Bing Overseas Studies Program

South Asia finds itself again at the cusp of events that may have global historical repercussions. The region has emerged as a curious paradox that exemplifies parliamentary democracy and economic development. (May 3, 2008)

Remote, poor and only recently embarked on the path of development, modernization and “democratization,” the Kingdom of Bhutan is challenging itself and the rest of the world to think differently about the goals and methods of modernization. (May 3, 2008)

The accomplishments and meaning of Stanford’s overseas studies programs are best understood through the eyes of the students who attend them. Get the student’s-eye view of the contemporary experience at this panel. (May 3, 2008)

A panel of distinguished directors of Overseas Studies programs past and present discusses the development of the programs over time. (May 3, 2008)

The AIDS epidemic has raised substantial questions about the effectiveness of international public health prevention and treatment infrastructures in resource-limited settings in Africa. (May 3, 2008)

The academic humanities and arts have long been successful in transforming discourses on their own “crisis” into a seemingly pleasant mode of survival. (May 3, 2008)

In countries throughout the world policy makers recognize the importance of preparing students to work in a technologically advanced environment. However since 2000, students in developed countries have been turning away from technical fields. (May 3, 2008)

Since 9/11, references to “Islamism” and “Islamist” have proliferated in politics, the media and scholarship. What do these controversial terms mean? Why does it matter? This quizless but quizzical seminar will address “challenging Islamism” (May 3, 2008)

Tropical coral reefs face two major threats: increasing ocean temperatures and acidification of ocean surface waters. The hard corals that form the structural framework of most reefs thrive within a relatively narrow set of environmental conditions. (May 3, 2008)

More international human rights treaties and human rights courts exist today than ever before. Yet in issues around the world—such as wearing headscarves in French classrooms still come about. (May 3, 2008)

Larry Diamond talks about Democracy and what we have to do to keep it from regressing. (May 3, 2008)

Worldwide, per-capita oil consumption is closely correlated with standard of living. In developing nations like China and India, increasing prosperity therefore requires increased per-capita oil consumption. (May 3, 2008)

Perhaps a third of the states in the world have failed. Their domestic governance structures are so weak (in some cases nonexistent), that they cannot effectively control activities within their own borders. (May 3, 2008)

The public discussion of terrorism, especially since the 9/11 attacks, has often tried to fit acts of violence into standard policy paradigms: terrorist violence is misinterpreted as a rational response to particular policies. (May 3, 2008)

This talk examines American grand strategy in World War II. It will discuss the American experience of the war in the context of other peoples’ relation to the great conflict, including the European societies that many of us saw still coping with the after effects. (May 3, 2008)

The Cold War was marked by tense nuclear confrontations between the United States and the Soviet Union. Since then, nuclear crises have arisen between India and Pakistan, and today the nuclear programs of both North Korea and Iran. (May 3, 2008)

China has broken records with its economic growth, but at what costs? What are some of the problems that China faces as it works to change its socialist system? (May 3, 2008)

Economists and politicians have been suggesting for the past 20 years that the United States has entered a new “globalized” moment of history. But what, exactly, do we mean by that term? (May 3, 2008)