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Thomas Burkman is director of the Asian Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences.
What is the mission of the Asian Studies Program?
UB has vibrant Asian connections. The Asian Studies (AS) Program was established in 1993 to advocate and resource the study of Asia in all schools of the university. The program designs curricula and courses of an interdisciplinary nature that do not have a logical home in an academic department. It assists faculty and departments in the furtherance of quality teaching and research concerning Asia.
In its 14-year history, the program has asserted certain philosophies. The first, and most obvious one, is that every field of learning—be it medicine, law, or literature—should address seriously the past legacies and present developments of Asian scholarship and practice. It was not long ago that we had to argue for the importance of Asia in the academy. Now it is common sense. A second is the notion that Asia is global, and not continental. Asia is expressed in the grocery store, on TV and even in church. The Asian American phenomenon—nearly 10 percent of the UB student population—is a local expression of Asia. So we require our Asian Studies majors to take a course called The Asian American Experience. A third philosophy is operational: AS at UB exists not to build its own kingdom, but to fortify disciplinary departments and their faculty. Hence AS has written grants to seed disciplinary faculty hires, enable disciplinary conferences and bring in residencies and visiting Asian scholars to enrich departmental curricula. Departments and schools look to the program as an enabler, not a competitor.
Asia has been happening a long time here, ever since UB's first president, Millard Fillmore, sent the Perry Mission to Japan in 1953. (Few Buffalonians realize that Fillmore was concurrently president of the United States and president of the University of Buffalo. Both vocations were part-time jobs!) UB medical students now do rounds in Beijing; management majors pursue internships in Tokyo; and some freshmen learn American Pluralism from the standpoint of how it is to live in America with Asian roots. Research projects involving Asian data and Asian co-investigators are commonplace in many labs. Our recent study revealed 64 UB dissertations significantly related to Asia completed in the last five years. There are surely others we did not spot. Most of this would happen without the Asian Studies Program, for Asia has its own, infectious momentum. What AS does is call the community's attention to Asia, sponsor forums for discussion of Asia-related issues, and provide a structured framework for learning.
Tell me about the bachelor's degree program.
Now three years old, the bachelor's degree in Asian Studies allows the student to focus on a major cultural region, linked to the Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Hindi the student elects to fulfill the degree's language requirement. In AS 101, majors are exposed to the methodology of several disciplines in their approaches to Asia. There is a required core in history and political economy, and upper level requirements in the humanities and social sciences. Two-thirds of our majors take advantage of UB's excellent sister university connections in Asia, expanding their language skills, deepening their cultural understanding and getting academic credit in subjects not yet offered at UB. We encourage them to double major so as to enhance their marketable skills and disciplinary grounding for graduate/professional school and international careers.
UB has always had a strong focus on East Asia and Southeast Asia. What about the other parts of Asia—Central Asia, India and the Middle East?
UB's largest contingent of Asian studies faculty deals with China in their teaching and research, in the fields of anthropology, communication, linguistics, art history, philosophy and history. AS will spotlight them in a brown-bag panel on Chinese Identity on April 20. UB has fully developed language programs in Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Southeast Asia is represented in three departments; and South Asia, including India, has a stake in the Department of History and anticipates growth. While elementary Arabic is offered, UB has a long way to go before the Islamic world is addressed adequately. Last fall AS brought in a visiting Fulbright Islamicist to teach, and the history department projects a future hire in the Ottoman field.
Did the Dalai Lama's visit to UB have an impact on the Asian Studies Program?
The self-effacing monk in saffron will long be remembered. A coinciding Buddhism course we offered drew a full enrollment of energized students. This semester, a Buddhist teacher attracted the largest attendance in our Asia at Noon speaker series. More students are signing up for our major. The UB curriculum is not Tibetanized. But I believe that for Buffalo people of all faiths or no overt religious commitment, Buddhism is no longer exotic. For those who filled the stadium, an Asia-rooted philosophy is not alien to the concerns that move us. It was thrilling to see the whole institution get onboard. Perspectives were expanded in campus and community, and Asian Studies stands to benefit.
You've headed the Asian Studies Program for 13 years. How has the program—and attitudes toward Asia—changed in that time?
Thirteen years ago, seven faculty devoted their teaching and research to Asia. We are losing count now as the figure enters the mid-20s, with a concomitant increase in the disciplines that now address Asian perspectives. The number of students studying abroad in Asia has risen from 18 in 1994 to 95 in 2006. The count of international students from Asia has almost tripled to a figure of 3,328 in 2006, and further Asian enrollment growth figures prominently in the institution's 2020 vision. UB now has two tenure-track positions in Asian American studies, with another hire scheduled. The statistics reveal a changing institutional culture. Asian Studies may have nudged this shift slightly—but we sure have enjoyed watching the parade! On this very day, President Simpson is downing sushi as he engages with UB alums in Tokyo.