As part of the Asia Media regular curriculum, this Fall the ‘Introduction to the Media and Politics of Asia’ course for undergraduates features two provocative, required books. One is Kishore Mahbubani’s latest provocation – ‘Has the West Lost It?’; the other is ‘Conversations with Mohamad Mahathir: Operation Malaysia’, relevant anew with the re-rise of a former prime minister (of 21 years) as prime minister yet again in his autumn years.
“Both Mahbubani and Mahahir represent what is boldest and freshest about Asia today,” explains Prof Tom Plate, who teaches the subject of the media and politics of Asia (and has done so for more than 20 years). “Young students love their irreverence and straight-forwardness. No one sleeps.”