Presented by Mohammed Ayoob, University Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Relations, Michigan State University

This lecture argues that modern India has made a distinctive contribution to the discipline of International Relations through the development of an identifiable tradition of international thought that may legitimately be described as an Indian School of International Relations. Rather than viewing India's contribution as limited to concepts such as non-alignment or Panchsheel, the lecture contends that these ideas formed part of a broader and more coherent intellectual framework whose principal architect was Jawaharlal Nehru.

The lecture challenges the conventional portrayal of Nehru as merely the principal maker of India's foreign policy or as an idealist whose ideas were discredited by the Sino-Indian War of 1962. It argues instead that Nehru should be recognized as a major twentieth-century international thinker who sought to reconcile realism with ethical restraint, national interest with international legitimacy, and power with moral purpose. The organizing principle of his thought was strategic autonomy, understood not as neutrality or equidistance between rival power blocs but as the preservation of independent judgment in the conduct of foreign policy.

Finally, the lecture reassesses the major strategic crises of 1962 and 1971, arguing that they did not represent the collapse of Nehru's vision but rather demonstrated the flexibility of strategic autonomy under changing geopolitical circumstances. It concludes that the continuing emphasis of contemporary Indian foreign policy on strategic autonomy now termed multi-alignment reflects the enduring influence of this intellectual tradition pioneered by Jawaharlal Nehru. Recognizing the Indian School enriches both the history of International Relations and the discipline's understanding of non-Western contributions to international thought.

This lecture is based on Professor Ayoob's book: "From Regional Security to Global IR: An Intellectual Journey."

Artificial Intelligence and the Study of Ancient Chinese Characters

This presentation mainly introduces the current situation of the research on ancient Chinese characters in terms of integrating and utilizing artificial intelligence technology, with a special focus on the work and achievements of the "Artificial Intelligence Laboratory for Ancient Characters and Artifacts" at Jilin University in this regard. The content covers the conveniences and limitations brought by artificial intelligence technology to the research of ancient characters and related fields, as well as future improvements and directions of work.

Wu Zhenwu, born in Shanghai in 1957, graduated from Jilin University in 1984 and holds a PhD in History. He currently serves as a professor at the School of Archaeology and the Institute of Ancient Books at Jilin University, and as the president of the Chinese Ancient Script Research Association, and the deputy director of GU WEI HUI. He has previously held positions such as vice president of Jilin University, dean of the Graduate School, and director of the Institute of Ancient Books. His primary research focus is on Chinese ancient scripts. He has published seven monographs and over 100 papers, and has received various awards including the Excellent Achievement Award from the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China.

This event is made possible by the Joseph Lee Fund for Visiting Scholars in Chinese Studies Endowment, administered by the MSU Asian Studies Center.

Yanniv David Levy is a researcher and curator in the Coin Department of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), with a specialty in experimental technologies and numismatics. In addition to managing the Mediterranean's largest collection of ancient coins with archaeological provenance, Yanniv has worked extensively with computer scientists on machine learning applications for the study of Roman and Hellenistic coins. He also works in the field with IAA excavations, such as the recent Old City dig at the Jerusalem Archaeological Garden, Davidson Center, which uncovered a rare coin minted by Jewish rebels in the months before the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE.

Limited seating. Contact Ariana Mentzel if you would like to reserve a seat: mentzela(at)msu.edu.

In this talk, Mr. Leth Oun will share his remarkable journey from surviving the Cambodian genocide and spending years in refugee camps to building a new life in the United States and becoming the first Cambodian American to serve as a U.S. Secret Service officer, protecting four U.S. presidents. Drawing from his memoir, A Refugee's American Dream, he will share his personal experiences of trauma, displacement, and resilience, offering a powerful perspective on survival, identity, and the pursuit of the American Dream.

Inspired by The Vegetarian, the Nobel Prize-winning novel by Han Kang, Transfigurations is an interdisciplinary work performed by the Lisa Sung Ensemble and created, composed, and curated by Korean American jazz pianist and composer Lisa Sung. Centered on Sung's original song cycle and contemporary improvisations, the performance brings selected passages from the novel into dialogue with music, voice, and movement.

For this presentation hosted by the MSU College of Music, Sung collaborates with theatre director Ji Won Jeon, whose staging integrates spoken text, expressive movement, and musical performance. Through passages drawn from the novel, actors and musicians explore the experiences of the novel's main character, tracing her resistance to the expectations imposed on her body, family, and identity.

Presented with support from the Asian Studies Center and Council on Korean Studies at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan's Nam Center for Korean Studies, the Lisa Sung Ensemble brings Transfigurations to life through sound, language, and movement, exploring themes of silence, violence, resistance, and transformation.

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The Maccabean Crisis that ended in Hanukah (164 BCE) is often remembered as a famous cultural conflict against or over Hellenism. But to truly understand what the Maccabees were fighting for or against, we need to know what the arrival of Seleucid rulers in 198 BCE meant for regular people, and coinage can provide that perspective.

During the Roman Civil War of 49-45 BCE that pitted Caesar and his party against Pompey and his supporters, Jews in Asia Minor (Turkey) and on the east Greek island of Cos found themselves caught in the middle. Here, too, the images on coins provide unique historical insights.

Noah Kaye is an associate professor in the History Department at MSU and an affiliate faculty member of the Serling Institute for Jewish Studies and Modern Israel. He has published articles on the world of the Maccabees in journals such as Historia and the Journal for the Study of Judaism. He is currently working with Israeli archaeologists to find new ways of seeing the past by using data science to investigate the coin archive of the Israel Antiquities Authority.