The SPICE/Stanford e-Course on Global Health is a distance-learning course sponsored by Takatsuki Senior High School and the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) at Stanford University. Students are encouraged to think critically about global health through a variety of lenses and contexts. Course instructor Sabrina Ishimatsu recently wrote these reflections about the program’s 10th anniversary.

For the last ten years, it has been my privilege to work with Principal Tsuyoshi Kudo, the staff, and the students of Takatsuki Senior High School. Without the vision and leadership of Principal Kudo, this course would not be what it is today.

Many years ago, as a young college graduate, I worked as an English teacher in Japan through the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. It was one of the seminal experiences of my life. Being immersed in a new country and culture opened my mind to new ideas and possibilities I had not before considered.

All these years later, working with the Takatsuki Senior High School students has been very natsukashii (fondly nostalgic). Seeing them in their classroom and wearing their school uniforms feels so familiar and brings back great memories of my time in Japan. However, what makes this course so personally fulfilling is reconnecting to such curious and hopeful young minds. Their earnest enthusiasm and optimism imbue me with a similar youthful spirit. 

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As a middle-aged adult, it is easy to forget that the most urgent questions young people ask themselves are ones of self-identity. “Who am I? What do I stand for? Where will my future take me?” While this course doesn’t claim to answer these questions, I hope it will open students’ minds to new possibilities. Week after week, we learn from acclaimed global health professionals—including many from Stanford’s School of Medicine—who work in the real world. I recall one guest lecturer, an emergency room doctor who established the first comprehensive emergency response system in India and then created a similar system in Nepal where none had previously existed. There was also the doctor who trained community members in rural Guatemala to make house calls and monitor malnutrition in babies, drastically reducing the area’s child mortality rate. These brilliant and resourceful people, rather than focusing on material wealth, have dedicated their lives to help vulnerable people around the world. Their stories light the path for how a health professional can be a noble global citizen and change the world for the better. What a powerful example for the students of Takatsuki Senior High School who have not only gained knowledge from these experts but have also had their eyes opened to the many possibilities for them to be change-making global citizens.

There is a 16-hour time difference between Japan and California, so I usually begin teaching each class at 9:00pm on a Friday, and it ends late into the night. When a class is particularly inspiring, I find myself buzzing with excitement and I can’t go to sleep. I have to find my husband or one of my 16-year-old twin daughters to tell them all about it. When they look at me, their expression suggests, “Why are you so hyper right now?” My response usually starts, “You won’t believe the amazing person I met tonight…” and “I can’t believe the insightful questions my students asked in their second language!”

The SPICE/Stanford e-Course on Global Health is one of SPICE’s local student programs in Japan. 

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Stanford e-Minamata is a distance-learning course sponsored by Minamata City and the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) at Stanford University. Students are encouraged to think critically about environmental issues, emerging technologies, and U.S.–Japan relations. Stanford e-Minamata instructor, Natalie Montecino, recently wrote these reflections about the inaugural year of Stanford e-Minamata.

On April 22, 2025, Akane Tsukamoto and Momoka Obata, a recent graduate and an incoming senior at Minamata High School, respectively, stood before an audience filled with pride and anticipation at the Stanford e-Minamata Award Ceremony. Selected for their outstanding performance and growth, Akane and Momoka presented their reflections on the inaugural year of the e-Minamata program, launched in fall 2024 to explore vital topics such as environmental justice, the SDGs, diversity, and emerging technologies.

For many students in Stanford e-Minamata, the program marked their first experience in an English-only learning environment. Despite this challenge, the students demonstrated remarkable passion, curiosity, and determination to engage deeply with the program’s complex themes. The first year of e-Minamata has been widely recognized as a success, garnering praise throughout the city and in regional media.

Opening the Award Ceremony, Minamata City Mayor Toshiharu Takaoka shared his enthusiasm and pride: “We believe that the 30 students at Minamata High School have made great progress through this program. We have heard that the number of students taking and passing the English Proficiency Test (EIKEN) has increased since the start of this project.”

Akane and Momoka’s presentations offered a moving testament to the Mayor’s remarks.

“Through this program, I have understood that it is important to know the situation of the world, and to spend each day with that awareness to cooperate together,” shared Momoka. “I believe that ‘awareness’ and ‘cooperation’ will become the key to improving the world in the future.”

Akane’s comments underscored the significant impact the course had had on her. “I believe this experience contributed to me getting accepted into my first-choice school, the Prefectural University of Kumamoto and the Department of English Language and Literature.”

The students’ heartfelt reflections drew applause and smiles from the audience.

We were honored to welcome Yuriko Sugahara, Researcher of Education, from the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, who encouraged the students to embrace future adventures and to carry forward the “a-ha” moments that had shifted their perspectives during the course.

Following the ceremony, the students enjoyed a celebratory luncheon, a campus tour (photo below taken in the Quad), and their first Mexican-style dinner. For both Akane and Momoka, this first visit to the United States was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, one they will never forget.

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As we prepare to launch the second year of the e-Minamata program this fall, we are thrilled to continue this journey in partnership with Minamata High School and look forward to welcoming two new students to the Stanford campus in Spring 2026.

In closing, I wish to extend heartfelt thanks to Mayor Toshiharu Takaoka, the teachers and administrators of Minamata High School, and the dedicated team at Minamata City Hall, especially former Stanford Visiting Scholar, Mr. Hiroki Hara, whose unwavering support and belief in this program made this incredible milestone possible.

Stanford e-Minamata is one of SPICE’s local student programs in Japan.

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The following is a guest article written by Joan Benedict, a student from Indonesia studying at the School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University in Japan. Joan enrolled in the 2025 SPICE/Stanford–Waseda Intensive Course: Exploring Peace in East Asia and Beyond Through the Lenses of Cultural Understanding, Education, and International Relations, which was organized by SPICE and Waseda’s Faculty of Social Sciences and taught by Meiko Kotani. The course brought together students from the Graduate School of Social Sciences, the School of Social Sciences, the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, the School of International Liberal Studies, and the School of Political Science and Economics. With participants from Japan and international students representing 10 different countries, the course created a truly dynamic and diverse learning environment.

During this year’s spring break, I had the opportunity to attend the SPICE–Waseda Intensive Course, held under the theme “Exploring Peace in East Asia and Beyond Through the Lenses of Cultural Understanding, Education, and International Relations.” The course brought together passionate students from diverse countries and backgrounds, all united by shared international experiences and a curiosity for understanding our world beyond borders. Over five days, I had eye-opening discussions with lecturers and peers that reshaped how I view peace, history, and empathy.

On the first day, Dr. Gary Mukai opened the course with a compelling session on cultural understanding through the history of Japanese American incarceration. He shared the experiences of his parents growing up as Nisei, or second-generation Japanese American, and the painful stories of families separated by national loyalty during World War II. Years later, he attempted to reconnect with his relatives in Japan, uncovering stories long buried in silence. What struck me most was how genuine and human these stories were. I realized that history is so much more complex and emotional than what formal education often conveys. Understanding the emotional weight of historical events helped me move beyond just considering what happened and how it affected my nation, and instead reflect on what it meant for the families and people who lived through it.

This theme was continued on Day 2 in Mr. Rylan Sekiguchi’s lecture. His lecture helped me understand how historical bias is often not born out of malice but from the gaps in what we’re taught. In a workshop, we read descriptions of the same historical event from four different countries. The differences in tone, word choice, and framing made me question the reliability of the “truth” I thought I knew. What moved me even more was the conversation that followed. Beyond national resentment, the participating students became genuinely curious about how others saw the same events. It made me realize that history is not just a list of facts but a collection of narratives shaped by perspective. That insight alone changed how I now view historical events and interpret news.

On Day 3, we shifted from the past to modern history and present realities with Dr. Shuoyang Meng’s lecture on transnational academic mobility. He explained how academic migration has long been a catalyst for change and intellectual development across borders. After discussing the benefits of student mobility, he also touched on the struggles international students face today, particularly around career trajectories under current policies. His lecture resonated deeply with me as an international student. It pushed me to think more critically about today’s education systems, review how international interactions unfold in the job market, and recognize the importance of cultural understanding beyond just historical context.

On Day 4, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry delivered an insightful and impactful lecture on the U.S.–China security landscape. What left the deepest impression on me was his diplomatic presence—the way he communicated complex and sensitive issues with calm, clarity, and respect. He spoke about the value of strategic empathy: the ability to understand another country’s fears, intentions, and internal logic. It made me reflect on how peace is not only shaped by policy, but also by the tone and manner in which we engage with others. His sincerity and warmth were unmistakable, grounded in decades of experience across different regions and roles. Meeting someone who doesn’t just talk about peace, but truly lives it, was a rare and inspiring experience. Wrapping up the lecture, he left with a piece of advice to step outside our comfort zones, to take risks, and to explore broadly while we are still students.

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Building on everything we learned throughout the week, we ended the course by presenting our peace projects. The outcomes were as diverse as our experiences, including an international charity initiative, a healthier approach to social media, and a platform for objective media coverage. Each project represented both personal reflection and a collective commitment to reimagining peace on our own terms.

By the end of this intensive course, I was able to gain new insights and challenge my assumptions about peace: that peace is not simply the absence of conflict but the presence of empathy, trust, and genuine understanding. It is built over time through conversation, learning, and meaningful connection. What I appreciated most was how every session invited me to reflect not just on global issues but also on my own position within them—how my perspective was constructed, how my history informs my interactions, and how I can choose to respond with more care and openness.

I entered this course expecting to study diplomacy and international relations. I left with something more enduring: a community of admirable students from diverse backgrounds and experiences and the realization that peace begins with how we choose to engage—with our words, our listening, our questions, and our actions. More than an academic experience, it was a personal journey toward becoming a more thoughtful and responsible global citizen.

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The following is a guest article written by Ryoya Shinozaki, who traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area with other graduate students from the University of Tokyo—under the leadership of Professor Hideto Fukudome—in January 2025. SPICE/Stanford collaborates closely with the Graduate School of Education at the University of Tokyo and met with the students during their visit to the Bay Area.

Mariko Yang-Yoshihara’s lecture on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) education encouraged me to think about the relationship between language and interdisciplinary learning in a new way. Instead of asking how STEAM can support English education, I began to ask whether language education—particularly through CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning)—could offer something valuable to STEAM education itself, highlighting the need to integrate a human-centered perspective into the traditional STEM framework.

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CLIL and STEAM differ in their main objectives. CLIL focuses on learning both content and language simultaneously, often grounded in language acquisition theories such as Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. STEAM, in contrast, emphasizes creative and integrated thinking across science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics. Yang-Yoshihara’s lecture emphasized that the “A” in STEAM more precisely represents a human-centered perspective rooted in a liberal arts education. Language is typically seen as a communication tool, not a learning target. However, the two approaches share several features, including real-world relevance, student-centered learning, and compatibility with project-based formats.

If integrated carefully, a CLIL-STEAM model could support a wide range of learners. Students preparing for global careers could benefit from learning technical content in English. STEM-strong but English-challenged students might gain confidence through contextual language use. Vocational students could develop workplace-relevant communication skills by engaging in collaborative STEAM tasks. CLIL also offers techniques that could enhance students’ experiences in STEAM-focused learning. One is scaffolding, which helps learners express complex ideas through sentence frames, model texts, and structured support. Another is the practice of dual objectives, where teachers set both content and language goals. Finally, dual-focused assessment allows instructors to evaluate both what students know and how effectively they communicate it.

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These strategies could help make English-medium STEAM learning more accessible and effective. During our conversation, Yang-Yoshihara reflected on the STEAM-focused educational interventions used at SKY Labo, a non-profit initiative she co-founded. In SKY Labo’s bilingual design thinking workshops targeting middle and high school-aged students in Japan, responses have been mixed—some appreciated the immersive English environment and signed up for the program for that reason, while others felt that the complex topics required deeper understanding through their own native language. This tension highlights the importance of flexible program design that balances linguistic immersion with accessibility, based on students’ experiences in STEAM-focused learning.

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The following is a guest article written by Yuri Tsutsumi, who traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area with other graduate students from the University of Tokyo—under the leadership of Professor Hideto Fukudome—in January 2025. SPICE/Stanford collaborates closely with the Graduate School of Education at the University of Tokyo and met with the students during their visit to the Bay Area.

Arriving at Jtown Pizza Co. on North 6th Street, our meeting place for the Japantown study tour in Downtown San Jose led by Dr. Gary Mukai, I noticed a striking contrast between the scenery to the east and west sides of the street. On the east side stood brand-new, reinforced-concrete construction apartment buildings, while on the west side was an ivory-colored, two-story wooden building with an archaic balcony. Right beside it, I spotted a restaurant sign reading “Minato,” a familiar Japanese proper name. As I walked out onto Jackson Street, I saw more signboards of stores and restaurants related to Japan and Hawaii. In the United States, it’s probably not unusual for the atmosphere of a neighborhood to noticeably change just bygoing straight down a street, but here it felt especially distinctive. Photo of Jtown Pizza Co. (below) courtesy the Graduate School of Education at the University of Tokyo. 

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The few-block area known as “Nihonmachi”—Japantown in Downtown San Jose—has retained much of its original appearance to this day. Local Japanese American organizations—as well as non-Japanese Americans, including Chinese Americans—have made great efforts to preserve and revitalize Japantown, including its once neighboring Heinlenville, a former site of a Chinatown in San Jose. Jtown Pizza Co. now occupies what was once a Chinese restaurant called Ken Ying Low. In addition to preserving Japantown as a historic area, the Japanese American Museum of San Jose was established in 1987. The museum showcases Japanese American life from the earliest generation of immigrants to the postwar period. Artifacts like soy sauce barrels and numerous farming tools offered me a glimpse into the lives of 19th-century Japanese American farmers. A wide range of historical archives on wartime internment, along with a recreated barracks room interior and exterior from one of the camps that gave off a dusty smell, allowed me to imagine the harsh conditions endured by internees. Through this study tour, I came to realize that, although many years have passed and the environment surrounding Japanese Americans has drastically changed, the everyday lives of 19th-century Japanese American farmers and those interned during the war shared much in common with our lives in Japan today—e.g., keeping a soy sauce barrel for planting, playing baseball and sumo with close friends and neighbors on weekends, going to a local bathhouse, and so on. Thanks to the people dedicated to preserving Japantown’s heritage and passing it down to future generations, I was able to catch a glimpse of what everyday life was like back then.

In graduate school, I came to appreciate once again how much I can learn from academic books and papers digitally archived in the university library. Those learnings were, of course, invaluable—yet at the same time, this study tour made me realize how much more I could learn by engaging all five senses. During the tour, there were the firsthand stories of Japanese Americans, the scent of dust in the reconstructed camp room at the museum, the umami-rich taste of loco moco gravy at the Hawaiian restaurant Hukilau where we had lunch during the tour, the strong California sunlight breaking through the clouds, and the texture of the wooden buildings. Although there are many ways and tools to learn, stepping beyond the university library to immerse myself in other people’s lives holds deeply important meaning. What makes this kind of learning possible are the people who continue to play a crucial role in maintaining the vitality of Japantown, the museum that collects, preserves and shares Japanese American history, and the generous financial support that sustain these efforts. I am truly grateful for this opportunity and hope that these learning experiences, which gave me insight into past generations of Japanese Americans, will continue to be offered to future generations.

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Since 2022, SPICE has had the honor of collaborating with CatchLight, a visual-first media organization that leverages the power of visual storytelling to inform, connect, and transform communities. CatchLight Global fellowship, launched in 2017, supports creative leaders who want to cultivate significant audience engagement through inventive distribution methods that will increase the impact of their work.

To help support the distribution of the visuals produced by CatchLight Global Fellows to schools, SPICE has been producing teacher guides in collaboration with several of the Fellows. This work has been made possible and generously supported by the Chao Minami Family Fund.

One of the 2019 CatchLight Global Fellows with whom SPICE has collaborated is Sparsh Ahuja, Founder and CEO of Project Dastaan. On April 17, 2025, the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco hosted an Opening Celebration of a Project Dastaan exhibit. This special presentation at the Asian Art Museum is Project Dastaan’s first showing in the United States.

Dr. Padma Dorje Maitland, Malavalli Family Foundation Associate Curator of the Art of the Indian Subcontinent at the Asian Art Museum, introduced artists Sparsh Ahuja and Sam Dalrymple of Project Dastaan. Padma Dorje Maitland noted “Project Dastaan is an exciting example of global citizens using digital media to explore a difficult subject with sensitivity and compassion. This program offers an accessible, interactive space for individuals and families of South Asian diasporas to reflect on the Partition’s intergenerational impact. For audiences beyond these diasporas, it’s a chance both to learn about the Partition and to consider the moments of ‘partition’ in their own histories.” This comment prompted Amanda Minami—member of CatchLight Board of Directors and philanthropist promoting innovation at the intersection of science and the arts—and I to discuss how our Japanese American relatives were impacted following the Pearl Harbor attack and forced by the U.S. government to leave their homes on the West Coast to incarceration camps. 

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During a moving presentation by Sparsh Ahuja and Sam Dalrymple, they shared that “Project Dastaan is a peacebuilding initiative which examines the human impact of global migration through the lens of the largest forced migration in recorded history, the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan. Project Dastaan is a homage to the legacy of the millions of refugees in the subcontinent who had their lives changed overnight.” Photo above: Sparsh Ahuja and Sam Dalrymple projecting an image of Sparsh’s grandfather holding photos of himself and his wife; photo courtesy, Padma Dorje Maitland. They noted that “These stories are but a snapshot of the countless individual journeys taken by refugees during the crisis.”

To encourage educators to use Project Dastaan’s films in their classrooms, SPICE Curriculum Writers Irene Bryant, Stefanie Orrick, and Waka Takahashi Brown developed a guide for Project Dastaan. A free classroom-friendly teacher’s guide is available for download on the SPICE website and the CatchLight website. Activities in this guide include a pre-test, informational handout and assignment, and an exercise in conflict analysis. In addition, there is an extension activity that tasks students to research different modern-day conflicts, as well as an optional activity where students view one or two short films and engage in a post-viewing discussion.

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The SPICE staff highly encourages educators and students to visit the Project Dastaan Virtual Reality (VR) experience at the Asian Art Museum; photo above courtesy, Sree Sripathy. It is offered every Thursday night from 5:00 to 7:00pm, April 17–May 29, 2025.

SPICE is grateful to Amanda Minami, Elodie Mailliet Storm (CEO, CatchLight), and Erica Garber (Vice President of Development & Public Programs, CatchLight) for their unwavering support of SPICE’s collaboration with CatchLight and its Global Fellows.

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Sophie Ankeles, California
During a visit to my extended family in Japan, a cousin asked me if Americans really wear shoes indoors. Since my family is strict about taking our shoes off before entering our house, I assumed every house in America did the same. I announced with all the authority a seven-year-old could that, no, Americans do not wear shoes indoors and it was ridiculous to think so. Later, my mother revealed the shocking truth: some Americans actually do wear shoes indoors. This rocked my entire worldview. Was I American? What did it mean to be American if so many Americans disagreed on this fundamental custom? Since then, I’ve come to realize that in making this mistake, I’d stumbled upon the answer: America is a place where anyone, shoes on or shoes off, can make themselves feel at home.

I’ve also come to learn that America has deeper divides than footwear customs; some run so deep that many Americans may never see eye to eye. But just as it’s both true and false that Americans wear shoes indoors, we don’t need everyone to have the same opinions or even understand everyone else’s point of view to be part of the same community. This beautiful embrace of our sometimes contradictory culture is the core of what it means to be American.

Enzo Balbuena, California
To me, being an American means having the chance to chase my goals, but also recognizing that not everyone gets that same opportunity. As a swimmer on a national-level team, I’ve learned how much hard work and determination matter. But I also know that some people face challenges that make it harder to reach their dreams. Being an American means using my voice, standing up for what’s right, and supporting others. It’s about embracing the diversity around me and understanding that we all have different experiences. Just like in swimming, progress takes effort—and I believe being American means working together to build a fairer and more inclusive community.

Matthew Curran, New York
To me, being an American means being anything and everything. The metaphor of a “melting pot” reiterated throughout history instantly comes to mind because there is just one rule for being an American: there are no rules. As a descendant of Irish immigrants, I would not exist if there were truly requirements for being an American, and although there were times when some tried to create their own requirements, the spirit of America prevailed. Despite the efforts of those who would enforce the famous “No Irish Need Apply” attitudes (primarily in the mid-19th century), a Catholic cathedral named after the patron Saint of Ireland now spans an entire New York City block. My ancestors and the ancestors of many others refused to allow others to make their own rules, which is what makes being an American special.

Kristina Danilenko, North Carolina
I had the honor this year of attending my mother’s naturalization ceremony, a milestone not only for her, but for countless other families in the room. During the Oath, I saw expressions of joy, tearfulness, and reflection on the faces of these future Americans. Despite obstacles they may have faced, they persevered in their dreams of living out liberties sadly not afforded to many. As a Ukrainian American, I won’t shy away from sharing my disillusionment with current American politics. But I choose to believe in the fundamental ideals which have both guided millions to the United States and encouraged millions more to address injustice when these ideals have faltered. To be American is to act in hope for the pursuit of what can be, in recognition of our many imperfections.

Vivian Luo, Pennsylvania
For most of my childhood, being “American” felt like the easiest thing in the world. It meant school lunches, celebrating Christmas, and waiting for the ever-evasive toothfairy. I didn’t think much about what it meant for my parents, who had left everything behind in China for the “American Dream”—language, family, stability—for the mere possibility of a better life for their children. The Dream has always been advertised as the inevitable outcome of hard work. In truth, it’s become far more complicated. There’s uncertainty, with the growing presence of ICE, of deportations, of neighbors being labeled as outsiders. Sometimes, the Dream feels more like an unfulfilled promise. To me, being American means realizing how lucky I am to be here, and always working to build better lives.

Mooreoluwape “Lupe” Oloyede, Texas
To me, being American, especially as the child of Nigerian immigrant parents, means living at the junction of two cultures and creating something new from that mixture. It’s celebrating the Fourth of July with grilled suya and gold sparklers, or switching between Yoruba and English during dinner conversations. It’s recognizing my parents’ sacrifices while shaping an identity that reflects both where they came from and who I’m becoming. It’s the ability to carry the values of hard work and community passed down from generations of Nigerians, while embracing the diversity, opportunity, and freedom that define the American experience. Being American is the freedom to define my own identity, not as one or the other, but as both.

Haohong Ren, Hawaii
I come to this question as a Chinese immigrant who was only naturalized in 2020 after four whole years of waiting for my certificate. Coming to America has so far been the most drastic change I’ve ever experienced. Without a doubt, this experience is not only educational but it also opens a new door to an entirely new world full of opportunities, and most importantly, full of different people with different skin colors, cultural backgrounds, and values. To me, being an American means accepting others and welcoming them with open arms, trying to understand them and learning from each other. America was basically built by immigrants, so we have to value everyone’s ideas and the contribution they make. We can also understand and acknowledge where we came from and be proud of our roots. Being an American means valuing diversity and upholding the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for everyone.

Erin Tsutsui, California
When I think of America, I associate it with arms. This homonymous word captures the essence of America, as it means both physical open arms for one another, the tangible ideal of holding each other’s hands and always being united—as well as the evident usage of arms to harm one another, the 2nd amendment and the recurrence of violent outrage from it. I believe America is amazing in the way that people from all different backgrounds can come together with open arms to work towards a harmonious society. However, there are still many things to mend and reconstruct from the past and present without the use of weapons. Our call to arms should be to redeem ourselves with collaboration of peoples of all stripes, not to overwhelm one group or another with force. Being American, we need to embrace the duality of our nation and move to the better angels of our nature. Let us climb the hill together, each with our own uniqueness and individuality, but in collaboration with each other through the goal of positive change.

The unveiling of the Bracero Legacy Mural took place on April 18, 2025 in Chualar, in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County. The mural honors all Bracero workers and remembers the 32 Bracero workers who tragically lost their lives and the 22 Bracero workers who survived in a train collision in Chualar, on September 17, 1963. Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez, a historian whose research has focused on the Bracero Program, shared the following:

The Bracero Program was a series of laws that allowed the United States to recruit temporary guest workers (braceros, lit. “individuals who work with their arms”) from Mexico. As the United States entered World War II, its agriculture and railroad industries witnessed a shortage of laborers due to the U.S. military draft and the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast of the United States. The United States and Mexico entered into legal agreements that would ultimately be known as the Bracero Program, which operated from 1942 to 1964. Braceros worked throughout the United States, but the largest concentration of Braceros was employed in California. There were an estimated 4.5 million contracts signed by Braceros over the 22-year period. Today a large proportion of the Mexican American population can trace its heritage to former Braceros.

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The Bracero Legacy Mural (above) was painted and designed by contemporary artist Hanif Panni and sponsored by the Arts Council of Monterey County; photo courtesy Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo. The mural depicts a man standing in the lettuce fields of the Salinas Valley and an image of the bus that was hit by a train on September 17, 1963. Research for the mural was based on Ornelas Rodriguez’s study of the Ernesto Galarza papers at Stanford. Ornelas Rodriguez, whose grandfather was a Bracero, has spent the last 15 years studying and analyzing Galarza’s personal papers, which Galarza donated to the Department of Special Collections, Stanford University Libraries. Included in the collection are numerous files about the accident and subsequent investigations that Galarza conducted for Congress. They also include his correspondence with various families of victims and survivors. Most recently Ornelas Rodriguez has been working to locate more of the families connected to the accident.

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Ornelas Rodriguez has spoken for many years about the possibilities of a mural dedicated to Braceros with Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo, an American politician who served in the California State Assembly representing the 30th Assembly District, encompassing the Pajaro and Salinas valleys. Alejo initiated conversations with the Monterey County Arts Council, which eventually approved support for the Bracero Legacy Mural. Alejo appears in the center of the photo above. Left to right: Monterey County Supervisor Chris Lopez; Artist Hanif Panni; Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo; Consul General of Mexico, San Jose, Alejandra Bologna; and Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez; photo courtesy Dr. Ignacio Ornelas Rodriguez.

I was touched by the heartfelt comments that all of these people shared during the unveiling ceremony and felt a very strong emotional connection to the Braceros who were present for the ceremony because I spent my childhood—as a farm laborer and son of migrant farmworkers and sharecroppers—working with Braceros from the 1950s. I also felt ties to being in the Salinas Valley because that is where my family lived and worked prior to the outbreak of World War II. As mentioned by Ornelas Rodriguez, the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast of the United States—most of whom were farm workers—was one of the chief reasons for the establishment of the Bracero Program. I recommend that teachers introduce the Bracero Program—and Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the U.S. agricultural workforce broadly—to students and suggest that they consider using a lecture by Ornelas Rodriguez titled “Visualizing the Essential: Mexicans in the U.S. Agricultural Workforce.”

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The following is a guest article written by Wenxin Fu, a student from China studying at the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies at Waseda University in Japan. Wenxin enrolled in the 2025 SPICE/Stanford–Waseda Intensive Course: Exploring Peace in East Asia and Beyond Through the Lenses of Cultural Understanding, Education, and International Relations, which was organized by SPICE and Waseda’s Faculty of Social Sciences and taught by Meiko Kotani. The course brought together students from the Graduate School of Social Sciences, the School of Social Sciences, the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, the School of International Liberal Studies, and the School of Political Science and Economics. With participants from Japan and international students representing 10 different countries, the course created a truly dynamic and diverse learning environment.

If I had to pick out a few moments that reshaped how I see things, two come to mind. The first was in what seemed like an ordinary seminar classroom in the UK where I experienced, not exactly a cultural shock, but a striking contrast between the student-led discussions there and the education system I grew up with in mainland China. The second is this time, through the 2025 SPICE–Waseda program, where I encountered not just diversity, but a sense of collaborative equality, where difference didn’t translate into distance or hierarchy.

In both instances, I was far from my home country—surrounded by faces of different colors, speaking my second language, and engaging in conversations that ranged from broad theoretical questions to concrete, real-world issues. But the experiences felt very different. Back then, I was trying hard to blend in, to insert myself into a conversation shaped by others. I wanted a seat at the table, not just physically present, but to be part of the actual dialogue. This time, however, diversity felt less sharp, less hierarchical. Skin color didn’t map onto power relationships, and the usual lines between who’s “in” and who’s “out” felt blurred. I felt more comfortable speaking up, and more importantly, I felt genuinely heard.

I think this contrast also speaks to a commonly criticized tendency in international relations theory to center the dominant voices of the world’s most powerful countries. There’s now a growing emphasis on the globally relevant, rather than the globally dominant. That’s why this program’s focus on East Asia resonated so deeply with me, not only because I’m from the region, but because I’m eager to engage with perspectives and lived experiences that reflect the richness and complexity of the region. These are stories often told less loudly, but no less powerfully. This aligns with what we were often encouraged to do throughout the course: to anchor our reflections in personal experience.

And it’s also why I want this reflection to stay personal.

To be honest, even after a full semester as an international relations major, I still struggle to articulate anything truly meaningful about shifting global dynamics, geopolitical tensions, or the strategic calculus of major powers. Coming from a media studies background, I often feel I lack the kind of structural, macro-level thinking that international relations seem to require, and I’m rarely confident in how I speak about it. But still, one thing is clear to me: we don’t need to be experts to understand how important peace is. It’s not just a theory, it shapes our everyday lives and connects all of us through our shared hopes and fears. While international relations theories often emerge in response to crisis, it’s peace that fills most of our time on this planet. And peace isn’t just the pause between wars. It’s something that takes effort, patience, and long-term commitment. That’s what we should really be focusing on.

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When we ask ourselves how to contribute to something as vast as peace, I found this course offered both clarity and encouragement. It didn’t stick only to traditional international relations theories themselves, but brought in topics like cultural understanding, education, migration and mobility, and identity. Each day added a new layer, helping me connect big ideas to real-life issues. Looking back at the course title, I noticed the word “intensive.” I was mentally prepared for five days packed with lectures, seminars, group work, and a final project under pressure. But what I encountered was something else entirely. There wasn’t pressure to impress—just space to think and share. The assigned readings were meaningful but not overwhelming, and the discussions felt open and welcoming. I showed up, I listened, I reflected, I exchanged. I was inspired, not in bursts, but in a steady, unfolding way. Ideas moved, and so did I. That was the most rewarding kind of intensity for me.

I’m grateful for the way this program was designed, for the freedom to move at our own pace, and to learn in a space that felt both focused and generous. Thanks not only to my teammates, but also to the organizers who made this possible. Our group included undergraduates, master’s, and PhD students. I had concerns at first that our different nationalities, academic backgrounds, and levels of experience might lead to friction. But as we worked together on the contemporary challenges related to peace-building, I saw something quietly powerful: a shared spirit of curiosity, openness, and care. What moved between us was real peace and love, flowing quietly in the smallest units, from one person to another, and beyond.

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The following is a guest article written by Lindsay Baltzell, a student from the United States studying at the School of International Liberal Studies at Waseda University in Japan. Lindsay enrolled in the 2025 SPICE/Stanford–Waseda Intensive Course: Exploring Peace in East Asia and Beyond Through the Lenses of Cultural Understanding, Education, and International Relations, which was organized by SPICE and Waseda’s Faculty of Social Sciences and taught by Meiko Kotani. The course brought together students from the Graduate School of Social Sciences, the School of Social Sciences, the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, the School of International Liberal Studies, and the School of Political Science and Economics. With participants from Japan and international students representing 10 different countries, the course created a truly dynamic and diverse learning environment.

Stanford’s SPICE course conducted at Waseda University was a perfect opportunity to engage with the subjects I’m interested in among like-minded individuals and under the instruction of teachers with diverse yet equally valuable experiences. I was incredibly impressed with what the course was able to achieve over the course of just five days, and I left feeling more informed and inspired than when I came in.

Each lecture was engaging and concise and allowed participants to ask questions and share ideas as valued voices in the discussions. Each lecturer was receptive and responsive to what participants shared, and the topics covered were different, but related, which helped me build connections between ideas. I felt like an equal among people of diverse backgrounds and educational levels, and I believe my contributions were honored and respected. This type of atmosphere was achievable because of the care put into the course’s coordination, from the staff’s openness and willingness to communicate to the time allocated for questions and discussion.

Students were able to draw upon the lecture content to support their own presentations on the last day of the course. Initially, I was intimidated by the idea of preparing a presentation within just a few days, but everyone came together to produce thoughtful, well-informed, and unique presentations. I learned just as much from my peers’ interests and perspectives during this process as I did from the scheduled lectures. Of course, I believe this was partly due to the students themselves, but such a motivated, engaged, and intelligent group was drawn in by the course’s design (i.e., the topic of the course, being scheduled over our spring break/voluntary, being open to several departments). It was a pleasure to be able to spend time learning with these people, and we have continued to keep in touch since the course ended.

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A few memorable moments come to mind: 1) Dr. Mukai’s presentation, which I found extremely touching. His and the other presentations provided a good balance between teaching practical lessons and using pathos to bring empathy into the complex topics that were covered. What I loved about Dr. Mukai’s presentation in particular was the positive notes strung throughout that left me feeling motivated to do good work rather than discouraged by our history or the state of the world. This attitude was emblematic of the entire course. 2) The conversations with my peers, which spanned more areas of interest, expertise, and experience than I could have ever anticipated. I have been in environments like that before where there is an undeniable sense of comradery and outspokenness that everyone can appreciate—but I still believe this group was exceptional. This course was as much about being a member of a team and a dynamic ‘community’ as it was about meeting and learning from professionals in relevant fields of research.

I think this course exceeded in encouraging participation by allowing students from different faculties and education levels to participate, and by inviting guest lecturers who were excited to share their wisdom and research with us. I commend the coordinators for their obvious passion for this project and their respectful and sincere approach to speaking with the students. There was also ample time built into the course schedule for us to work on our group presentations, which helped eliminate my initial fear of a strenuous workload. Overall, I left the course with a better sense of the various topics that could fall under the title “Exploring Peace in East Asia and Beyond Through the Lenses of Cultural Understanding, Education, and International Relations.” It is a course I will be recommending to my friends and classmates.

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