Final Reflections

When I entered college, I had little idea of what my academic interests were or what I wanted to do in the future. Four years later, I am still unsure of what I want to do in the future, but I have discovered many interests and passions. As a first-year, I wanted to learn Japanese. This decision was not related to my career goals, rather to my enjoyment of learning new languages and my interest in Japan. The turning point for my education in Asian Studies came when I applied to Asian Conversations. In truth, the decision to be part of Asian Conversations was a whimsical, in-the-moment decision to put my name down as someone who was interested. The next thing I knew, I was accepted.

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Asian Conversations was a turning point for my education because it was my gateway into other Asian studies courses. Once I had taken one, I wanted to take more. Each of my classes in Asian Studies gave me something new to consider. Asian Con introduced me to many big questions and areas of Asian Studies, and my other courses allowed me to explore those questions further, and even form some of my own. Asian Con began a conversation on culture and religion that were later picked up by other courses. 

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One of the main things I have gained from my education in Asian Studies is a nuanced understanding of culture. My Japanese and Chinese language courses have given me another lens to view various cultures. Both languages reveal various aspects of the cultures. My advanced Japanese courses have helped me understand various hierarchical and gender related influences within Japanese society. My introductory Chinese courses have taught me the basic elements of the Chinese language which have revealed important aspects of Chinese culture. 

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My seminar on Human Rights in Asian Contexts really began to expand my understanding of culture, and until this course, I had not given a lot of thought to the definition of culture. I now understand culture as a repertoire of ideas and practices that are constantly evolving and changing. This definition has not only helped me better understand the content from my other classes, it has helped me better understand my own culture as well. Furthermore, this nuanced understanding of culture allows me to understand individuals better, and the role their ideas play within society. Just because a dominant ideology undermines a secondary idea or practice does not mean the secondary idea or practice is not a part of that society's culture. 

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The seminar also helped me understand that religion, like culture, is built from various practices and ideas. Religious ideas and values are not concrete and evolve over time. While this may go against what many religions claim, there is almost never a true consensus on what constitutes a specific religion. This understanding of religion helped me understand and reflect on one of the earlier Asian Studies courses I took. Jesus on the Indian Road was a class that explored Christianity in India. This class expanded my thinking on religious conflict and identity. While it focused on Christianity in India, it was placed in the larger context of a society that has long struggled with religious conflict. Understanding religion as a more fluid concept helps me understand how groups in the same religion can have such different views. In some areas of India, different religious groups have coexisted peacefully, but in others, religious difference has led to brutal violence that has claimed the lives of many. Having a more fluid definition of religion also helps me better understand the situation India is struggling with today as the people struggle with their religious identity and the secular state. In recent years, there has been movement towards Hindu nationalist ideologies. 

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My understanding of the state and identity was further developed in Politics and Asia. In this discussion based class, we had many discussions about the role of the state and ungoverned people. A book we read focused on people who live in the hills and mountains of Southeast Asia, and their history with the state. Because of the rough terrain and weather, historically it was difficult for civilizations, and later governments, to exert power over groups of people who lived in the hills. This gave me an understanding of what Southeast Asia was like before World War II, and how identity was tied to the group or village one belonged to. This gave me context for a reading we did in Asian Con the year before. We read about the breakup of the Japanese empire and the independence movements of Southeast Asian countries. For some, there was a shift in identity from being solely related to the village to seeing oneself as part of a bigger nation. This may be what led to some of the independence movements. On the other hand, there are still groups today who resist the state, and identify with their group. Understanding the history of people who lived in the hills in Southeast Asia and identity is necessary for understanding the relationship between some groups and the state today.

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 Politics in Asia also gave me an introduction to the contemporary Chinese government. Because this was a political science class, it focused mostly on contemporary and somewhat recent details on China. This class was complemented by a class I took the following semester, China Past and Present. This class gave me a brief, but detailed overview of Chinese history up until the fall of the Qing Dynasty. The main point I took from this is how necessary it is to view knowledge from an interdisciplinary standpoint. Without an understanding of the past, it is difficult to understand the present. This was highlighted in another talk Stephanie Montgomery gave to Asian Studies in Action, an academic club I lead as co-president. She recently gave a talk on how the Korean War shapes the relations between the United States and North Korea today. She drew parallels between things the US did to North Korea during the war and language North Korea uses to refer to the US today. 

Being a member of Asian Studies in Action not only gave me opportunity to hear faculty talk about topics outside of class, it also gave me the opportunity to lead and develop confidence in my leadership abilities. I gave several presentations and led discussions on the Uighurs in China and fires in Indonesia. Aside from Asian Studies in Action, I have also developed leadership skills from Japanese tutoring and being President of the Japanese House. Japanese tutoring has taught me how to think quickly and evaluate the needs of the person I am tutoring. Being President of the Japanese House has taught me how to take initiative and organize events effectively.

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Learning Japanese and Chinese also built my confidence. As a first year, I had difficulty speaking up in class. Now, however, I feel I can speak in class even if I make mistakes. My experiences abroad also helped with this. The first time I went abroad to Asia was with Asian Con. While we were in Japan, I felt very nervous and did not want to speak in Japanese. However, when I went last summer to be an English teacher, I overcame my fear and spoke Japanese with some of my coworkers regularly. Without the training I completed in my language courses, I would not have developed the confidence to speak in a new language with native speakers.

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These experiences and classes have shaped who I am today. Because of them, I have developed  a new understanding of culture, religion, and identity. I have built my self confidence and gained leadership skills. Finally, I have acquired a broad understanding of Asia and the people who live there. If I were to answer the question they asked me in Asian Con two years ago, “What is Asia?”, my answer would be vastly different now. In the future, I would like to either spend more time in parts of Asia teaching English, to gain a better understanding of those places or get an entry level job at a think tank regarding issues in Asia. Once I have had more experience, I would like to go to grad school to continue pursuing my interest in Asia, but not until I have a more concrete idea of what I would like to study. For the present, the St. Olaf Asian Studies department and faculty have given me a wonderful education and several tools I will need as I make this next step in my life.