Upcoming Events

02-04-2026 Cambodia and Thailand: Conflict, Diplomacy, and Regional Power with Sophal Ear

Wednesday, February 4, 2026
1:30pm - 3pm EST
Via Zoom

Please register for the link.

This talk examines the recent escalation in tensions between Cambodia and Thailand, situating the conflict within longer histories of border disputes, domestic politics, and regional diplomacy. It explores how military signaling, public narratives, and international forums shape bargaining power between the two countries, and considers what this episode reveals about ASEAN norms, sovereignty, and conflict management in mainland Southeast Asia.

02-11-2026 From Kakilala to Kapamilya: Building Connections through Filipino Language with Lady Aileen Orsal

Monday, February 11
5 PM - 6:30 PM
121 Bay State Road, Boston MA

Please register here.

More than words, language is a bridge that connects individuals and strengthens relationships. This is a Filipino language beginner-friendly workshop to introduce everyday phrases and simple dialogues that will help participants transition from simple greetings to finding belonging in a community that speaks Filipino. The practical examples to be included are expected to help participants gain cultural understanding and basic language skills to engage in meaningful interactions that inspire and empower.

Lady Aileen Ambion Orsal is the first Filipino language preceptor at Harvard University. She also served as a university instructor in the Philippines for about ten years. She has a graduate degree in both Philippine Studies and Communication Studies with a certificate in Southeast Asian Studies. Her current project involves the use of museums as an extension of a language classroom and the value of multicultural stories and films in language learning. She is currently an active member of the Council of Teachers of Southeast Asian Languages (COTSEAL), the Consortium for the Advancement of Philippine Languages and Cultures (CAPLAC), and the Unified Federation of Fil-Am Educators (UNIFFIED) – Massachusetts Chapter.

02-12-2026 – Learning from Japan: Expos Past, Present and Future with Angus Lockyer

Thursday, February 12
4 PM – 5:30 PM
121 Bay State Road, Boston MA

Please register here.

Last summer saw crowds flocking to Expo 2025 on a reclaimed island in Osaka Bay. This may be a surprise, given its absence in the western media and the assumption among many that the age of expos is over. In this talk, we'll explore why expos are still a going concern. We'll start with a report from Osaka, then travel back in time, to understand how Japan got there, adopting the form of modern expos from the West in the 19th century, but also adapting it over the course of the 20th as a tool for development. Drawing on a recently-published book, the story will take us from early 18th-century exhibitions -- materia medica, exotic animals, animated puppets, and revealed deities -- through industry and empire, war and peace, technology and environment. We won't have time to look at all the 1,300-plus expos Japan has seen in the last 150 years. But we'll see enough to understand how Japan's use of them has served its own needs, and provided a model that continues to be adopted beyond its borders.

Angus Lockyer was educated in Dorset, Cambridge, Seattle, and California, and has taught Japanese, East Asian, and global history in North Carolina and London. Exhibitionist Japan: The Spectacle of Modern Development was published by Cambridge University Press earlier this year. Japan: A History in Objects, based on the collection of the British Museum, will come out from Thames and Hudson in early 2026. He currently lives in Rhode Island and teaches at Rhode Island School of Design.

02-19-2026 Ten Weeks by Ship Along the China Coast with Grant Rhode

Thursday, February 19, 4 PM - 5:30 PM
121 Bay State Road, Boston MA

Please register here.

Grant Rhode, BU maritime historian and China analyst, will share his experiences while lecturing along the China coast, visiting ten of the world's largest ports. He will also discuss his research agenda at Beijing Language and Culture University from 2026 to 2028.

Grant Rhode teaches and researches at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University where he is Senior Fellow in the International History Institute and Research Affiliate of the Center for the Study of Asia. He is also Associate in Research at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University. Concurrently, he is Wutong Chair Professor at the College of Sinology and China Studies of Beijing Language and Culture University, responsible for teaching and research in China during fall semesters 2025-2028. He was formerly Adjunct Professor at the U.S. Naval War College and Visiting Scholar at the National Taiwan University.

Dr. Rhode’s current research focuses on China’s role in contemporary and historical Eurasian maritime affairs. On the contemporary front, his forthcoming book with Pardee School co-editors is Investigating the Belt and Road: The World According to China and China According to the World (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2026). Since 2019, he has directed Boston University’s program Assessing China’s Belt and Road Initiative. On the historical front, his recent book is Great Power Clashes Along the Maritime Silk Road: Lessons from History to Shape Current Strategy (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute Press, 2023). Other recent publications include “Shi Lang’s Amphibious Conquest of Taiwan in 1683” (2024), “Tasting Gall: Chiang Kai-Shek and China’s War with Japan” (2022), “China’s Emergence as a Power in the Mediterranean: Port Diplomacy and Active Engagement” (2021), “China, Global History, and the Sea” (2020), “Mongol Invasions of Northeast Asia: Korea and Japan” (2020), and “By Land and By Sea: China’s Belt and Road in Europe” (2019).

In addition to his academic career, Dr. Rhode had a career in business entrepreneurship in which he was founder and CEO of three firms in the construction industry. As a public lecturer, he is Viking Resident Historian aboard Viking Ocean Cruise ships in the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Coral, and China Seas.

Recent teaching at the Pardee School:

Diplomacy & Statecraft
The Sea in International Relations
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific Region