About AWC
Mission
Founded in 2006, the Asian World Center is focused on constructing and engaging in a unique relationship among the cultures of Asia and the Western world. Through comparative study, collaborative research, and intercultural exchange, the AWC takes a multifaceted and comprehensive approach towards the education of the self and society. The final aim being to build a better world for all humankind by bringing together the necessary tools for continued understanding and progress.
About the Director
Dr. Maorong Jiang is an Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations and Director of the Asian World Center here at Creighton University. Born in China, Dr. Jiang began his teaching career at the age of 18, working as a faculty member of the Department of International Relations at the Military College of International Relations in China. He would begin his graduate studies at the Beijing Foreign Affairs College and complete them in the U.S. at the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a Ph.D. in Political Science with a focus in Future Studies. Dr. Jiang has studied at the China- Europe Institute at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, the Munich University in Germany, USIA, and the East West Center in Honolulu. Since 2003, Dr. Jiang has been with Creighton University, here in Omaha, building the Asian World Center from the ground up, and also constructing a name for himself as a well-respected authority on the affairs of Asia, the United States, and the world. Aside from hosting numerous lectures and events through the Asian World Center, Dr. Jiang has been an active member of the Center for Global Nonkilling and in authoring articles concerning East West Studies.
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Mana Nakano - JOI Coordinator
Mana is associated with the Asian World Center as a JOI (Japan Outreach Initiative) Coordinator. The mission of JOI is to promote awareness and understanding of Japan in regions of the U.S. through introducing various kinds of activity related to Japan. She would be happy to offer teaching origami, Japanese calligraphy, cooking, Japanese language lessons and more to the community.
Her first experience in the international community came when Mana was 34 years old, when she decided to study abroad in Sydney, Australia. She interacted with local people as a volunteer to introduce Japanese culture. This sparked her interest in cultural exchange experiences and led her to reconsider how Japan is fascinating.
After returning to Japan, Mana started teaching the Japanese language as a volunteer to foreign people residing in Japan. Through this activity, she deeply understood the importance of having another perspective from outside of her comfort-zone in Japan. Mana hopes to blend into her host community and culture wile maintaining a Japanese perspective.
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Wyatt Greco - Program Assistant
Wyatt John Greco is a senior from Sacramento, California, graduating with a double-major in history and international relations. As a member of Creighton' Global Scholars Program and Ashton Welch History Fellows Program, Wyatt has studied abroad three times (in Italy, the Dominican Republic, and Spain) and has conducted research in multiple subject areas during his time at Creighton. His internship experiences include positions with a D.C. think tank and with state government leaders in both Nebraska and California. After graduation, Wyatt will begin a two-year Master of Public Policy Program at the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy in Malibu. Afterward, he hopes to begin a full-time career in policy analysis.
Dr. Maorong Jiang was honored by the India Association of Nebraska
Dr. Maorong Jiang, Director of the Asian World Center and Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations, was recognized by the Indian Association of Nebraska for his "admirable efforts in collaboration with the Indian Association of Nebraska to improve US-India relations." The award was presented to Dr. Jiang by Congressman Don Bacon during the ceremony in celebration of the 60th anniversary of India's Independence Day.
Pictured: Congressman Don Bacon, on behalf of the Indian Association of Nebraska, presented Dr. Jiang with the award on stage on August 28, 2022
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Publications and Recordings
The Asian World Center is proud to assist and sponsor the publication of multiple works since its establishment in 2006. The works focus on the unique relationship among the cultures of Asia and the West as well as the continued goal of a nonkilling world. Additionally, the AWC has assisted or sponsored over 20 KIOS news programs associated with International Relations and Political Science.
- https://nonkilling.org/center/book-review/nonkilling-futures-visions/
- https://nonkilling.org/center/book-review/nonkilling-security-and-the-state/
- https://nonkilling.org/center/2013/11/30/new-book-nonkilling-media/
- https://nonkilling.org/center/2022/04/17/book-release-peace-portraits-pathways-to-nonkilling/
Asian World Center Lectures on Public Radio
KIOS Noon Forum with Host Bob Coate (CD Format and Podcast)
- Lecture by Robert Kumaki, Principal of the Ronin Group, and author of “Many Cultures, One Market: A Guide to Understanding Opportunities in the Asian Pacific American Market.” Topic is “Marketing to Asian America 3.0”
http://kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-12417 - Lecture by Gregg Johnson, Professor of Political Science, and Department Chairman at Valparaiso University. Topic is “The China Factor and United States – Cuban Relations”
http://kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-82817 - Lecture by Richard Witmer, Professor of Political Science at Creighton University, and co-author, with Jeff Corntassel, of “Forced Federalism: Contemporary Challenges to Indigenous Nationhood”. Topic is “Forced Federalism: Indigenous Nations and State Government Relations”
http://kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-82117 - Lectures by Maorong Jiang, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations, and the Director of the Asian World Center at Creighton; Audel Salazar, East-West Graduate Student. Topics are “Official Religious Policy in China” and “Eye-Witness Reality of the Chinese Muslims: Practicing Islam in Communist China”
http://kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-81417 - Poetry reading and a performance on the gu zheng by Fiona Sze-Lorrain, poet, literary translator, musician, and author of “The Ruined Elegance”.
http://kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-5117 - Lecture by Chenyang Li, Professor and the Founding Director of the Philosophy Program at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore
Title: “Care and Justice in Confucian Ethics: Reading Mencius, Kant, and Gilligan Comparatively”
http://kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-13017 - Lecture by Dr. Olga Lagotska: Chairman of International Organizations and World Political Processes, Moscow State University
Title: “Russian Global Engagement on Education and Business”
http://kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-21516 - Matthew Crosston, Miller Endowed Chair for Industrial and International Security, and Director of the International Security and Intelligence Studies Program, Bellevue University
Title: “THAAD MAD BAD: The Battle of Competing Narratives over the South China Sea”
http://kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-62016 - Jinmei Yuan, Professor of Philosophy, Co-Chair of University Non-Western Culture Committee, Creighton University
Title: “Literature as a Way of Seeking for Truth”
http://kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-10316 - “Global Education through Citizen Diplomacy: The Story of Sister Cities International,” by Mary Kane, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sister Cities International, aired on December 14, 2015.
- “East and West Connect and Compete: Anglo-American and Russian Science Fiction in the Cold War and Beyong,” by Dr. Sibelan Forrester, Professor of Russian Language and Literature at Swarthmore College, aired on April 21, 2014.
- “Social and Economic Problems Facing China’s Fifth Generation of Leaders,” by Dr. Elizabeth Larus, Professor of Political Science at the University of Mary Washington. Aired on March 3, 2014
- “Americans: Fighting for Peace in Asia,” by Dr. Earl Stubbe, Retired Superintendent of the Ft. LeBoeuf Schools in Waterford, Pennsylvania, and member of the 20th Air Force, 315th Bomb Wing in Guam, World War II. Aired on November 11, 2013
- “Diplomatic Challenges at the United Nations: An Ambassadorial Experience from Thailand,” by Norachit Sinhaseni, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand to the United Nations. Aired on April 22, 2013
- “Asia Megatrends and Implications for U.S. Asia Policy,” by Dr. Charles Morrison, President of the East-West Center. Aired on December 17, 2012
- “Larger than Politics: The Words of Lincoln, King and Gandhi,” by Rajmohan Gandhi, Grandson of Mahatmas Gandhi (Program length: 49 minutes, original broadcast date: October 8, 2012)
http://www.kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-100812 - “Navigating the Cyber Threat Landscape of the 21st Century,” by Weysan Dun, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Omaha Division. (Program length: 56 minutes, original broadcast date: July 9, 2012)
http://www.kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-7912 - “Old and New Conflicts: Japan and the Great Power,” by Tsuneo Akaha, Professor of International Policy Studies and Director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey. (Program length: 59 minutes, original broadcast date: Feb. 6, 2012
- http://www.kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-2612
- “United States Maritime Strategy in Asia and Beyond,” by Vice Admiral Cecil D. Haney, Deputy Commander, U.S. Strategic Command. (Program length: 53 minutes, original broadcast date: December 12, 2011)
- http://www.kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-121211
- “Changing in the Air: What Is Next in the Middle East and Beyond,” by Ayman El-Mohandes, Dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. (Program length: 59 minutes, original broadcast date: October 10, 2011)
http://www.kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-101011 - “Healing: East and West—The Role of Imagination in Health and Happiness,” by Anees A. Sheikh, Professor of Psychology at Marquette University, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin., and author of sixteen books. (Program length: 59 minutes, original broadcast date: April 25, 2011)
http://www.kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-42511 - Film Streams Discussion – “Conflict in Film” – Film: Qiu Ju da Guan Si. Guests: Maorong Jiang, Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Asian World Center at Creighton; Arthur Pearlstein, Professor of Law and Director of the Werner Institute at Creighton University. (Program length: 54 minutes, original broadcast date: May 17, 2010)
http://www.kios.org/post/film-streams-discussion-51710 - “Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslime Really Think,” by Dalia Mogahed, Senior Analyst and Executive Director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies in Washington, D.C. (Program length: 54 minutes, original broadcast date: June 23, 2008)
http://www.kios.org/post/creighton-university-lecture-62308
Visit Us
Asian World Center
Lower Reinert Alumni Library L09 (Between the RadLab & the Union Pacific Room)
(402) 280-2860
awc@creighton.edu
Faculty
Dr. Maorong Jiang
Director of Asian World Center
MaorongJiang@creighton.edu
Dr. Jinmei Yuan
Professor of Philosophy
JinmeiYuan@creighton.edu
