SGS Centers Welcome Three New Directors

In September, four SGS centers and programs welcomed new leadership. Read about the new directors below, and please join us in welcoming them to the SGS community!

Associate Professor of History Jun Uchida joined the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) this fall as the new faculty director. Professor Uchida's teaching and research interests span the fields of modern East Asia, comparative studies of empire, and the history of immigration and diaspora. Building on the work of her predecessors, inluding most recently Professor of History Gordon Chang, Uchida hopes to expand the role of CEAS through community building and partnerships with other organizations across campus to strengthen the center's role as the hub of research and study of East Asia. "I look forward to working closely with our faculty, M.A. students, postdocs, and visiting scholars, as we continue to strengthen our commitment to promoting the study of East Asia at Stanford," Uchida wrote in her welcome letter to the community. "I hope we can continue to work together toward this goal, with CEAS providing a space for such dialogue."

The Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) also welcomed new director Alberto Diaz-Cayeros, a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and, by courtesy, Professor of Political Science. In his welcome letter, he explained that the study of Latin America, and Area Studies in general, is facing a critical challenge to adapt to a world that is constantly changing, and a student body that is more sophisticated and cosmopolitan. "I look forward to trying new things, and keeping the old ones that work." he wrote. "CLAS is full of activity and excitement, and I believe we can do even more to be relevant for the challenges ahead of us. Latin America is no longer an unknown land, at least not in the way it was 50 years ago, but its nuances and complex realities are still, to a large extent, uncharted territory. I invite you to join me, embarking on a voyage of discovery and rediscovery of our region together."

The Department of Religious Studies' Shahzad Bashir, the Lysbeth Warren Anderson Professor in Islamic Studies, began his term this fall as the director of the Sara and Sohaib Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies and the Mediterranean Studies Forum. Professor Bashir specializes in Islamic Studies with a particular interest in the intellectual and social histories of Persianate societies of Iran and Central and South Asia circa fourteenth century CE to the present.

Please join us in welcoming these three distinguished directors!