The Tibet Crisis: State Power, Global Public Opinion and Political Pressure
Begins |
15 Apr 2008 - 6:00pm |
| Ends |
15 Apr 2008 - 8:00pm |
| Location |
Parsons Auditorium, 66 5th Ave., Room 101 |
State Power, Global Public Opinion and Political Pressure
Tuesday, April 15th
The unrest in Tibet is spreading: from Lhasa to Kathmandu, from Paris to San Francisco, from Tibet Plateau to cyber space. Free Tibet demonstrations, violent and non-violent, confront Chinese government crackdown, the Olympic Torch Rally and overseas Chinese people believing that "Tibet was, is and will always be a part of China."
What is the scale of the protests in and outside China? How is it different from previous demonstrations in Tibet? What is the historical setting to the recent unrest? Why do Tibetans, Chinese and Westerners seem to have totally different, if not conflicting views on this? How is public opinion shaped among them? What kind of nationalism is increasing among Chinese people? What does it means to Tibet, China and the rest of the world?
Students from The New School and Columbia with various connections to Tibet will lead a discussion, joined by special guests.
Panelists include:
Benno Weiner, Ph.D. Candidate in Columbia University's history department.
Focusing on modern China and Tibet, Benno is particularly interested in the still incomplete process by which the Manchu Qing Dynasty has been transformed into the modern Chinese nation-state. He is currently on leave from a Fulbright Hays DDRA Fellowship, having just returned from Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province, where he is conducting field research for his dissertation.
Stacey Van Vleet, PhD student at Columbia University in the Modern Tibetan Studies program of the East Asian Languages and Cultures department.
From 2004-2006 she lived in Lhasa and her research focuses on the history of cultural exchanges between Tibet and China.
Mitch Cook, M.A. Candidate, Graduate Program in International Affairs, The New School. Mitch's research interests include urbanization and development, civil society in China and minority relations. His most recent work in China was for Temple Law School's Judicial Education Program in Beijing, China. He worked with intermediate and high court judges and spent time with members of the Tibetan community in Beijing.
Chang Tianle, M.A. Candidate, Graduate Program in International Affairs, The New School.
Trained as a journalist in Shanghai, China, Tianle has worked for both state and independent press in China. While working for China Development Brief, a Beijing-based independent publication reporting on China's development issues and civil society, she visited and reported development and education programs run by international and Chinese NGOs in Tibet.
Moderator:
Professor Jonathan Bach, Associate Director, the Graduate Program in International Affairs, The New School.
More details, please contact chant469@newschool.edu