EASC Colloq: Karen Christensen

PRESENTER: Karen Christensen (Cofounder and CEO, Berkshire Publishing)

TOPIC: Lost in Translation: The Challenge of Cross-cultural Writing and Publishing and How US-China Communication (and its absence) is Shaping the Future of the Planet
DATE: Friday, September 13, 2013

TIME: 12:00-1:15 p.m.
LOCATION: Student Building , Room 150

Karen Christensen came to China accidentally, by coming up with the idea of an Encyclopedia of Modern Asia, which was published in 2002. She has never lived in China and doesn’t speak Chinese, but she has more experience publishing books about China and working with Chinese characters than perhaps any other Western publisher. She is immersed in US-China affairs and works with many people and companies in China. She’ll talk about the importance of language education and lifelong language learning, and about the need for a broader education about both China and the United States. She will demonstrate how a lack of cultural and historical understanding affects real-life outcomes in politics, business, education, and personal relationships, and provide some practical advice on how we can improve our communications and interactions.

Karen Christensen is CEO of Berkshire Publishing Group, which she cofounded in 1998, and an author who specializes in global issues, especially environmental sustainability. She grew up in the Silicon Valley and moved to London after college where she worked for Blackwell Science and the T. S. Eliot Estate before writing a bestselling environmental handbook. Karen returned to the United States in 1992 and became a publisher herself, developing worldwide networks in fields including leadership, sustainability, China, and international relations. Her company, Berkshire Publishing Group, published the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China and This Is China: The First 5,000 Years, and will soon bring out the four-volume Dictionary of Chinese Biography. Berkshire also hosts the online service www.ChinaConnectU. Karen served on the board of the Content Division of the Software & Information Industry Association and several digital publishing organizations. She was chair of the Green Data Centres Conference in London and is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

Persons with disabilities interested in attending our events who may require assistance, please contact us in advance at (812) 855-3765.