The relationships one forms in graduate school are very often among the longest-lasting relationships in one’s life, since today’s teachers and classmates are tomorrow’s colleagues. The Department believes that the vitality of its intellectual community depends greatly upon the participation of its graduate students in the life of the Department.
“Participation” involves much more than simply attending classes and turning in one’s work. There is a whole host of activities – lectures, seminars, workshops, conferences, screenings, readings, performances, and so on – which students and faculty jointly attend and which are just as important in providing the stuff of conversation and intellectual exchange and the inspiration for future collaboration. Taking active part in such events is especially important in EALC, as the Department differs from many others in that its students are unified by a common interest in the languages, literatures, histories, and cultures of East Asia, and not by a shared discipline.
The number of Asia-related events at Harvard is very great; in some weeks, there are two or three events every day, and on weekends during the term there is as likely as not some kind of workshop taking place. One ends up having to choose carefully what to attend. But not to attend would be to miss out on a major part of one’s education, since it is frequently at these events – and particularly the discussions following presentations – that one sees ideas (and sparks!) fly most passionately. To be notified in advance of upcoming Asia-related events, students are encouraged to sign up for the Asia Bulletin, a weekly electronic listserv published by the Asia Center with comprehensive information on all relevant goings-on. To subscribe, contact Michelle Blouin.
Students should also pay attention to posters and flyers in mailboxes and in the halls, and to e-mails sent directly by the Asia Center, the Fairbank Center, the Reischauer Institute, and the Korea Institute. Students in a particular discipline should be aware of activities outside EALC. For instance, HEAL students should be aware of events sponsored by the Department of History; students in literature, of activities at the Humanities Center and the various literature departments, such as Comparative Literature; and students in Buddhism, of talks in the Buddhist Studies Forum and activities at Divinity School.
Special attention is called to those events of which the Department itself is the primary sponsor, such as the China Humanities Seminar (on Monday afternoons in the Harvard-Yenching Common Room).
To complement these extracurricular academic offerings, the Department supports a number of casual social events during the year, including Fall and Spring parties. Receptions typically follow talks held in the Department, and take place on the second floor at 2 Divinity. Announcements of these events are made a few weeks in advance.
Graduate student social life is centered on the EALC Graduate Student Lounge, an admittedly modest space located on the first floor at 9 Kirkland Place. The lounge offers computers, wireless access to the internet, and a couple of comfortable chairs. Graduate student mailboxes are here, too, and job postings and announcements of talks are posted for easy reference. The lounge is adjacent to a kitchen and a refrigerator, which is at the disposal of all. There is another refrigerator in the kitchen upstairs at 2 Div, and a very small refrigerator in the H-Y Common Room.
Department social life has been greatly enhanced by the Graduate Social Committee, which is responsible for organizing events such as the every other Friday Happy Hour. More information on the activities of the Social Committee is available from the Graduate Program Coordinator or from current members of the Committee: Kwan Woo Hahn, Jonah Katz, and Suiyun Pan.