John Wang Distinguished Lecture in Asian Studies Series

The Annual John Wang Distinguished Lecture in Asian Studies Series, sponsored by the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, was established in 2024 for the purposes of raising the profile of Asian studies on Stanford campus and promoting scholarly exchange and intellectual engagement among EALC faculty and students, the Stanford Asian studies community, and the global community of scholars, educators, and practitioners active in the broad intellectual field of Asian studies.

The annual John Wang Distinguished Speaker is chosen collectively by EALC faculty and students.

2025-26 Speaker:

Toward a More Fluid Area Studies: Japan in the Age of Three Worlds

by Professor Michael K. Bourdaghs, Robert S. Ingersoll Professor in East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago

Tuesday, May 26th, 2026
Location: Levinthal Hall, Stanford Humanities Center
Time: Reception at 3:30pm, Lecture at 4:30pm
Open to the public

Join us for a lecture presenting an experimental model that moves beyond Cold War-era area studies approaches by reconceptualizing Japan as a transnational nexus within Three Worlds theory to critically reexamine Japanese cultural production from 1945-2000.