Interview with Teemu Ruskola
"I grew up in Finland during the Cold War and I came to Stanford as an undergraduate in the mid-80s, before the current era of globalization. I received my B.A. in East Asian Studies in 1990. I can say without hesitation that my undergraduate years and my study of East Asia in general, and China in particular, constituted the single most formative intellectual experience of my life—even more so than my subsequent graduate studies. I returned to Stanford again in the late 90s to do an M.A. in East Asian Studies. Initially, I had no idea what I wanted to do when I was at Stanford. First, I contemplated a Ph.D in Chinese philosophy. Then, I decided against it and ended up going to law school for all the wrong reasons—like so many liberal arts graduates who are unsure what to do. Luckily, I realized subsequently that the study of Chinese law is a fascinating scholarly pursuit, and I ended up becoming a law professor."
- Teemu Ruskola, B.A. in East Asian Studies '90 & M.A. in East Asian Studies '99 Professor of Law and Professor of East Asian Languages & Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania