50th Anniversary of East Asian Studies at Leeds University

Review by Sean Curtin

In the autumn of 1963 the fledgling Department of Chinese Studies at Leeds University opened its doors and took in its first batch of students under founding professor and great frontier explorer Owen Lattimore. September 2013 marked fifty years during which time the department has produced over 2000 graduates and morphed into the East Asian Studies (EAS) Department, expanding to include the study of Japanese and Mongolian. Today it also offers Thai, South East Asian and Asia-Pacific Studies.

To properly celebrate its Golden Jubilee, the department set up a series of lectures, talks and activities. The crowning event being a huge Anniversary Reception of former students and staff held on Friday 25 October in the university’s spacious Parkinson Court. The regal venue brought together five amazing decades of the department’s rich and diverse history in a singular unforgettable event. Staff and students from the founding and subsequent decades seamlessly intermingled with current undergraduates and staff along with representatives from the Japanese, Chinese, Mongolian and other embassies as well as many VIPs and distinguished guests.

There were a series of speeches anchored by the energetic Professor Caroline Rose, current departmental head and driving force behind the celebrations. The University’s Vice Chancellor, Sir Alan Langlands, launched the proceedings and introduced department legend Professor Don Rimmington, one of the original 1960s members of staff and a much respected former head of department. He gave a fascinating overview of the last fifty years, outlining the various challenges and highlights of the department’s dramatic history and many achievements.  For some in the audience, including myself, listening to Don once more at the lectern briefly transported us back in time to our undergraduate days in the 1980s or 1970s, and  for a few listeners even further back. Next up was Don’s dynamic successor at the helm, the renowned scholar Professor Delia Davin. She entertained the crowd with several colourful stories of life as a student at Leeds in the 1960s. These two much-loved former heads encompassed over four decades of the department’s history with Don’s career dating from its inception and Delia’s spanning up to her retirement in 2004.

Moving away from former members of staffs, the microphone was handed to Leeds graduate Andrew Seaton,  a former British Consul-General to Hong Kong & Macao and veteran diplomat. Professor Rose, Director of East Asian Studies, then rounded off the speeches, reflecting on her own two decade-long association with the department. The speakers on the stage only represented a minute fraction of the illustrious gathering of past East Asian Studies personas at the reception, which included other departmental icons like Professor Brian Hook, another long-serving original 1960s member of staff and colleague of founding father and explorer Owen Lattimore.

The Anniversary Reception amazingly managed to momentarily capture the multifaceted strands of five decades of East Asian Studies at Leeds. It was also an incredibly enjoyable evening and a fitting way to mark fifty years of outstanding achievement.

Many former students, some of whom had met their partners at Leeds, brought their children to the department on Saturday for the open day where graduate offspring got a chance to roam the spacious corridors and do a range of activities – and perhaps also demonstrate that it may not just be salmon who need to return to their spawning ground. It was a pleasant experience for many former class mates to meet up and let their children all enjoy a fun-packed day with current EAS staff and students.

One especially popular attraction was the display of class graduation photos from the 1960s to the present day which brightly decorated the walls of the department. These allowed children to glimpse youthful-looking versions of their parents in period fashions, while graduates could marvel at how young their former professors once looked. In the nearby Parkinson Court enthusiastic undergraduates performed Beijing Opera, Thai dances and Japanese pop songs. There was also a range of talks on Chinese culture, Owen Lattimore and department history plus some outstanding exhibitions. For the more energetically inclined a team of current EAS students raced around a brave Alumni team in a 7-a-side East Asian Studies football match. All in all, it was an absolute brilliant weekend which successfully incorporated every strand of the five decade-long intricate EAS tapestry. Professor Caroline Rose and her fantastic team deserve our upmost thanks for organizing such an unforgettable and exhilarating event.