Speaking of Japan

The Rosenfield program sponsors a week-long symposium on modern Japan, bringing former Ambassador William Clark to campus among others

by Brendan Mackie

U.S. Ambassador to India William Clark delivers a talk on “Changing the Face of the Empire”
Tuesday in the Forum South Lounge as part of an Rosenfield symposium on the changing face
of modern Japan.

photo by Saurabh Saraf

What brings ambassadors, mayors, presidents, Nobel Prize winners and other lecturers to our tiny corn-farming hamlet? It’s the Rosenfield program, a series of talks held four times a year on a variety of international issues. “The issues cover the whole waterfront,” said Wayne Moyer, Political Science, director of the program. “Anything that can be fit into public affairs, international relations and human rights.”
The Rosenfield program was established by Grinnell trustees in 1979 for a number of reasons. “One was to honor Joe Rosenfield ‘25 who had done an enormous amount of good for the college,” Moyer said. According to Moyer, Rosenfield had shown particular interest in international involvement and had sponsored lectures as early as the 1930s as a way to “stimulate discussion on topical issues related to public affairs, international relations and human rights.”
This week the Rosenfield program, along with the Freeman Foundation Asian Studies Initiative, sponsored symposia about the changing face of modern Japan. It was the first such series focusing exclusively on Japan. “We wanted it such as you could get an overall picture of Japanese society today,” Moyer said, “but also so you could get a sense of the influences of the past.”
Because of this, the symposium covered a wide range of issues, from a talk titled “The Ambivalence of Modernization: Early Modern to Postmodern in Japan” to a showing the 1954 film classic The Seven Samurai. “The line-up professor Moyer has is absolutely superb,” said symposium participant and former U.S. Ambassador to India William Clark. “Everyone is super.”
Other talks included professor of History Andrew D. Gordon’s “Layered Legacies: Imprints of War,” “Occupation and Recovery in Present Day Japan” and professor of Japanese Norma Field’s convocation on “What’s So Great About Realism? Two Cheers for the Realistic No-War Clause and Other Citizen Causes.”
Clark, who is now the President of the Japan-America Student Conference, gave the first lecture on Tuesday afternoon. “I didn’t try to be an expert in any particular field in the introductory talks I gave today,” he said. Instead he sought to give a brief overview of Japan’s recent history, from the 1930s to the present, focusing specifically on the “three pillars of Japanese society”: economics, politics and lifestyle. To do this he drew heavily on his own 14 years of living in Japan as a member of the foreign service and told many anecdotes and stories about the various people he met during his term, including an Emperor or two.
Clark said that one reason he came to the symposium was to see Grinnell. “My first boss in the foreign service was a Grinnell graduate,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about Grinnell over the years, and, in fact, a lot of people from Grinnell end up in Washington—some in the State Department, but also in other various government jobs. There seems to be a sense of public service here.”
This sentiment was echoed by Moyer, who said that informing Grinnellians of policy issues was one of the Rosenfield program’s goals. “What is the best way of preparing people to go out in the world?” he asked. “Grinnell is isolated, but if you bring people from the world here and give students a chance to meet with them and interact with them on a one-to-one basis they benefit from the experience. I really think there’s merit in the personal link.”
This enthusiasm was shared by students attending Clark’s talk. Ariel Wolter ‘06, who hopes to major in Japanese, planned to see every symposium she could fit in her schedule.
Symposium speeches such as Clark’s can also add to things learned in academic courses. “I’m taking Japanese History II and my professor, [Andrew] Hsieh, encouraged me to come,” John Snyder ‘05 said. “I thought a primary perspective on Japanese history would be helpful.”
The visiting dignitaries also enjoy the personal interaction with Grinnellians. “I just love to do work with young people who are interested in what I am,” Clark said.