Markkula Center for Applied Ethics hosts the Dalai Lama
My archival piece, a brochure of an Executive Symposium with the Republic of China, initially argued that the Cold War directly affected institutions for higher education. Essentially, the fear and opposition of the American public to Communism led colleges and universities to uphold capitalistic and American-friendly educational systems in order to prevent criticisms from the public and politicians.
The picture above demonstrates an alternative explanation for hosting the Foreign Minister of Taiwan, a country which the United States supported in lieu of recognizing the Communist China. The alternative explanation for hosting the minister is to create a conversation on a controversial topic to increase awareness and to change perspectives.
Hosting the Dalai Lama as a part of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics and the School of Business frames the event as an alternative perspective to ethical business practices. What I mean is that hosting the Dalai Lama does not have to be interpreted as a political act against a foreign power (again, China). Instead, an event with a controversial individual, especially when attached to religious and political importance, creates an alternative view on an issue we don’t usually see. For the most part, I am not exposed to the nuances of Buddhist philosophy and its application in business today. Therefore, introducing the Dalai Lama, like the Taiwanese Foreign Minister, into a conversation about business and ethics forces a different view of a familiar topic.