Institute of East Asian Studies at Lyons

By Guy Faure

The stated aim of the Institute of East Asian Studies (IAO) in Lyons is to develop research in the Social Sciences on contemporary China, Japan, and Korea and to contribute to a restructuring of French research on East Asia. It also seeks to generate a response among universities, especially those of the Lyons region, in order to open the Social Science departments to specialists in East Asia. This means that new curricula and new courses will have to be devised. So far, our efforts have been well received.
The Institute has adopted an administrative structure that defines its various components clearly and a scientific organization that is conducive to lively academic interaction among the various area specialists. The director of the Institute is Christian Henriot, a China historian and professor at Jean Moulin-University, He is responsible for the management and co-ordination of the research team staffed by sixteen researchers, seven associate members, and three documentalists.
The Institute has been endowed with generous material support from the CNRS, the Ministry of Universities and Research, and the City of Lyon. In terms of office space, the Lyon Municipality assigned it 700 sq. metres in a beautiful and centrally located nineteenth-century building located at a walking distance from the universities. The premises were completely renovated and redesigned to provide sixteen large offices, a seminar room and a library.

Research programme and activities
Three main research directions have been selected, taking into account both the human resources available and research trends at the national and international levels.

Axis 1:
Morphology of the City: history, economy and society
- historical study of urban society
- modes of growth of Japanese cities since the nineteenth century
- issues of land and land speculation
- construction and use of housing
- special project: Atlas of Shanghai and Kyoto

Axis 2:
Organization, Management and Evolution of the Japanese System of Production
- the networking of firms and its impact on industrial structuring or restructuring
- the firm as a form of social organization: the role of past labour institutions
- special project: the internationalization and delocalization of Japanese firms in the Asia- Pacific zone

Axis 3:
Japan and the Economic Integration of East Asia
- territorial recomposition generated by the movements of trade and investments
- commercial and financial flows within the East Asia region
- relations between coastal areas and their hinterland at the geographical and economic levels

The institute holds two seminars based on its research programmes. One is entitled Cities and Urban Societies; the second is focused on Industrial Organisations and the Role of Institutions. Each year the IAO organizes colloquiums: The Chinese Metropolis in the Twentieth Century, Lyons and East Asia (1994).
Relations with Japanese Studies in Lyon
The development of the Institute of East Asian Studies depends on the human resources available in the fields of teaching and research. The basic precondition for its success lies in the recruitment of researchers and students trained at least in one of the Social Sciences and in Japanese. This explains why since its creation the Institute has been actively engaged in and been cooperating with all the initiatives aimed at promoting education related to Asia and Asian studies.

The new programmes
A professionally-oriented post-graduate course (DESS) on Japan in International trade, starting from October 1994.
The Institute was asked by the Rhônes-Alpes Region to establish in conjunction with Lyon II University an MBA (DESS) on Japan focusing on economics and trade relationships. This course aims to provide a better understanding of Japanese society, business practices, structural organization and so on, both on an academic basis and on a professional/applied basis. It is a professionally oriented two-year degree course focusing on three dimensions: multidisciplinarity, general courses, professional achievements, introductory education mixed with permanent education. It includes comprehensive intensive Japanese language training.

An exchange agreement for BA/MA level students between Lumière Lyon II University and the University of Chuo (Tokyo). A co-operation agreement between Lumière Lyon II University and Chuo University was signed in January 1993 as one of the specific actions aimed at creating a dynamic for the development of Japanese Studies in Lyon. The first step in the co-operation is the exchange of students. The students who receive their BA or MA degree in June, first have a six months intensive Japanese language course (Lyon 3 University), then they leave for Japan, take classes at the faculty concerned (3 to 6 classes in their major) and work on their own research topic under the direction of a Chuo University professor. They also attend a Japanese language course (6 classes a week or 9 hours) from April to March. Upon completion of their stay, they come back to Lyon University to finish writing their MA thesis, under the direction of their Lyon University professor on the basis of the documentation collected in Japan.

Future development
The East Asia level BA degree will be organized under the auspices of the Institute of Political Sciences of LumiŠre Lyon 2 University (IEP), working with the Department of Japanese Studies at Jean-Moulin 3 University, for language training. This degree will provide a dual track programme with socio-economic courses about Japan and East Asian countries, and language courses. It will be open to students who have already completed the first year of university in one of the Social Sciences departments of Lyon 2 University or at the Institute of Political Sciences. This two-year degree will constitute a specialized part of the BA degree of each of the departments concerned (history, economics, geography, political sciences).

For further information:
Institut D'Asie Orientale
MRASH 14 ave Barthelot
69363 Lyon Cedex 07
Tel: +33-72-726487
Fax: +33-72-726490