George L. Kallander
Assistant Professor of History

145 Eggers Hall / Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY 13244-1020
Tel. 315-443-4832/Fax. 315-443-5876
email: glkallan@maxwell.syr.edu
Click here to download CV

Academic Specialization

Korean and East Asian History (Japan and Mongolia)

Education
  1. Columbia University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, New York, NY
    Ph.D. in Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, Feb 2006
              Dissertation Title: “Finding the Heavenly Way: Ch’oe Che-u, Tonghak and
                                            Religion in late Chosŏn Korea”
              Field: Korean and Northeast Asian History and Culture
              Dissertation Advisor: Gari Ledyard, Ph.D.
    M. Phil. in East Asian Languages and Cultures, May 2001
    M.A. in East Asian Languages and Cultures, May 1998
  2. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
    Bachelor of Arts, Literature, May 1990
     

Ph.D. Qualifying Examinations

  1. Premodern Korean History (Professor Emeritus Gari Ledyard)
  2. Modern Korean History (Professor Charles Armstrong)
  3. Mongolian History and Culture (Professor Morris Rossabi)
  4. Modern Japanese History and Culture (Professor Barbara Brooks)
     

Fellowships and Awards

  1. Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship, Columbia University, New York, NY, 2004-2005
  2. East Asian Languages Scholar, Columbia University, New York, NY, 2003-2004
  3. Fulbright Fellowship, Dissertation Research Grant, Korea, 2001-2002
  4. Weatherhead Fellowship (Mongolia), Columbia University, New York, NY, 2001
  5. President’s Fellowship, Columbia University, New York, NY, 2000
  6. Weatherhead Fellowship (Mongolia), Columbia University, New York, NY, 2000
  7. FLAS Award (Korea Summer Abroad), 1999
  8. Korea Foundation Fellowship, 1998-2000
  9. FLAS Award (Korea), 1998
     

Professional Experience
  1. Syracuse University, Maxwell School, Department of History, Syracuse, NY
    Assistant Professor of Modern East Asian History, Fall 2006-Present
         Teach a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses on Korean and East Asian history and culture, including “Modern Korea,” “The Korean War,” “Cultural Relations in East Asia” and “Socialist East Asia.”
  2. Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY
    Postdoctoral Fellow, Expanding East Asian Studies Program, Fall 2005-Summer 2006
    Assisted program director in creating college and university curricula on Korean and East Asian history and culture. Helped maintain website for the program. Taught a graduate/undergraduate history seminar entitled “Korea in East Asia and the World.”
  3. Queens College, Flushing, NY
    Adjunct Instructor, Fall 2004-Spring 2005
    Taught two courses in the fall semester: an undergraduate lecture with 50 students titled “Introduction to East Asian History and Culture” and a graduate seminar with 16 students titled “History of Korea.” In the spring semester, taught two undergraduate lectures: “Introduction to East Asian History and Culture” with 38 students and “Japanese History” with 41 students. In all courses, formulated course syllabi, structure and requirements, as well as lecture and administer all grades.
  4. Columbia University, New York, NY
    Teaching Assistant, Spring 2004
    Assisted Professor Theodore de Bary in his seminar “Asian Humanities: Colloquium on Major Texts.” Led class discussions, graded midterm and final papers and helped administer final oral examinations.
  5. Research Assistant, Fall 2003-Spring 2004
    Helped organize academic project on epistolography in Korean history with Professor JaHyun Kim Haboush, selected and translated pre-twentieth century Korean texts from classical Chinese and edited academic papers for publication.
  6. National University of Mongolia, School of Foreign Service, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
    Visiting Lecturer, Fall 2002-Spring 2003
    Lectured to graduate students on history and politics of Korea and Northeast Asia (two courses with 15 students each), created syllabi, composed and graded exams and developed new area studies program for the school.
  7. Columbia University, New York, NY
    Teaching Assistant, Fall 1998-Sring 2001
    Assisted Professors Gari Ledyard and Helen Koh in two courses a year titled “Korean Civilization” and “Korean Lives.” Led weekly discussion sections and helped grade exams and quizzes. For Professor Koh, helped create curriculum, composed exam questions and term paper assignments and occasionally gave class lectures.
  8. Teaching Assistant, Korean Language Program, Fall 1998-Spring 2001
    Assisted Professor Carol Schultz on Korean Language Textbook project, proofread translations and provided suggestions on textbook revisions.
  9. Assistant to Director, Center For Korean Research, East Asian Institute, Fall 1998-Spring 2000
    Responsibilities included running day-to-day affairs of the office, budget management, conference arrangements and liaison between the Center and the Korea Foundation in Seoul, Korea.
     

Additional Experience

  1. Asia Society, New York, NY
    Outside Consultant, Spring 2004
    Assisted in developing Fulbright grant application for 2006 study trip to Mongolia.
  2. Yonsei University Affiliate, Seoul, Korea
    Fulbright Doctoral Dissertation Fellow, Fall 2001-Summer 2002
    Conducted research on doctoral dissertation at a number of libraries and research centers in Seoul.
  3. Asia Society, New York, NY
    Video Script Consultant, Fall 1999
    Provided script suggestions as well as interview for educational video project titled “Korean History and Culture.”

 

Conferences, Presentations and Guest Lectures

  1. “Ch’oe Che-u, Tonghak and the Tonghak Rebellion.” Guest Lectures, Korean Studies Summer International Program, Yonsei and Sogang Universities, Seoul, Korea June-July 2007.
  2. “Saving the Nation: Tonghak-Chondogyo through the Nationalist Lens.” Paper presented at the Eighth Pacific and Asia Conference on Korean Studies, Jawaharal Nehru University, New Delhi, India Dec 2006.
  3. “Through the Looking Glass: Historical Interaction with North Korea.” Paper presented at North Korea, the United States and the International Community: Lessons in Engagement, Moynihan East Asia Program, Syracuse University, October 2006.
  4. “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word: History and Memory in East Asia.” Inaugural lecture, Moynihan East Asian Institute Seminar Series #1, Syracuse University September 2006.
  5. “Re-orientating the Mongols: Mongolian Identity in Northeast Asia.” Paper presented at the Southeast Conference, Association for Asian Studies, Atlanta, GA Spring 2006.
  6. “Faith, Writing and Community: Egalitarianism in Tonghak-Ch’ŏndogyo Thought.” Paper presented at the Roots of Egalitarianism in Korean History, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, Spring 2006.
  7. “Religious Traditions in China.” Presentation for the American Forum for Global Education, New York, NY Spring 2005.
  8. “Religious Traditions in China and Vietnam.” Presentation for the American Forum for Global Education, New York, NY Spring 2005.
  9. “Mongolian Higher Education.” Presentation at the Mongolian Graduate Student Soros Fellowship Meeting, Soros Foundation, New York, NY Spring 2005.
  10. “Ulaanbaatar Unbound: Mongolian Politics, Economy and Society.” Paper presented for Brownbag Lunch Talk, Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY Fall 2004.
  11. “The Role of Korean Diaspora in Central Asia as an Incentive for South Korean Regional Policy.” Joint paper with Professor Pierre Chabal (Le Havre University) submitted for conference titled Korean Studies and Koreans in Central Asia, Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages and Korea Research Foundation, Almaty, Kazakhstan Fall 2004.
  12. “Message in the Means: Tonghak Religious Discourse and its Dissemination.” Paper presented at the Korean Diglossia Conference, Rockefeller Foundation, Bellagio, Italy Spring 2004.
  13. “Cultural Perspective on Northeast Asian Regionalism Today.” Paper submitted for conference titled Regional Regime Dynamics in Europe and East Asia, Université du Havre, Normandy, France, Spring 2004.
  14. “Who are the Mongolians? Mongolian Identity in a Changing World.” Paper presented for Brownbag Lunch Talk, Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY Spring 2004.
  15. “Nuclear crisis or identity crisis: North Korea in a postmodern world.” Paper presented at the conference International Security and the Asian Heartland, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Summer 2003.
  16. “Historiography in the West and its Future Direction.” Paper presented to the History Department, National University of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Fall 2002.
  17. “Modern Korean History and Korean Studies in the US.” Paper presented at the Korean Studies Center, Mongolian National University, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Fall 2001.
  18. “Divine Pronouncements: Ch’oe Si-hyŏng and the Haewol sinsa pŏpsŏl.” Paper presented at the Korean Studies Graduate School Conference, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts Spring 2000.
  19. Panel Moderator—Korea, China and Japan, Graduate Student Conference, Columbia University, New York, NY Spring 2000.
  20. Panel Moderator—Korea, China and Japan, Graduate Student Conference, Columbia University, New York, NY Spring 1999.
  21. “Tonghak: Ch’oe Che-u and Pulyŏn kiyŏn.” Paper presented at the Graduate Student Conference, Columbia University, New York, NY Spring 1998.
  22. “Kim Tong-ni: The Rock.” Paper presented at the Conference on Literature of Despair, Atlanta, Georgia Fall 1996.
     

Publications (Sole Author)

  1. “Till Death Do Us Part: Koryŏ-Mongol Relations in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries.” In William Fitzhugh, Morris Rossabi and William Honeychurch, eds., Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire (Smithsonian Books, in production).
  2. “Narrating the Nation: Korean Historiography and the Tonghak Religious Community.” History Compass (electronic journal) [December 2007 submission].
  3. “Chŏn Pongjun’s 1894 Tonghak Declaration.” In Jahyun Haboush, ed., Letters from Korea (New York: Columbia University Press, forthcoming).
  4. “Changing Mongolian Identity Following the Collapse of the Socialist World.” UB Post [Ulaanbaatar], Fall 2003.
  5. “Nuclear Crisis or Identity Crisis: North Korea in a Postmodern World.” World Affairs [Ulaanbaatar], vol. 216 (07), no. 1, Fall 2003, 114-118.
  6. “Tonghaks of the Nineteenth Century.” Fulbright Forum Journal [Seoul], Summer 2002, 86-96.
  7. “Book Review: The Aquariums of Pyongyang by Kang Chol-hwan and Pierre Rigoulot.” Persimmon: Asian Literature, Arts and Cultures, vol. 3, no. 1, Spring 2002.
  8. “Mongolian-Korean Relations: Past, Present, and Future.” UB Post [Ulaanbaatar], 6 September 2001, no. 36 (277).
  9. “Book Review: Yi Munyol’s Our Twisted Hero.” Persimmon: Asian Literature, Arts and Cultures, vol. 2, no. 2, Summer 2001.
  10. “South Korea: Democratic Consolidation and Vestiges of the Past.” Columbia East Asian Review, Fall 1997.

 

Publications (Joint Author)

  1. George Kallander and Pierre Chabal (Le Havre University), “The Role of Korean Diaspora in Central Asia as an Incentive for South Korean Regional Policy.” Journal of Eurasian Studies [Seoul], vol. 1, no. 2, December 2004.

Languages
  1. Korean (high proficiency)
  2. Mongolian (intermediate)
  3. Classical Chinese (intermediate reading and translation)
  4. French (intermediate reading and translation)
  5. Japanese (basic)
     

Professional Membership
  1. Association for Asian Studies
  2. Mongolian Society
     

Travel and Additional Study Abroad in East Asia
  1. International School of Mongolian Studies, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
    Mongolian Language Study, Summer 2001
    Weatherhead Training Fellowship
  2. International School of Mongolian Studies, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
    Mongolian Language Study, Summer 2000
    Weatherhead Training Fellowship
  3. Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea
    Korean Language Study, Summer 1999
    FLAS Language Scholarship