CHPA International Outreach

Political Science Professor Spends Sabbatical Training China’s Future diplomats

Dr. Dennis Hickey (PLS) is currently spending a semester as a Fulbright Exchange professor teaching at the China Foreign Affairs University (CFAU) in Beijing, China. The CFAU is the only institution of higher learning which operates under the guidance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China. It aims at preparing high caliber personnel who are competent to discharge their official duties in fluent foreign languages in the fields of foreign service, international studies, and international business and law. Dr. Hickey stated, “We train China's future diplomats …That is our mission.”  This is one of the top four universities in China.

While in China, Dr. Hickey is teaching two graduate level classes. One course is on American politics and the other course is on American foreign policy. Throughout his time in China, professor Hickey has been meeting with Chinese scholars and officials at various think-tanks and government agencies. 

He also recently delivered a guest lecture to a standing room only audience of over 100 faculty and students at Renmin University in Beijing. The topic of his invited lecture was "America's Commitment to Taiwan," which remains a very sensitive subject for the Chinese. Professor Hickey is also currently discussing with local University officials the establishment of an exchange program between the PLS Graduate Program in International Affairs and the Graduate Program in International Studies at Remin Daxue University.

Dr. Dennis Hickey and his wife Cheng-May

 at “The Bird's Nest in Beijing”

where China will hold the opening ceremony for the Olympics.

Recent Research Symposium Co-Sponsored by CHPA brings together Experts on South Asia

Dr. Stephen Berkwitz (REL) organized and coordinated a joint research symposium hosted by Missouri State University’s College of Arts and Letters and CHPA.  This “Symposium on South Asia: Issues and Trends in Research” was held from 10:30-1:00pm on March 5, 2008 in Carrington Theater. The symposium served as part of the Asian Arts and Letters Initiative and as a precursor to the Public Affairs Conference being held April 15-18, 2008.

“The Symposium on South Asia is an event that brought greater attention to the region of South Asia, which comprises mainly India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,” said Missouri State associate professor of religious studies Dr. Stephen Berkwitz. “Four expert scholars came to Missouri State and shared what they see as the important trends taking place in research on South Asia, which is a region of growing importance to American interests.”

The panel was composed of Dr. Robert Brown, professor of art history at the University of California, Los Angeles; Dr. Jorge Flores, associate professor of history at Brown University; Dr. Peter Gottschalk, associate professor of religion at Wesleyan University; and Dr. Rina Williams, lecturer and interim director of the Studies in Women and Gender Program at the University of Virginia. The panelists each spoke for about 20 minutes to a sizable audience on their research specialties.

History Professor Joins Missouri State Group During Spring Break Visit to our Branch Campus in Dalian, China

During Spring Break Professor William Piston (HST) joined a team a faculty members who visited Beijing and Dalian, China. In Dalian they toured the Missouri State branch campus at Liaoning Normal University. Piston visited classes and met with faculty members, including Ms. Carey Kelley, a recent History M.A. graduate who is teaching U.S. survey courses there. 

At Left: Linda Moser, William Piston, Jane Allwardt (MSU Dalian), Helen Zhuang, and Allison Coltharp at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.  

Upcoming Research Panel to Focus on the Recent Swing to the Left in Latin American Politics

 In the past few years left-leaning parties and leaders have risen to
power in such diverse Latin American countries as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

This leftist tide is, however, characterized by a good deal of diversity in ideological perspectives and bases of electoral support. The public faces of the new Latin-American left are illustrative of this diversity: two women, an indigenous peasant, a US educated economist, a military officer, a former guerrilla leader, a doctor, and a factory worker and union leader.

The panel held on April 24, 2008 is designed to address a number of questions related to this phenomenon: Why have leftists won the support of the electorate? What have they actually done in office?  What changes are they likely to bring about in Latin America’s political, economic, and social landscape in the future?  And what will this mean for the United States?

Dr. Indira Ondetti (PLS) the panel’s organizer, will serve as the moderator and three prominent Latin American analysts will discuss this issue.  The panelists includes Professor Juan Pablo Luna (from the Institute of Political Science at the Catholic University of Chile); Dr. Jana Morgan (Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Tennessee), Chris Strunk (MacArthur/ICGC Scholar at the University of Minnesota); and our own Dr. Gabriel Ondetti (PLS).  The panel will be co-sponsored by the College of Humanities and Public Affairs Dean’s Initiative Grant, and the Latin American, Caribbean, and Hispanic Studies Program.