The Asian Studies Department is pleased to announce the induction of 4 of our majors into Phi Beta Kappa. Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest undergraduate honors organization in the United States. The society has pursued its mission of fostering and recognizing excellence in the liberal arts and sciences since 1776. Congratulations to Mo Campbell, Lauren Corbitt, Ke Ji and Martha Kimmel.

The Asian Studies Department began a new exchange program with Suzhou University in the fall of 2007. Suzhou University student, Yang Liwei, spent the '07-'08 academic year engaged in American Studies at Furman. Furman student Blaine Scott spent the fall term studying intensive Chinese in Suzhou, followed by four Furman Asian Studies classmates in the spring. Additional Chinese students attended Furman in the Spring, as well.

Suzhou University's Dean of the Foreign Languages School, Xu Qinggen, is serving as Distinguished Visiting Professor of Asian Studies during the Spring 2008 term. Dean Xu is offering an AS 95 course on Suzhou History and Culture and has been valuable resource to Furman faculty and students both in and outside of the classroom.

Co-sponsored by the departments of Asian Studies, Economics and History, Furman’s much anticipated India Study Abroad program ran in the winter term 2008. Kailash Khandke, Assistant Dean for Study Away and International Education, and Savita Nair, history professor, were co-directors of this new program. History A95, “Power and Privilege: Issues in Indian History,” and Economics A95, “Issues in Indian Political-Economy” comprised the academic coursework. Participants had summer and fall reading assignments and are strongly encouraged to take Hindi 10 this fall term to assist in enhancing the cultural experience. From January 10-25 the group will visited Delhi, Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Bangalore, Mysore and Cochin. The rest of the experience (through February 20), a residential study, took place at Madras Christian College, Chennai (Madras). Furman students had an opportunity to engage in an intellectually rigorous manner and experience the world’s most populous democracy. With over one billion people who are diverse in language, religion and cultural practices, it was a journey into a rich and complex history and political economy.

On April 23, 2007 the Department of Asian Studies at Furman University, with the co-sponsorship of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, hosted a public symposium geared to highlighting major political and economic issues in the U.S.-China relationship and how they might be considered from our South Carolina vantage point. Two of the most prominent American experts on China affairs and U.S.-China relations, Professor David M. Lampton of the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University and Nicholas Lardy, Senior Fellow at the Institute for International Economics addressed the symposium. Following each of these presentations, a panel of experts with South Carolina-ties and varied backgrounds commented on the issues raised. These panels featured professors from the University of South Carolina at Columbia, Clemson and Furman, as well as representatives from the South Carolina Department of Commerce, the Office of Senator Jim DeMint, and an experienced business executive who has represented the Shanghai American Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC.

On February 23, 2007, John Berninghausen, Truscott Professor of Chinese at Middlebury College, met with members of the Asian Studies Department to discuss plans for the new Furman-Suzhou Intensive Chinese Summer Institute. Berninghausen, founder and leader of Middlebury’s prestigious Chinese Language Department, offered insights and suggestions for the new, grant funded initiative, affirming the foundation Furman has laid in its recent expansion of Chinese studies.

The Department of Asian Studies has successfully raised funds to add to the generous gift of 130 Chinese language books, tapes, and CD's from the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Washington D.C. These additional funds are being used to increase Chinese, Japanese and South Asian materials available in the Asian Studies Reading Room. The Department continues to accept donations to further expand the collection in honor of emeritus Asian Studies professor, Dr. James B. Leavell. Gifts of $100 or more are recognized on a permanent plaque located in the Asian Studies Suite. Donations and queries should be directed to Becky Duckett.