Stories of Statelessness: An Auto-Ethnographical Account Part 1 (From Statelessness to Advocacy, Prof. Lara Tienshi Chen)

Waseda University Professor Lara Tienshi Chen (School of International Liberal Studies) serves as the guest expert for the first two episodes of "Rigorous Research, Real Impact". Professor Chen was raised in Yokohama, Japan but spent more than 30 years of her life categorized as “stateless”. In episode one, she shares her personal experience living as a stateless person and recounts how this influenced her decision to research statelessness, culminating in her book “Stateless.” Prof. Chen then draws the line between her life experience and her current work at Waseda, where she continues to positively impact society by advocating for stateless people both in Japan and across the world.

Link to the transcript here: https://www.waseda.jp/top/en/news/82406

About the Guest:

Professor Lara Tienshi Chen, School of International Liberal Studies

Professor Chen obtained her PhD in International Political Economy from the University of Tsukuba. She went on to conduct research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Harvard University, and the University of Tokyo. She worked for the National Musuem of Ethnology, Osaka prior to joining Waseda's School of International Liberal Studies in 2013. Professor Chen is also the founder of the NGO Stateless Network and works closely with the student volunteer club Stateless Network Youth.