[KS] Re: AKSE Conference and the International Dimension

Thomas Zeh thomaszeh at hotmail.com
Thu Mar 11 03:05:41 EST 1999


Dear list members,

i agree with Andrea Campana that topics related to "Korea and World 
Affairs" are somehow not represented sufficiently, but i can also 
understand the more "traditional" approach of AKSE. In my short career 
as an academic i have only attended a few conferences yet, but in some 
cases i found talks besides the schedule more useful than the official 
presentations. Therefore i would like to propose that Koreanists who are 
interested in the international dimension should announce their interest 
with a remark on the registration list and try to come together to share 
their views, maybe at lunch or dinner times. 
This proposal is by no means meant as an alternative to the official 
AKSE conference.
Sincerely yours

Thomas Zeh

Philipps-University Marburg/
Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Ebenhausen; Germany



>From: "Andrea Campana" <md3206 at mclink.it>
>Reply-To: korean-studies at mailbase.ac.uk
>To: "Korean-studies Durham" <korean-studies at mailbase.ac.uk>
>Subject: AKSE Conference and the International Dimension
>Date: Wed, 10 Mar 1999 11:12:12 +0100
>
>Dear friends Koreanists,
>
>I am now putting on the net some thoughts of mine, at the eve of the
>biennial
>AKSE conference in Hamburg, hoping to receive some feedback from you.
>
>What I am seeing from the provisional schedule of the contributions of 
the
>Conference and from what I remember about the topics discussed at the
>previous Stockholm conference, is that the AKSE seems to neglect an
>important
>aspect in the life of a country considered as any other country of our
>world.
> 
> My impression is that all what is concerning to the relations between
>Korea
> and the international environment (Foreign Policy, Security, 
Cooperation,
> International Law, International Economics, International Relations) 
is
> strongly underrepresented. (This is what the Korean scholars call 
"Korea
> and World Affairs").
> 
> Furthermore, it is my opinion that in the topics of the researches
> presented, the cultural and social approaches (et similia) are too 
much
> privileged. Far from me to say that this kind of approach is wrong and
> doesn't give a clear idea of very important aspects of the Korean 
life,
>but
> I think that sometimes the researches on the institutional structure 
of
>the
> state and its functioning can be interesting (and useful). As for the
> papers relating to history, I would add that "narrative" history can
>explain
> the reality of the past with great effectiveness (sometimes in a 
clearer
> way than social history).
> 
>Finally, I think that in our contemporary world (where applied 
Communism
>has failed) the objections relating to the sensitiveness of political
>issues are very fragile. I know that for the Koreans this is not so, 
for
>some clear
>reasons which I understand, but I think that the international 
scholars'
>duty is also
>to defuse the political struggle in Korea, adopting a more "world-wide
>point of view".
> 
> 
> Sincerely yours
> 
> 
> Andrea Campana
>
> University of Florence (Italy)
>

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