"Asian Varieties of Socialism: China, India, Vietnam," a roundtable panel sponsored by the Harvard-Yenching Institute and the Harvard University Asia Center.
Date: Monday, March 28, 2011
Time: 4:00-6:00 PM
Location: Lower Level Conference Room, Busch Hall; 27 Kirkland St., Cambridge, MA
Panelists:
PRASENJIT DUARA
Raffles Professor of Humanities and Director, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
RAMACHANDRA GUHA
Harvard-Yenching Institute Ingalls Fellow
HUE-TAM HO TAI
Kenneth T. Young Professor of Sino-Vietnamese History, Harvard University
WANG SHAOGUANG
Professor, Department of Government and Public Administration, Director, Universities Service Centre for China Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Moderated by Elizabeth J. Perry
Henry Rosovsky Professor of Government, Harvard University; Director, Harvard-Yenching Institute
These days the rapidly rising nations of China and India are often contrasted as examples of “authoritarian” versus “democratic” paths of (capitalist or quasi-capitalist) development. But when their current political systems were first established, some sixty years ago, leaders in both countries were strongly attracted by the promises of socialism. The same was true of the reunified Vietnam in
1976, which – like China and India – subsequently embarked upon an impressive economic reform program. What did these various countries initially find so appealing about socialism? To what extent did their interpretations reflect Asian, as opposed to European, experiences and values? And what influence, if any, do such socialist legacies exert on contemporary practices in the three countries?
This roundtable brings together an inter-disciplinary group of distinguished international scholars and public intellectuals – based in India, Hong Kong, Singapore and the US -- to offer their perspectives on these complex questions.
Contact: strogatz@fas.harvard.edu or visit www.harvard-yenching.org/events/upcoming
