Focus of the program
Georgia Tech’s East Asia program examines the economic and political development of East Asia. It uses the concept of an “East Asian developmental state” and theories about how such a “developmental state” operates to examine the development of the “East Asian flock of geese” --- Japan, South Korea (although the program does not visit South Korea), Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China. Intense classes on the East Asian development experience, theories ofthe a market-conforming but export-promoting, development-driven state, are combined with the case studies of the economic and political development of the several East Asian countries. Part of the “East Asian development model” includes the proposition that at a certain level of development economic and social changes will translate into political pressures and, ultimately, democratization. We will examine how the process of democratization occurred in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, and ask (but not answer) the question of whether mainland China will ultimately --- as economic development continues --- follow the path of democratization.
The program entails extensive travel with stops in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, Japan, Naha and Ishigaki in Japan’s Okinawan archipelago, Kaohsiung and Taipei inTaiwan, intense travel to new manufacturing centers throughout Pearl River Delta of Guangdong province, Guangzhou city, and Hong Kong. The economic symbiosis between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta will be examined, as will the role of modern maritime transportation as a key basis of the modern global economy. The passage between Japan and Taiwan will (if all goes as planned) be by ship, with frequent classes held aboard ship, and the harbors of Yokohama, Kaohsiung, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong will be visited. The stop in Naha, Okinawa will provide opportunity to visit the medieval Liuqiu monarchy’s castle and the World World II Peace Museum. There will be frequent on-the-spot “mini lectures” by the professor about the history and politics associated with spots visited.
Faculty
The program director is Dr. John W. Garver, a tenured Professor in Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and a well-known specialist on China’s foreign relations. He has authored 8 books and over 100 journal articles on China’s foreign relations, serves on the editorial board of The China Quarterly, The Journal of Contemporary China, and Asian Security, and is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. He has testified before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission of the U.S. Congress, and has consulted with various organs of the U.S. government. He established Georgia Tech’s first China program in 1995, and directed the first three cycles of that program in 1996, 1998, and 2000. He has lived, worked, and/or conducted research in various regions of China for a total of 6 years, has traveled extensively throughout Eurasia. He served with the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971 and speaks fluent Chinese. His wife is a professor of economics at Mercer University in Atlanta and specializes in Chinese and Asian economic development. Their two children are learning Chinese.
The co-director of the Japan component of the program is Dr. Brian Woodall, a tenured Professor in Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and a well-known specialist on Japan’s political economy. With a doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley, Dr. Woodall taught for several years at Harvard University before transferring to Georgia Tech. Dr. Woodall authored an influential study of the political role of the construction industry in Japan.
The “12 hour” Option: a 3 hour post-Program independent study
Program participants enrolled at Georgia Tech who desire to write during the Fall 2007 semester an in-depth research paper dealing with some aspect of East Asian development may arrange with Program director Dr. Garver to do so. This would allow students to go gain a deeper and more systematic understanding of some aspect of East Asian development touched on during the summer 2007 program. Students desiring to do such a post-Program independent study should discuss the matter with Dr. Garver before the beginning of the overseas portion of the Summer 2007 program, and specify in writing the topic of the proposed research paper. Then during the East Asian segment of the Program the student will collect data and observations dealing with the specified research topic. During the regular Phase I and Phase II registration periods for the Fall 2007 semester the student will then obtain, fill out, and file with Ms. Stephanie Jackson the “INTA Special Problems/ Directed Study Application” and register with the Registrars on-line course registration system for the “Special Problems” course created by Ms. Jackson. Ms. Jackson's telephone number is: 404-894-0342. Her email is: stephanie.jackson@inta.gatech.edu.
Students interested in this option should understand that they will be expected to research and write a serious, high quality research paper on some aspect of East Asian development.
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