Asia. Through these projects, she aims to advance understanding of how transnational inequalities shape global mobility, opportunity, and inclusion. 

Gaea Morales is a political scientist specializing in global environmental governance, with a focus on the intersection of global and local climate politics in Southeast Asia. Gaea’s dissertation and book project, “Agents of Mass Construction: How Cities Localize through the Sustainable Development Goals,” asks why and how cities choose to translate global agreements to shape local policy, a process known as “localization.”

The project explains the motivations and mechanisms by which cities localize environmental norms using case studies of three climate-vulnerable coastal capitals: Jakarta, Indonesia; Metro Manila, Philippines; and Bangkok, Thailand. Drawing from a global dataset of Sustainable Development Goal localization and a year of fieldwork across Southeast Asia, the project illuminates how cities engage in a dynamic process of policy implementation that is locally driven and globally informed.

At APARC, Gaea will revise her book project and adapt her dissertation into an article manuscript. She will also pursue further projects that cross-cut issues in local and global governance, the political economy of climate and the environment, and human rights. She is especially interested in urban disaster resilience, inclusive climate finance, and environmental migration and security within and beyond the Asia-Pacific region.

Gaea completed her master's degree and doctorate in political science and international relations at the University of Southern California. She holds a bachelor's degree in diplomacy and world affairs and in French studies from Occidental College.

Isabel Salovaara is a doctoral student in Stanford's Department of Anthropology. Her dissertation, “Engendering the State: Aspiration, Government Jobs, and the Coaching Industry in Bihar, India,” analyzes the effects of organized exam preparation systems on urban life, gender and kin relations, and the politics of (un)employment. Through ethnographic engagement with young people preparing for government recruitment examinations in India, Isabel's work investigates the social life of "shadow education" – a burgeoning industry across much of Asia. Her research complicates the common framing of shadow education as a social ill by showing how young women and members of disprivileged caste groups harness India's coaching institutes to pursue forms of security and independence for themselves and their families.

Isabel received a bachelor's degree in history from Harvard University and a master's degree in social anthropology from the University of Cambridge. 

Teren Sevea is the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Harvard Divinity School. He is a historian of Islam in Southeast Asia, with research focusing on Islamic texts, oral traditions, and devotional practices across the Malay-Indonesian world and the broader Indian Ocean. His first book, Miracles and Material Life: Rice, Ore, Traps and Guns in Islamic Malaya (Cambridge University Press, 2020), was awarded the 2022 Harry J. Benda Prize by the Association for Asian Studies.

While at the National University of Singapore and Stanford as a Lee Kong Chian Fellow, Sevea is completing his second monograph, Singapore Islam: The Prophets’ Ports and Sufism Across the Oceans. The book explores the Sufi networks that connected Singapore to religious communities across Asia and Africa, highlighting the roles of miracle workers, reformist scholars, royals, and lay believers. Drawing on multilingual texts and oral histories, the project examines how sacred sites, including ruins and relocated graves, serve as living archives of an Islamic past often overlooked by official narratives. The work combines historical and ethnographic approaches to reveal how Singapore’s devotional communities preserve and reimagine Islamic memory across generations.

Gavin Shatkin is a professor of public policy and architecture at Northeastern University. He is an urban planner who works on the political economy of urbanization and urban planning and policy in Southeast Asia. His recent research has addressed the role of state actors in the emergence across Asia of very large, developer-built "urban real estate megaprojects," the implications of climate change-induced flood risk for questions of property rights in coastal cities, and the geopolitical dynamics shaping the "infrastructure turn" in urban policy in large Southeast Asian cities. His articles have been published in the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Urban Studies, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, and numerous other journals in urban studies, planning, geography, and Asian studies. His most recent book is Cities for Profit: The Real Estate Turn in Asia’s Urban Politics (Cornell, 2017). 

While at APARC, Gavin will primarily focus on a book manuscript examining the implications of Cold War political legacies for contemporary urban development and planning in Southeast Asia. The book focuses on three megalopolises – Jakarta, Bangkok, and Metro Manila – that were the capitals of nations that saw the consolidation (with American support) of authoritarian regimes during Southeast Asia’s "hot Cold War" in the 1960s and 1970s. The book examines the legacies of Cold War-era law, policy, and political discourse in three areas: property rights and land management, the production of knowledge about urbanization, and definitions of urban citizenship and belonging.

Dr. Theara Thun is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, funded by Hong Kong’s Research Grants Council. His research interests include intellectual history, ethnic politics, and post-war education, with a particular focus on Cambodia and Southeast Asia.

He holds a doctorate in history from the National University of Singapore through a joint doctoral program with the Harvard-Yenching Institute (Harvard University). He was the recipient of the 2019 Wang Gungwu Medal and Prize for the Best PhD Thesis in the Social Sciences/Humanities.

His first book, Epistemology of the Past: Texts, History, and Intellectuals of Cambodia, 1855-1970 (University of Hawaii Press, 2024), critically explores scholarly debates of Cambodian, Thai, and French intellectuals. The book presents one of the largest original indigenous manuscript collections ever assembled in Southeast Asian Studies scholarship. It argues that precolonial historical scholarship persisted alongside Western historical writings, leading to the development of a unique body of knowledge with its distinct epistemology.

At APARC, Dr. Thun will work on his second book project, which explores post-war intellectual and higher education development in Cambodia. The project seeks to understand how Cambodia’s universities have transformed following the destruction of the entire educational system and the massacre of most teaching personnel during the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975 and 1979.

Yuli Xu is a doctoral student in economics at the University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses on labor and health economics, with particular interests in how female labor force participation and fertility decisions are influenced by labor market institutions and past birth experiences. In her thesis, "Gendered Impacts of Privatization: A Life Cycle Perspective from China," she demonstrates that the reduction in public sector employment has widened the gender gap in the labor market while narrowing the gender gap in educational attainment. She also finds that this structural shift has delayed marriage among younger generations. In another line of research, Yuli examines the effects of maternity ward overcrowding. She finds that overcrowding reduces the use of medical procedures during childbirth without negatively impacting maternal or infant health. While it has no direct effect on subsequent fertility, she shows that mothers, especially those with a college degree, are more likely to switch to another hospital for subsequent births after experiencing overcrowding.

During her time at APARC, Yuli will further investigate patient-physician relationships in the Chinese healthcare system, where patients have considerable flexibility in choosing their doctors at each visit. She will explore the persistence of these relationships and examine how patients respond when their regular doctors are temporarily unavailable.

Yuli holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of International Business and Economics in China.

Sophie Ankeles, California
During a visit to my extended family in Japan, a cousin asked me if Americans really wear shoes indoors. Since my family is strict about taking our shoes off before entering our house, I assumed every house in America did the same. I announced with all the authority a seven-year-old could that, no, Americans do not wear shoes indoors and it was ridiculous to think so. Later, my mother revealed the shocking truth: some Americans actually do wear shoes indoors. This rocked my entire worldview. Was I American? What did it mean to be American if so many Americans disagreed on this fundamental custom? Since then, I’ve come to realize that in making this mistake, I’d stumbled upon the answer: America is a place where anyone, shoes on or shoes off, can make themselves feel at home.

I’ve also come to learn that America has deeper divides than footwear customs; some run so deep that many Americans may never see eye to eye. But just as it’s both true and false that Americans wear shoes indoors, we don’t need everyone to have the same opinions or even understand everyone else’s point of view to be part of the same community. This beautiful embrace of our sometimes contradictory culture is the core of what it means to be American.

Enzo Balbuena, California
To me, being an American means having the chance to chase my goals, but also recognizing that not everyone gets that same opportunity. As a swimmer on a national-level team, I’ve learned how much hard work and determination matter. But I also know that some people face challenges that make it harder to reach their dreams. Being an American means using my voice, standing up for what’s right, and supporting others. It’s about embracing the diversity around me and understanding that we all have different experiences. Just like in swimming, progress takes effort—and I believe being American means working together to build a fairer and more inclusive community.

Matthew Curran, New York
To me, being an American means being anything and everything. The metaphor of a “melting pot” reiterated throughout history instantly comes to mind because there is just one rule for being an American: there are no rules. As a descendant of Irish immigrants, I would not exist if there were truly requirements for being an American, and although there were times when some tried to create their own requirements, the spirit of America prevailed. Despite the efforts of those who would enforce the famous “No Irish Need Apply” attitudes (primarily in the mid-19th century), a Catholic cathedral named after the patron Saint of Ireland now spans an entire New York City block. My ancestors and the ancestors of many others refused to allow others to make their own rules, which is what makes being an American special.

Kristina Danilenko, North Carolina
I had the honor this year of attending my mother’s naturalization ceremony, a milestone not only for her, but for countless other families in the room. During the Oath, I saw expressions of joy, tearfulness, and reflection on the faces of these future Americans. Despite obstacles they may have faced, they persevered in their dreams of living out liberties sadly not afforded to many. As a Ukrainian American, I won’t shy away from sharing my disillusionment with current American politics. But I choose to believe in the fundamental ideals which have both guided millions to the United States and encouraged millions more to address injustice when these ideals have faltered. To be American is to act in hope for the pursuit of what can be, in recognition of our many imperfections.

Vivian Luo, Pennsylvania
For most of my childhood, being “American” felt like the easiest thing in the world. It meant school lunches, celebrating Christmas, and waiting for the ever-evasive toothfairy. I didn’t think much about what it meant for my parents, who had left everything behind in China for the “American Dream”—language, family, stability—for the mere possibility of a better life for their children. The Dream has always been advertised as the inevitable outcome of hard work. In truth, it’s become far more complicated. There’s uncertainty, with the growing presence of ICE, of deportations, of neighbors being labeled as outsiders. Sometimes, the Dream feels more like an unfulfilled promise. To me, being American means realizing how lucky I am to be here, and always working to build better lives.

Mooreoluwape “Lupe” Oloyede, Texas
To me, being American, especially as the child of Nigerian immigrant parents, means living at the junction of two cultures and creating something new from that mixture. It’s celebrating the Fourth of July with grilled suya and gold sparklers, or switching between Yoruba and English during dinner conversations. It’s recognizing my parents’ sacrifices while shaping an identity that reflects both where they came from and who I’m becoming. It’s the ability to carry the values of hard work and community passed down from generations of Nigerians, while embracing the diversity, opportunity, and freedom that define the American experience. Being American is the freedom to define my own identity, not as one or the other, but as both.

Haohong Ren, Hawaii
I come to this question as a Chinese immigrant who was only naturalized in 2020 after four whole years of waiting for my certificate. Coming to America has so far been the most drastic change I’ve ever experienced. Without a doubt, this experience is not only educational but it also opens a new door to an entirely new world full of opportunities, and most importantly, full of different people with different skin colors, cultural backgrounds, and values. To me, being an American means accepting others and welcoming them with open arms, trying to understand them and learning from each other. America was basically built by immigrants, so we have to value everyone’s ideas and the contribution they make. We can also understand and acknowledge where we came from and be proud of our roots. Being an American means valuing diversity and upholding the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for everyone.

Erin Tsutsui, California
When I think of America, I associate it with arms. This homonymous word captures the essence of America, as it means both physical open arms for one another, the tangible ideal of holding each other’s hands and always being united—as well as the evident usage of arms to harm one another, the 2nd amendment and the recurrence of violent outrage from it. I believe America is amazing in the way that people from all different backgrounds can come together with open arms to work towards a harmonious society. However, there are still many things to mend and reconstruct from the past and present without the use of weapons. Our call to arms should be to redeem ourselves with collaboration of peoples of all stripes, not to overwhelm one group or another with force. Being American, we need to embrace the duality of our nation and move to the better angels of our nature. Let us climb the hill together, each with our own uniqueness and individuality, but in collaboration with each other through the goal of positive change.

The unveiling of the Bracero Legacy Mural took place on April 18, 2025 in Chualar, in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County. The mural honors all Bracero workers and remembers the 32 Bracero workers who tragically lost their lives and the 22 Bracero workers who survived in a train collision in Chualar, on September 17, 1963. Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez, a historian whose research has focused on the Bracero Program, shared the following:

The Bracero Program was a series of laws that allowed the United States to recruit temporary guest workers (braceros, lit. “individuals who work with their arms”) from Mexico. As the United States entered World War II, its agriculture and railroad industries witnessed a shortage of laborers due to the U.S. military draft and the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast of the United States. The United States and Mexico entered into legal agreements that would ultimately be known as the Bracero Program, which operated from 1942 to 1964. Braceros worked throughout the United States, but the largest concentration of Braceros was employed in California. There were an estimated 4.5 million contracts signed by Braceros over the 22-year period. Today a large proportion of the Mexican American population can trace its heritage to former Braceros.

Image

The Bracero Legacy Mural (above) was painted and designed by contemporary artist Hanif Panni and sponsored by the Arts Council of Monterey County; photo courtesy Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo. The mural depicts a man standing in the lettuce fields of the Salinas Valley and an image of the bus that was hit by a train on September 17, 1963. Research for the mural was based on Ornelas Rodriguez’s study of the Ernesto Galarza papers at Stanford. Ornelas Rodriguez, whose grandfather was a Bracero, has spent the last 15 years studying and analyzing Galarza’s personal papers, which Galarza donated to the Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries. Included in the collection are numerous files about the accident and subsequent investigations that Galarza conducted for Congress. They also include his correspondence with various families of victims and survivors. Most recently Ornelas Rodriguez has been working to locate more of the families connected to the accident.

Image

Ornelas Rodriguez has spoken for many years about the possibilities of a mural dedicated to Braceros with Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo, an American politician who served in the California State Assembly representing the 30th Assembly District, encompassing the Pajaro and Salinas valleys. Alejo initiated conversations with the Monterey County Arts Council, which eventually approved support for the Bracero Legacy Mural. Alejo appears in the center of the photo above. Left to right: Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez; Artist Hanif Panni; Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo; Consul General of Mexico, San Jose, Alejandra Bologna; and Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez; photo courtesy Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez.

I was touched by the heartfelt comments that all of these people shared during the unveiling ceremony and felt a very strong emotional connection to the Braceros who were present for the ceremony because I spent my childhood—as a farm laborer and son of migrant farmworkers and sharecroppers—working with Braceros from the 1950s. I also felt ties to being in the Salinas Valley because that is where my family lived and worked prior to the outbreak of World War II. As mentioned by Ornelas Rodriguez, the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast of the United States—most of whom were farm workers—was one of the chief reasons for the establishment of the Bracero Program. I recommend that teachers introduce the Bracero Program—and Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the U.S. agricultural workforce broadly—to students and suggest that they consider using a lecture by Ornelas Rodriguez titled “Visualizing the Essential: Mexicans in the U.S. Agricultural Workforce.”

To stay informed of SPICE news, join our email list and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

The following is a guest article written by Wenxin Fu, a student from China studying at the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies at Waseda University in Japan. Wenxin enrolled in the 2025 SPICE/Stanford–Waseda Intensive Course: Exploring Peace in East Asia and Beyond Through the Lenses of Cultural Understanding, Education, and International Relations, which was organized by SPICE and Waseda’s Faculty of Social Sciences and taught by Meiko Kotani. The course brought together students from the Graduate School of Social Sciences, the School of Social Sciences, the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, the School of International Liberal Studies, and the School of Political Science and Economics. With participants from Japan and international students representing 10 different countries, the course created a truly dynamic and diverse learning environment.

If I had to pick out a few moments that reshaped how I see things, two come to mind. The first was in what seemed like an ordinary seminar classroom in the UK where I experienced, not exactly a cultural shock, but a striking contrast between the student-led discussions there and the education system I grew up with in mainland China. The second is this time, through the 2025 SPICE–Waseda program, where I encountered not just diversity, but a sense of collaborative equality, where difference didn’t translate into distance or hierarchy.

In both instances, I was far from my home country—surrounded by faces of different colors, speaking my second language, and engaging in conversations that ranged from broad theoretical questions to concrete, real-world issues. But the experiences felt very different. Back then, I was trying hard to blend in, to insert myself into a conversation shaped by others. I wanted a seat at the table, not just physically present, but to be part of the actual dialogue. This time, however, diversity felt less sharp, less hierarchical. Skin color didn’t map onto power relationships, and the usual lines between who’s “in” and who’s “out” felt blurred. I felt more comfortable speaking up, and more importantly, I felt genuinely heard.

I think this contrast also speaks to a commonly criticized tendency in international relations theory to center the dominant voices of the world’s most powerful countries. There’s now a growing emphasis on the globally relevant, rather than the globally dominant. That’s why this program’s focus on East Asia resonated so deeply with me, not only because I’m from the region, but because I’m eager to engage with perspectives and lived experiences that reflect the richness and complexity of the region. These are stories often told less loudly, but no less powerfully. This aligns with what we were often encouraged to do throughout the course: to anchor our reflections in personal experience.

And it’s also why I want this reflection to stay personal.

To be honest, even after a full semester as an international relations major, I still struggle to articulate anything truly meaningful about shifting global dynamics, geopolitical tensions, or the strategic calculus of major powers. Coming from a media studies background, I often feel I lack the kind of structural, macro-level thinking that international relations seem to require, and I’m rarely confident in how I speak about it. But still, one thing is clear to me: we don’t need to be experts to understand how important peace is. It’s not just a theory, it shapes our everyday lives and connects all of us through our shared hopes and fears. While international relations theories often emerge in response to crisis, it’s peace that fills most of our time on this planet. And peace isn’t just the pause between wars. It’s something that takes effort, patience, and long-term commitment. That’s what we should really be focusing on.

Image

When we ask ourselves how to contribute to something as vast as peace, I found this course offered both clarity and encouragement. It didn’t stick only to traditional international relations theories themselves, but brought in topics like cultural understanding, education, migration and mobility, and identity. Each day added a new layer, helping me connect big ideas to real-life issues. Looking back at the course title, I noticed the word “intensive.” I was mentally prepared for five days packed with lectures, seminars, group work, and a final project under pressure. But what I encountered was something else entirely. There wasn’t pressure to impress—just space to think and share. The assigned readings were meaningful but not overwhelming, and the discussions felt open and welcoming. I showed up, I listened, I reflected, I exchanged. I was inspired, not in bursts, but in a steady, unfolding way. Ideas moved, and so did I. That was the most rewarding kind of intensity for me.

I’m grateful for the way this program was designed, for the freedom to move at our own pace, and to learn in a space that felt both focused and generous. Thanks not only to my teammates, but also to the organizers who made this possible. Our group included undergraduates, master’s, and PhD students. I had concerns at first that our different nationalities, academic backgrounds, and levels of experience might lead to friction. But as we worked together on the contemporary challenges related to peace-building, I saw something quietly powerful: a shared spirit of curiosity, openness, and care. What moved between us was real peace and love, flowing quietly in the smallest units, from one person to another, and beyond.

To stay informed of SPICE news, join our email list and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

The following is a guest article written by Lindsay Baltzell, a student from the United States studying at the School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University in Japan. Lindsay enrolled in the 2025 SPICE/Stanford–Waseda Intensive Course: Exploring Peace in East Asia and Beyond Through the Lenses of Cultural Understanding, Education, and International Relations, which was organized by SPICE and Waseda’s Faculty of Social Sciences and taught by Meiko Kotani. The course brought together students from the Graduate School of Social Sciences, the School of Social Sciences, the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, the School of International Liberal Studies, and the School of Political Science and Economics. With participants from Japan and international students representing 10 different countries, the course created a truly dynamic and diverse learning environment.

Stanford’s SPICE course conducted at Waseda University was a perfect opportunity to engage with the subjects I’m interested in among like-minded individuals and under the instruction of teachers with diverse yet equally valuable experiences. I was incredibly impressed with what the course was able to achieve over the course of just five days, and I left feeling more informed and inspired than when I came in.

Each lecture was engaging and concise and allowed participants to ask questions and share ideas as valued voices in the discussions. Each lecturer was receptive and responsive to what participants shared, and the topics covered were different, but related, which helped me build connections between ideas. I felt like an equal among people of diverse backgrounds and educational levels, and I believe my contributions were honored and respected. This type of atmosphere was achievable because of the care put into the course’s coordination, from the staff’s openness and willingness to communicate to the time allocated for questions and discussion.

Students were able to draw upon the lecture content to support their own presentations on the last day of the course. Initially, I was intimidated by the idea of preparing a presentation within just a few days, but everyone came together to produce thoughtful, well-informed, and unique presentations. I learned just as much from my peers’ interests and perspectives during this process as I did from the scheduled lectures. Of course, I believe this was partly due to the students themselves, but such a motivated, engaged, and intelligent group was drawn in by the course’s design (i.e., the topic of the course, being scheduled over our spring break/voluntary, being open to several departments). It was a pleasure to be able to spend time learning with these people, and we have continued to keep in touch since the course ended.

Image

A few memorable moments come to mind: 1) Dr. Mukai’s presentation, which I found extremely touching. His and the other presentations provided a good balance between teaching practical lessons and using pathos to bring empathy into the complex topics that were covered. What I loved about Dr. Mukai’s presentation in particular was the positive notes strung throughout that left me feeling motivated to do good work rather than discouraged by our history or the state of the world. This attitude was emblematic of the entire course. 2) The conversations with my peers, which spanned more areas of interest, expertise, and experience than I could have ever anticipated. I have been in environments like that before where there is an undeniable sense of comradery and outspokenness that everyone can appreciate—but I still believe this group was exceptional. This course was as much about being a member of a team and a dynamic ‘community’ as it was about meeting and learning from professionals in relevant fields of research.

I think this course exceeded in encouraging participation by allowing students from different faculties and education levels to participate, and by inviting guest lecturers who were excited to share their wisdom and research with us. I commend the coordinators for their obvious passion for this project and their respectful and sincere approach to speaking with the students. There was also ample time built into the course schedule for us to work on our group presentations, which helped eliminate my initial fear of a strenuous workload. Overall, I left the course with a better sense of the various topics that could fall under the title “Exploring Peace in East Asia and Beyond Through the Lenses of Cultural Understanding, Education, and International Relations.” It is a course I will be recommending to my friends and classmates.

To stay informed of SPICE news, join our email list and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.

The following is a guest article written by Makoto Nagasawa, who traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area with other graduate students from the University of Tokyo—under the leadership of Professor Hideto Fukudome—in January 2025. Makoto is also an Associate Professor at Saitama University. SPICE/Stanford collaborates closely with the Graduate School of Education at the University of Tokyo and met with the students during their visit to the Bay Area.

In a contemporary world where knowledge is instantly accessible and the digitalization of education is accelerating, the value of gathering in physical spaces and learning together is being re-evaluated. The intensive seminar on international and cross-cultural education held in the San Francisco Bay Area in late January 2025 vividly demonstrated the unique appeal of in-person global education and the potential for learning that digital platforms alone cannot replicate.

This seminar—a collaboration between the Center for Advanced School Education and Evidence-Based Research (CASEER) at the University of Tokyo and SPICE at Stanford University—was not merely a venue for acquiring knowledge but a precious opportunity for participants to encounter the world through direct exposure and gain new perspectives through interaction with others. The firsthand experience of the current state of elite higher education institutions in the Bay Area, a bastion of liberalism, was an invaluable lesson in understanding live social dynamics.

On the first day at Stanford University, SPICE experts shared a wide range of insights on international and cross-cultural education. Among these, Mariko Yang-Yoshihara’s lecture, which utilized Stanford Professor Ge Wang’s video, provided participants with a stimulating experience to deeply consider the “creation of learning” from non-traditional approaches that transcend existing frameworks. Furthermore, the in-person workshops based on digitally pre-assigned tasks served as an interactive learning environment where first-time participants could share their knowledge and experiences and deepen discussions, fostering a sense of solidarity that is difficult to achieve online. The direct dialogue with Gary Mukai and other SPICE members proved to be of great significance in infusing academic knowledge with real-world context and building human connections. During the sessions at Stanford (photo below courtesy Makoto Nagasawa) students’ laptops were open, and their minds even more so as learning came alive at Stanford with SPICE experts at the table.

Image

Moreover, visits to cultural areas such as San Francisco’s Chinatown, San Jose’s Japan town and the Japanese American Museum, and the Angel Island Immigration Station were indispensable experiences for connecting knowledge learned in the classroom with the realities of society. In particular, encountering the history of Japanese Americans and the hardships faced by immigrants provided an opportunity to deeply understand the historical experiences of different communities and the complex paths through which present-day society has been shaped. During Gary’s tour of San Jose’s Japan town, he helped to bring the history of Japan town to life by asking the students to compare old photos—page by page—from the early 20th century to the present-day buildings and surroundings; photo below courtesy Makoto Nagasawa.

Image

“The only source of knowledge is experience,” as Einstein said, a quote mentioned during Professor Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu’s lecture at Stanford. This highlights that experience gained by being present in a place and engaging all five senses remains crucial in grasping the essence of learning, even in today’s increasingly digital world. The sense of presence and enthusiasm gained through co-learning in classrooms, direct dialogue with faculty and fellow participants, and fieldwork are the unique appeals of in-person education that cannot be fully experienced through online-only education.

Through this overseas intensive seminar, participants reaffirmed the significance of the physical presence of universities, the importance of learning together in person, and the value of walking the world with their own feet and experiencing it directly. Even as digital tools evolve, the deep learning and acquisition of diverse perspectives that arise from human interaction are the wellspring of wisdom and power to navigate the complexities of modern society. 

To stay informed of SPICE news, join our email list and follow us on Facebook, X, and Instagram.