PAAC Global Vision Summit on Climate Change

Posted on March 4, 2018 by kgovella

On Saturday, March 3, the Pacific and Asian Affairs Council brought together 189 students from 27 high schools on 5 islands for their Global Vision Summit on Climate Change hosted at UH West Oahu. Students played the roles of delegates representing specific nations, negotiating blocs, or interests groups. The goal was to reach a global agreement that keeps global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celcius. The simulation utilized C-ROADS, a computer simulator that shows the long-term climate impacts of negotiated policy actions. I had a great time participating as the Community Expert for the US negotiating team. Other experts advising the student teams were drawn from the United Nations Development Programme, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the East-West Center, the Hawaii Institute for Human Rights, the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Tsuchiyama & Associates, and the Australian Consulate-General in Honolulu.

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Interview in The New York Times

Posted on February 23, 2018 by kgovella

I was recently interviewed in The New York Times about Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono. Since Kono was appointed in August 2017, there has been much speculation about his potential as a future leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and of Japan.

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Talk at Japan Studies Association, Spring 2018 Courses

Posted on January 7, 2018 by kgovella

After a wonderful fall semester as a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard University Program on US-Japan Relations, I am back in Honolulu and off to a running start. I presented some of my new research on Japanese defense capacity building assistance and Abe-era security reforms at the Japan Studies Association annual conference here in Honolulu on January 6. I also chaired a very lively panel on “Japan in the Global Economy (Just Not How You Thought),” where we talked about the Tokyo Olympics, fermented food production, and pedagogy.

I’m offering two courses at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa this semester: an undergraduate course called Contemporary Asian Civilizations (ASAN 312) and our program’s graduate-level Research Seminar in Asian Studies (ASAN 750). There are still a few more open spots left!

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Interview in The New York Times

Posted on November 17, 2017 by kgovella

I was recently interviewed by The New York Times about the “fresh start” in Sino-Japanese relations announced by Prime Minister Abe and President Xi and the potential for meaningful improvement between the two countries.

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Interview on BBC World News

Posted on November 11, 2017 by kgovella

I enjoyed speaking with BBC World News this evening about President Trump’s visit to Asia and trade policy.

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Interview in The Washington Post

Posted on November 5, 2017 by kgovella

I was recently interviewed by The Washington Post about American alliances in Asia and President Trump’s contrasting personal relationships with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Korean President Moon Jae-in up to this point.

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New: Japan’s Quest to Preserve the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Posted on October 26, 2017 by kgovella

I have a short article out in Asia Dialogue today on Japan’s efforts to keep the Trans-Pacific Partnership alive after the US withdrawal from the agreement in January. Thanks to the editors for inviting me to be part of their series of pieces focusing on Japan.

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Talk at Harvard Program on US-Japan Relations

Posted on October 19, 2017 by kgovella

On October 17, I gave a talk on my book project at the Harvard University Program on US-Japan Relations. I am currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Program on US-Japan Relations, which is part of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. I spoke about the framework of my project, which looks at how internationalization affects the politics of trade, and presented findings from three very different sectors: agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and insurance.

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Course Collaboration with the University of Washington

Posted on September 15, 2017 by kgovella

This summer, I had the pleasure of collaborating with the University of Washington Honors Program to pilot a new study abroad course in Tokyo. Being a proud UW Honors alum (and former program staff member), I was honored when Associate Director Julie Villegas asked me to help send the first-ever group of 12 Honors students to Tokyo, Japan. We created a three-week interdisciplinary curriculum on the topic of “Constructing Japanese Identity: Comparing National Narratives in Japan and the US,” exploring the complex and shifting web of narratives surrounding Japanese national identity in a comparative perspective. We drew on materials from both the social sciences and the humanities to discuss identity from a variety of perspectives, including history, politics, race, gender, age, religion, art, culture, and food. In addition to attending lectures by faculty from Waseda University, Toyo University, Sophia University, the Fulbright Foundation, and other Tokyo-based organizations, students also had the opportunity to visit key sites in Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Kyoto.

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From DKI APCSS to Harvard to the University of Hawaii

Posted on August 18, 2017 by kgovella

   

I recently said “a hui hou” (“until we meet again”) to my colleagues at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. I’ll be making a transition to a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and then returning to Honolulu to take up a tenure-track position in the Asian Studies Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. I had an amazing time as a faculty member at DKI APCSS, a unique hybrid institution that brings together education, research, and policy under one roof. I look forward to keeping in touch with all of my former colleagues and students!

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