2026 Global Research Trips

Advanced Language Study for Women's Science Fiction Research

Sandi Khine, East Asian Studies

This winter and spring, I spent a semester at the Inter-University Consortium (IUC) at Sungkyunkwan University learning advanced academic and research Korean. I took classes from advanced Korean speaking and writing to Korean humanities and history, and I had the incredible chance to audit a course that was connected directly to my research interests. 

I was initially drawn to the opportunity at IUC because I sought to devote my time to advanced, individualized language study that would support my research interests in Korean women's science fiction. While I knew before the IUC program that I wanted to develop Korean language skills in order to read in-language Korean science fiction as well as academic articles in Korean, I was able to sharpen my research focus through the IUC program. I read short stories and journal articles that helped me center my research on posthumanism and care as key issues. 

While I improved significantly during the program and certainly have learned so much, I am always humbled by how much further I can go. When my program began, I was able to meet with a few Stanford CEAS alumni who had completed the IUC program in previous years. When I expressed my nervousness about how challenging it might be, they gave me reassuring advice. 

This opportunity has not just helped me better my language skills but also has opened the doors to so many connections with people from whom I can learn. It felt grounding to know that I was part of a lineage of Stanford students who had come through this program before me. Now that my spring at IUC has ended, I feel incredibly lucky to have had the transformative opportunity to study and research through such a unique and special program, to meet my classmates and colleagues, and to learn from so many Korean scholars.

Sharing Research on Central Asia at Conference for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies

Julia Lasiota, Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies

I was grateful for the chance to attend the 32nd Annual REECAS Northwest Conference for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Washington to present my paper “Playing All Sides: Central Asia's Ideological Arbitrage in Great Power Competition.” 

The paper grew out of a Stanford seminar on great power competition, and it touches on the themes I have been researching throughout my CREEES M.A. program. I wanted to research the Central Asian states in more depth, as they struck me as fascinating case studies for understanding different strategies of navigating simultaneous Russian, Chinese, and American interests while sharing similar Soviet institutional legacies. 

Presenting my research to an audience of regional specialists was exactly what I needed at this stage of research. It helped me think of the next steps for refining my argument. I received substantive feedback from scholars working on Central Asian politics, including the director of Harvard's Central Asia program, which pushed me to sharpen and re-iterate my theoretical claims. 

Beyond my own panel, I attended sessions on European strategic responses to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and panels engaging with the culture and literature of the region, which was a refreshing reminder that the political questions I typically work within are only one lens among a rich set of questions through which to study the region. 

The conference also gave me a chance to connect with other graduate students and faculty from regional studies programs across the U.S. and abroad. The University of Washington was a wonderful host: the cherry blossoms were out and the visit to the Suzzallo and Allen Library made the trip even more so memorable.

Conference on the Future of U.S. and China

Cameron Waltz, East Asian Studies

I am grateful to have been able to use my Global Perspectives Award funding to attend the Asia Society of Northern California's “The Future of U.S. & China Conference 2026.” At this one-day conference, I attended panels regarding the U.S. and China’s evolving trade, investment, people-to-people, and security relations, which were chaired by leading scholars and practitioners in my field. As a student of U.S.-China relations and a policy researcher, these issues are very close to my heart and my research, and it is rare to get face-to-face exposure with many of the experts who have worked on the relationship. In particular, I got to meet with Julian Gerwitz, who previously served as Senior Director for China and Taiwan on the National Security Council, and we got to speak about my research, which he had actually read! My most impactful learning experience was attending a closed-door roundtable concerning Taiwan with relevant subject matter experts from the U.S., China, and Taiwan all presenting and conversing with one another. While I can't comment on the contents, the conversation was deeply illuminating and provided me with a great deal of inspiration for how I might write and frame my graduate thesis here at Stanford.

Reexamining Early American Surveys of China

Ziteng Zhang, East Asian Studies

Supported by a Global Perspectives Award, East Asian studies master’s student Ziteng Zhang traveled to Princeton and Duke to examine historical records of American surveys in Beijing, gaining hands-on archival experience while shedding new light on the connections between research, imperialism, and modernization in early 20th-century China. Read about his experience below.

My historical research on American social surveys of China (1909-1928) examined how American practitioners imported, adapted, and materialized modern investigation into Chinese local society. I focused on Sidney D. Gamble and John S. Burgess’s efforts in producing empirical knowledge of Peking (Beijing). I was drawn to this topic by a deeper concern: How can we understand imperialism in the early 20th century and its entanglement with modernizing China through the lens of transnational knowledge production? 

My on-site archival visits included the Firestone Library at Princeton for Burgess’s archives and the Rubenstein Library at Duke for Gamble’s personal papers. These visits proved both productive and surprising. In addition to reports, official documents, and publications, I uncovered thought-provoking details in handwritten notebooks, letter books, and account books, such as a $100 contribution to Gamble and Burgess's survey budget and the transfer of a $30 typewriter from Burgess to his Chinese assistant. These granular facts allowed me to re-examine the production of a survey from a material perspective, situated within a transnational yet increasingly localized network of resources. 

This memorable journey was smooth and efficient thanks to the friendly, professional, and supportive staff at both libraries. I especially appreciated Caitlin Margaret Kelly at the Rubenstein Library for her helpful confirmation of the Gamble collection scope and her prompt response regarding archival service procedures. This experience was valuable and beneficial for my academic pursuits. It trained me to carefully manage logistics, accurately gather sources, and draw insights from extensive archives. I also recall some poetic moments: a light snow drifted through the sky as I finished my archival visit to Princeton, and the cherry blossoms that had been exuberantly blooming days earlier had all fallen to the ground by my last day at Duke.