The Darien Community Association’s 2013 Academic Lecture Series on Global Issues-“China Changes the Guard”- begins Thursday morning January 9th with ”China in the Age of Ambition: New Leaders, New Challenges, presented by Evan Osnos, China Correspondent at “The New Yorker” magazine, and author of the “Letter from China” blog at newyorker.com.
After two decades of the relentless pursuit of wealth and the lifting of hundreds of millions from hunger and poverty, China is at the cusp of a decision about what kind of a great power it wants to be. Evan Osnos is fascinated by the struggle between ambition and communism, a struggle which will impact the extraordinary potential of China’s own people and values, and will drive relationships with bordering neighbors and the U.S.A.
He asks: “How will the new leaders, angry youth, the wealthy and the poor find meaning and new values in China’s Age of Ambition? How will they use and control their growing power?” Osnos believes that the relationship between China and America will prove to be the most important diplomatic relationship in the world.
For eight years, Osnos has lived with his wife one block north of the Forbidden City in a traditional courtyard house. As the China Correspondent for “The New Yorker” magazine, Osnos has covered the Senkaku Islands dispute with Japan, the Snowden affair, the aftermath of the Fukushima meltdown as well as many profiles of Chinese activists, politicians, and peasants. This fall, he and his wife returned to Washington, D.C., where he will be “The New Yorker’s” roving correspondent for politics and foreign affairs.
Prior to this, Osnos worked as the Beijing bureau chief for the “Chicago Tribune,” where he contributed to a series on product safety that won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. He also received the Asia Society’s Osborn Elliott Prize for Excellence in Journalism on Asia. Before his appointment in China, he worked in the Middle East, reporting mostly from Iraq. He is a graduate of Harvard University.
In May, his book, "Age of Ambition," will debut. At the heart of the book are the lives of a tycoon, a teacher, an artist, a criminal. Osnos says that he often spent the morning with a dissident under house arrest and the evening with an oligarch. Through the lens of individuals, from all walks of life, Osnos portrays the battleground between aspiration and authoritarianism that is throwing China into uncharted realms. Don’t miss this speaker.
The Academic Lecture Series Thursday morning lectures continue with “China Goes Global on January 16th, “The Digital Dragon: China’s Role in Cyberspace” on January 23rd and “China’s Maritime Neighbors” on January 30th. All morning lectures are at 10:00am at the DCA. An evening lecture, “The New Guard’s Agenda: U.S.-China Relations,” will be held Monday, January 27th at 8:00pm, preceded by a reception at 7:30pm.
Tickets for the morning series are available for $80 or $65 for DCA members. Some single tickets will be available at the door. Tickets for the evening lecture are $25. Register by mailing a check, made payable to DCA Lectures, to Amy Squyres, One Mansfield Place, Darien, CT 06820. Enclose a self-addressed envelope or pick up prepaid tickets at the door. For more information, view dariendca.org, contact the DCA at info@dariendca.org or call 203-655-9050. The DCA is located at 274 Middlesex Road in Darien.
