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Girls on the Line

Girls on the Line

Keywords: contemporary, teen pregnancy, friendship, perseverance A powerful, dual-narrative coming-of-age story set in 2009 China. Luli has just turned sixteen and finally aged out of the orphanage where she’s spent…...

The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota’s Garden

The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota’s Garden

…destroyed the town of Otsuchi, claiming 10 percent of the population. Residents of Otsuchi and pilgrims from other affected communities have been traveling to the wind phone since the tsunami…....

Banned Book Club

Banned Book Club

Keywords: graphic novel, politics, human rights, activism, friendship When Kim Hyun Sook started college in 1983 she was ready for her world to open up. After acing her exams and…...

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team

All Thirteen: The Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team

…in Northern Thailand when the Wild Boars went missing—masterfully shows how both the complex engineering operation above ground and the mental struggles of the thirteen young people below proved critical…...

Recommended Books – Grades 3-5 – China

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A Bowl of Peace: A True Story

A Bowl Full of Peace: A True Story

Keywords: Nagasaki, biography, war, family, death In this deeply moving nonfiction picture book, award-winning author Caren Stelson brings Sachiko Yasui’s story of surviving the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and her…...

When Spring Comes to the DMZ

When Spring Comes to the DMZ

Keywords: war, politics, nature, family This unique picture book invites young readers into the natural beauty of the DMZ, where salmon, spotted seals, and mountain goats freely follow the seasons…...

Significance of the Freeman Book Awards

…continue to profoundly enhance those relationships. The Freeman Foundation believes that the Freeman Book Award is a most appropriate way to recognize the Freeman family, and will aid the work of …...

The Minamata Story

The Minamata Story

…factory’s careless release of methylmercury into the waters of the coastal community of Minamata in southern Japan. First identified in 1956, it became a hot topic in Japan in the…...

The Astonishing Color of After

The Astonishing Color of After

Keywords: fantasy, mental illness, coming-of-age, romance, identity Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird. Leigh, whose mother…...

Want

Want

…his better judgment, Zhou finds himself falling for Daiyu, the daughter of Jin Corp’s CEO. Can Zhou save his city without compromising who he is, or destroying his own heart?…...

Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter

Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost Hunter

Keywords: graphic novel, translation, supernatural, folklore, adventure Part fantasy, part travelogue—this graphic novel transports readers to the intersection of the natural and supernatural worlds. Onibi: Diary of a Yokai Ghost…...

No Steps Behind:Beate Sirota Gordon’s Battle for Women’s Rights in Japan

No Steps Behind:Beate Sirota Gordon’s Battle for Women’s Rights in Japan

Keywords: activism, social justice, war, identity, perseverance Beate Sirota came to Japan as a young girl, learning its language, customs, and traditions. She loved her adopted country. When an extraordinary…...

Recommended Books – Grades K to 3 – China

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Recommended Books – Grades 6-8 – Japan

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Recommended Books – Grades 6-8 – China

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The Analects: An Illustrated Edition

The Analects: An Illustrated Edition

Keywords: graphic adaptation, philosophy, religion “For the first time in one volume, The Analects illustrated by bestselling cartoonist C. C. Tsai C. C. Tsai is one of Asia’s most popular…...

Brother’s Keeper

Brother’s Keeper

…the government. No absences from Communist meetings. Wear red. Hang pictures of the Great Leader. Don’t trust your neighbors. Don’t speak your mind. You are being watched. But war is…...

The Good Earth (Oprah's Book Club)

Recommended Books – Grades 9-12 – China

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Beyond Me

Beyond Me

Keywords: verse, earthquake, grandparents, mental health, kindness In the spirit of A Place to Belong, this remarkable novel-in-verse examines the aftershocks of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan in…...

Confucius: Great Teacher of China

Confucius: Great Teacher of China

…best way to transform a society was to shift people’s thinking—to move them from callousness to compassion. So he became a teacher, and changed the world. Confucius taught students from…...

Recommended Books – Southeast Asia

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Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando

Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando

Keywords: food, inventions, war, persistence Inspiration struck when Momofuku Ando spotted the long lines for a simple bowl of ramen following World War II. Magic Ramen tells the true story…...

Go: A Coming of Age Novel

Go: A Coming of Age Novel

…have prepared him for the heartache he feels when he falls hopelessly in love with a Japanese girl named Sakurai. Immersed in their shared love for classical music and foreign…...

Recommended Books – Grades 9-12 – Japan

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The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story

The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story

Keywords: ocean, swimming, environment, grandparents, courage A breathtaking picture book featuring a Korean girl and her haenyeo (free diving) grandmother about intergenerational bonds, finding courage in the face of fear,…...

Write About Asia: 2022 Freeman Award Winners

The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA), the Committee on Teaching about Asia (CTA) of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS), and Asia for Educators (AFE) at Columbia University sponsor the annual Freeman Book Awards for new young adult and children’s literature. The awards recognize quality books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to an understanding of East and Southeast Asia.

During this online workshop, facilitated by Lyn Jackson and Nora Douglass, teachers will study and write about the 2022 Freeman Award books for children and young adults. Participants will review the 2022 Freeman Award Winners for grades 2-12, read and write about the texts, and share written responses with other writers.

Recommended Books – Grades K-3 – Korea

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Write About Asia: 2020 Freeman Award Winners

During this online workshop, teachers will study and write about the 2020 Freeman Award books for children and young adults. Educators will review the 2020 Freeman Award Winners for grades 2-8 classrooms, read and write about the texts, share responses with other writers, and receive free clock hours.

The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA), the Committee on Teaching about Asia (CTA) of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS), and Asia for Educators (AFE) at Columbia University sponsor the annual Freeman Book Awards for new young adult and children’s literature. The awards recognize quality books for children and young adults that contribute meaningfully to an understanding of East and Southeast Asia. Awards are given in two categories: Children’s and Young Adult on the several countries of East and Southeast Asia.

This workshop will span multiple sessions. The first session will consist of an introduction to the 2020 Freeman Award Winners, and will be mandatory for all participants. The rest of the sessions will each focus on individual titles, and participants can attend whichever they prefer (at least one). Participants will receive three clock hours for each session attended. The workshop is open to K-12 teachers of all grades and subjects.

The Crane Girl

The Crane Girl

Keywords: folklore, animals, trust, compassion While gathering firewood, Yasuhiro comes upon an injured crane hidden in the snow. He rescues and comforts the bird, then watches as it flies away…...

East Asia Beyond the Headlines: Contemporary Issues in China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea

In partnership with the Montana World Affairs Council Distinguished Speaker Program and webcast Connect Montana, designed especially for this seminar, together with the Mansfield Center of the University of Montana, a combination of live 2-hour sessions and asynchronous virtual content will be provided over 8-weeks. Zoom will be the virtual tool and asynchronous content will be delivered on a Moodle site. The first hour of these sessions will be dedicated to engaging with a scholarly expert on each of these countries and the second hour will focus on classroom applications and resources for each issues and country. The remaining 12 hours will be completed through the completion of online asynchronous content, activities, and competition of a final project.
Dates and Times
This seminar runs from from February 23 to April 16, 2021, with asynchronous assignments on Moodle, a final assignment due April 30 and mandatory Zoom sessions on:
Tuesday February 23, 2021 - 6:00-8:00 PM (MT)
Tuesday March 9, 2021 - 6:00-8:00 PM (MT)
Tuesday March 23, 2021 - 6:00-8:00 PM (MT)
Tuesday April 6, 2021 - 6:00-8:00 PM (MT)
Seminar Facilitators
Dr. Brian Dowdle, Associate Professor of Japanese Language and Culture, and Mansfield Fellow, University of Montana and Dr. Lauren Collins, Postdoctoral Fellow Davidson Honors College, University of Montana, will lead this seminar.

Benefits
Learn about East Asia from experts in the field and connect with regional colleagues and fellow educators.
Develop new curriculum.
Receive $100 personal stipend and certificate for completion of 20 hours.
Receive $200 worth of materials and resources on the topics of study.
20 free MT OPI Clock Hours or 20 free WA OSPI Clock Hours (for 8 hours of live virtual class attendance, and 12 hours of online coursework and completion of a final project)
$100 stipend for exemplary teaching materials for the classroom or teaching library. The stipend was contingent upon completing a final project, ordering East Asia related teaching materials, and filling out an online survey evaluating the seminar and providing data for NCTA national database of statistics.
Participants who successfully completed the seminar and all its requirements became NCTA “alumni.” Alumni receive timely communications about future professional development opportunities offered by NCTA, which may include travel opportunities.

Requirements
Attend sessions online, complete online readings and assignments.
Create a written implementation plan showing how information and resources from the seminar will be used in your classes.

Rice

Rice

…it comes from? It comes from a lot of hard work! What we eat are grains of rice, which are called “gu” in China. The husks of the grains are…...

Freeman Book Awards

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Review Committees

…the U.S. 5. Submissions may be fiction, poetry, folklore, graphic novels or selected non-fiction. The committee will make a determination as to eligible non-fiction. Generally the committee considers titles that include…...

The Turtle Ship

The Turtle Ship

…Korean history and naval engineering. Long ago in Korea, a young boy named Sun-sin spent his days playing with his pet turtle Gobugi and dreaming of sailing around the world…....

Recommended Books – Grades K-3 – Japan

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Morning Sun in Wuhan

…emerged in Wuhan, but also how a community banded together. Weaving in the tastes and sounds of the historic city, Wuhan’s comforting and distinctive cuisine comes to life as the…...

Takami Nieda on Translating and Teaching Go: A Coming of Age Novel

Takami Nieda, translator of Go: A Coming of Age Novel by Kazuki Kaneshiro, will be speaking to our virtual New England NCTA seminar about translating and teaching this novel.

Poetry in the Classroom: Japan

A great poem can be the perfect primary source to introduce students to the social, political and human complexities of important historical periods. TEA hosts University of Colorado Boulder professors Dr. Janice Brown and Dr. Marjorie Burge for this series of webinars featuring Japanese poems in translation that can be integrated into your classrooms.

Freedom Swimmer

Freedom Swimmer

Keywords: contemporary, refugees, friendship, perseverance This incredible story about two boys’ swim from mainland China to Hong Kong in search of freedom from poverty and oppression is inspired by a…...

Write About Asia: 2019 Freeman Award Winners

The online workshop allows teachers to study and write about the 2019 Freeman Award books for children and young adults. These award books contribute to an understanding of East and Southeast Asia. During the workshop, educators will review 2019 Freeman Award Winners for grades 2-8 classrooms, read and write about the texts, share responses with other writers, and receive free clock hours.

This workshop spans multiple sessions: one for the introduction to the 2019 Freeman Award Winners and one writer’s session for each of the following titles. Participants will receive three clock hours for each session attended. Educators need to commit to attending at least two sessions. The workshop is open to K-12 teachers.

All participants must attend:
July 21, 2020 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m): Introduction to the 2019 Freeman Award Winners
Participants pick one or more of the following sessions:
July 28, 2020 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m): Writer’s Workshop Sharing based upon Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay
August 4, 2020 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m): Writer’s Workshop Sharing based upon A Place to Belong by Cynthia Kadohata
August 11, 2020 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m): Writer’s Workshop Sharing based upon The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf
August 18, 2020 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m): Writer’s Workshop Sharing based upon All The Ways Home by Elsie Chapman
August 25, 2020 (3:00 – 4:30 p.m): Writer’s Workshop Sharing based upon The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota’s Garden by Heather Smith

Recommended Books – Grades 3-5 – Japan

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Bronze and Sunflower

Bronze and Sunflower

…was the recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award. Published in the U.S. in 2017, it is now the winner of the Freeman Book Award for Young Adult/Middle School…...

East Asian Futurisms: Exploring Speculative Fiction’s Commentaries on Power, Identity, and Society

Science fiction often highlights competing ideologies, dreams, and provides subversive commentary on political issues. These stories also raise questions of which bodies are marked as “other” by categorization and placement in hierarchies, and/or understood as human.

This online seminar will offer an introduction to political, cultural, and social challenges represented in East Asian science fiction ranging from the 1970s era of Japanese Doraemon comics to contemporary Chinese science fiction. We will examine cartoons, films, and fictional works from Japan, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Through online asynchronous course materials and four two-hour synchronous Zoom meetings, we will explore the way in which science fiction offers insights into understanding in a world that is rapidly changing.

As part of the seminar requirements, teachers will be asked to watch one or two films, complete several readings and respond to online discussion forum prompts and write individual reflective assignments that will be posted to Moodle. Viewing and reading these materials and posting responses may take several hours per week. These requirements and seminar materials (including its access) will be provided after registration.

Chinatown (Modern Korean Short Stories)

Recommended Books – Grades 9-12 – Korea

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Every Falling Star

Every Falling Star

Keywords: politics, survival, friendship, resilience A timely and gripping autobiographical account of a teenage boy in North Korea. An authentic view of the “inside” of North Korea, and the reality…...

An’s Seed

An’s Seed

Keywords: translation, bilingual, patience, mindfulness A gentle fable about mindfulness, An’s Seed follows the actions of three young monks – Ben, Jing, and An – who are given the task…...

Online Literature Workshop: Morning Sun in Wuhan by Ying Chang Compestine

Brought to you by the North Carolina Teaching Asia Network, this online literature workshop led by Dr. Ling Rao of Clemson University will explore the book Morning Sun in Wuhan by Ying Chang Compestine. Participants will receive a free copy of the book to read before the workshop and then spend the workshop discussing the book's context and ways to teach the book.

The Chinese Communist Party – 100th Anniversary

Please join us as Professor David Bachman examines the last 100 years of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and looks ahead to what we might expect for the future of the CCP and China as a whole. The first hour of this online program will consist of a presentation by Professor Bachman, and the second hour will be dedicated to questions and comments from participants. Participants will also receive a free copy of the book The Chinese Communist Party: A Century in 10 Lives, by Timothy Cheek, Klaus Mühlhahn and Hans Van de Ven.

David Bachman is the Henry M. Jackson Professor of International Studies at the Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington (Seattle) where he has taught since 1991. He is the author Chen Yun and the Chinese Political System, Bureaucracy, Economy, and Leadership in China: The Institutional Origins of the Great Leap Forward, and co-editor (with Dali L. Yang) of Yan Jiaqi and China’s Struggle for Democracy. He is currently working on a book on China’s defense industrialization. His Ph.D. is from Stanford University, and he has taught at Stanford and Princeton University prior to his appointment at the University of Washington.

Submission Guidelines 2023

form and return to Nancy Hope. Publishers: Please complete the submission form and return to Nancy Hope. Please mail one review copy to each member of the relevant review committee…...

Public Art + Dissent: Art, Protest, and Public Spaces

At an unprecedented moment in geopolitics, the work of public artists amplifies activism, resistance, and solidarity. Some of the world's most interesting art is on the streets and easily accessible to all. In this free mini-course for K-12 Educators, we will discuss how protest art uses public space to engage in dialogue between the artist and the public. Artists from around the world question "what is" and "why" that transcends national boundaries and politics. We will examine works of Ai Weiwei, Yayoi Kusama, Keith Haring, Loyalist murals from Northern Ireland, and the Black Lives movement. A teacher-led session at the end will be included.

China’s Search for a Green Future: Clean Energy, Air, and Water

China has committed to becoming a leader in renewable energy technology, but air pollution, water scarcity, and overall environmental degradation continue to impact health and challenge China's continued economic growth. Through three weekly case studies, participants will examine how the Chinese government and citizen activist groups are responding to these challenges.

China’s Search for a Green Future: Clean Energy, Air, and Water

China has committed to becoming a leader in renewable energy technology. Still, air pollution, water scarcity, and overall environmental degradation continue to impact the health of local people and challenge China's continued economic growth. Through three week-long case studies, participants will examine how the Chinese government and citizen activist groups are responding to these challenges. - Photo Credit: 林 慕尧 / Chris Lim

Moth and Wasp, Soil and Ocean

Moth and Wasp, Soil and Ocean

…a composite of people Pu Zhelong influenced in his work. With further context from Melanie Chan’s historically precise watercolors, this story will immerse young readers in Chinese culture, the natural…...

Okinawa: Environment, History and Peace Movements

In this online workshop, we will address the long history of US military bases in Okinawa and the Okinawan peoples’ struggles for peace and environmental preservation as we highlight civic engagement across borders. This program will be lead by Stan Shikuma and Tracy Lai with Melanie King assisting as facilitator.

Stan Shikuma is a taiko performer, composer and percussionist who plays with Seattle Kokon Taiko, directs Kaze Daiko (a taiko youth group) and has also worked on music for new opera, Butoh dance, and puppet theatre. As an artist, he performs, writes, and lectures on the history, teaching, and performance of taiko in North America. As a social activist, Stan helped organize the first Asian American History course at Stanford University, organized against Draft Registration at UC Berkeley, pursued divestment from Apartheid South Africa at UW, wrote and organized for the Redress Movement for Japanese Americans incarcerated during WW II, and covered the Philippines democracy movement and the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific movement for the International Examiner. Currently, Stan helps organize the Tule Lake Pilgrimage (the largest of America’s WW II concentration camps for Japanese Americans); serves on the National Education Committee of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL); serves on the Board of Seattle JACL, From Hiroshima to Hope and Tsuru for Solidarity; and is a member of the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA) and Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA).

Tracy Lai teaches history, ethnic and women’s studies at Seattle Central College. She co-authored The Snake Dance of Asian American Activism with Michael Liu and Kim Geron, as well as several articles published in UCLA’s AAPI Nexus Journal. Her book reviews appear in the International Examiner, a community-based newspaper in Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. She is currently collaborating on a history of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) to be completed for its 30th anniversary in 2022. Tracy serves as national secretary of APALA and vice president of the Seattle chapter. She is vice president for human rights for the American Federation of Teachers, Washington state.

Melanie King is one of the EARC program leader, and serves as the Interim Associate Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at South Seattle College.

The Shanghai Taxi

There is no need to buckle your seat belts – or leave home. Join Tese Wintz Neighbor for an engaging and touching literary ride through the streets of Shanghai and beyond. The Shanghai Free Taxi: Journeys with the Hustlers and Rebels of the New China is “a master class on how to chronicle a changing country through the personal narratives of its citizens.”
The author is NPR correspondent Frank Langfitt, who created a free taxi service offering free rides in exchange for conversation. Langfitt wears various hats throughout the book: “reporter; interviewer; driver; helper; potential scam victim; and detective. However, despite the multiplicity of personalities he embodies, he always remains in tune with his purpose: to report the inner workings of a world power facing slowing economic growth, inequality, corruption, political oppression, and a crisis of uzhi, meaning poor character or inner quality.” You can read the full book review on NPR.

Sign up for a free book (and free ride!) and enjoy an engaging book club conversation with your colleagues.
This program is sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington, and funded by a Freeman Foundation grant in support of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA).

Program leader
The Book Club will be facilitated by EARC China Specialist Tese Wintz Neighbor.

Date and Time
Sign up for one session; each session is limited to 20 teachers.
Group 1: Wednesday, April 21, 2021 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM (Pacific Time)
Group 2: Thursday, April 22, 2021 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM (Pacific Time)
This program will be held over Zoom.

Program benefits
A physical or digital copy of the book (we will do our best to make sure you receive your copy within 5 days from signing up)
Online Resource packet
Four free Washington State OSPI clock hours

Write About Asia: 2021 Freeman Award Winners

The workshop spans multiple online sessions. The first session introduces the 2021 Freeman Award Winners and is mandatory for all participants. The remaining sessions focus on individual titles; participants must select at least one and up to five titles below. All participants will need to have completed their reading and writing prior to each session using one of several writing prompts which will be emailed beforehand. Then everyone will share their writing with each other in a breakout room using the writer’s workshop protocol. Participants will receive clock hours for each session attended.

Freedom Swimmer

Freedom Swimmer, with author Wai Chim

Freedom Swimmer received the 2021 Freeman Book Award Honorable Mention.
20 copies of the book are available to K-12 in-service educators. Must also register for and attend the webinar.

The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un by Anna Fifield

This Fall Dr. Diana M. Wood will lead a free asynchronous discussion group for NCTA alumni educators on Anna Fifield's book,

"The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un." This relatively new Fifield book offers information about the latest North Korean leader, third in a series of Korean leaders who emerge following the division of Korea into two distinct countries following the Korean War in the 1950's.

This discussion group will be conducted asynchronously beginning in late September 2022 and will continue through December 2022 using the Proboards Discussion Board site (a more detailed schedule will be sent once registration has closed.)

Global Asia Book Group

Explore “Asia” in its many manifestations through the lens of Global Asias (the notion of studying Asia transnationally and transculturally through the movement of people, ideas, and culture across place and time). Through a curated series of online book groups designed for high school teachers, this course will focus on stories that center the human experience against the backdrop of war. This series features four novels that link Asia (China, Tibet, Korea, Japan, and India) to North America (the United States and Canada) through multifaceted exploration of identity, migration, war, and resilience. Each book provides a unique lens through which to examine history complexities of life across our global community, making them valuable resources for educators looking to enrich their curriculum with diverse narratives and historical contexts.

This series will enrich educators’ understanding of diverse cultures and histories across Asia and equip them with tools to foster a more inclusive and global perspective in their classrooms. Each of these books offer a fantastic resource to explore themes of migration, identity, war and resilience with students, encouraging a deeper appreciation for the complex interconnections that define our world.

Exploring East Asia for K-12 Educators: Common Foundations, Different Journeys

This free, online foundational seminar presented by University of Maryland, Baltimore County and NCTA at the University of Pittsburgh will provide educators all you need to help students see that East Asia is NOT one entity. While China, Korea, and Japan do indeed share some cultural underpinnings, they each embarked on different pathways that make it impossible to tell just one story of East Asia’s development. Our lecturers (all UMBC faculty) will walk you through these exciting narratives by using primary sources and samples of visual culture that are perfect for incorporating into your own curricula and classrooms.

Environment and Politics in Communist China

Join IU Northwest faculty member Diana Chen Lin for a K-12 educator professional development workshop focused on current issues in East Asia likely to be of interest to students. The workshop will provide lectures and discussion of the complex history of China’s environmental changes up to the 21st century. It will explore how China’s post-1978 modernization turned China into the largest carbon dioxide emitter. The workshop will also tackle the significant policy shifts in China that seek to transform challenges into opportunities by making China a leading country in green technology and green energy cars. We will work on the criteria and methods to discuss these issues in the classroom.

All K-12 educators are welcome; teachers of AP Human Geography, World Cultures, Modern World History, Art, Global Studies, English, Media Literacy, and World Languages will find the topics particularly useful. Participants will be exposed to workshop topics through lectures, discussions, and activities that can be brought into the classroom and used to enhance global contextualization within Illinois and Indiana state academic standards.

The Hong Kong Crisis: Historical and Comparative Perspectives

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Far East Deep South – Documentary Viewing

Participants will watch the documentary Far East Deep South as the second component in our Far East Deep South workshop on the history of the Chinese in the Mississippi Delta.
FAR EAST DEEP SOUTH is an award-winning feature documentary produced by Larissa Lam and Baldwin Chiu, a husband-wife music and filmmaking team based in Los Angeles, CA. The film is based off the award-winning short film, Finding Cleveland. The film presents a very personal and unique perspective on immigration, race and American identity. The film was written and directed by Larissa Lam. It was edited by Dwight Buhler with music by world renown composer, Nathan Wang.
You may participate in one, two or all three components of this workshop. Participants who complete all 3 components will receive a certificate of completion for 4 contact hours.



Overview of Taiwan: From History to Now

Want to learn more about Taiwan? Join us for a half-day overview of Taiwan from historical, culinary, and anthropological lenses with experts from the University of North Carolina and University of South Carolina. This event will be free and open to the public.

Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China’s Push for Global Power by Howard French

This free online book group for NCTA alumni will examine the ways in which China’s cultural and historical legacies are currently shaping its drive to reestablish itself as the dominant power in Asia. Former New York Times reporter Howard French draws on his extensive experience and deep research to offer important insights into how the Chinese view their experience of humiliation at the hands of Western powers and their desire to return to what they see as their rightful place among world powers. The projection of Chinese military power in the South China Sea is just one example of China’s ambitions regarding their territorial claims reaching back centuries.

Locating Korean-ness in Postcolonial Japan: Zainichi Korean Identity in the documentary film “Our School”

This workshop examines the Korean minority in Japan (commonly known as Zainichi) through a close reading and discussion of the revelatory documentary film Our School (Uri hakkyo) from 2007. The film follows the lives of students and teachers at one of the North Korean affiliated “ethnic schools” (minzoku gakko) established in Japan for the Zainichi Korean community that remain active today. Through a discussion of Our School this workshop will consider the ways in which Zainichi Korean identity has evolved since the end of colonization and the conclusion of the Cold War. How do members of the young generation conceive of their Korean identity and their relationship to Japanese society compared to previous generations? What does it say about the nature of the Korean diaspora and the position of Zainichi and other minority groups in contemporary Japan? What similarities or differences can be seen in the approach to cultural education with that of schools in the US?Participants will be sent a link to freely stream the movie, and will be required to watch it before the start of the program. No prior knowledge of the subject is necessary to attend the program.

Program Leader: Nate Heneghan is an independent scholar who has taught Japanese literature and culture at Oberlin College, Wesleyan University, and other institutions. His work focuses on literary and cinematic representation of the Korean minority in Japan (Zainichi) from post-War to present. He is currently at work on a manuscript devoted to this subject, tentatively titled, “Under Erasure: Tracing Zainichi Korean Identity in Postcolonial Literature and Visual Media.”

Traveling the Silk Road: Culture and Commerce in Medieval Asia

This full-day workshop takes teachers on a whirlwind tour of the diverse cultures, kingdoms, merchants, and monks who forged lasting connections between Asia and the rest of world over 1000 years ago. Drawing on cutting-edge research and diverse, multimedia teaching resources, the workshop equips teachers with the sources and perspectives necessary to immerse students in one of the most important early forms of cultural exchange, highlighting the important connections to our contemporary global world. Benefits to participants include: 6 hours of continuing education credit, $25 stipend, expansive online materials for teaching the silk road, priority registration for future NCTA programs.

Traveling the Silk Road: Culture and Commerce in Medieval Asia

This workshop takes teachers on a whirlwind tour of the diverse cultures, kingdoms, merchants, and monks who forged lasting connections between Asia and the rest of world over 1000 years ago. Drawing on cutting-edge research and diverse, multimedia teaching resources, the workshop equips teachers with the sources and perspectives necessary to immerse students in one of the most important early forms of cultural exchange, highlighting the important connections to our contemporary global world. Benefits to participants include: 6 hours of continuing education credit, $25 stipend, expansive online materials for teaching the silk road, priority registration for future NCTA programs.

The Dalai Lama at 89: Looking Back and Reflecting Toward the Future

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, who describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk, will turn 89 this summer. The Dalai Lama fled the People’s Republic of China for India in March 1959 after PRC troops occupied Tibet. He has been living in exile ever since. As the spiritual leader of Tibet, as well as the Tibetan-in-Exile community, when he dies, his reincarnation will be a religious crisis.

In this combo online book discussion and workshop, we will explore his 1986 autobiography Freedom in Exile where he described his early life, ordination at the 14th Dalai Lama, and how he was forced to flee Tibet. The workshop will also cover content on the current Tibetan diaspora, hopes for the future, and the functioning of the Tibetan-government-in-exile.

Program leaders
Dr. Brian Dowdle, Associate Professor of Japanese Language and Culture, and Mansfield Fellow, University of Montana.
Dr. Lauren Collins, Program Director of Asian Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Photo by Tenzin Choejor, published on www.dalailama.com

Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control

This winter Dr. Diana M. Wood and NCTA Alumni Cindy McNulty will lead a free asynchronous discussion group for NCTA alumni educators on Surveillance State: Inside China’s Quest to Launch a New Era of Social Control, by Josh Chin and Liza Lin. These Wall Street Journal reporters examine the astonishing reach and personal consequences of China’s expanding surveillance network. Topics include: the use of technology to control the Uyghurs of Xinjiang, Hangzhou as a model “smart city,” Chinese attitudes toward privacy, and the role COVID played in expanding state surveillance.

Centering Taiwan in Global Asia: A Resource Workshop for K-12 Educators

Join us for an engaging K-12 curriculum resource workshop in which we examine the island of Taiwan's rich and compelling historical narrative as well as the important role it plays in today's geopolitical and economic landscape. This workshop will also include strategies for incorporating the study of Taiwan into the K-12 classroom with the award-winning interactive curriculum resource website, Centering Taiwan in Global Asia.

Twin Pandemics: Resilience and Healing of Asian American Communities

In 2020, the American Public Health Association declared racism a public health crisis. We have experienced the twin crises of COVID-19 and Racism and while COVID is no longer a public health emergency, the effects of anti-Asian hate persist. In this session we will examine the longer history of anti-Asian racism in the United States and will consider how we can begin to learn and heal from the Stop Anti-Asian Hate movement and artistic responses. This workshop will be led by art historian Melanie King and historian Tracy Lai.

Photo credit: Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, "Faces of the Fight". A portrait series honoring the sacrifice of our unsung heroes in the battle with COVID-19. It recognizes the brave frontline workers who are saving lives and holding our society together in this challenging time including healthcare workers, delivery people, sanitation staff, teachers, postal workers and others supporting in some way, a visual and literary record of their struggles and triumphs.

Who’s Who in Civil Rights and Community Activism in Asian American History

In celebration of national Asian Pacific Heritage Month and with reference to the new book, Asian American Workers Rising – APALA’s Struggle to Transform the Labor Movement (2021), we will hear Washington State senator, Bob Hasegawa and retired regional director of the Inland Boatmen’s labor union, Rich Gurtiza speak about the efforts they made 30 years ago as leaders bringing change to Asian and Pacific Islander workers in the area. As key figures to know about in local Asian American history, and in Washington history, join us in this facilitated panel discussion as we understand how their work brought the focus back to Asian and Pacific Islander workers in Washington, ultimately highlighting the broader struggle for democracy and justice for all. After the panel, we will conclude with Q&A.

Panelists

Bob Hasegawa Washington state senator, former Teamsters Local 174 secretary-treasurer, APALA founding executive board member
Rich Gurtiza Inland Boatmen’s Union Region 37 regional director (retired), APALA founding executive board member and former national secretary
Tracy Lai Seattle Central College full-time tenured Historian, American Federation of Teachers – Washington, vice president for human rights, APALA national executive board member (current) and former national secretary, Seattle APALA chapter vice president
Program Benefits

A physical copy of the book, Asian American Workers Rising – APALA’s Struggle to Transform the Labor Movement
Free WA OSPI clock hours

Japanese Baseball: When You Come to the Fork in the Road, Take It

Join Professor Paul Dunscomb, Professor of East Asian history at the University of Alaska Anchorage, for an online program about the fascinating history and impact of baseball in Hesei Japan. Participants will receive a free copy of Professor Dunscomb’s book “The Crisis in Pro Baseball and Japan’s Lost Decade – The Curious Resilience of Heisei Japan“.

The crisis in Japanese professional baseball of 2004 tells us much about the nature of change in Heisei Japan (1989-2019). After all, one cannot have an existential crisis involving the national sport without at least some angst being generated about the state of the nation. The story of the crisis shows us the state of the Japanese psyche as the Lost Decade (1992-2004) was ending. It also tells us something about the curious resilience of Heisei Japan. It challenges the basic narrative of decline which dominates discourse on the period. Professional baseball, achieving its basic form at the same time as Japan’s postwar political economy, shared many characteristics with it, including systemic inefficiencies which post bubble Japan could no longer sustain. The way the crisis unfolded and the cast of characters who appeared during it (including team owners, players, IT entrepreneurs, and ordinary fans) tells us much about the push and pull of continuity and change over the period.

Programs

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Arts of Protest in Modern Korea

In 2020, the popular South Korean music group BTS and its fan communities grabbed headlines in the United States with their public support for the Black Lives Matter movement. In this workshop, we will take these recent interventions as points of departure for exploring the long tradition of socio-political activism in modern Korean arts and culture. By looking at a selection of examples from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, we will sample the variety of ways in which creative individuals in Korea have made their voices and perspectives heard in relation to globally relevant issues like imperialism, war, discrimination, and inequality. Participants will receive a list of related resources in order to assist them in bringing Korea-related content into their classrooms.

Participants will receive a certificate from North Carolina Teaching Asia Network confirming 2 hours of professional development for the completion of this workshop.

Workshop organizer
Dr. I. Jonathan Kief, Assistant Professor, Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, UNC-CH

Recommended Books – Grades K-3 – Vietnam

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A Journey Through Time – Book Study on Asia: Freedom Swimmer by Wai Chim

The North Texas NCTA is offering a book group series, A Journey Through Time: Book Study on Asia for the Summer/Fall 2023. Each month teachers have the opportunity to read and discuss a book and the series continues in July with Freedom Swimmer by Way Chim. The in-person group discussion will take place in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex and books will be circulated approximately 1 month prior to the meeting (time to be determined) to ensure ample time to read.

Maria Orosa Freedom Fighter: Scientist and Inventor from the Philippines

…and herbs This book celebrates the life and achievements of a daring daughter of the Philippines, war heroine, culinary scientist and bold freedom fighter who helped to feed the nation!…...

Art Resources

Teaching Resources for East Asia Art World Art – Chinese Art – Japanese Art – Korean Art   Learning and Teaching East Asian Art – Six-part series of free video…...

About Us

…and to build a global competency for students. Along with our partner sites, we provide learning though workshops, seminars, book groups and more through our programs. The Freeman Book Awards…...

Terms of Use

…questions in how you can engage with or use these materials, please reach out to us at comments@nctasia.org. Full terms of use follow.  Intro Please read these terms of use (“terms…...

Virtual Sijo Workshop: Comparing Verses from Korea, China, & Japan

Learn more about Sijo, a Korean traditional poetic form, and compare it to poetic forms from China and Japan while also considering classroom applications.

Rage and Grief: Addressing the Complicated History of Japan and the US in the Contemporary Classroom

Join documentary filmmaker Linda Hoaglund and educators Benjamin O'Donnell (World History) and Kachina Leigh (Studio Art and Art History) as they discuss the multiple ways in which Linda’s film, ANPO Art x War, can be brought into the classroom. Using art and interviews with the artists, this documentary traces the impact that the US military has had and continues to have in Japan. Teachers will learn ways to share this history with students as well as explore the interwoven roles of victim, perpetrator, and collaborator that resonate in today's political climate. This workshop will be applicable to teachers in the arts, humanities, and history - both past and present.

Walking the Tōkaidō

Using the My Virtual Mission platform, participants will walk (both virtually and the distance in reality) from Edo (Tokyo) to Kyoto, stopping at ten required (and seven optional) milestones to complete readings, view webinars/videos, and respond to discussion prompts.

Image: Kyoto: The Great Bridge at Sanjō (Taibi, Keishi, Sanjō Ōhashi), from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi). Utagawa Hiroshige.

China’s Cultural Revolution featuring Professor Andrew G. Walder

Join this online workshop featuring a talk by Stanford Professor Andrew G. Walder on his latest book, "Civil War in Guangxi: The Cultural Revolution on China's Southern Periphery" (2023), and a demo of SPICE’s curriculum unit, "China’s Cultural Revolution."

In his new book, Professor Walder provides a groundbreaking new analysis of one the most shocking chapters of the Cultural Revolution. In the summer of 1968, Guangxi became notorious as the site of the most severe and extensive violence observed anywhere in China during that period. With evidence from a vast collection of classified materials, the book reconsiders explanations for the upheaval that draw parallels with ethnic cleansing in Rwanda, Bosnia, and other settings. (Stanford University Press)

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Understand and Teach East Asia The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA), funded by the Freeman Foundation, is a multi-year initiative to encourage and facilitate teaching and learning about…...

Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World, an online book discussions group

This fall NCTA Alumna and master teacher Cindy McNulty will lead a free asynchronous discussion group for NCTA alumni educators on the book Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World, by Matt Alt. Tokyo-based writer Alt examines how anime, Hello Kitty, karaoke, and the Walkman transformed how we consume entertainment and reshaped global culture in the process.

Stories of Resilience and Hope in Japanese Children’s Literature

Join Connecticut educator Elaine Temel for Stories of Resilience and Hope in Japanese Children’s Literature. Read one book each week, respond asynchronously to weekly discussion prompts on Moodle, and participate in a webinar from 7-8:30pm each of the four Monday nights in June. Tentative plans are for three of the authors to join the webinars.

Complete all of the requirements to receive a certificate of completion for 10 contact hours. Books will be provided. For K-12 inservice educators. Maximum 20 participants.

- The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota’s Garden, by Heather Smith, 2019 Freeman Book Award winner, children’s literature
- Beyond Me, by Annie Donwerth Chikamatsu 2020 Freeman Book Award honorable mention, young adult/middle school literature.
- Bowl Full of Peace, by Caren Stelson 2020 Freeman Book Award honorable mention, children’s literature
- Pop Flies, Robo-Pets and Other Disasters, by Suzanne Kamata (webinar confirmed)

Family and Femininity in Modern China

Arkansas NCTA presents the Women's History Month Series, a 3-part workshop series on women in modern China. As political leaders, fashion icons, and subjects of spirited debate, women have been at the forefront of China’s modern transformation from a crumbling empire to a global economic superpower. Join celebrated Asian Studies scholars from around the world during Women's History Month to explore this rich history and access engaging themes and resources to diversify your classroom. Topics include: the role of women in Confucian society (March 7); Shanghai women in the Global Roaring Twenties (March 14); and the history and lasting effects of China’s One Child Policy (March 28). Come to a single event, or attend all three to receive a free package of books and curriculum materials.

Girls on the Line

Join the EARC and your colleagues to explore relevant, complex issues that affect China today, such as repercussions of the One-Child Policy and its resulting gender imbalance, human trafficking within China, urban-rural migration, factory workers and their rights, and much more. Girls on the Line provides a compelling, dual narrative from the perspective of two young girls. The story will throw you into the gritty reality of what it means to be young, female, and orphaned in China seeking financial and social independence.
In this program you will read and discuss this YA novel with fellow teachers, explore the cultural and historic context of the novel, learn how to use it in your classroom and find out how it connects with your curriculum. This book is best suited for teachers in grades 7-12, but we invite teachers of all subjects and grades to attend this workshop and learn more about modern day China.
Silvia De Cassan, EARC Assistant Director, and Matthew Sudnik, History Department Chair at The Madeira School, will lead this program.

Foundational Seminar: Exploring East Asia Through Illustrative Juvenile Literature

Interested in graphic novels about East Asia but want to know more about that region of the world? Join the faculty at Shepherd University this summer for a free online two-week course on the foundations of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean history, culture, and everyday practices. Your faculty and author instructors then will take you to the world of East Asian graphic novels/memoirs for K-12 students and illustrated children’s books (in English). Complimentary textbook and other books will be included with the course. Educators who complete all assignments and attend all sessions will receive Certificates of Completion for 36 hours of PD as well as other benefits.

Sijo Webinars for Educators

Topics will cover Korean history, culture, and Korean poetry.

Program Schedule:

o Korean History & Culture Webinar by NKS: June 22, 23, 24 at 1-4 pm (PST).

o Sijo Webinar by IU NCTA & Sejong: July 7, 14, 21 at 1-3 pm (PST).

Benefits: Current K-12 educators are eligible for $100 stipend upon completion of both webinars and all assignments o One LAUSD Salary Point or Four continuing education units to University of Southern California o Teachers who complete both webinars and homework will be eligible for reference books o All participants who complete two webinars and homework will receive a certificate of completion for 15 contact hours provided by the Indiana University NCTA Coordinating Site.

· $25 & $50 Amazon gift card for outstanding Sijo and lesson plans.

Asia Today – Contemporary Cultures and Politics

This 6 hour workshop—sponsored by the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia and the Association for Asian Studies—brings together nationally renowned scholars from throughout the region to discuss some of the most important cultural and political issues facing Asia today.
It also provides educators with reading materials on key issues in Asian Studies and the knowledge to effectively incorporate contemporary Asia into the classroom.

The Japan Disasters Digital Archive: An Archival Tool for Researchers, Educators and the Community

Presenters: Andrew Gordon, Harvard University; Katherine Matsuura, Harvard University; Anthony Zanin, Hutto, TX High School; Thomas Mueller, California University of Pennsylvania

Teaching Empathy and Understanding: Asian Pacific Islander American Communities, Our Celebrations, and Our Stories

A grandmother teaches her grandchild how to create rice cakes filled with sweetened red beans, a young girl and her cousins watching YouTube videos together as they gather with their family for their yearly New Year’s feast, a mochi-making tradition is shared on Instagram to online followers–these time-honored rituals of celebrating the New Year have been adapted and adopted to fit into our modern American households. From generation to generation and spanning nations, what aspects of our holidays stay the same?

Created in partnership with the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, this upcoming teacher training will share a curriculum centering on the voices of Asian Americans who share stories of the holidays that they celebrate and how the holidays continue the connection to their heritage. Created as a curriculum for application in an elementary school setting, speakers will talk about how to teach the cultural diversity of Asian Americans in the United States through the lens of empathy and understanding.

Join us in a two-part program during which we’ll share how to bring the curriculum into the classroom as well as provide a historical and contextual framework for Asian and Pacific Islander immigration into America. We’ll go deeper into how the New Year’s Holiday can be a touchpoint for deeper conversations around individual students’ identities and how we can use the celebrations as a way to see how traditions change and adapt with new generations.

Speakers include:

Rahul Gupta has served as Director of Education and Tours at the Wing Luke Museum for 7 years. His efforts have moved the educational work of the museum toward utilizing dialogic engagement, emphasizing the power of oral history and storytelling, and enhancing the immersive experience for Social Studies, ELA, Arts, and SEL students.

Maya Hayashi, the Education Specialist at the Wing Luke Museum, will speak about her family’s Japanese American traditions and her work in developing the curriculum.

Doan Nguyen is a 2nd generation Vietnamese American, the Senior Tour Manager at the Wing Luke Museum, will be leading the virtual tour through the museum’s onsite historic spaces.

The Uyghur Crisis and Islam in East Asia: What Everyone Needs to Know

Since 2017, the Chinese government has imprisoned over one million Uyghur Muslims in what has become the largest mass internment of an ethnic minority group since World War II. Currently, around 11 million Uyghurs—a predominantly Turkic-speaking ethnic minority—live in China’s northwestern Xinjiang province, and Chinese government policies targeting Uyghur communities in the name of combating “religious extremism” have drawn condemnation from foreign governments and human rights organizations around the world.

This two-day workshop brings together China specialists and Uyghur community members to discuss the broader history of Muslim communities in China, the everyday experiences of Uyghurs in Xinjiang today, and the global significance of this ongoing human rights crisis. A Friday keynote presentation features the voices of Uyghur activists whose family members have been disappeared into these camps, while a Saturday morning workshop provides broader context and concrete teaching strategies for integrating a discussion of the ongoing Uyghur crisis into middle and high school geography, history, and civics classes.

Far East Deep South – Webinar

Join us for the first session of a three-part workshop on the history of Chinese in the Mississippi Delta. In this webinar, Dr. Stephen Platt will discuss what was happening in China at the time when many Chinese immigrated to the US, including Mississippi.

You may participate in one, two or all three components of this workshop. Participants who complete all 3 components will receive a certificate of completion for 4 contact hours.

Dr. Stephen Platt, award-winning author and professor of history, UMass Amherst.

Far East Deep South – Discussion with Filmmaker

Join us for the third session in our workshop on the history of the Chinese in the Mississippi Delta. Baldwin Chiu will discuss his family’s story and answer questions about the film, his family, and Chinese in the Mississippi Delta. Participants should plan to watch the documentary, available from Sept. 21-28, prior to joining this conversation.
You may participate in one, two or all three components of this workshop. Participants who complete all 3 components will receive a certificate of completion for 4 contact hours.

Shiver, Junji Ito’s manga horror short story collection

This no-cost, four-week course will delve into the stories and the author Junji Ito and will be facilitated by Mr. Morgan McLaughlin.

This book workshop will be run through a Google Site and discussion board. Each week will focus on three short stories.

Horror stories are loved by people all over the world. Manga is a worldwide phenomenon and many students love reading graphic novels. With millions of copies of his books sold worldwide and numerous stories turned into live action movies and anime, Junji Ito is widely recognized as a master of his craft. Participants in this book workshop will walk away with short stories that they can work into many different lessons.

Instructor: Mr. Morgan McLaughlin is an English and Social Studies teacher based in Minnesota. His first teaching position was on the US island of Tinian in Micronesia, an island with a rich history (most notably where both atomic bombs were loaded during WWII to reach Japan). Mr. McLaughlin is currently wrapping up his 11th year teaching and is preparing to move into a dual role of teacher/site director for the inner-city charter school where he works.

Dressed by Nature: Textiles of Japan

Join us at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) for a free, in-person Mia/NCTA two-day hands-on workshop in conjunction with the exhibition “Dressed by Nature: Textiles of Japan.” This mini-course will include a tour of the exhibition, presentations by NCTA art teachers and Japan specialists on the arts of shibori (dyeing), katazome (stenciling), the lives and clothing of Edo period firefighters, an overview of the Mia online resources, and two hands-on workshops. Participants will learn about hands-on lessons for Japanese style textiles that you can use in your classroom and will come away with some finished work and materials.

Asian American Activism: Voices, Representation, and Resistance

This series of standalone workshops will explore examples of Asian American activism – past and present through the themes of identity, immigration, exclusion, protest, resilience, and expression. In looking to the past, we will work to better understand what it means to be Asian American within a contemporary context.
Beginning on July 28, 2021, with the first workshop in this series, “Anti-Asian Hate Crimes and Resistance: Still Present Past” we will examine the historical legacy of anti-Asian hate crimes. The following day on July 29, the session will explore themes of immigration, identity, and activism vis-à-vis graphic novels by and about Asian Americans. Participants in this workshop will be sent Malaka Gharib’s I Was Their American Dream in advance of the workshop to read and discuss during the workshop. On August 2, the third workshop in this series will utilize excerpts from court decisions related to education (desegregation and language access) and citizenship as we examine the Asian American fight for civil rights. This series will conclude on August 4 as we introduce artistic expressions of resistance by Asian Americans within an historical context to the present.
Overall, this series is designed for secondary teachers in Social Studies, English, Language Arts, History, Government, and Visual Arts. Each workshop will focus on a subset of the themes in the larger series and will have a different curricular focus dependent upon the topic. Elementary educators are welcome and encouraged to join as content is relevant.

Day of The Western Sunrise: An Interdisciplinary Toolkit for Teaching

Engage in cross-curricular critical thinking opportunities with this online workshop that follows the process of creating and producing the modern animated documentary film Day of the Western Sunrise using traditional Japanese storytelling techniques.
The program will begin with a brief background of the film presented by its director, Keith Reimink, who brought the story of the Japanese fishing boat Lucky Dragon #5 to life. On March 1, 1954, the Japanese crew of a tuna boat was contaminated by nuclear fallout from the U.S. Castle Bravo thermonuclear weapon test in the Bikini Atoll. With a great deal of research, interviews with survivors, collaboration with the memorial museum in Japan, and work with an animation team coupled with grassroots help from activists in Japan, Keith has developed an invaluable teaching tool for multiple disciplines. Keith will discuss the process of working with the museum, obtaining interviews, writing the story and creating artwork. He will finish up by describing the steps necessary for editing and releasing the film for public use.
Keith’s introduction to the filmmaking process will be followed by a presentation made by Social Studies and Art teacher Angie Stokes who will speak about the curriculum developed for the film and explain how she integrated the film and its lessons into her own high school class. This curriculum unit offers teachers an assortment of easily adaptable lessons that will help bring the message of the Lucky Dragon’s survivors to life. Using the primary and secondary sources of the film and curriculum unit, teachers will learn ways to integrate these activities into their lessons through the investigation of storytelling, historical thinking, and human rights.

Presenters
Angie Stokes, 7-12 Teacher, Wayne Trace Junior/Senior High School, Haviland, Ohio, and Keith Reimink, Writer/Developer.

Message for Peace from East Asia: East Asian Language, History, Art, and Empathy

This program will introduce peacebuilding topics in East Asia for K-12 teachers of East Asian languages, social studies, art, and more. This program is formatted as a two-day workshop: Day 1: “Peace Conference: A-bomb Survivor’s Testimony and Symposium,” 8:15 AM-3:30 PM, Saturday, October 2, 2021, and Day 2: “Peace Workshop: Using History to Teach Empathy,” 9 AM-3 PM, Saturday, April 23, 2022.
On Day 1, Mr. Steven Leeper, former Chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, will start the day with a Zoom discussion with four panelists from China, Korea, and Japan to explore various historical views of the A-bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and today’s peacebuilding actions. Then, Mr. Leeper will invite Ms. Shigeko Sasamori, an A-bomb survivor, to testify and hold a Q&A session by Zoom for the afternoon session.

On Day 2, Ms. Rebecca Irby, Executive Director of the PEAC Institute (PEAC stands for Peace, Education, Art, Communication), will present her lesson plan “Rising Out of the Shadows” and explains how she teaches empathy using history.

Choosing Daughters: Family Change in Rural China by Lihong Shi

During the winter/spring semester of 2021, Dr. Diana M. Wood will lead an asynchronous book discussion group on Choosing Daughters: Family Change in Rural China by Lihong Shi.  This book represents recent research within one village (Lijia) in Liaoning Province, the most southern of the three provinces comprising the area formerly known as Manchuria. The author's grandfather had close ties to this village so Lihong Shi was able to talk frequently with village residents as she lived in the village during at least three research trips.  In fact, the personal stories recounted in each chapter provide terrific insight into the shifting view of child gender preference in one area of China. This book covers birth planning policy, changing views of baby gender preference and concerns over the increasing expense of “bridewealth” for prospective young men's families.  

Introduction to East Asian Visual Culture

Join art historian Melanie King for a series of introductory workshops to East Asian visual culture. Each one-hour online session will focus on a different aspect of art history and is intended for educators new to East Asian culture and art history and people looking for a refresher course.

Career Workshop: Politics, Business, and Economy in East Asia

This two-day online NCTA enrichment program will feature presentations on politics, business, and economy of East Asia, and introduce career development in East Asia.

This two-day online NCTA enrichment program will feature presentations on politics, business, and economy of East Asia, and introduce career development in East Asia. The Indiana University National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (IU NCTA) Coordinating Site and the Indiana University Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER) are collaborating to offer an enriching online workshop.

Workshop presenters include:
• Robert Ridlon, Lecturer of Business Economics & Public Policy, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
• Michael Oakes, Senior Lecturer of Finance, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University
• Joseph Fitter, Lecturer of Finance, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University

Write About Asia – Sites of Memory in Asia: Remembrance and Redemption

Write about Asia is offered by the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington in conjunction with the Seattle Asian Art Museum’s (SAAM) Gardner Center for Asian Art and Ideas and its seasonal Saturday University Lecture Series. This series is titled Sites of Memory in Asia: Remembrance and Redemption and will looked at how monumental structures encapsulate poignant events and memorable moments in history. Their construction, demolition, or remodeling often illustrate larger sociopolitical movements. The four talks in this lecture series present cases in North India, Japan, West India, and China; each reveals a highly-charged story behind the iconic site, one that embodies significant political or religious changes.

About the SAAM Saturday University Lecture Series
Participants delve into new themes every season with a different speaker each week. Challenging, thought-provoking, and sometimes surprising, this long-running and always popular lecture series incorporated audience discussion as experts from around the world join us to share their insights on Asia throughout time.

About Write About Asia
Write About Asia is offered following each SAAM public lecture and is facilitated by Mary Roberts. During the workshop, time is given to solitary writing in response to the morning lecture. The workshop nurture educators as writers through self-reflection and group discussion, and takes place after each lecture from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM.
Write About Asia is offered at no cost to current, in-service teachers, and is sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center (EARC) and the South Asia Center in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington with funding from a Freeman Foundation grant in support of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA).

Online procedure for each Saturday University Lecture + Write About Asia:
10:00 to 11:30 AM, PST: participants attend the online Zoom SAAM lecture for 90 minutes.
Following the lecture, participants draft a response to the lecture topic offline. This exercise takes about 45 minutes.
1:00 to 2:00 PM, PST: participants attend the online Zoom Write About Asia Group to share writing with other educators.

SAAM Lectures and Write About Asia Schedule
Saturday, April 3, 2021, 10:00 AM - 11.30 AM (PST); Virtual Saturday University: Creating and Destroying Sacred Spaces in North India, followed by Write About Asia, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM (PST).
Saturday, April 10 2021, 10:00 AM - 11.30 AM (PST); Virtual Saturday University: Building Ancient Memory in Modern Kyoto, followed by Write About Asia, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM (PST).
Saturday, April 17 2021, 10:00 AM - 11.30 AM (PST); Virtual Saturday University: The Memory of the Ancients in Modern Iranian and Parsi Architecture, followed by Write About Asia, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM (PST).
Saturday, APR 24 2021, 10:00 AM - 11.30 AM (PST);Virtual Saturday University: Mao's Great Leap Forward in Tian'anmen Square, 1958-59, followed byWrite About Asia, 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM (PST).

Important: Participation to the public lecture is mandatory and free for Write About Asia participants. Please make sure to register for the lectures following the links above.

Benefits
Free participation to the SAAM public lecture.
Four free WA OSPI clock hours are available for each workshop. Participation to a minimum of two workshops and fulfillment of online discussion prompts are required in order to obtain clock hours.

East Asian Legacies of Colonialism and Imperialism

This series of eight standalone online workshops will consider the legacies of colonialism and imperialism within an East Asian context. Designed for secondary teachers in Social Studies, History, Art History, Art, Language Arts, English, and Visual Culture, each workshop will address different aspects of the historical legacy and present-day realities of imperialism and colonialism. Elementary educators are welcome and encouraged to join as content is relevant. All workshops will be led by art historian Melanie King and historian Tracy Lai.

Image: Painting by Kawahara Keiga depicting Europeans in Dejima, the Dutch trading colony in the harbor of Nagasaki (early 19th century)

Participants will choose to attend at least one of the following sessions:

Session 1: Tea, opium, and goods on ships
Monday, July 10 - 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (PST)
Join Tracy and Melanie for the first session in this series that will consider the role of tea, opium, and other goods as objects and legacies of the imperial project.

Session 2: On display in exhibitions and competitions
Monday, July 10 - 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM (PST)
In this session, we’ll consider exhibitions as part of World’s Fairs and recent Olympics. In these different contexts how has East Asia presented itself and how have the different countries been received? And how have these efforts been perceived around the world?

Session 3: Asian Diasporas and Economics
Tuesday, July 11 - 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (PST)
In this session we will consider the economics of immigration policies and how this has shaped Asian communities in the U.S. What is the role of foreign factories and Asian migrant workers in the global manufacturing and supply chain?

Session 4: Militarization and occupations
Tuesday, July 11 - 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM (PST)
In this session we will consider multiple legacies of militarization by empires and the continued tension between China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the U.S. in the region.

Session 5: Museum collections and appropriations
Wednesday, July 12 - 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (PST)
This session will examine the legacy of plundered sites, the assemblage of objects in museums outside of the region, and the politics of appropriation.

Session 6: Reclaiming lost histories: Issues of repatriation and restitution
Wednesday, July 12 - 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM (PST)
In this session we will discuss examples of restitution and their significance. We will also discuss contemporary artists taking up these issues in their art.

Session 7: The New Silk Roads
Thursday, July 13 - 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM (PST)
In this session we will consider the multi-faceted exchanges and new concentrations of power along the new silk roads. Topics to be considered include China’s Belt & Road Initiative and the future of globalization.

Session 8: Asia’s Worldwide Influence
Thursday, July 13 - 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM (PST)
Our final session in this series will look at the myriad of ways cultural exports appear and influence our lives. Topics to be considered include music, food, media, and entertainment.

Exploring the Two Koreas

Teachers and students alike recognize the growing influence of Korean Pop Culture on American society. Why not use this as an opportunity to learn more about the Korean peninsula? This short 10-hour seminar will examine topics such as Korea's geography and pre-modern history, modern history and economics, the global phenomenon of Korean popular culture, North-South and international relations and other contemporary issues. - Photo Credit: www.instagram.com/igcait

Recommended Books – Grades 9-12 – Vietnam

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Finding Junie Kim: A Webinar with Author Ellen Oh

Join author Ellen Oh to learn about her personal experiences that influenced her book, Finding Junie Kim, (winner of the 2021 Freeman Book Award for Young Adult / Middle School Literature) and the advocacy group she helped found, We Need Diverse Books.

Resource suggestions and discussion circle will be included in this program, facilitated by Nancy Hope, Executive Director of the Freeman Book Awards, which is part of the Traditions and Change Book Club for educators offered by Asia for Educators and several National Resource Centers.

China in World History

…program Two PD hours are available for each module. How to Participate – View online video presentations any time. Access to videos is completely free of charge, but educators must sign…...

A Dance of Letters: How East Asian Writing Systems Work

This is a six-contact-hour mini-course spread over two Saturday afternoons (May 14 and 21) that examines the writing systems used by speakers of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. First, we will study how Chinese characters express both meanings and sounds. Next, the course will explore how Korea’s writing system combines Chinese characters with an alphabet called hangeul that shows the physical mouth positions for different sounds. Finally, we will look at how Japanese uses Chinese characters together with two phonetic syllabaries to transmit various kinds of information about Japanese words. The mini-course will include discussions and exercises regarding how elements of these systems can be taught in various K-12 classrooms, including classes focused on history, culture, geography, and/or science. Participants will receive a set of calligraphy materials in advance of the program. A complementary book will be sent to participants who attend both sessions.

Recommended Books – Grades 6-8 – Korea

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Recommended Books – Grades 6-8 – Vietnam

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Butterflies Chapter from The Tale of Genji Attributed to Tosa Mitsuyoshi, 17th century Collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art

Teaching East Asia Foundational Summer Seminar: Art & Literature

Spend a week at Michigan State University this summer. MSU is once again offering their popular foundational East Asia seminar, in which you will learn aspects of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean art, literature, history and culture, and engage in hands-on art projects, analysis of literary works, and learn about classroom applications and recommended resources.

Image: Butterflies Chapter from The Tale of Genji, Attributed to Tosa Mitsuyoshi, 17th century, Collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art

Book Awards – Seal Order

…seals. For hard copies (stickers) of the seal, you can place your order directly with the printer StickerShop.com (http://www.labelsstickersandmore.com). Use the image we have provide and place the order with…...

Teaching on the Silk Roads

Viewing world history from the vantage point of the Silk Roads can challenge the Eurocentrism of mainstream history and introduce a more balanced view of the past. In this online workshop we will explore the global significance of this trade network that connected India, Central and East Asia, and Europe for over a thousand years. We will especially focus on the development and spread of Buddhism and also discuss the momentous discovery of the largest cache of historic documents and artifacts found in the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang that bear witness to the cultural, religious, social and commercial activity that took place along the Silk Roads. Part of our exploration of the Silk Roads will involve interactive mapping (using ArcGIS Online) which teachers and students can use throughout the school year to:
1) Complete a distance analysis of the locations along the Silk Roads
2) Examine the landscapes of the Silk Roads
3) Evaluate “the reach” of the Silk Roads in terms of goods, cultures and diseases

Exploring the Two Koreas II

Teachers and students alike recognize the growing influence of Korean Pop Culture on American society. Why not use this as an opportunity to learn more about the Korean peninsula? This short 10-hour seminar, facilitated by Lori Snyder, will examine topics such as Korea's modern history (1910-present), the global phenomenon of Korean popular culture, North-South relations, geopolitics and other contemporary issues.

Walking the Tokaido: Self-guided Multi-disciplinary Experience

Using the MyVirtualMission (www.myvirtualmission.com/) platform, participants will exercise (walk, run, swim, cycle, etc.) and log their distances into the dedicated mission page. Progress along the Tōkaidō will be updated as miles are posted, and users will be able view their location on Google Maps as well as Google Street View. At each of 10 stations, participants will complete readings, view videos, and respond to forum prompts on the FCCEAS Moodle (moodle.fivecolleges.edu). Optional materials for seven additional stations will be available for further exploration.

The Samurai’s Garden

During the Fall of 2020 Dr. Diana M. Wood will lead an online book discussion group on The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama. There are three main characters, two Japanese (one man and one woman) and one young Chinese (raised in Hong Kong but a university student in Guangzhou, China) and the years covered by the story are 1937-8. Almost every moment of this story occurs in the Chinese family’s beach-front home in Tarumi, Japan. This free discussion group will be conducted asynchronously over the course of two months. Participants will receive a complimentary copy of the book. For Pennsylvania teachers, completion of this book discussion will be worth fourteen Act 48 hours. For teachers in other states we can provide you with a certificate of completion and/or a personal letter from the instructor.

The Boy from Clearwater: Book 1

…ready to embrace freedom. For fans of Persepolis and March comes an incredible true story that lays bare the tortured and triumphant history of Taiwan, an island claimed and fought…...

Chinese Sci-fi and the Imagination of Sustainable Futures: A NCTA Resource Workshop for K-12 Educators

This online workshop explores how Chinese sci-fi engages with the challenges of environmental, social, and political sustainability that confront both contemporary China and humanity at large. We will explore the work of eminent sci-fi writers such as Liu Cixin, Hao Jingfang, Chen Qiufan, Han Song, and Chi Hui, whose short stories collectively address threats to biodiversity, environmental resources, and the social order while also presenting alternative imaginations of sustainable futures and interspecies coexistence. Our treatment of these texts will demonstrate as well how a global humanities approach might incorporate United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to further analysis and reflection.

Huawei, 5G, and the China-US Technology Race

An investigation of the competition between the US and China in the sphere of cyber technology. From TikTok to Huawei to Artificial Intelligence, we will explore the current state of the field and consider what the future may hold. In addition to looking at cyber technology, we will also investigate how this competition between the US and China impacts society, government, economics, and international relations. Participants in the seminar will be better equipped to share contemporary cyber-related case studies as they teach history, technology, government, sociology, and current events. Participants will receive a complimentary copy of Kai-Fu Lee, AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order (Mariner Books).

Seminar: China – Japan – Korea

The seminar is divided into three modules: Module 1 China (Jan. 11, 18, 25, Feb. 1, 8); Module 2 Japan (Feb. 15, March 1, 8, 15, 22); Module 3 Korea (March 29, April 5, 12, 19, 26). Participants will complete a short reflection paper for each module. You may sign up for 1, 2 or all 3 modules.

Participants will receive a $50 stipend for successful completion of each module, a certificate of completion for 10 contact hours for each module, a 1-year subscription to Education About Asia, and all of the books and other required materials for the seminar. *Please note that we can only pay stipends to US citizens and permanent residents.*

Soul Lanterns

Soul Lanterns

…all keep hidden, the project teaches the entire community new ways to show compassion. Soul Lanterns is an honest exploration of what happened on August 6, 1945, and offers readers…...

Folding it into the Curriculum: Origami and STEAM in the K-12 Classroom

Come learn about the modern applications of origami, a journey that takes us across the globe and to the stars and back! In this workshop, we will explore the “art of the fold” as developed by rocket scientists in the production of NASA’s Starshade; mathematicians in assessing three-dimensional space; and future engineers in constructing homemade origami robots. While folding math and science into the curriculum, we will also consider the history of papermaking in China, traditions of crane folding in Japan, and uses of functional origami in modern design! From the history of this art form to modern day research applications, we will learn how paper folding illuminates new and exciting directions in the classroom/ in cross-curricular teaching. While supplies last, origami sets will be sent to workshop participants.

Foundational Seminar: Crossroads of East Asia, STEAM, and SEL

Join us for a virtual journey that will introduce East Asia’s diverse cultures and environment while building and enhancing your tool chest of teaching resources for the classroom. Focusing on the regions that comprise present-day China, Japan, and Korea, participants in this free online seminar will engage with experts and other educators in the field to explore major trends, global issues, and historic foundations that shape East Asian society. Through hands-on activities, films, lectures, and discussion, the cohort will learn about East Asia’s diverse cultures to enhance teaching resources in the classroom. A broad range of innovative teaching materials will be shared, engaging social-emotional learning (SEL), education in Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM), social studies, ELA, and other cross-curricular approaches to society and culture.

Artistic Expressions of East Asia: Histories and Legacies

Series of standalone two-hour workshops focusing on artistic expressions of East Asia
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The first session, East Asian Art History: Form, Content, and Connections on Monday, August 9, is an introductory overview of art historical concepts and forms for people who are new to East Asian art and art history and for people who are looking for a refresher.

The second session on Wednesday, August 11, Exploring Post-Growth Ways of Life: Art Festivals and Art Projects will introduce recent economic and demographic trends in Japan: persistent low growth and the beginnings of population decline. As large-scale growth has faltered, many in Japan have begun to explore sustainability and local autonomy as values that are better suited to future as it is coming into view. Artists and art projects have played a major role in imagining and experimenting with new ways of life, particularly in rural areas that have suffered most under growth-centered regimes.

On Thursday, August 12, Nuclear Threats as Visualized in Art and Culture will introduce works of artists, including writers and filmmakers, that illuminate and address nuclear threats in the various form they have taken post-1945, from nuclear power generation to weapons production, testing, and fallout. We will focus on recent works that have been selected to give insight into the diversity of nuclear impacts around the world, but mostly focused on Japan.

The final session on Friday, August 13, The Politics of Monuments, Memorials, and Public Art will introduce public art works and the politics of their making and legacies. While our examples will focus mostly on East Asia, this conversation lends itself to actions taking place around the world to address the complicated histories of monuments and what happens when we question in whose honor they were erected.

New Media and Internet in China

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Teaching East Asian Literature Workshop

The East Asian Studies Center at Indiana University is hosting its annual week-long, intensive summer workshop for English and world literature teachers who are interested in incorporating Chinese, Japanese, and Korean literature into their curriculum. Each day is filled with a variety of lectures from history and literature professors, and high school world lit teachers. Following the workshop, each participant develops a complete lesson plan for at least one of the pieces covered in the workshop. Those who turn in their lesson plan by the deadline are eligible to receive a generous book-buying grant. This free workshop - supported by generous funding from the Freeman Foundation - focuses on the remarkable literary productions of China, Japan, and Korea.

Perspectives in East Asian Art

Presented by the Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM) at Oberlin College, this interactive presentation will provide an overview of the East Asian art collection at the AMAM, with examples of how to interpret works of art from the collection using different disciplinary lenses.

Join the museum curators in exploring renowned works of art through Augmented Reality (AR), and gain access to FREE online resources for K–12, including standard-driven lesson plans for cross-disciplinary and differentiated learning. Certificates of Completion will be given to K-12 educators who attend this program. The Pitt NCTA will be hosting this online program.

Teaching East Asian Literature

Teachers who have experienced this workshop rave about it. For 6 days in July, on the beautiful campus of Indiana University in Bloomington, experts in the history and literature of China, Japan, and Korea lecture and discuss the full range of literature in English translation, from classical, pre-modern, and modern writers. Two days are spent on the literature of each country. Participants come to the workshop having already received the course packets and books, so are prepared for discussion in advance. A master world literature teacher each day guides the implementation of the day’s selected literature into options for lesson plans and classroom activities. In the evenings, additional cultural options are scheduled.

Memories of Trauma: The Carnegie International Exhibition and Social Emotional Learning

Innovative workshop in which we will learn how artists from around the world process trauma through their art. This in-person evening program includes; admission to the exhibition at the Carnegie Museum of Art; dinner and an overview of the Carnegie International exhibition; a docent guided tour of six selected installations from the exhibition; and a round table discussion with area educators on art and social-emotional learning in the classroom. The program is free and will include Act 48 hours for area educators. Registration is limited. 

The View from Ground Zero: Teaching the Bomb through Literature

Teaching U.S. History, World History, Literature or even Elementary? Join us for a free online workshop that explores the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki through the lens of Japanese literature. The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki remains the only time that nuclear weapons have been used on a civilian population. Even though it occurred over 75 years ago, the trauma of the bombing persists in the bodies of survivors, the politics of the U.S.-Japan relationship, and the literature of postwar Japan. 

Scholars Shawn Bender and Alex Bates will provide you with an overview of the decision-making process that led to the dropping of the bomb, initial responses to the bombing in the U.S. and Japan, and the political dimensions of memorializing the bomb in the U.S. and Japan, including censorship of the Enola Gay exhibition at the Smithsonian. The workshop moves next to two personal narratives crafted into short stories by Japanese authors. These include versions of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, for elementary to high school students, and Hara Tamiki’s first-person account “Summer Flowers,” which is most appropriate for the high school students. A pdf version of these short stories (and any other readings) will be emailed to those who register for this program.

Dissecting the Rise of China: China’s Rise, Regional Security, and Domestic Reform

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Great Books of East Asia: Tale of the Heike

Join NCTA for the third in our “Great Books of East Asia series,” a free online book discussion group. This spring’s program will provide you with the chance to delve into one of the greatest epics of Japanese literature, The Tale of the Heike. This 14th century memorial to the ghosts of war depicts the struggles between the Taira and Minamoto clans for control of Japan during the Genpei War. Join Japanese literature specialist Dr. Elizabeth Oyler and master NCTA teacher Michele Beauchamp for a journey into heroism, cruelty, power, glory, sacrifice, and Buddhist thought. Registrants will be sent a complimentary copy of Royall Tyler’s translation of The Tale of the Heike. PA teachers who complete the workshop will receive 2.5 Act 48 hours. For teachers in other states, we can provide you with a Certificate of Completion.

Strong Women of Asia: A Memoir Book Group

This unrelated two-part book series will examine strong women from Asia as they tell about their own horrors and triumphs. While the two sessions are separate from one another (signing up for just one is fine), both sessions share a common theme, women who had life-shaping experiences that tested their strength. Moderator is Morgan McLaughlin.

Strong Women of Asia: A Memoir Book Group

This unrelated two-part book series will examine strong women from Asia as they tell about their own horrors and triumphs. While the two sessions are separate from one another (signing up for just one is fine), both sessions share a common theme, women who had life-shaping experiences that tested their strength. Moderator is Morgan McLaughlin.

Reframing American History and Identity

Award-winning filmmakers Baldwin Chiu (subject and producer) and Larissa Lam (director/producer) will show excerpted portions of their documentary, Far East Deep South, accompanied by a conversation on reframing American identity and history to foster a stronger sense of belonging. They will discuss the importance of broadening how we discuss American history to include underrepresented groups and how we can help students connect personally to history. Far East Deep South follows a Chinese American family’s search for their roots that leads to Mississippi, where they uncover surprising family revelations and the racially complex history of Chinese immigrants during the Jim Crow and Chinese Exclusion Act eras. This moving story won a 2022 Telly Award and made its broadcast premiere on PBS World Channel’s series “America ReFramed.” The film offers a poignant perspective on race, immigration and identity. The film is available to watch for free at the link below.

Recommended Books – Grades 3-5 – Korea

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What’s Happening to China’s Uyghurs and Why It Matters

This free course focuses on the Uyghur ethnic minority/indigenous people in China, a case study for exploring issues of genocide as mandated by numerous state social studies standards. The course is open to secondary social studies teachers nationwide. The course consists of three one-week asynchronous modules, each capped with a live Zoom webinar, and a Saturday morning virtual workshop. The course will 1) introduce the historical and political context of the Uyghur people in China; 2) explore the relationship between territory, nationalism, and ethnic conflict through the case study of the Uyghurs in China; and 3) analyze current events, resources, and research on this evolving crisis. The virtual Saturday workshop will engage participants with the 2022 revised Brown University Choices unit on genocide, applying the Genocide Convention definitions to the current situation of the Uyghurs.

Ties That Bind: Connecting the U.S. and East Asia (for Minnesota teachers)

In this workshop, learn from classroom teachers about early ties in the greater Boston area and more contemporary ties beyond before moving on to explore some Minnesota ties. Learn how to research your own topics to enhance your curriculum, and how to add your discoveries to the project. The workshop will also include an introduction to the resources at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Dr. Anne Prescott of the Five College Center for East Asian Studies and NCTA Director, will lead this workshop.

Online NCTA Book Club: The Penguin Book of Modern Tibetan Essays (edited by Tenzin Dickie)

Join Tese Wintz Neighbor – and the “voices” of 22 Tibetan writers – as we explore their shared sense of loss and shared search for home. In the book "The Penguin Book of Modern Tibetan Essays," editor and translator Tenzin Dickie gives us a powerful, intimate, and engaging portrait of modern Tibetan life – outside of Tibet. Through their extraordinary voices, we as readers, join the authors as they grapple with what it means to be living in exile in all corners of the world. Dickie believes that their “homework” of writing an essay about Tibet becomes “a literary exercise in recovering the lost land.” As Tenzin Dickie writes in her introduction “The essay—as act of truth—changes not just the writer but also the reader.”

China’s Millennials: The Want Generation. An Interview with Book Author Eric Fish

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The Current State of Uighurs and Kazacks in China. Sam Tynen

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Learning and Teaching East Asian Art

Our six-part series of free video presentations with Power Point images, classroom resources, and discussion boards – specifically covering items on the Advance Placement art exam.   You may take part in…...

Outer Space Policy

Are you intrigued by the evolving public and private dimensions of outer space policy? Did you follow the Odysseus Moon lander, the first privately build spacecraft and first U.S. one to land on the moon in 50 years? Do you think about the potential for both cooperation and conflict among nations in outer space? If so, join the World Affairs Council’s Global Classroom Director and K-12 educator Ryan Hauck and the University of Washington’s East Asia Resource Center in a “Beyond the Headlines” lecture by Professor Saadia M. Pekkanen, Founding Co-Director of the Space Policy and Research Center. The lecture will be followed by a Q & A.

Write About Asia – Color in Asian Art: Materials and Meaning

Write about Asia is offered by the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington in conjunction with the Seattle Asian Art Museum’s (SAAM) Gardner Center for Asian Art and Ideas and its seasonal Saturday University Lecture Series. This series, titled Color in Asian Art: Materials and Meaning, will look at color in Asian artworks and investigate pigment histories, materials, and meanings. Sessions include color and vision in early Buddhist art, trade in turquoise, and much more.

About the SAAM Saturday University Lecture Series
Delve into new themes every season with a different speaker each week. Challenging, thought-provoking, and sometimes surprising, this long-running and always popular lecture series incorporates audience discussion as experts from around the world join us to share their insights on Asia throughout time.

About Write About Asia
Write About Asia is offered following each Zoom public lecture and facilitated by Mary Roberts. During the workshop, time will be given to solitary writing in response to the morning lecture. The workshop will nurture educators as writers through self-reflection and group discussion. Write About Asia is offered at no cost to current, in-service teachers, and is sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center (EARC) in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington with funding from a Freeman Foundation grant in support of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA).
Online procedure for each Saturday University Lecture + Write About Asia:
Attend the online Zoom SAAM lecture for 90 minutes.
Following the lecture, offline draft a response to the lecture topic for 45 minutes.
Attend the online Zoom Write About Asia Group to share writing with other educators for 60 minutes.

Benefits
Free participation to the SAAM public lecture.
Four free WA OSPI clock hours are available for each workshop. Participation to a minimum of two workshops and fulfillment of online discussion prompts are required in order to obtain clock hours.

Touchstones: Teaching East Asia Foundational Seminar

Touchstones for Teaching East Asia is a free, online foundational seminar that introduces participants to East Asian history, culture, politics, and society. Touchstones emphasizes the ideas and characteristics that make East Asia a distinct region, with particular attention paid to China and Japan. The seminar is designed for K-12 educators who want to enhance their teaching of East Asian topics. Media specialists, librarians, art teachers, and world language teachers are also encouraged to apply. Daily sessions include in-depth lectures by scholars, hands-on activities, and group discussions on teaching strategies and resources. By the conclusion of this 36-hour seminar, teacher-participants will have a better understanding of the key ideas, individuals, and events that shaped East Asian civilization and be equipped with new approaches to teaching students about the region. Participants will receive free materials and Certificates of Completion for full participation in the course.

Exploring the Material Culture of Edo Japan

When Edo (present day Tokyo) became the military capital of Japan in 1604, it was a minor and remote fishing village. Yet by the mid-1700s the city had become the largest city in Japan and rivaled the older cultural hubs of Osaka and Kyoto, surpassing Paris and London in size. Material culture produced in Edo reflected this spatial shift and its rise as the new center of Japan. In turn, Edo projected this centrality to an increasingly national audience. At the same time, the material culture of Edo reflects an insatiable demand for depictions of and information about an expansive world view and awareness of global trends and developments.

In addition to space, Edo is also an expansive historical period, stretching from the early 1600s to the middle of the 1800s. This era is remembered and represented as the age of popular, lowbrow culture; however, it was also a time of great reflection and engagement with the past; urban commoners and samurai alike consumed classical texts, styles, and accoutrement, as they used their wealth and time to learn poetry, painting, philosophy, and other cultural markers of class. The objectified cultural capital of Edo was hybrid–-mixing old and new, low and high, sumptuous and simple.

Exploring the Material Culture of Edo Japan will examine the significance of Edo as both a location and a historical period. To better understand this place and time, we will consider short stories, poetry, utilitarian objects, decorative arts, and related primary source documents.

This program will be led by Melanie King, Art Historian and Brian Dowdle, Associate Professor of Japanese Language and Culture and Mansfield Fellow, University of Montana.

Women in Premodern East Asia: De-marginalizing Their Lives and Voices

Current scholarship challenges traditional narratives of women as one-dimensional actors with little agency in pre-20th century China, Japan, and Korea. Focusing on premodern times through the 19th century, the institute will consider the diversity of women's experiences across time, place, and class, exploring their critical roles in governing and in economic and cultural practices of the family, community, and state. Participants will work with scholars and specialists to examine written and visual sources to re-center women within East Asian history and within their own curricula.

Disaster and Resilience: Lessons from Minamata

This combination online book discussion and workshop will explore the Freeman Book Award winning graphic novel The Minamata Story: An EcoTragedy, which tells the story of how the Japanese town of Minamata became synonymous with environmental tragedy and recovery. The story of the Minamata disaster, on the island of Kyushu, has application to a range of subject areas and is an excellent case study of human-caused environmental disasters and what we can do about them. The events in Minamata profoundly impacted the relationship between local people, corporations, and the environment and helped spur environmental law and policy in Japan. In addition to discussion of the graphic novel we will also explore how primary source photography of the aftermath of the tragedy allowed grassroots activists to successfully campaign for government and corporate accountability.

Program leaders
Dr. Brian Dowdle, Associate Professor of Japanese Language and Culture, and Mansfield Fellow, University of Montana.
Dr. Lauren Collins, Program Director of Asian Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Image: The Chisso chemical plant in Minamata, Japan (Minimata Disease Municipal Museum). Photo credit: UN News

The “Japanese Turn” In The Art, Architecture And Cuisine Of Europe And The United States, 1860–2020

Join us for this free online workshop with distinguished historian Sam Yamashita. Over the last forty years, Japanese cuisine has had an oversized influence on fine dining in the United States. Chefs cooking at celebrated American restaurants are now freely using Japanese ingredients, condiments, culinary techniques, and concepts, and the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, the leading culinary school in the country, now offers a concentration in Japanese cuisine. This lecture will describe in some detail this “Japanese turn” and argue that this contemporary culinary movement toward Japan is comparable to the Japanese influence on European and American art and architecture in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and may be another important Japanese moment in American cultural history.

China and Japan in Wartime, 1936-1945: War Experiences Through Literature

This free asynchronous seven-week special topics course will consider a sampling of short stories and poetry written during and in the aftermath of WWII by Chinese and Japanese writers capturing experiences and memories of war in each country. The course consists of three two-week modules: war on the battlefield, war on the home front, and women’s experiences of WWII. All selections are in English translation and most appropriate for high school use; middle and high school educators welcome to apply, however. Participants will be given access to all of the course materials and will also receive complimentary copies of Modern Chinese History by David Kenley and Japan and Imperialism, 1853-1945 by James L. Huffman.

Image, Text, and Language at the Intersection of Cultures – East Asia and Beyond

This four-session online seminar explores the relationship between image, text, and language in East Asia and beyond. Each week we will examine different genres such as woodblock prints, scrolls, manga, and multimedia expressions from an interdisciplinary approach to consider shifting language-text traditions and practices. Themes and topics to be considered include nature, religion, intercultural exchange, and adaptation. Participants will complete and develop creative activities, which they can use in the classroom to help students use images and text in combination to express ideas and explain the world.

Japan’s Long 20th Century in Short Fiction

From the rapid, dislocating modernization of the early decades, through war and regeneration, to global economic and cultural influence and a century's end amidst a “lost decade” of disrupture and national self-examination, Japan’s 20th century is vividly reflected in short literature that can enrich social studies, literature and other curricula. This course considers a selection of lesser-known works from five periods in Japan’s 20th century that have made it into translation but perhaps not yet into the secondary school classroom.

Beethoven in Beijing: Nixon, Mao, the Cultural Revolution and the Philadelphia Orchestra

Join us for a 10-hour seminar which uses the documentary film Beethoven in Beijing as a lens to examine Nixon’s 1972 visit to China, Mao, music, and the Philadelphia Orchestra’s 1973 tour to China. This seminar has five required components, three synchronous and two asynchronous. Participants must complete all five components within the seminar period (January 24-February 18, 2022) in order to receive a certificate of completion for 10 contact hours and a $50 stipend.

Ukiyoe: History, Art and ELA

This is an in-person workshop hosted by Moonlit Sea Prints in Easthampton, MA. The workshop will include a talk by Professor Akira Shimizu, Wilkes University; presentations on using woodblock prints in ELA and Art classes; a hands-on experience making woodblock prints; and time to browse the Moonlit Sea Prints Gallery.

In the Tunnel

Key words: Family, adventure, war, resilience Myung-gi knows war is coming: War between North and South Korea. Life in communist North Korea has become more and more unbearable—there is no…...

China, Big Data, and Surveillance

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Chinese Characters. Editor Jeffrey Wasserstrom on Teaching with Contemporary Profiles

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Disputed Waters: South China Sea, International Law, and the Future of Asian Balance of Power

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East Asia and the West

The one-day workshop will focus upon learning and teaching about Japan, North and South Korea, China, and Taiwan. Particular attention will be given to cultural comparisons and critical contemporary issues, both to understand East Asia and the West in history and learn more about contemporary global issues that involve the US and East Asia. Institute faculty include university professors with expertise on Asia and the West who have extensive experience and high participant evaluations for their work with high school and middle school teachers.

Workshop speakers and sessions include:
- Ron Kalafsky, Professor of Geography, University of Tennessee at Knoxville “The Physical Geographies of East Asia.”
- Lauren McKee, Associate Professor of Political Science and Asian Studies, Berea College, “Comparative Politics: Japan and the US.”
- Brandon Bolen, Assistant Professor of Economics, Mississippi College, “East Asia and Wealth Accumulation: Economic and Financial Literacy Lessons for Americans?”
- Clayton Brown, Associate Professor of History, Utah State University “China’s Great Leap Forward.”
- Lucien Ellington, UC Foundation Professor of Education and Asia Program Director, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga “Famous East Asian Entrepreneurs.

Sashiko: A Japanese Needlework Art

Join sashiko artisan Atsushi Futatsuya in this exclusive FCCEAS NCTA workshop. Beginning in late May, participants will have exclusive access to instructional videos to learn at your own pace. In June participants will have the option to join small-group synchronous online meetings with Atsushi to help you as you create your project. Several required short readings on sashiko as well as discussion forums will be available on the workshop Moodle for the duration of the workshop. The workshop concludes with a synchronous webinar, tentatively scheduled for July 8, 1-3pm ET, on sashiko history and practices.

Materials needed to complete one sashiko project will be mailed directly to participants before Memorial Day. 

Participants who make progress on the needlework project, complete the short required readings, participate in the synchronous webinar on sashiko history and practices, respond to Moodle forum discussion prompts, and submit a short reflection paper on lessons learned and classroom application will receive a professional development certificate of completion for 20 contact hours.

Sashiko: A Japanese Needlework Art

Join sashiko artisan Atsushi Futatsuya in this exclusive NCTA workshop.

This is a largely asynchronous experience. Participants will have exclusive access to instructional videos to learn at your own pace, small-group synchronous online meetings with Atsushi to help you as you create your project (scheduled directly with Atsushi in late Nov. through early Jan.), and a synchronous webinar on the history and practices of this traditional art. Participants will receive all the materials needed to complete one sashiko project.

Participants who complete the needlework project, participate in the synchronous webinar on sashiko history and practices, and submit a short reflection paper on lessons learned and classroom application will receive a professional development certificate of completion for 20 contact hours. Sashiko materials will arrive before Thanksgiving 2022, and the synchronous webinar will be on January 10, 7-8:30pm.

Ties That Bind: Honolulu

Honolulu offers a unique opportunity to learn about China, Japan and Korea without needing a passport or worrying about currency exchange, but still with a dash of jet lag.

In this one-week NCTA Summer Institute, 17 participants will explore Chinese, Japanese and Korean culture and history in Honolulu, with the goal of deepening their understanding of the connections between the U.S. and East Asia through the people, places and events found there--both in the past and the present. The institute will feature daily field trips, hands-on cultural experiences, and guided tours by local experts. Topics to be covered will likely include historical events in China, Japan and Korea with a Hawaii connection; where immigrants came from and why; current ties; prominent historical figures; and cultural identity.

Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor’s Story

Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor’s Story

…prsonal story, the complex historical events leading up to, during and post war become real to a teenager who may consider World War II ancient history. Relevant in our world…...

Nothing to Envy and Moms: Modern Issues in Korea Book Club

Led by Morgan McLaughlin this asynchronous book club will focus on modern issues in Korea as depicted in two books. The first book, Nothing to Envy, Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick, focuses on individuals telling their own story. The second book, Moms by Yeong-shin Ma, focuses on the growing issue of what it means to be a woman in South Korea when you've devoted everything to your husband and kids but now feel completely alone.

Walking the Tōkaidō Virtual Seminar

Using the My Virtual Mission platform, participants will walk (both virtually and the distance in reality) from Edo to Kyoto, stopping at ten required (and seven optional) stations to complete readings, view webinars/videos, and respond to discussion prompts. Participants can progress at their own pace, but all ten required units must be completed by August 28.

Image: Kyoto: The Great Bridge at Sanjō (Taibi, Keishi, Sanjō Ōhashi), from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō gojūsan tsugi). Utagawa Hiroshige.

East Asia Summer Institute for High School Teachers

In an effort to infuse Asian studies and perspectives in the social studies and language arts curricula, the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) is offering a virtual professional development summer institute for high school teachers. Over the course of five days, this virtual summer institute will provide content lectures and curricular resources highlighting the geography, cultures, politics, economics, history, and literature of East Asia, including a special focus on U.S.–Asia relations, the Asian diaspora in the United States, and the diversity of the Asian American experience.

Seminar participants will be expected to actively engage in all online synchronous sessions and complete pre-assigned readings. Additional asynchronous discussions and resource sharing will take place online via Canvas, our learning management system.

Participants will:
Gain a deeper understanding—both historical and contemporary—of China, Korea, Japan, U.S.–Asia relations, and the Asian American experience.
Be provided with instructional materials about China, Japan, Korea, U.S.–Asia relations, and the Asian American experience for classroom use.
Integrate content knowledge about China, Japan, Korea, U.S.–Asia relations, and/or the Asian American experience with effective, thoughtful, and engaging instructional approaches.
Become a community of learners committed to a long-term engagement in the exploration of Asian and Asian American studies.

Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project

Dr. Roland Hsu will give an overview of the Project, which seeks to give a voice to the Chinese migrants whose labor on the Transcontinental Railroad helped to shape the physical and social landscape of the American West. Greg Francis will give an overview of the curricular component of the Project, which helps to make the Project’s findings and materials accessible to teachers and students.

Foundational Seminar: Crossroads of East Asia: Movement through Time and Place

Join us for a virtual journey that will introduce East Asia’s diverse cultures and environment while building and enhancing your tool chest of teaching resources for the classroom. Focusing on the regions that comprise present-day China, Japan, and Korea, participants in this free online seminar will engage with experts and other educators in the field to explore major trends, global issues, and historic foundations that shape East Asian society. Through hands-on activities, films, lectures, and discussion, the cohort will learn about East Asia’s diverse cultures to enhance teaching resources in the classroom. A broad range of innovative teaching materials will be shared, engaging social-emotional learning (SEL), education in Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM), social studies, ELA, and other cross-curricular approaches to society and culture.

China in World History

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Teaching Resources for East Asian Art

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Top Ten Things to Know about East Asia in the 21st Century

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East Asian Case Studies in Human Geography: Agricultural and Urban Geography

Matthew Sudnik, a teacher at Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, Maryland, will discuss AP Human Geography units 5 and 6, presenting specific lesson plans for the geography of agriculture and urban geography. Examples discussed will include the geography of tea cultivation and tea culture and a closer look at urban geography from New York, Chicago, and Detroit to Tokyo, Shanghai, and Singapore.

East Asia: Origins To 1800

This seminar covers the history and cultures of East Asia from the neolithic past to 1800. The course includes an overview of the region’s geography and demography, early ideologies as well as links between China, Korea and Japan. Participants will examine social hierarchies and expectations through literature and art, and explore the technological breakthroughs, economic rise and political systems of the region. Those teaching history, social studies, art and literature will find the course particularly relevant.

Boys Don’t Fry

…and the bubbly chatter coming from the kitchen. His grandmother, Mamah, is cooking up a storm! As his aunties dice, slice, and chop, there’s nothing Jin wants more than to…...

My Night in the Planetarium

My Night in the Planetarium

…book. Starting with a lightly humorous overview of Indonesian history, through colonization by the Dutch, he leads up to 1977, a pivotal moment in his life, during the brutal rule…...

The Meaning of President Obama’s Visit to Hiroshima

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An Echo in the City

…is … until the Hong Kong protest movement unfolds, and she learns the city she’s come to love is in danger of disappearing. Seventeen-year-old Kai sees himself as an artist,…...

East Asian Design: Architecture & Urbanism

Moving across history in time and space, this five-week online course will overview the multifaceted architectural and urbanist dimensions of East Asia - from its urban planning concepts and monuments, to construction techniques and aesthetic concepts. It will extract some of the most defining epochs in East-Asian history, such as the spread of Buddhism, Colonialism, and the embrace and assimilation of Western Modernism. Going from Japan to China, and Korea to Hong Kong, this course will offer insights into how East Asian culture offers an intellectual counterpoint to the West, and why it remains deeply relevant to our increasingly globalizing world. - Photo Credit: Basile Morin

Catfish Rolling

…where time has been irrevocably sped up or slowed down. Sora’s father leads a research team studying the zones, and even as his colleagues begin to fall ill, he refuses…...

The Color of the Sky Is the Shape of the Heart

…changes everything: The sky is about to fall. Where do you go? Ginny sets off alone on the road in search of an answer, with only her journal as a…...

The Red Palace

…truth, she encounters Eojin, a young police inspector also searching for the killer. When evidence begins to point to the Crown Prince himself as the murderer, Hyeon and Eojin must…...

Japan: Where We Are At

About the “Where We Are At” Series:
With a 24-hour uninterrupted, busy news cycle, it can be difficult to stay updated on East Asia and to grasp the relevance of the news we see. This online program series helps teachers with a recap of how China, Xinjiang, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan stand on the domestic and international stage, provides a summary and the specific context of what happened in each East Asian country in the last few months, and allows for a place for teachers to ask questions to a regional expert. Whether you closely follow East Asia or want to learn more about why you should be paying attention to it, this program is a great occasion to deepen your knowledge and understanding.

Teachers join the EARC staff and guest speakers from the faculty of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington and other regional experts for a discussion on the contextual relevance of recent and current events.

Regional Expert: Robert Pekkanen is Professor at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, Adjunct Professor of Political Science, and Adjunct Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington. Professor Pekkanen will provide a summary of the latest updates on Japan, followed by a moderated Q&A session.

“Has China Won?”

Many in the U.S. see China as a rival that threatens its global primacy. Join Tese Wintz Neighbor in reading Kishore Mahbubani’s latest book entitled Has China Won? The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy. Grapple together with fellow teachers as you discuss the title and the book’s challenging contents. As 2001 Nobel laureate Michael Spence writes: “His assessment of the biases and mistakes on both sides is both brutal and crucial. It will take most readers out of their comfort zone, and that is part of its strength.”

Program benefits
A physical or digital copy of the book (we will do our best to make sure you receive your copy within 5 days from signing up)
Online Resource packet
Four free Washington State OSPI clock hours

The Silent Witness: A Survivor’s Story of Hiroshima

Consider the critical role of witness testimony for historical understanding through the short documentary, "The Silent Witness" and accompanying educators’ guide. Participants will preview the film produced by the Kunhardt Film Foundation, in which Tomiko Morimoto West at age 91 shares her experiences as a 13-year old girl in Hiroshima during and after the atomic bombing on August 6, 1945. The webinar will focus on instructional approaches and resources when screening Tomiko’s story with middle and high school students.

Three Japanese Picture Books for the Elementary Classroom

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Korea Goes Global, Part 1

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Teaching from Contemporary Asian Art: Student-Centered Engagement Strategies

What does an image tell us about the artist’s point of view? How do contemporary Asian artists integrate cultural histories into their practices? How can educators encourage students to share their perspectives, as well as connect art to issues that affect their families and communities?

In partnership with the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), this virtual workshop focuses on facilitation skills to deepen student connection to contemporary Asian artists, their work, and their stories. Participants will learn how close-looking strategies foster an inclusive space for students to share their ideas. In conjunction, SAM and EARC educators will introduce works of contemporary Asian art that explore relevant themes of protest, migration, and identity. In small groups, participants will practice these skills together and collaborate on classroom applications.

Featured in the Seattle Asian Art Museum’s Be/longing exhibition, the highlighted artworks can be integrated in Social Studies, Visual Art, English Language Arts, and a range of other curricula across grade levels. This program is designed for K–12 classroom teachers as an introduction to using art in the classroom. All are welcome.

Baseball’s Bridge to the Pacific: Celebrating the Legacy of Japanese American Baseball

Using baseball as a lens to explore the history of Japanese Americans and the U.S.–Japan relationship, this Zoom webinar offers a virtual tour of “Baseball’s Bridge to the Pacific,” a special exhibit currently on display at Dodger Stadium. Join Kerry Yo Nakagawa, the founder and director of the Nisei Baseball Research Project (NBRP), as he brings the legacy of Japanese Americans and baseball to life, live from Dodger Stadium! Attendees will receive a PDF of free curriculum materials on teaching about baseball and Japanese American incarceration, developed by SPICE and NBRP for high school and community college teachers.

Ties That Bind: Connecting the US with East Asia

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Reconsidering East Asia in the Early Modern World: Maritime Histories, 1350-1750

Developing research in the field of maritime history offers new perspectives and understandings of diplomatic, economic, and cultural connections that intertwine the countries of East Asia from the 14th to 18th centuries. Through asynchronous and live sessions with leading scholars, participants will explore early modern geographies and mapping, Zheng He's tribute missions, and the contributions of pirates and family trade dynasties in linking the region.

What’s Happening to China’s Uyghurs and Why It Matters

This course focuses on the Uyghur ethnic minority in China, a case study for exploring issues of genocide as mandated by numerous state social studies standards. The course will 1) introduce the historical and political context of the Uyghur ethnic and territorial conflict in China; 2) explore the Uyghurs as a case study in the relationship between territory, nationalism, and ethnic conflict; and 3) analyze current events, resources, and research on this evolving humanitarian crisis. The virtual Saturday workshop will engage participants with the 2022 revised Brown University Choices unit on genocide, applying the Genocide Convention definitions to the current situation of the Uyghurs.

Ties That Bind: Connecting the U.S. and East Asia

The “Ties That Bind” project -  https://www.historypin.org/en/FCCEAS-TiesThatBind-  is a teacher-researched project documenting connections between East Asia and the U.S. These ties began with whalers and traders in the colonial era and continue until today. In this workshop, learn from classroom teachers about early ties in the greater Boston area and more contemporary ties beyond before moving on to explore some Minnesota ties. Learn how to research your own topics to enhance your curriculum, and how to add your discoveries to the project. The workshop will also include an introduction to the resources at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Dr. Anne Prescott of the Five College Center for East Asian Studies and NCTA Director, will lead this workshop.

China Starter Pack

Topics (one week each): geography, language(s), food, and current issues (including US-China relations)

The two-hour synchronous online sessions will be interactive, and after each session participants will be invited to reflect on what they learned through asynchronous online forum posts.

Participants should plan to spend about 3 hours per week on the synchronous sessions, short required readings, and online forum posts. Supplemental readings will be available for those who would like to learn more about each topic. Participants who complete the requirements for all four sessions will receive a copy of China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know (Wasserstrom and Cunningham), a certificate of completion for 12 contact hours, and a $50 participation stipend. (Must be a US citizen or permanent resident to receive the stipend.)

Presenter: Jonathan Lipman, Professor Emeritus of History and Asian Studies, Mount Holyoke College - Trained as an historian of early modern and modern China at Stanford, Jonathan Lipman served on the faculty of Mount Holyoke College from 1977 to 2015 and taught as a visiting professor at Yale, Harvard, Doshisha University (Kyoto), Quest University (Canada), Oregon State University, and the University of Washington. While teaching courses ranging from intellectual and military history to food cultures, Lipman co-authored Modern East Asia: An Integrated History (2011), which covers China, Korea, and Japan from 1600 to the present. He has presented dozens of seminars, webinars, lectures, and workshops to K-12 teachers and civic groups. Lipman’s historical research focuses on the long-term residence and acculturation of Muslims in the Chinese culture area; his Familiar Strangers: A History of Muslims in Northwest China (1997) remains a standard work.

Looking Ahead – Chinese Youth

This seminar will examine the lifestyles, behaviors, and attitudes of young Chinese adults growing up in a country that has become an economic and global power. Their development coincides with their country’s historic and far-reaching developments – what does this mean? Do Chinese youth aspire to a different future than their parents? Educators will join Seminar Leader Tese Wintz Neighbor in examining the diverse lives of Chinese youth and will explore together how this next generation might shape China’s domestic development and its trajectory on the world stage.
Image by OyeHaHa from Pixabay

The Mao Era Through Primary Sources

Led by one of NCTA's Master Classroom Teachers, this four-week, 12-hour course for secondary educators will examine classroom-friendly source material (documents, memoir, and art) to consider Mao’s ideology and how it translated to the Chinese people through the Civil War (1945-49) period as well as the sociopolitical campaigns led by Mao from 1949-76. Course reading is light and the emphasis is on examining the source materials and discussing classroom strategies for their use. A stipend is available for those submitting an optional completion paper.

Shinto: Exploring Japan’s ‘Way of the Kami’

Kaitlyn Ugoretz, presenter

Kaitlyn Ugoretz specializes in contemporary Japanese religion, online sociality, popular culture, and new media studies. Her research focuses specifically on the globalization and digitization of Shinto. In her ethnographic study of online Shinto communities, she investigates what interests and media are involved in the production and reproduction of particular knowledges of Shinto.

Animating Religion: Shinto in Japanese Pop Culture

Kaitlyn Ugoretz specializes in contemporary Japanese religion, online sociality, popular culture, and new media studies. Her research focuses specifically on the globalization and digitization of Shinto. In her ethnographic study of online Shinto communities, she investigates what interests and media are involved in the production and reproduction of particular knowledges of Shinto.

The Waiting

The Waiting

…make it south. Her mother’s story inspired Gendry-Kim to begin interviewing her and other Koreans separated by the war; that research fueled a deeply resonant graphic novel. The Waiting is…...

East Asian Foodways Across Borders

This five-week workshop, brought to you by NCTA at the USC U.S.-China Institute, will assess how foodways in East Asia have changed continuously through interactions among people across cultures and over time. Foodways can be defined as culinary practices and eating habits, or described as what we eat, why we eat it, and what it means. In addition to required and recommended readings, participants will complete an individual research project on an aspect of East Asian foodways that pertains to your specific personal and classroom connections.

The Mao Era in Chinese History

Through asynchronous discussion of primary and secondary sources, online videos, and live Zoom sessions, participants will examine this critical historical period through five modules: The Rise of Mao, Establishing the People's Republic of China, The Great Leap Forward, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, and Looking Back at the Mao Era.

The Vietnam War: Origins, History, and Legacies

Join the Choices Program at Brown University and the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia at the University of Colorado Boulder as we present the student readings, lessons, and videos in the Choices curriculum unit The Vietnam War: Origins, History, and Legacies as a model for applying multiple perspectives to the study of the war. Learn about ways to implement the unit in a variety of courses. This curriculum unit examines the history of the U.S. war in Vietnam, overlaps with larger themes in East Asian history, and the war’s long-term legacies. The session will highlight primary sources and include some time to try out an abbreviated lesson.

What Does it Mean to be Taiwanese? An Exploration of Indigeneity, Colonialism, Immigration, Politics and Identity in Contemporary Taiwan

With Taiwan’s increasing global importance, how is the essence of being Taiwanese defined? This multidimensional course will offer participants an in-depth exploration of Taiwan’s rich tapestry of history, identity, politics, and culture. By examining its indigenous roots, colonial past, political dynamics, migration patterns, and evolving social norms, participants will gain comprehensive insight into Taiwan’s distinct history and identity. This in-depth exploration of Taiwan is tailored for secondary teachers and will provide a mix of academic articles, multimedia materials, and discussions with fellow educators on Taiwan’s identity, providing participants with fresh insights to enrich lessons on Taiwan and greater East Asia.

Chinese Literature through History, Part 2: 20th Century

This online course examines literary writings from China's 20th century in historical context. Participating teachers will become acquainted with important pieces of literature that begin with the May 4th Era and take readers through the Republican, Maoist and Reform eras. Each writing offers important windows into Chinese society and culture.

From Our Classrooms to Yours: Worldviews and Belief Systems

This presentation will examine the foundations of world beliefs, how (and why!) to teach about them in a social studies classroom, and ways to help students see their relevancy in the world today. Participants will learn most directly about the basic tenets of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Emphasis will be placed on the worldviews that underpin each faith, how they are connected, and how they are distinct. Resources will be shared and opportunity to work in collaborative online groups will be given, to simulate the student learning experience.

Chinese Literature through History, Part I: Yuan, Ming, Qing

NCTA at the Program for Teaching East Asia offers this online course examining literary writings from China’s Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties (1271-1911). Participating teachers will become acquainted with important pieces of literature that reflect the time periods and offer important windows into Chinese society and culture. The course is open to secondary (6-12) teachers who teach about China as part of their required curriculum. The seminar is Part I of TEA-NCTA’s two-semester offering on Chinese Literature through History. Part II, to be offered in Winter 2024, will focus on the Republican, Maoist, and Reform periods.

Teaching Natural Sciences Through Picture Books, Part 1: China and Taiwan

This program is aimed at elementary and middle school teachers interested in integrating picture books into science and/or social studies instruction. The course will focus on the teaching of the natural sciences and the cultures of China and Taiwan. The three books featured address specific standards in life science, earth science, and social studies. By using these picture books that deliver the content with accuracy, teachers will help students gain literacy and visual skills as they read and examine the materials.

Teaching Natural Sciences Through East Asian Picture Books Professional Development Workshop

This in-person workshop is aimed at elementary and middle school teachers interested in integrating picture books into science and/or social studies instruction. The workshop will focus on the teaching of the natural sciences and the cultures of East Asia in Colorado classrooms. The five books featured address specific Colorado standards in life science, earth science, and social studies. By using these specific picture books that deliver the content with accuracy, teachers will help students gain literacy and visual skills as they read and examine the materials.

Exploring Asian Art: Trade, Transmission, and Cultural Exchange

Join us for a three-day in-person intensive workshop in collaboration with the Seattle Art Museum as we consider the themes of trade, transmission, and cultural exchange.

The first day will take place on the University of Washington campus with discussion of the historical contexts and conditions of works of art we will see during our visit to the Seattle Art Museum and the Seattle Asian Art Museum. This day will include lectures, small group work, and classroom applications. Our second day will take place at the Seattle Art Museum where museum educators will guide us through strategies for working with art, classroom applications, hands-on activities, and personal reflection. On the final day, we will meet at the Seattle Asian Art Museum to see the special exhibition, Renegade Edo and Paris: Japanese Prints and Toulouse-Lautrec and engage in gallery based activities.

Workshop leaders:
Melanie King (she/her), Art historian and educator
Yaoyao Liu (she/her), Manager of school & Educator Programs, Seattle Art Museum
Lauren Kent (she/her), Assistant Manager of School Programs & Partnerships, Seattle Art Museum

Photo credit: Alborz Kamalizad

Identity After Upheaval: Connecting Asian Artists and Student Voices

In partnership with the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM), this workshop focuses on Asian artists who explore how identities change following significant life events, such as war, migration, graduating school, or having a dream come true. Considering how COVID-19 has shifted our everyday lives, educators can encourage students to use art, writing, and self-expression in understanding their changed circumstances.

As we look ahead to the future, the work of contemporary artists like Do Ho Suh and Jung Yeondoo can provide inspiration for creative responses. After learning about some of the artists featured in SAAM’s collection, participants will engage in an activity that can be adapted across K-12 classrooms. They will then collaborate on ways to integrate images, videos, and activities to foster student voice.

We will share in advance a list of free resources that participants can implement in remote, hybrid, or in-person classrooms.


Program Leaders
Anna Allegro, Senior Manager of School and Educator Programs at SAM.
Melanie King, EARC Program Leader.
Yaoyao Liu, Museum Educator, Seattle Asian Art Museum at SAM.

Program Benefits
2 Free WA OSPI Clock hours
Online resources

Global Issues Through Literature: Factory Girls by Leslie T. Chang

NCTA Pitt is co-sponsoring this free book discussion with our colleagues in Pitt's Global Studies Center. Factory Girls humanizes the large-scale sociological and economic transformations in China by following two young women who are part of the largest migration in human history--from the rural Chinese countryside into the country's burgeoning industrial cities.

This reading group for educators will explore Chang's book from a global perspective. Content specialists will present the work and its context, and together we will brainstorm innovative pedagogical practices for incorporating the book and its themes into the curriculum.
Participants will be provided with a free copy of the book.

China and Japan Between 1860 and 1912

Between the years of 1860 and 1912 Japan and China went through tectonic shifts in every measurable category. Join Dr. Shelton Woods from Boise State University for an online seminar to explore this uniquely interesting and consequential period of history. Topics will include the Taiping Rebellion, China’s Self-Strengthening Movement, the Boxer Rebellion, the Sino-Japan War of 1894-95, the Meiji Restoration, the Russo-Japan War, and much more.

Program Leader
Dr. Shelton Woods will lead this program. Dr. Woods is a Professor of East/Southeast Asian History at Boise State University.

Programs Benefits
- Receive numerous books and classroom materials
- Have access to 15 online lectures
- Receive a $100 check for additional classroom resources
- Receive 20 free WA OSPI clock hours
- Gain a strong knowledge of Ancient China
- Develop ideas for integrating East Asia into your teaching
- Become a part of a national network of educators
- Earn professional development college credit

Online literature workshop: The Color of the Sky is the Shape of the Heart

Join Dr. Chiaki Takagi (UNCG) for this online literature workshop that will cover "The Color of the Sky is the Shape of the Heart," which explores the life of seventeen- year-old Ginny Park as she recounts her life growing up as Zainichi, a Japan-born Korean, and the incident that forced her to leave years prior. This book is aimed at high school level readers.

Imprinting in Their Time: Modern Japanese Prints Exhibit and Workshop for K-12 Educators

Join the Pitt NCTA for an evening program on modern Japanese printmakers in conjunction with the Carnegie Museum of Art’s exhibit Imprinting in Their Time: Japanese Printmakers, 1912-2022. K-12 educators will learn about the history of printmaking in Japan and how modern and contemporary Japanese artists have transformed the role of printmaker through international encounters, new inspirations, and artistic motivation. Dr. Brenda G. Jordan and Akemi May will introduce you to the early modern print industry of Japan, the shin-hanga (new prints movement, sōsaku-hanga (creative prints), and contemporary prints. Program includes dinner with your colleagues, a guided tour of the exhibition, free parking and Act 48 hours. Registration is limited, so register early for this enlightening program.

Journeys: Boys of the Chinese Educational Mission

Join the Five College Center for East Asian Studies at the Connecticut Historical Society as we learn about the Chinese Educational Mission through their exhibition Journeys: Boys of the Chinese Educational Mission. This exhibition honors the 150th anniversary of the Chinese Educational Mission (CEM), a cultural and educational exchange program from 1872 – 1881. Headquartered in Hartford, the CEM enabled 120 Chinese boys, most of whom were barely teenagers, to study in New England with the goal of modernizing China by educating its future leaders abroad. It is a story of hopes, dreams, sacrifice, and the life-changing experience of international exchange.

Understanding Contemporary China: Perspectives from the Periphery

This is a free two-day online mini-course. The program will include presentations by scholars on politics, international relations, education, arts and culture toward helping us understand contemporary China vis-a-vis Taiwan, Hong Kong, Inner Mongolia and Yunnan.

Investigating Japan’s Edo Avant Garde: Workshop and Film Screening at Minneapolis Institute of Art

Join our colleagues at the Minneapolis Institute of Art for a free two-day in-person workshop featuring the film and award-winning curriculum units for Edo Avant Garde. Documentary filmmaker Linda Hoaglund and master teachers Angie Stokes and Kachina Leigh, along with Brenda G. Jordan, will take you into the world of Japanese painting during the Edo period (1603-1868). Workshop will include screening of the film, curator-led tours of the current Japanese art exhibits, and hands-on workshops on Japanese painting and papermaking techniques. Breakfast and lunch provided.

East Asian Literature and Personal Stories

Workshop participants will hear personal stories based upon speakers' experiences (and those of their families) in Japan, Korea, and China, as well as learn about East Asian literature appropriate for middle and high school students. Speakers include award-winning authors of young adult East Asia novels as well as educators with extensive experience working with middle and high school teachers.

Workshop speakers and sessions include:
- Kim Holder, Director, Center for Economic Education and Financial Literacy, University of West Georgia, “From a Korean Orphanage to a Prosperous American Life: My Personal Story.”
- Rebecca Byrd, Social Studies Teacher and NCTA Faculty Fellow, Sevier County High School, Sevierville, TN, “What I Learned About Japan From Informational Texts.”
- Eleanor McCallie Cooper, Middle School Literature Author, “Dragonfly Dreams: The Life of a Family Living in China Before and After Japan’s 1941–1945 Wartime Occupation.”
- Waka Brown, Curriculum Specialist for the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) and Young Adult Author, “While I Was Away: From 1984 Rural Kansas to Living in Tokyo and Attending a Japanese Middle School.”
- Five College Center for East Asian Studies webinar: Wai Chim, High School Literature Author, “Freedom Swimmer: Learning About Mao’s Failed and Disastrous Economic and Political Programs Through a Novel.”

East Asia Through the Lens of Visual and Material Culture

East Asia today represents a broad mosaic of ethnic, economic, geographic, and cultural diversity. Even in our current period of rapid political and economic globalization, within which the region has played a major transformative role, East Asia retains its deep and rich cultural and artistic traditions and practices. This FREE foundational seminar presented by Lehigh University and NCTA at the University of Pittsburgh will include interactive lectures and activities focusing on the visual and artistic material cultures of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. K-12 educators will explore and integrate a wide range of strategies and resources supporting an enriched classroom learning environment.

Far East Deep South: Teaching Asian American History in the Delta

Join Dr. Zach Smith for an exploration of engaging themes and classroom-ready teaching materials for centering Asian American experiences in Arkansas and US History courses.

FREE Film Screening to follow, Far East Deep South, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. in IHSB Room 245. Screening will be followed by panel discussion featuring producer Baldwin Chiu, and Chinese American community members Ping Fong Jr, Lucy Joe Fong and Emmi Dunn.

Teaching Modern East Asia, a summer foundational seminar for K-12 educators

This free, in-person seminar will introduce the modern histories and cultures of CHINA, JAPAN, and KOREA, helping you to better understand East Asia and discover innovative ways to introduce it to your students. Teachers of Geography, History, Social Studies, World Literature, Current Events, International Relations, Media, Art, Asian Languages, or any other subject involving Asia are encouraged to apply. Sessions will include hands-on activities and discussions of pedagogy, where to find resources, and more. Subsidies for lodging available.

Top Ten Things to Know about East Asia in the 21st Century

…Gerald L. Curtis How to Participate – View online video presentations any time after their stated release dates. Access to videos is completely free of charge, but educators must sign in…...

Teaching Korea through Young Adult Literature: K-Pop Revolution

Stephan Lee’s inside look at a rookie idol’s experiences introduces young adult readers to aspects of Korean culture and society and the complex world of K-Pop idols, fans, and industry. Through this 20-hour seminar featuring the YA novel, K-Pop Revolution, middle and high school teachers will explore the concept of globalization both as it relates to developing cosmopolitan readers with YA literature in language arts and K-pop as a case study of Korean society, economics, and culture in social studies.

Journey to the West: Empire, the Arts, and Modernity

An interdisciplinary seminar-style exploration of East Asian civilizations. This seminar is focused on empire, the arts (literature, art, and religion) and modern influences on Asian culture, politics, and economics. We explore the history of the Mongols, rebellions in China and the weakening of the Qing dynasty, and the Asian perspective on the Korean and Vietnam wars. In addition, we learn about the influence of Buddhism in the region and the use of meditation today, we read the literary classic Journey to the West, and we examine the visual arts in China over the years. Finally, we address urgent matters impacting Japan today and the role of Korean pop culture in shaping Asian society.

From Our Classrooms to Yours: Creating Connections: Engaging Students Through A New Screen with Kamishibai

Explore the tradition of Japanese kamishibai storytelling and see how it has been transformed to become a pedagogical tool used across the curriculum and around the globe. In this workshop, teachers will examine how to identify themes in their content area and learn how to engage their students in developing those themes using the kamishibai box format. Using this interactive, hands-on method, students will discover new ways to “learn through a screen” while developing sequencing, cause/effect, and cultural competency skills in a wide range of lessons ranging from fairy tales and folklore to sustainability and socio-emotional learning.

Women in Modern East Asia: Understanding their Challenges and Successes

From the mid-19th century on, East Asian women’s lives have been marked by modernizations, imperialism, revolutions, warfare, and new roles in the workforce and within the family home. Women claimed their autonomies and rights through different avenues, be it liberalization, feminism, and the idea of the “new” or “modern” woman. Various state initiatives uplifted and/or appropriated women, affecting their day-to-day lives. This summer institute offers secondary teachers the opportunity to work with scholars and specialists and investigate primary sources to better understand Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese women’s voices and experiences. What were their challenges and successes across time and place in modern East Asia?

Virtual Kyoto Garden Tour

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Virtual Kyoto Garden Tour

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While I Was Away, with author Waka T. Brown

Freeman Book Award 2021 Honorable Mention--Young Adult/Middle School Literature
While I Was Away, with author Waka T. Brown

Post-postwar Japan: Its Fall and Rise

Remember when Japan was poised to rule the world at the end of the 1980s (probably not)? Since 1989 the dominant narrative of Japan has been one of decline and increasing irrelevance. There are elements of truth in this story. Japan is a much different place today than it was thirty-five years ago. And yet, Japan has also proved a model for East Asia and other developed nations, economically, politically, demographically, and in terms of grappling with security and environmental challenges.

During this three-day in-person program teachers will be provided with with a concise, coherent and accessible discussion of the key aspects and the most surprising developments of post-postwar Japan and comprehend just how relevant this nation, its people and culture, continue to be. Beyond content, participants will have access to curriculum materials and we will discuss pedagogical strategies for working this knowledge into their courses.

This program will be led by Paul Dunscomb, Professor of East Asian History at the University of Alaska Anchorage, and by Melanie King, Art historian and educator.

Collaboration and Subversion—Reconsidering Colonial Era Cinema in “Tuition”(1940)

This online workshop will be centered around a discussion of the film Tuition, a late colonial period coproduction developed by Korean filmmakers under the jurisdiction of Japanese authorities. This film, long considered lost until it was rediscovered in China and restored by the Korean Film Archive in 2014, presents a rare and fascinating look into life in colonial Korea during a time of mass wartime mobilization. While certainly not bereft of nationalist (i.e., pro-Japanese) sentiment, the film is far from a straightforward piece of propaganda and even contains some unexpected elements that might be deemed subversive in relation to Japanese colonialism. We will consider such questions as: How does the film depict colonial modernity and the role of Japanese education in fostering imperial subjects? What does the film say about the nature of cultural production under colonialism? Should this film be considered a work of Japanese cinema or Korean cinema or both?

Teaching China Through The Arts: NCTA – Brooklyn Museum of Art Virtual Teaching Workshop

Join us online for a free elementary educator professional development workshop, held in conjunction with the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia, to learn about the "Arts of China," a new online resources and Teaching Toolkit designed to support culturally inclusive learning by introducing students to the complexity and diversity of China. Hear Joan Cummins, the Lisa and Bernard Selz Senior Curator of Asian Art, present on key themes and artworks from the museum’s recently reinstalled Arts of Asia exhibition. Then, work with New York City public school teachers Sara Greenfield, Zach Lombardi, and Lisa Rosado, who model activities and share strategies for incorporating Chinese history and culture into the classroom through an arts-integrated approach.

NCTA YouTube Channel

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Vietnam Today: MAIKA, the Girl from Another Galaxy; a workshop for K-12 Educators

Join Pitt NCTA for this one-night workshop exploring the film MAIKA, the Girl from Another Galaxy! The film's director Ham Tran and NCTA master teacher Josh Foster will look at contemporary Vietnam through the adventures of Maika (a girl from another galaxy), and the boy she meets in today’s Vietnam.

Virtual Kyoto Garden tours

Join Andrew from An Design (www.andesignkyoto.com) in Kyoto for this exclusive tour of one of Kyoto's exquisite gardens. This experience is limited to 12 participants per date, and you must be an in-service K-12 teacher, specialist or administrator. FCCEAS will pay a fee, in advance, for each participant, so please double-check your schedule before signing up.

Andrew William is a professional Japanese gardener who has been living and working in Japan for more than 10 years. Read more about him HERE.

Japan through Children’s Literature: Picturebook Biographies

This book group will discuss the possibilities of biography in the integration of social studies and literacy curriculum about Japan, through a consideration of three picture-book biographies of a Japanese inventor, artist, and composer.

Wings of Defeat: Bringing the WWII kamikaze story into the K-12 classroom

Join us for an evening workshop on the continued relevance of the award-winning documentary Wings of Defeat, which challenges the popular image of Japanese Kamikaze pilots using interviews with men who trained to sacrifice themselves for their country. The workshop will feature a talk by Wings of Defeat documentary filmmaker Linda Hoaglund, followed by a review of the contents of the SPICE Teacher’s Guide to the film, focusing special attention on the lessons exploring nationalism, patriotism, and the moral questions raised in war. Participants will be required to watch the documentary prior to the workshop.

Participants who complete the workshop will receive the SPICE curriculum unit which includes DVDs of both Wings of Defeat and the accompanying film Another Journey, which follows the journey of two American veterans to Japan and their meetings with their Japanese counterparts.

American China Fantasies

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China in the 21st Century. Jeffrey Wasserstrom on “What everyone needs to know.”

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China’s Changing Grand Strategy: China’s Rise, Regional Security and Domestic Reform

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Demographic Change in Contemporary China

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Demographic Cliffs and Economic Reforms

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Centering Southeast Asia: Teaching Modern Vietnam

This virtual workshop introduces teachers to the history, culture, and politics of Vietnam, offering essential context, classroom-ready teaching materials, and thought provoking lesson plans that engage popular topics like colonialism and the Vietnam War from perspectives within Southeast Asia. Drawing on experts in Southeast Asian and American history, the workshop will connect teachers to important collections of primary sources and is intended for Grade 6 - 12 teachers in geography, world history, world literature, and civics courses. Benefits include six hours of continuing education credit, access to online archives and primary source documents for teaching Vietnamese history, culture, and politics, two complementary books from ARNCTA’s library, and priority registration for future NCTA programs.

Image: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam by Tron Le

The Age of the Samurai: Teaching Tokugawa Japan

Although the Tokugawa Period [1600 - 1868] is sometimes depicted as a static and secluded chapter in Japan’s history, this workshop reveals the surprisingly dynamic cultural and economic changes that shaped Japan’s encounter with the U.S. and propelled its explosive modern growth. Featuring contributions from scholars of Japan from throughout the state, this full-day workshop provides teachers with vital context, award-winning multimedia resources, and ready-made lesson plans for engaging Japan in your classroom. Benefits include six hours of continuing education credit, over $50 worth of accessible books, films, and other media for teaching Tokugawa Japan, access to ready-to-use digital materials and lesson plans, and priority registration for Future NCTA programs

Image: Painting of Japanese and Dutch trade on Dejima (in Nagasaki), 1820, British Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

East Asian Popular Culture

Join IU Northwest faculty member Diana Chen Lin for a K-12 educator professional development workshop focused on contemporary pop culture in East Asia. This workshop explores the social and cultural implications of East Asian pop culture both regionally and globally. It offers some explanations for the recent surge in popularity of East Asian popular culture, specifically focusing on Japanese pop music, anime, and manga, South Korean and Chinese pop music, along with related elements like video games, toys, and books. The discussion will contextualize East Asian pop culture in relation to American influence and mutual influences between East Asian countries. The workshop combines readings, songs, and videos in a discussion of methodologies to incorporate the content into the classroom.

All K-12 educators are welcome; teachers of AP Human Geography, World Cultures, Modern World History, Art, Global Studies, English, Media Literacy, and World Languages will find the topics particularly useful. Participants will be exposed to workshop topics through lectures, discussions, and activities that can be brought into the classroom and used to enhance global contextualization within Illinois and Indiana state academic standards.

Eighteen Vats of Water

Keywords: Art, self-management, relationships, perseverance The award-winning author of Red Scarf Girl presents another compelling true story of Chinese culture and history. As long as he can remember, Xian has…...

Elections with John Kennedy, University of Kansas

Elections in China in Comparative Perspective with John Kennedy (University of Kansas) speaker

Executive System with Xiaobo Lu, Columbia University

The Executive System in China in Comparative Perspective

Social and Political Cleavages with Andrew Nathan, Columbia University

Social and Political Cleavages in China in Comparative Perspective

Economics with Junyan Jiang, Columbia University

Economics and the Chinese Political System in Comparative Perspective

Social and Political Cleavages with Andrew Nathan, Columbia University

Social and Political Cleavages in China in Comparative Perspective

Legislative System with Andrew Nathan, Columbia University

The Legislative System in China in Comparative Perspective

Judiciary System with John Head, University of Kansas

The Judiciary System in China in Comparative Perspective

Social Movements & Adaptation of Social Policy with Xiaobo Lü, Columbia University

Social Movements & Adaptation of Social Policy in China in Comparative Perspective

Executive Systems with Xiaobo Lü, Columbia University

Executive Systems in China in Comparative Perspective

Legislative Systems with Andrew Nathan, Columbia University

Legislative Systems in China in Comparative Perspective

Economic Systems with Junyan Jiang, Columbia University

Economics Systems in China in Comparative Perspective

Through a Lens: Exploring Contemporary China Through Film, Documentary and Social Media

Journey all across China without the stress of packing, buying a transpacific ticket, jet-lag –not to mention mask wearing. You won’t have to worry about figuring out the subway system or standing in long lines to see the terra cotta soldiers. This winter we will explore China without leaving our seats – you don’t have to battle I-5, rain or snow. For most Americans the geography, culture, economics, politics, religions and philosophies of China seem more than an ocean away. Chinese documentaries, films, and social media can make this complex country—with its long history and mind-boggling present—more accessible to you and your students.
Film can be an extremely useful source for exploring many issues facing China today: the complex issue of globalization, environmental concerns, migrant labor, urban demolition/urban construction, China’s changing rural landscape, political and economic reform, the generation gap, human rights, etc. Together we will grapple with these changes through up-to-date documentaries as well as enjoy many of the visual beauties of Chinese land and culture through Chinese-made feature films.
We will not only share films and clips from a wide variety of documentaries and films, but also lesson plans/discussion ideas that correspond with these films. Educators will receive a resource packet that includes an annotated list of documentaries and films for classroom use with guiding questions and lesson plans. Our goal is to assist educators at all levels in finding documentaries/films for learning and teaching about China.
This seminar will be led by Tese Wintz Neighbor.

Currents Events with Thomas Christensen, Columbia University

Current Events in China in Comparative Perspective

A Place to Belong

A Place to Belong

…ever. As she struggles to adjust to find her place in a new world, Hanako will find that the gold can come in many forms, and family may be hers…....

Through a Lens: Exploring Contemporary China Through Film, Documentary and Social Media

Journey all across China without the stress of packing, buying a transpacific ticket, jet-lag – not to mention travel restrictions. You will not have to worry about figuring out the Beijing subway system or standing in long lines to see Xian’s terra cotta soldiers.

We will watch/discuss a new group of films and explore corresponding contemporary social issues. We will travel to China without leaving our seats. While the geography, culture, economics, politics, religions and philosophies of China seem more than an ocean away, Chinese documentaries, films, and social media can make this complex country—with its long history and mind-boggling present—more accessible to you and your students. Together we will grapple with the complex issues of globalization, environmental concerns, migrant labor, urban demolition/urban construction, China’s changing rural landscape, the generation gap, human rights, political and economic reform.

We will not only share films and clips from a wide variety of documentaries and films, but also lesson plans/discussion ideas that correspond with these films.

Educators will receive an online resource packet that includes an annotated list of documentaries and films for classroom use with guiding questions and lesson plans. Our goal is to assist educators at all levels in finding documentaries/films for learning and teaching about China.

Participants are expected to watch designated films on their own and then attend four mandatory Zoom sessions (2 hours each) to discuss the film/corresponding resources and share teaching ideas, and will receive resources and a stipend to cover the film rentals or streaming fees.

This seminar will be led by Tese Wintz Neighbor.

Asia for Your Classroom: World History, Current Events, and Asian Studies

Join Professor Ethan Segal for a stimulating evening of learning ways to bring Asian content into your teaching, including an emphasis on current events. Dr. Segal will provide tips for how Asia fits into world history, literature and culture curricula. Receive complimentary access to the MidWest Conference on Asian Affairs (October 16-18), and the first 25 teachers to register and attend will receive a complimentary year subscription to the journal Education About Asia.

Black Ships: Illustrated Japanese History – The Americans Arrive

Teaching about East Asia through Graphic Novels

Black Ships: Illustrated Japanese History – The Americans Arrive. Written by Sean Michael Wilson. Illustrated by Akiko Shimojima

The Story of the four American "Black Ships" that arrived in Japan in 1853 under the command of Commodore Perry to force Japan to open up to trade.

From the Silk Road to the Belt and Road: Economies, Trade, and Cultural Exchanges in Eurasia from the Classical Age to the Present.

University professors and secondary teachers address topics commonly taught in middle and high school curriculums:
- Confucianism and Buddhism
- Trade and Cultural Exchanges along the Silk Road
- Growth of Trade, Commercial Institutions, and Western
- Contacts in Early Modern China and Japan
- Post World War II Development of Chinese and Japanese
- Economies in an Era of Globalization

Sijo Workshop

Workshop on how to implement the Korean poetry form Sijo into classrooms; concurrent session topics are
A. Sijo in College: Comparing Sijo & Sonnet
B. Sijo in Elementary School
C. Sijo for Students with Special Needs
D. Sijo in History & Science Classes

Finding Junie Kim

Finding Junie Kim

…learning about their unbelievable experiences as kids during the Korean War. Junie comes to admire her grandma’s fierce determination to overcome impossible odds, and her grandpa’s unwavering compassion during wartime…....

Walking the Tōkaidō

Using the My Virtual Mission platform, participants will walk (virtually and the distance in reality) from Edo to Kyoto, stopping at ten required (and seven optional) stations to complete readings, view webinars/videos, and respond to discussion prompts.

Ian Johnson on his new book Sparks: Webinar for K-12 Educators

Limited webinar openings exclusively for secondary school teachers offer a chance to explore Ian Johnson's new book, "Sparks," shedding light on determined Chinese writers, filmmakers, and artists who confront censorship while documenting their nation's history. This struggle is crucial, as the Chinese Communist Party tightly controls historical narratives to validate its rule. Amidst China's digital surveillance and repression, this book highlights how these dissenting voices persist, challenging the party's dominance over history. Teachers attending the webinar will receive a complimentary ebook of "Sparks," while others can join an in-person event on Oct. 18 hosted by USCI featuring Ian Johnson.

Tsunami Girl

Tsunami Girl

Keywords: contemporary, coming-of-age, earthquake, tsunami, survival Fifteen-year-old Yuki is struggling at school with her confidence, and goes to Japan to stay with her grandfather, a well-known manga artist and to…...

Roads and Rivers: Moving Through History in China and Japan with Interactive GIS

Join Dr. William Womack and historian Dr. James Brown for a master class in teaching Chinese and Japanese culture and history using Google Earth. Take a virtual tour of China's Yangtze Valley and the great roads of Japan. Follow historical events through the landscape using images, pathways, shapes, and text annotations. Learn to develop your own projects in Google Earth for lectures, videos, and interactive online projects for virtual and in-person learning. Complimentary teaching materials will be sent to educators who register for and attend the entire two hour program. All K-12 Educators will receive Certificates of Completion for attending the entire program. Pennsylvania educators will receive Act 48 hours.

Eric Carle ❤️ Japan

The Five College Center for East Asian Studies and the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art are pleased to present a workshop for K-12 in-service educators at the Eric Carle Museum. It will focus on the special exhibition, Eric Carle Loves Japan. Participants will tour the exhibition and learn about Carle’s collaboration with Japanese artist Kazuo Iwamura as well as his visits to picture book museums and other sites in Japan. There will also be a hands-on learning activity.

Image: Eric Carle, Illustration for Where Are You Going? To See My Friend! by Eric Carle and Kazuo Iwamura (Orchard Books). Collection of Eric and Barbara Carle. © 2001 Penguin Random House.

Cycling Taiwan

Using the My Virtual Mission platform, participants will cycle (both virtually and the distance in reality) 612.1 miles around Taiwan, stopping at twelve required milestones to complete readings, view webinars/videos, and respond to discussion prompts.

Projected milestone topics include: sports, geography, technology, politics (democracy), transitional justice, colonial experiences, indigenous Taiwan, maritime history, artistic culture, food/food culture, religion, pop culture, and agriculture/environmental policies.

Real and Imaged Rivers of Japan and China

This interdisciplinary seminar for K-12 teachers will explore how rivers have shaped, and in turn were shaped by human society and the environment in China and Japan. Combining geographic background with artistic representations, and environmental/political perspectives, this workshop will help teachers gain a comparative perspective on Asia’s landscape and culture. Geared toward secondary teachers, course content will look at rivers through the lens of geography, the arts, and environmental challenges.

Image: Panoramic view of iconic Guilin hills. Photo by William Zhang on Unsplash.

Date and time
Thursday, July 20, 2023, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (PST)
Wednesday, July 26, 2023, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (PST)
Thursday, August 3, 2023, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (PST)
Thursday, August 10, 2023, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM (PST)

Program leaders
Dr. Brian Dowdle, Associate Professor of Japanese Language and Culture, and Mansfield Fellow, University of Montana.
Dr. Lauren Collins, Program Director of Asian Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Relationships and Rescues in Korean Stories

Join Connecticut educator Elaine Temel for Relationships and Rescues in Korean Stories. Read each book, respond asynchronously to discussion prompts on Moodle, and participate in a webinar each of the four days. Complete all of the requirements to receive a certificate of completion for 10 contact hours. Books will be provided.

Robert Wells Discusses “Voices from the Bottom of the South China Sea”

In this webinar author Robert Wells will discuss his book, "Voices from the Bottom of the South China Sea" which tells us a story that reveals the early links between U.S. and China. President Abraham Lincoln authorized the building of massive steamships to link the U.S. and Asia. Chinese laborers came to the U.S. to earn money and in 1874 hundreds were on their way back home when their ship sank off the China coast. In this deeply researched book, Wells tells of the recruitment of workers, their lives in the American West, the rise of anti-Chinese sentiment, the tragedy that befell them on their return journey and salvage operations. Join author and retired U.S. Navy Captain Robert Wells in discussing this vital story of the contribution Chinese made to the building of America and the sad end of hundreds of lives aboard the world's largest ship. Wells shares useful primary text and visual sources that can be used with students.

Spring Online Book Club Explores Taiwan Via Graphic Novel /Manga

Join NCTA for an engaging book talk with graphic artist Mark Crilley as he shares his captivating graphic novel, "Lost in Taiwan." Designed specifically for K-12 educators, this innovative work takes readers on an immersive journey through the vibrant landscapes and rich cultural tapestry of Taiwan. Through stunning visuals and compelling storytelling, we will explore themes of identity, belonging, and discovery, making this graphic novel a valuable resource for educators seeking to broaden their students' perspectives and foster cross-cultural understanding. Don't miss this opportunity to delve into "Lost in Taiwan" and discover its potential to inspire and enlighten young minds in the classroom.

The Elephant Vanishes and Other Short Stories

Taught by Cecilia Boyce, this six-week NCTA course will equip teachers with the knowledge and resources needed to incorporate the short fiction of Haruki Murakami into their literature classrooms. Through the exploration of Murakami’s short stories teachers will gain more insight into the cultural and historic subtext of Murakami’s stories while engaging in dialogue with other teachers.

East Asia Summer Institute for Middle School Teachers

In an effort to infuse Asian studies in the social studies and language arts curricula, the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), in cooperation with the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA), is offering a virtual professional development summer institute for middle school teachers. Over the course of four days, this virtual summer institute will highlight the geography, cultures, religions, history, literature, and arts of East Asia, with a focus on ancient Chinese dynasties, feudal Japan, and the Silk Road. The synchronous (live) institute sessions on Zoom will take place over four mornings (9:30am to 12:00pm), from June 28 to July 1, 2021.

Participants will:
1. Gain a deeper understanding of the history and culture of East Asia.
2. Be provided with instructional materials about China, Japan, Korea, and the Asian American experience for classroom use.
3. Design lessons that integrate content knowledge about East Asia and/or Asian American experiences with effective, thoughtful, and engaging instructional approaches.
4. Become a community of learners committed to a long-term engagement in the exploration of East Asian studies.

Hiking Japan Virtual Workshop

Instructor Karl Neumann, Social Studies teacher and Educational Technology Facilitator, Dana Hall School, Wellesley, MA. With guest Emi Gomi, Sundai Kofu High School, Kofu, Yamanashi, Japan

What can we learn about another country’s history and culture by hiking? Join us as we answer these questions by virtually hiking three peaks in various parts of Japan.

Hotakadake in Kamikochi, Gifu Prefecture;
Ishizuchi-san on the border between Saijō and Kumakōgen in Ehime Prefecture (on the island of Shikoku); and
Haguro-san in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture.
Topics to be covered include Japanese physical and cultural geography, histories and traditions of mountain climbing, religious pilgrimages vs modern hiking practices (hobbies and leisure travel), writing about hiking, and more.

Participants must be comfortable navigating Google Suite (Forms, Sheets, Maps) and Moodle to access and create documents and post on discussion forums. A final project, utilizing Google Suite, will be required of each participant.

Participants will receive a copy of One Hundred Mountains of Japan by Fukuda Kyūya, translated by Martin Hood, and a certificate of completion for 10 contact hours.

K-Pop Revolution

…and her boyfriend, YoungBae, are a K-Pop power couple; she’s a walking icon at Brandt Foreign School; and her new girl group, known simply as THE GIRLS, is poised to…...

Privacy Policy

Who we are The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia. Our web address is: https://www.nctasia.org. Our contact form When you reach out to us via our contact form, the basic…...

From Our Classrooms to Yours: Tibetan Buddhism in the Social Studies Classroom

Are you curious about Tibetan Buddhism and how it can be incorporated in the classroom? This presentation is for you! NCTA alumna Stephanie Rizas will discuss the basic tenets of Tibetan Buddhism with a focus on some of the more unique aspects of its believers: the use of the mandala, khora, and the role of reincarnation. She will discuss and use clips from various films, including Unmistaken Child, Kundun, and Seven Years in Tibet. She will also discuss the political role of the Dalai Lama and the future of Tibetan Buddhism in modern China as well. Prepare to learn, to meditate, and to admire the beauty of Tibetan Buddhism!

A Resilient Spirit: The stories, experiences, and legacy of Hawai’i’s WWII Detention Camp

Please join us for an incredible opportunity to learn about Honouliuli, Hawai’i’s largest and longest operating World War II internment center from Jane Kurahara, one of the key leaders in re-discovering and preserving this important site and Sandi Chang, granddaughter of internee Sam Nishimura. Our presenters will introduce us to the history of Honouliuli, share their personal connections to this site, and introduce us to artistic expressions of those imprisoned.

Connecting about China

Looking to connect informally? On July 10, 17, and 24, we are offering Friday night drop-in Zoom meetings to discuss topics for teaching about China. Staff and master teachers will partner to present ideas and resources about China, with participants brainstorming ways to implement them in the classroom. No preparation involved; just grab a beverage.

Teaching About Asia Seminar

Building content familiarity with East Asia (China, Japan, Korea), and discovering ways to integrate East Asian history and culture into the 6-12th grade social studies curriculum. Each participant will need to prepare a series of Teaching Implementation Plans (TIP) for inclusion of China, Japan and Korea into their curriculum at the end of the seminar.

Teaching About Climate Change with Choices: Vulnerabilities, Responsibilities, and Action

Join our partners at the Global Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh for the Choices Program in an exploration of its 8- to 10-day unit, Climate Change and Questions of Justice. We'll explore the readings, lessons, and videos that are part of the unit, and discuss ways to implement each in diverse classroom settings, including tips for using the unit in remote settings and/or project-based classrooms. The countries covered include China, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Freiburg (Germany), Colombia, Haiti and parts of the USA. All participants will receive a two-year Digital Editions license to the curriculum and Act 48 credit hours or Certificate of Completion. This is a two-hour, participatory, online workshop, with an additional hour of prep work required. The program is co-sponsored with the Global Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh.

Making Sense of Mao

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Take & Go into the Classroom Series: Japanese Popular Culture and Globalization

Japanese popular culture and globalization is woven into so many different disciplines and grade levels. The Take & Go into the Classroom Series introduces teachers to interactive modules that bring together a variety of visuals, content experts, reading, activities, and assessments. William M. Tsutsui, author of the Key Issues in Asian Studies book, Japanese Popular Culture & Globalization will give an overview and then discuss this topic with the group. Take & Go into the Classroom Series resources related to China will be highlighted that connect with Social Studies, Language Arts, Science, Visual Arts and other content areas, providing educators with an opportunity to use the resources either as stand-alone or cross-curricular learning opportunities. While supplies last, Japanese Popular Culture & Globalization will be sent to workshop participants.

East Asian Design: Architecture and Urbanism

Moving across history in time and space, this course will overview the multifaceted architectural and urbanist dimensions of East Asia - from its urban planning concepts and monuments, to construction techniques and aesthetic concepts. It will extract some of the most defining epochs in East-Asian history, such as the spread of Buddhism, Colonialism, and the embrace and assimilation of Western Modernism. Going from Japan to China, and Korea to Hong Kong, this course will offer insights into how East Asian culture offers an intellectual counterpoint to the West, and why it remains deeply relevant to our increasingly globalizing world.

Take & Go into the Classroom Series: Modern Chinese History

Modern Chinese history is woven into so many different disciplines and grade levels. The Take & Go into the Classroom Series introduces teachers to interactive modules that bring together a variety of visuals, content experts, reading, activities, and assessments. David Kenley, author of the Key Issues in Asian Studies book, Modern Chinese History will give an overview and then discuss this topic with the group. Take & Go into the Classroom Series resources related to China will be highlighted that connect with Social Studies, Language Arts, Science, Visual Arts and other content areas, providing educators with an opportunity to use the resources either as stand-alone or cross-curricular learning opportunities. While supplies last, Modern Chinese History will be sent to workshop participants.

East Asian Food And Identity

This two-week course will look at the globalization and consumption of East Asian food.

Overview:
Food and foodways follow people as they move to new places. Diets change with changing work schedules and living standards. Changes in transportation and demand have changed how food is produced and distributed. In this online seminar, you’ll learn about the globalization and consumption of East Asian food. What do people eat and why? What is the place of food in family habits and rituals? Why do some dishes become spectacularly popular outside their homeland and others don’t?

This seminar includes:

video presentations
readings
mandatory online forum participation
one-hour long orientation via Zoom
four live online Zoom discussions with an instructor (Mons/Thurs, 1-2:30pm Pacific Time).
Benefits

6 Continuing Education Units (processing fee applicable)
Certificate of Completion
Online resources and materials

Keeping Informed as Teachers: What We Need to Know About Xinjiang Today

his is a virtual program - instructions on how to join this meeting will be sent the day before the event.

You have read the headlines: “The Chinese government has reportedly detained more than a million Muslims in reeducation camps.” Join us as we discuss the stories beyond the headlines and grapple with Xinjiang’s complex history. Who are the Uyghurs? When did mass detentions of Uyghurs and other Muslims begin? What does Beijing say about these incarcerations? What is happening inside and outside the camps? We will discuss day-to-day life in rural and urban areas of Xinjiang today.

Join Professor Darren Byler, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, as he discusses these and other issues facing Uyghurs as they struggle to maintain their religion and cultural identity. Following Professor Byler’s Xinjiang overview, Tese Wintz Neighbor, who has been taking American groups to Xinjiang annually for more than a decade, will moderate a discussion with your questions, including what American travelers and teachers can do in learning about Uyghur culture and teaching its ancient history.

This program is co-sponsored by UW’s East Asia Resource Center and the World Affairs Council’s Global Classroom. Teachers will receive three clock hours and extensive Xinjiang Teaching Resources. Registration is open to all K-12 teachers.

Behind the Headlines: Taiwan

With the 24-hour uninterrupted news cycle, it can be challenging to stay on top of what is happening in East Asia and around the world. The online series Behind the Headlines offers teachers a recap and a nuanced understanding of current events happening in Taiwan, South and North Korea, China, Xinjiang, Japan, and Hong Kong. Each regional expert will provide a summary and context behind the latest developments in these countries over the last several months. Teachers will have an opportunity to ask timely and pertinent questions, leading to an informative discussion on East Asia today. Speakers are from the faculty of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington and other leading institutions. Educators will be able select one or more sessions to attend.

Behind the Headlines: North and South Korea

With the 24-hour uninterrupted news cycle, it can be challenging to stay on top of what is happening in East Asia and around the world. The online series Behind the Headlines offers teachers a recap and a nuanced understanding of current events happening in Taiwan, South and North Korea, China, Xinjiang, Japan, and Hong Kong. Each regional expert will provide a summary and context behind the latest developments in these countries over the last several months. Teachers will have an opportunity to ask timely and pertinent questions, leading to an informative discussion on East Asia today. Speakers are from the faculty of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington and other leading institutions. Educators will be able select one or more sessions to attend.

Behind the Headlines: Xinjiang

With the 24-hour uninterrupted news cycle, it can be challenging to stay on top of what is happening in East Asia and around the world. The online series Behind the Headlines offers teachers a recap and a nuanced understanding of current events happening in Taiwan, South and North Korea, China, Xinjiang, Japan, and Hong Kong. Each regional expert will provide a summary and context behind the latest developments in these countries over the last several months. Teachers will have an opportunity to ask timely and pertinent questions, leading to an informative discussion on East Asia today. Speakers are from the faculty of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington and other leading institutions. Educators will be able select one or more sessions to attend.

Behind the Headlines: China

With the 24-hour uninterrupted news cycle, it can be challenging to stay on top of what is happening in East Asia and around the world. The online series Behind the Headlines offers teachers a recap and a nuanced understanding of current events happening in Taiwan, South and North Korea, China, Xinjiang, Japan, and Hong Kong. Each regional expert will provide a summary and context behind the latest developments in these countries over the last several months. Teachers will have an opportunity to ask timely and pertinent questions, leading to an informative discussion on East Asia today. Speakers are from the faculty of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington and other leading institutions. Educators will be able select one or more sessions to attend.

Behind the Headlines: Japan

With the 24-hour uninterrupted news cycle, it can be challenging to stay on top of what is happening in East Asia and around the world. The online series Behind the Headlines offers teachers a recap and a nuanced understanding of current events happening in Taiwan, South and North Korea, China, Xinjiang, Japan, and Hong Kong. Each regional expert will provide a summary and context behind the latest developments in these countries over the last several months. Teachers will have an opportunity to ask timely and pertinent questions, leading to an informative discussion on East Asia today. Speakers are from the faculty of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington and other leading institutions. Educators will be able select one or more sessions to attend.

Behind the Headlines: Hong Kong

With the 24-hour uninterrupted news cycle, it can be challenging to stay on top of what is happening in East Asia and around the world. The online series Behind the Headlines offers teachers a recap and a nuanced understanding of current events happening in Taiwan, South and North Korea, China, Xinjiang, Japan, and Hong Kong. Each regional expert will provide a summary and context behind the latest developments in these countries over the last several months. Teachers will have an opportunity to ask timely and pertinent questions, leading to an informative discussion on East Asia today. Speakers are from the faculty of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington and other leading institutions. Educators will be able select one or more sessions to attend.

Year of the Rabbit

Year of the Rabbit

…choice—they had to escape Cambodia and become refugees. Veasna has created a harrowing, deeply personal account of one of the twentieth century’s greatest tragedies. Year of the Rabbit was translated…...

The Silence of Bones

The Silence of Bones

forms an unlikely bond of friendship with the inspector. But her loyalty is tested when he becomes the prime suspect, and Seol may be the only one capable of discovering…...

Summer Movie Night: Godzilla (Gojira, Japan, 1954)

In this live Zoom discussion group, participants will advance-view and meet online to discuss the original Japanese film Godzilla, in the English-subtitle version. When an American hydrogen bomb test conducted in the Pacific Ocean destroys his habitat, Godzilla rises to the surface to wreak revenge, eventually attacking Tokyo. Inspired by the Lucky Dragon tragedy.

Strike the Zither

…and three warlordesses hoping to claim the continent for themselves. But Zephyr knows it’s no contest. Orphaned at a young age, Zephyr took control of her fate by becoming the…...

Shadow of the Fox

Shadow of the Fox

…temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll. There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is…...

Behind the Headlines – Online Series

Behind the Headlines online series offers teachers a recap and a nuanced understanding of current events happening in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Xinjiang. Each regional expert will provide a summary and context behind the latest developments in these countries over the last several months. Teachers will have an opportunity to ask timely and pertinent questions, leading to an informative discussion on East Asia today. Speakers are from the faculty of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington and other leading institutions. Educators can select one or all six sessions to attend.
Photo credit: Karen Lau on Unsplash

Hotaka: Through My Eyes – Natural Disaster Zones

Hotaka: Through My Eyes – Natural Disaster Zones

…an anti-seawall movement, and the protest quickly gets serious. As the town and its people struggle to rebuild their lives, can Hotaka piece together what happened that day—and let go…...

Class Apps: Japanese Curriculum/Classroom Applications

…an art historian and art history instructor, Melanie King provides an introduction to the complex issue of cultural appreciation vs. cultural appropriation, offering contemporary cases and considering the issues as…...

China: Where We Are At

What is the latest on Hong Kong? Why do we care if Kim Jong-Un made an appearance? Did I hear that the prime minister of Japan resigned? Is Wuhan really over the pandemic?

With a 24-hour uninterrupted, busy news cycle, it can be difficult to stay updated on East Asia and to grasp the relevance of the news we see. This online program series will help teachers with a recap of how China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan stand on the domestic and international stage, will provide a summary and the specific context of what happened in an East Asia country in the last few months, and will allow for a safe place for teachers to ask questions to a regional expert. Whether you closely follow East Asia or want to learn more about why you should be paying attention to it, this program will be a great occasion to deepen your knowledge and understanding.

Join the EARC and guest speakers from the faculty of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington for a discussion on the contextual relevance of recent and current events.

South and North Korea: Where We Are At

What is the latest on Hong Kong? Why do we care if Kim Jong-Un made an appearance? Did I hear that the prime minister of Japan resigned? Is Wuhan really over the pandemic?

With a 24-hour uninterrupted, busy news cycle, it can be difficult to stay updated on East Asia and to grasp the relevance of the news we see. This online program series will help teachers with a recap of how China, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan stand on the domestic and international stage, will provide a summary and the specific context of what happened in an East Asia country in the last few months, and will allow for a safe place for teachers to ask questions to a regional expert. Whether you closely follow East Asia or want to learn more about why you should be paying attention to it, this program will be a great occasion to deepen your knowledge and understanding.

Join the EARC and guest speakers from the faculty of the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington for a discussion on the contextual relevance of recent and current events.

From Our Classrooms to Yours: Dynasty Smackdown

Historical debates can be fun and educational. In this presentation we’ll look at one way to turn a dry, document-based discussion into a smack down, drag-out, no holds barred, debate. This tool is appropriate for 7-12 classrooms and with some modification can be used at the elementary level. Students learn important research skills, historical analysis and interpretation, and have a great time doing it.

Dragon Ridge Tombs

Dragon Ridge Tombs

…the way from Beijing to Gulan in search of treasure in ancient tombs. But what they think will be a simple grab-and-go of loot turns into trouble when they are…...

The Emperor’s Riddle

The Emperor’s Riddle

…whom she believes truly understands her. Then Aunt Lin disappears, right after her old nemesis, a man named Ying, comes to visit. Mia knows that years ago, when Aunt Lin…...

Dynasty Smackdown

Historical debates can be fun and educational. In this presentation we’ll look at one way to turn a dry, document based discussion into a smack down, drag-out, no holds barred, debate. This tool is appropriate for 7-12 classrooms and with some modification can be used at the elementary level. Students learn important research skills, historical analysis and interpretation, and have a great time doing it. Presenter Matt Roberts is the Social Studies Department Chair at Pine-Richland High School in Allegheny County. He teaches 10th grade World History and 12th grade Asian Studies and AP Psychology.

East Asian Foodways Across Borders

Foodways can be defined as culinary practices and eating habits, or described as what we eat, why we eat it, and what it means. In our five-week workshop, we will assess how foodways in East Asia have changed continuously through interactions among people across cultures and over time. In addition to required and recommended readings, you will each complete an individual research project on an aspect of East Asian foodways that pertains to your specific personal and academic interests.

Women Travelers in Early Modern Japan

Laura Nenzi, presenter

Dr. Nenzi is a social historian of early modern Japan interested in gender, space, memory, and identity. In her book Excursions in Identity (2008) she examined the manifold ways in which early modern wayfarers across the social spectrum engaged with the spaces of travel, using the open road and the blank pages of their diaries to redraw, temporarily, their social coordinates. While travelers of both sexes partook in this exercise, women were especially keen on reimagining their identities while on the road. Join us as she discusses these women travelers.

Chinese Literature through History, Part II: 20th Century

This online course examines literary writings from China’s 20th century in historical context. Participating teachers will become acquainted with important pieces of literature that begin with the May 4th Era and takes readers through the Republican, Maoist and Reform eras. Each writing offers important windows into Chinese society and culture.

Father Knows Best: Sex, Love, and Kinship in Ang Lee’s “Eat Drink Man Woman”

What does it mean to be a family—or for that matter, a man or woman—in a rapidly changing society where traditional structures of meaning find themselves under siege? As the final installment of Ang Lee’s (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Brokeback Mountain; Hulk) “Father Knows Best” trilogy and his only film shot entirely in Taiwan, Eat Drink Man Woman explores this question and others in a gripping and beautifully shot family dramedy. Released in 1994, the film was nominated for dozens of awards in the Hollywood art film market, including an Academy Award nomination for the Best Foreign Language Film in 1995.

While Eat Drink Man Woman is sure to appeal to viewers’ appetites and possibly inspire you to cook dinner, the aim of this workshop is to critically examine the film’s cultural contributions beyond its stunning visual sequences. During the first half of the workshop, Dr. Elise Huerta will lecture on central themes, critical reception, and the sociological history of love and marriage to shed light on the film’s representation of Taiwanese kinship at the cusp of the new millennium. Participants will be provided with discussion questions in advance and will be invited to share their own questions and insights during the second half of the workshop.

AP Human Geography: Agriculture and Urban Geography

Special Opportunity for Delaware Teachers: Matthew Sudnik, a teacher of Human Geography and History Department Chair at The Madeira School in McLean, Virginia, will discuss AP Human Geography Unites 5 and 6, presenting specific lesson plans for the geography of agriculture and urban geography. Examples discussed will include the geography of tea cultivation and tea culture in East Asia and a closer look at urban geography from New York, Chicago, and Detroit to Tokyo, Shanghai, and Singapore. Participants will receive a copy of Triumph of the City by Edward Glaeser after the program.

East Asia since 1800

This is a core seminar for teachers looking to integrate modern East Asia (and its interaction with the U.S.) into their courses. We explore the history and cultures of the region that is home some of the world's most dynamic societies and innovative economies. Our examination will include themes such as imperialism, civil conflict, social and environmental change, economic development, authoritarianism and democratization.

Chinese Literature through History, Part I: Yuan, Ming, Qing

This online course will examine literary writings from China’s Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties (1271-1911). Participating teachers will become acquainted with important pieces of literature that reflect the time periods and offer important windows into Chinese society and culture. The course is open to secondary (6-12) teachers who teach about China as part of their required curriculum. The seminar is Part I of TEA-NCTA’s two-semester offering on Chinese Literature through History. Part II, to be offered in Winter 2021, will focus on the Republican, Maoist, and Reform periods.

The seminar will be conducted through three asynchronous online modules, each consisting of pertinent readings on history and culture, resources, and a participant discussion forum on content and pedagogy. The course starts September 23, 2020, with online introductions. The first module will begin September 30, and the final module will conclude on November 10, 2020. A short Curriculum Implementation Plan (CIP) and evaluation will be due December 8, 2020.

The Curious Relevance of Japan

Remember when Japan was poised to rule the world at the end of the 1980s (probably not)? Since 1989 the dominant narrative of Japan has been one of decline and increasing irrelevance. There are elements of truth in this story. Japan is a much different place today than it was thirty-five years ago. And yet, Japan has also proved a model for East Asia and other developed nations, economically, politically, demographically, and in terms of grappling with security and environmental challenges.

This 15 hour workshop will occur over two days during which the participants will join our instructors in examining some of the essential aspects and issues in recent Japanese history. These will serve as the basis for discussion of how to integrate this knowledge into their teaching. Rather than specific lesson plans, the object of this workshop is to stimulate thought. To provide teachers the opportunities to make new connections and inject new content regarding the curriculum they are required to teach. Outside of class participants will be responsible for readings and reflections on what they’ve encountered.
This program will be led by Paul Dunscomb, Chair of the Department of History at the University of Alaska Anchorage, and by Melanie King, Art historian and educator.

Image: Tokyo Skytree, photo by Paul Dunscomb

Connecting Students to East Asia with Images, Maps and Texts

This 30-hour summer seminar will explore the role of texts and images in shaping our understanding of histories and cultures in East Asia. We will examine primary sources from China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam and investigate what they represent and how they are represented. Gain new insights into your subject, explore teaching resources, and write lesson plans you can use.

Korea in the Ancient and Early Medieval World (1st c. BCE -1170CE)

This course considers how the Korean peninsula developed into a distinct state and its contributions to the greater East Asian region (1st c. BCE -1170CE). This study across four periods of Korean history will focus on historiography and examination of archaeological, artistic, and written primary sources for classroom application.

The Mao Era in Chinese History

Through asynchronous discussion of primary and secondary sources, online videos, and live Zoom sessions, participants will examine this critical historical period through five modules: The Rise of Mao, Establishing the People's Republic of China, The Great Leap Forward, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, and Looking Back at the Mao Era. Open to teachers nationally with priority for Colorado teachers addressing the 2022 social studies standards specific to Mao-era policies and programs.

Afro-Asian Ties: Sino-Black Relations

Join us as we take a deeper look at some of the Ties that Bind the US and East Asia. In this webinar, Dr. Keisha Brown will examine some of the leading figures in Sino-Black relations.

Presenter: Dr. Keisha Brown, Middle Tennessee State University

Mai and the Missing Melon

…of a sweet muskmelon with her grandmother but loses it on the train along the way. Obāchama shares the Japanese folktale of The Stone Buddhas as an example of the…...

Asia at the Crossroads: Lessons from History

This seminar is focused on Asia at the crossroads, both historically and in terms of thinking about its incorporation into our K-12 curriculum. The topics we examine include religion and Eastern philosophies, early civilization and the China model, war and military history, the Mongols, the legacies of empire in Burma/Myanmar, the visual arts, and more contemporary topics on pop culture and sports.

Like Spilled Water

Like Spilled Water

Keywords: contemporary, mystery, grief, coming-of-age, sexism Nineteen-year-old Na has always lived in the shadow of her younger brother, Bao-bao, her parents’ cherished son. Years ago, Na’s parents left her in…...

Creating Accordion Books in East Asian History and Now

In this workshop we’ll look at examples of accordion books—which are made by folding long sheets of with a cover attached — in a quick tour of their uses in East Asian history. Known as orihon in Japan, accordion books became a popular form for paintings and woodblock prints, for combining text with images, and for journals.
Innovations by creators of Japanese folding screen paintings and recent artists globally provide inspiration to think through 3D space, and between part to whole/front to back. We’ll explore some of the 20th century and contemporary creative applications of the format. Its simplicity allows for endless variations!
Participants will follow along and learn how to fold a book and attach a cover, and how to add design elements as time allows. Along the way, they will share thoughts on their use with students. We will share in advance a list of materials with paper dimensions that participants will need to bring to the workshop.

Viewing Socialist China Via Propaganda Posters

This asynchronous NCTA short course invites participants to explore the visual arts and political culture of Socialist China (1949-1976) through propaganda posters. The mini-course will examine three themes: gender, technology, and imaginings of foreigners, and how these posters, as political tools, showcase a socialist utopia centered on industrialization, social equality, and an image of foreign adversaries.

Exploring Japanese Art and Aesthetics: The Beauty of Wabi-Sabi

This asynchronous NCTA short course guides participants on an exploration of traditional Japanese art and architecture through the lens of the aesthetic principles known as wabi and sabi. Four modules will explicate the historical origins of wabi and sabi in medieval poetics and the tenets of Zen Buddhism, consider specific examples of these principles as applied to the design of material objects and architectural spaces, and analyze how their definition and influence has evolved over time both within Japan and globally.

Exploring Japanese Art & Aesthetics: The Beauty of Wabisabi

This asynchronous NCTA short course guides participants on an exploration of traditional Japanese art and architecture through the lens of the aesthetic principles known as wabi and sabi. Four modules will explicate the historical origins of wabi and sabi in medieval poetics and the tenets of Zen Buddhism, consider specific examples of these principles as applied to the design of material objects and architectural spaces, and analyze how their definition and influence has evolved over time both within Japan and globally.

Connecting Students to East Asia with Images, Maps and Texts

This 30-hour online seminar will explore the role of texts and images in shaping our understanding of histories and cultures in East Asia. We will examine primary sources from China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam and investigate what they represent and how they are represented. Gain new insights into your subject, explore teaching resources, and write lesson plans you can use.

Our Classrooms to Yours: East Asian Studies in Human Geography, Population, Migration, and Innovation

How do you teach about East Asia or use the many outstanding classroom resources of NCTA if you do not teach an Asian Studies course? Over the past ten years of my association with NCTA, I have incorporated Asia content and case studies into general history, social studies, and humanities classes. During this workshop, NCTA alum Matthew Sudnik will share three examples from his AP Human Geography class:

* Population and Demographic Transition through a comparison of Japan’s declining birth rates with Northern India
* Migration of Chinese workers from villages to cities - Factory Girls, Girls on the Line, and Ai Wei Wei's documentary Human Flow.
* Innovation in North and South Korea: a tale of two industrializations

Chinese Literature through History, Part II: 20th Century

This online course examining literary writings from China’s 20th century in historical context. Participating teachers will become acquainted with important pieces of literature that begin with the May 4th Era and takes readers through the Republican, Maoist and Reform eras. Each writing offers important windows into Chinese society and culture.

Land of Big Numbers: Linking Literature and Contemporary Issues

The New Yorker described Te-Ping Chen’s Land of Big Numbers (2021) as containing “the unadorned clarity of the very best newspaper writing and the inspired, weird, poetic inventions of fiction.” This group will read selected short stories from Land of Big Numbers to explore the lives of individuals navigating the complexities of life in contemporary China. Themes include opposing the state, examining historical memory, and the inequalities within China’s booming economy. Each story will be accompanied by non-fiction background reading to establish context.

East Asian Pop Culture

Taught by Diana Lin and guest speakers, this ten-week asynchronous NCTA course will explore the social and cultural implications of East Asian pop culture both in Asia and globally. The readings and lectures draw on examples including Korean pop music, Chinese hip hop, and Japanese manga and anime. The goal is to facilitate an understanding of the influence of culture and society on a country's pop culture, and the interactions of global and local pop cultures.

East Asian Case Studies in Human Geography: Population, Migration, and Innovation

How do you teach about East Asia or use the many outstanding classroom resources of NCTA if you do not teach an Asian Studies course? Over the past ten years of my association with NCTA, I have incorporated Asia content and case studies into general history, social studies, and humanities classes. During this workshop, I would like to share three examples from my AP Human Geography class:
Population and Demographic Transition through a comparison of Japan’s declining birth rates with Northern India
Migration of Chinese workers from villages to cities - Factory Girls, Girls on the Line, and Ai Wei Wei's documentary Human Flow.
Innovation in North and South Korea: a tale of two industrializations

The Chinese World View: Beyond Confucianism and Daoism

China’s rapid rise to world power status over the last 30 years requires teachers and students to examine the dynamic between traditional Chinese belief systems and the attitudes shaped by swift economic and social changes. While I believe it is still critical to teach students about Confucianism and Daoism, it is equally important to understand that China is a rapidly changing society and foundational beliefs are being challenged by contemporary economic and social forces. I will include specific suggestions and resources to aid teachers in bringing these topics to the grades 6-8 classroom.

Japan’s Economic Rise and America’s Wartime Fears

Japan’s late 19th and early 20th century rise is among the most remarkable stories of modern world history. Educators are invited to join our workshop to look at the factors that drove Japan's rise and its impact. The workshop will include presentations and discussion with Japan specialists and brainstorming on how the ideas examined might be brought to life in K-12 classrooms.

We'll explore the following questions:
Why did Japan expand its empire and choose to fight the United States?
Why did the American government fear Japanese Americans and Japanese residents of the United States?
On what grounds did it remove and detain more than 120,000 people without any charge?
What was life like in the camps?
How can we incorporate the story of this mass incarceration into lessons on history, on identity and on discrimination?

The Mao Years through Primary Sources

This Teacher-to-Teacher "Short Course" will examine classroom-friendly primary sources to consider Mao's ideology and how it translated to the people through the Civil War (1945-1949) and sociopolitical campaigns led by Mao from 1949-1976. The four-week course is moderated by one of TEA's NCTA Master Teachers and provided as a summer professional development opportunity for secondary social studies teachers.

The course will focus on one document each week, contextualized with short historical background readings.

Chinese Literature through History, Part I: Yuan, Ming, Qing Dynasties

This online course will examine literary writings from China’s Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties (1271-1911). Participating teachers will become acquainted with important pieces of literature that reflect the time periods and offer important windows into Chinese society and culture. The course is open to secondary (6-12) teachers who teach about China as part of their required curriculum

Land of Big Numbers: Linking Literature and Current Issues

The New Yorker described Te-Ping Chen’s Land of Big Numbers (2021) as containing “the unadorned clarity of the very best newspaper writing and the inspired, weird, poetic inventions of fiction.” This group will read selected short stories from Land of Big Numbers to explore the lives of individuals navigating the complexities of life in contemporary China. Themes include opposing the state, examining historical memory, and the inequalities within China’s booming economy. Each story will be accompanied by non-fiction background reading to establish context.

Teaching Korea through Children’s Literature

Through three two-week asynchronous online modules and two live webinars with a Korean folktales expert and a children’s book author, K-8 teachers will examine children’s books and consider teaching that integrates literacy and social studies strategies and Korean geography, history, and culture.

The Journey of East Asia: Adventures Through Stories, Games, and Maps – an introduction to East Asia for K-12 educators

This seminar will examine the major trends, global issues, and historic foundations that shape East Asian society. Focusing on the regions that comprise present day China, Japan, and Korea, participants will not only learn about how to incorporate East Asian content in the classroom in a fun, engaging way, they will also learn how to modify templates and create their own materials to explore other countries or subjects. The course begins in the eighth century with the rise of Buddhism, which promoted printed materials across borders and cultures, and it ends in the contemporary era, with a consideration of the role of new digital technologies and media in East Asia. Drawing on the expertise of scholars and diverse materials (readings, films, games, stories, maps, and other primary source materials), our course sessions will emphasize collaborative, hands‐on learning experiences, and the development of K‐12 curricular tools.

Things Left Behind: Integrating Social Emotional Learning into the Classroom

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is receiving increased focus in schools due to the pandemic. Participants in this free film screening and workshop for K-12 educators will learn about lessons based in the humanities that encourage reflection, empathy, and an understanding of others. Linda Hoaglund's documentary film Things Left Behind confronts the tragedy of Hiroshima through the photographs of renowned Japanese photographer Ishiuchi Miyako. Viewers travel with Ishiuchi to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial archive as she selects artifacts to photograph for her exhibit at the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver, Canada.

Teaching Peace with “The Last Cherry Blossom”: A Conversation with Japanese American author Kathleen Burkinshaw

Kathleen Burkinshaw‘s YA historical novel The Last Cherry Blossom is a deeply personal labor of love, loosely based on her mother’s childhood. It promotes world peace and nuclear disarmament through a moving story about Yuriko, a Japanese girl who survives the 1945 Hiroshima bombing. Join us for an online author interview followed by Q&A. Program benefits include a free copy of the book and resources for teachers of Language Arts, Social Studies, History and Humanities.

Beethoven in Beijing: Screening and Q&A with Filmmaker

The USC U.S.-China Institute is offering a free online workshop on the resurgence of classical music in China through the legacy of the Philadelphia Orchestra, from its first performances in the PRC in 1973 until its most recent tour in 2018.

East Asia Since 1800

This seminar is intended for all K-12 educators eager to bring more East Asian history and culture to their students. Through recorded lectures, assigned readings and live discussion sessions via Zoom this seminar will explore what makes the region so dynamic and important today. This seminar is sponsored by the USC U.S.-China Institute and the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia with funding from the Freeman Foundation and the Japan Society.

Investigating Japan’s Edo Avant Garde at Portland Japanese Garden

Join the us for this Saturday workshop at the Portland Japanese Garden in Portland, Oregon, featuring the documentary and award-winning curriculum units for Edo Avant Garde, a film about the paintings of nature in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868). Documentary filmmaker Linda Hoaglund and master teacher Angie Stokes will take you into the world of Japanese painting during this period, presenting on the ways teachers can use art to teach about a variety of subjects, from nature to social-emotional learning to studio classes. K-12 educators registered for the workshop will be given the option of attending the public screening or watching the film online ahead of the workshop. Free admittance to the Japanese Garden included for registrants.

The Edo Avant Garde curriculum was awarded an Honorable Mention for the 2022 Franklin R. Buchanan Prize for curriculum development by the Association for Asian Studies.

Presented by the Portland Japanese Garden in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh and University of Washington National Consortium for Teaching About Asia (NCTA) sites.

Resources

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Write About Asia Winter 2021 – Art and Renewal in Times of Crisis in Asia

Write about Asia is offered by the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington in conjunction with the Seattle Asian Art Museum’s (SAAM) Gardner Center for Asian Art and Ideas and its seasonal Saturday University Lecture Series. This series is titled Art and Renewal in Times of Crisis in Asia and will look at how has art and creative activity contributed to confronting crises in Asia. While we face the current pandemic, along with deep social, political, and economic challenges, perhaps we can take heart in artists’ creative responses to violent conflict, environmental change, and panic.

About the SAAM Saturday University Lecture Series

Delve into new themes every season with a different speaker each week. Challenging, thought-provoking, and sometimes surprising, this long-running and always popular lecture series incorporates audience discussion as experts from around the world join us to share their insights on Asia throughout time.

About Write About Asia

Write About Asia is offered following each SAAM public lecture and facilitated by Mary Roberts. During the workshop, time will be given to solitary writing in response to the morning lecture. The workshop will nurture educators as writers through self-reflection and group discussion, and will place after each lecture from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM.

Write About Asia is offered at no cost to current, in-service teachers, and is sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center (EARC) in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington with funding from a Freeman Foundation grant in support of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA).

Online procedure for each Saturday University Lecture + Write About Asia:

10:00 to 11:30 AM, PST: participants attend the online Zoom SAAM lecture for 90 minutes.
Following the lecture, participants draft a response to the lecture topic offline. This exercise takes about 45 minutes.
1:00 to 2:00 PM, PST: participants attend the online Zoom Write About Asia Group to share writing with other educators.
Exception for the February 5th Lecture: since the Feb 5th SAAM Lecture will take place from 5:30 PM to 6:45 PM, we will hold Write About Asia on Saturday, February 6th, from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM.

Please note that, since our office is in Seattle, WA, all times are Pacific Time.

Virtual Sencha (Green Tea) Tastings

Join d:matcha live from Wazuka (between Uji and Nara) Japan to experience five varieties of sencha (green tea) grown organically in their tea fields. Learn why Wazuka is considered to be one of the best tea growing locations in Japan, the differences in the tea varieties, the science behind tea growing, how to properly brew green tea, and more.

Tea will be shipped via DHL directly from d:matcha’s fields in Wazuka to your home shortly before your session. You’ll connect with their expert via Zoom and enjoy a leisurely conversation as you brew and taste the five varieties of sencha. Please note that this is *not* a Japanese tea ceremony. The focus is on understanding the differences in teas, much like a wine tasting.

Teachers from all disciplines are invited to participate; STEM teachers in particular will find many points of connection to their teaching.
This experience is only available to in-service K-12 educators (classroom teachers, specialists and administrators) in the United States. We pay a per-person fee of around $100 in advance for each participant, so please double-check your schedule to make sure you’re free at the time you sign up for. No-shows may be restricted from participating in future FCCEAS NCTA programs.

To sign up, click on the session of your choice. The content of each session will be identical. Please double-check your schedule before signing up. If you need to cancel, you must do so no later than two weeks before the event date.

China’s Films: History, Culture, and Society

The workshops focus on films directed by ZHANG Yimou (张艺谋), over a span of decades. Each workshop awards 3 PDP hours. Students are free to participate in one, a few, or all 5 of the workshops. Whatever you teach, there is something valuable for you.

The Rise Of Modern Japan

K-12 educators from all disciplines are invited to join this free online workshop. Japan's remarkable transformation from a secluded island nation to a major world power in just a few decades during the 19th and early 20th centuries is a fascinating tale of resilience, adaptability, and strategic reform. Several key factors drove these dramatic changes, ultimately leading to Japan's rise on the global stage.

K-Pop Revolution, with author Stephan Lee

Join Stephan Lee, author of K-Pop Revolution (Freeman Award Book--Honorable Mention), as he discusses his work.

This webinar is presented by the Five College Center for East Asian Studies in collaboration with the University of Colorado Program for Teaching East Asia.

Teaching East Asia: A Virtual Workshop in Honor of Arlene Kowal

Join us for Teaching East Asia: A Virtual Workshop in Honor of Arlene Kowal. Arlene was a passionate supporter of NCTA and the cross-disciplinary implementation of East Asia in the classroom. Five NCTA educators from the Northeast, representing different grade levels and subjects, will discuss resources they have encountered in NCTA programs and how they use those in their classrooms. Participants will receive a Freeman Book Award book of their choice after the workshop. Presenters: Nia Gipson, HS STEM; Rachel Knowles, MS Social Studies; Lynda McCann-Olson, Elementary Art; Karl Neumann, HS History; Wendy Wright, ESL. Can’t participate live? The workshop will be recorded.

The Boy from Clearwater, with translator Lin King

Join translator Lin King for a discussion of The Boy from Clearwater, winner of the 2023 Freeman Book Award for Middle and High School Graphic Novels. This webinar is a part of the Global Reads webinar series. Copies of the book are available to the first 20 teachers who request one.

“On Translation” with Takami Nieda

Join EARC program leader Mary Roberts and translator Takami Nieda and dive into the fascinating translation world. This workshop will focus on translation issues, emphasizing the Freeman Award-winning novels Go by Kazuki Kaneshiro (2018) and The Color of the Sky is the Shape of the Heart by Chesil (2022) and providing a sneak peek into Nieda’s newest translation, Finger Bone by Hiroki Takahashi.

All K-12 teachers are welcome to learn from Takami Nieda as she depicts characters showing agency and autonomy in the face of Japan-born Korean experiences of racism and bullying.

Teachers will receive both books before the workshop with various ways to approach each book. Teachers will read the texts and select elegant quotations to share with others during the workshop.

Boundaries and Connections in Medieval East Asia

Spend the day with NCTA at Princeton learning more about medieval East Asia featuring three lectures:

- “Voices from Tang (618-907) through Northern Song (960-1127) China: Encounters across Boundaries” presented by Anna Shields is Professor of East Asian Studies and Chair of the Department of East Asian Studies at Princeton.

- “The Silk Road in World History” presented by Xin Wen (Ch. 文欣), Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies and History at Princeton.

- “The Mongol invasions of Japan” presented by Thomas Conlan, Professor of East Asian Studies and History, and Director of the Program in East Asian Studies at Princeton.

Summer Online Book Club Explores Japanese Culture

Calling all educators, librarians, teachers, and anyone interacting with learners of any age! Join our enriching virtual book discussion event centered around the captivating novel "While I Was Away" by Waka T. Brown (Honorable Mention - 2021 Freeman Award). By delving into this thought-provoking story, we will explore the profound themes of bullying, cultural identity, family and heritage, and the transformative power of inter-generational relationships. Immerse yourself in the backdrop of Japan, spanning from 1980 to the present, and gain a deeper understanding of the richness of Japanese culture.

Indigo Girl, with author Suzanne Kamata

Join author Suzanne Kamata as she discusses her YA novel, 2019 Freeman Award Honorable Mention Indigo Girl. “Aiko Cassidy feels like she doesn’t fit in with the perfect family her mother has created with her Latinx stepfather and their new baby. Aiko is biracial (her mother is white) and has cerebral palsy. Hoping for a sense of belonging and some inspiration for her manga, Gadget Girl, she accepts her biological father’s invitation to spend the summer with his family on their indigo farm in Japan. Aiko attends school with her half brother, goes on tours with her father and his wife, and tries to please her disapproving Obaachan. As long-buried family secrets emerge, Aiko’s view of her entire family changes. Kamata has created another engaging coming-of-age story about finding one’s place in the world.” Kirkus Reviews

Stranger in the Shogun’s City: A Japanese Woman and Her World

Immerse yourself in nineteenth century Japan and join us as we explore Amy Stanley’s Stranger in the Shogun’s City: A Japanese Woman and Her World, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Biography, winner of the 2020 National Book Critics Circle Award, winner of the PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography, and shortlisted for the Baillie-Gifford prize. Teachers who sign up for one or both programs will receive a free copy of the book Stranger in the Shogun's City and will be expected to read the book ahead of the programs.

Curl up in your chair and follow the extraordinary life of Tsuneno as she moves from a rural village to one of the largest cities in the world (Edo/Tokyo). Then join EARC seminar leader Tese Wintz Neighbor for an online book club, and share your thoughts about “the life of an ordinary yet extraordinary woman.”

We are thrilled to follow up this book club with a conversation with the author. Professor Stanley will discuss how she was able to reconstruct Tsunemi’s life and world by letters, diary entrees and family papers.

About Stranger in the Shogun's City: A Japanese Woman and Her World

The daughter of a Buddhist priest, Tsuneno was born in a rural Japanese village and was expected to live a traditional life much like her mother’s. But after three divorces—and a temperament much too strong-willed for her family’s approval—she ran away to make a life for herself in one of the largest cities in the world: Edo, a bustling metropolis at its peak.

With Tsuneno as our guide, we experience the drama and excitement of Edo just prior to the arrival of American Commodore Perry’s fleet, which transformed Japan. During this pivotal moment in Japanese history, Tsuneno bounces from tenement to tenement, marries a masterless samurai, and eventually enters the service of a famous city magistrate. Tsuneno’s life provides a window into 19th-century Japanese culture—and a rare view of an extraordinary woman who sacrificed her family and her reputation to make a new life for herself, in defiance of social conventions.
Immersive and fascinating, Stranger in the Shogun’s City is a revelatory work of history, layered with rich detail and delivered with beautiful prose, about the life of a woman, a city, and a culture.

About the the Author

Amy Stanley (Ph.D., Harvard, 2007) is a historian of early modern and modern Japan with special interests in women's/gender history and global history. Her first book, Selling Women: Prostitution, Households, and the Market in Early Modern Japan (UC Press, 2012), explored how an expanding market for sex transformed the Japanese economy and changed women’s lives in the years between 1600 and 1868. She has also written about adultery in the Edo period, education for geisha in the first years of the Meiji era, and the figure of the migrant maidservant in global history. Her most recent project is a history of Edo in the early nineteenth century, told through the life story of a runaway divorcee who married a masterless samurai and entered the service of a famous city magistrate. The book Stranger in the Shogun's City was published in 2020 and has been shortlisted for the Baillie-Gifford prize, the UK's most prestigious prize for non-fiction.

Luana: A Yak in the Classroom documentary and discussion

Join our friends at SCREENSHOT:ASIA and the Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh for a free virtual program on Bhutan starting with a screening of the film Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom followed by a panel discussion with members of the Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh.

The film tells the story of a young teacher in modern Bhutan who shirks his duties while planning to go to Australia to become a singer. As a reprimand, his superiors send him to the most remote school in the world, a glacial Himalayan village called Lunana, to complete his service. He wants to quit and go home, but he begins to learn of the hardship in the lives of the beautiful children he teaches, and begins to be transformed through the amazing spiritual strength of the villagers.

Chinese Fantasy in Literature – Drawing on the Past to Imagine the Present

This asynchronous NCTA short course guides participants on an exploration of Chinese literature and culture through the lens of imagination and fantasy. Two weeks will be spent on investigating early paradigmatic classical sources and later narrative literature that absorbed classical ideas and became new paradigms of literature themselves.

This mini course hopes to highlight an area of interest about China other than the political state, by focusing on the rich cultural presentations of individual freedom and contemplation on divergent systems, worldly and otherworldly. These materials help students better understand the continuing recycling and developments of classical images and stories in Chinese imaginative literature through cutting-edge global and American cultural production, such as Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese and the Academy Award winner Everything Everywhere All at Once. The course awards two hours of Professional Development points upon completion.

Image: Gene Luen Yang’s self-portrait as the Monkey King, author and illustrator of ‘American Born Chinese.’

Angel Island Immigration Station: The Hidden History

Writer, activist, and historian Connie Young Yu will speak about how the Chinese detention barracks on Angel Island were saved from demolition in the 1970s, opening the door to the hidden history of the immigration station. She will recount the experience of her grandmother, Mrs. Lee Yoke Suey, who was detained in the barracks for 15-and-a-half months starting in 1924 and how the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on her grandmother’s case.

The Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), which is a program of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, worked with graphic artist Rich Lee to publish “Angel Island: The Chinese-American Experience.” Its author, Jonas Edman, will share activities and materials from this graphic novel that tells the story of Chinese immigrants who were detained at Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay between 1910 and 1940.

Mapping Past & Present: Spirits and Beasts of East Asia

Our virtual journey will introduce East Asia’s diverse cultures and environment while building and enhancing your tool chest of teaching resources for the classroom. Focusing on the regions that comprise present-day China, Japan, and Korea, participants will engage with experts and other educators in the field to explore major trends, global issues, and historic foundations that shape East Asian society. Join us in this free online seminar as we map the impact of these transnational forces in and beyond East Asia through the lenses of geography, art, religion, literature, and more! This year’s theme looks at the region from the legendary characters of myth and manga to the figurative demons of disease and war, as the contours of East Asia have been defined by its spirits and beasts, real and imagined, from time immemorial.

Chinese Fantasy in Literature: Drawing on the Past to Imagine the Present

This asynchronous NCTA short course guides participants on an exploration of Chinese literature and culture through the lens of imagination and fantasy. This course will help teachers explore Chinese literature through a focus on the rich cultural presentations of individual freedom and contemplation on divergent systems, worldly and otherworldly. The materials explored will help teachers better understand the continuing recycling and development of classical images and stories in Chinese imaginative literature through cutting-edge global and American cultural production, such as Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese and the Academy Award winner Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance by Louisa Lim

What is Hong Kong? The British considered it a “barren rock” without meaningful history. The People's Republic of China claimed it as its own, and believe it was finally returned to its rightful place in 1997. When protests erupted in 2019 and were met with escalating suppression, Louisa Lim, a journalist raised in Hong Kong felt compelled to unearth Hong Kong’s history. In Indelible City: Dispossession and Defiance, Lim interviews guerrilla calligraphers, amateur historians, and archaeologists to put together a story of Hong Kong as told from the perspectives of its locals.
Booklist review: Lim’s outstanding history of Hong Kong is an epic must-read, covering Hong Kong from its earliest beginnings to the 2019–20 protests. From the first page, the importance of language and the voices of Hong Kongers are central themes. Yet Indelible City captures much more as it records the struggle of people oppressed by British colonialism and suppressed by communist China yet determined in their pursuit of freedom and cultural identity.
Join Tese Wintz Neighbor and Ryan Hauck and page through Hong Kong history with author Louisa Lim as she poignantly and brilliantly puts Hong Kongers at the center of their own story.

Disillusionment, Dystopia, and Dreams: Insights from Three Contemporary East Asian Films

This online course will use three contemporary films (Parasite, Mountains May Depart, After the Storm) to discuss issues of social and economic change in East Asia, focusing on time, class divisions, globalization, and family. This workshop is divided into two parts, with a discussion forum for each film on Moodle that will be live for 2-weeks prior to the 1-hour live Zoom webinar where faculty moderators will discuss each film and participants will share ways that they can use film group materials in their teaching. For the online discussion modules, participants must post in depth responses that answer the questions posted in the discussion forum and add ideas for further reflection and analysis.

Presenters
Brian Dowdle, Associate Professor and Co-Chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures at the University of Montana, and Lauren Collins, postdoctoral fellow at the Davidson Honors College at the University of Montana.

The Housekeeper and the Professor

Explore a beautiful, elegant novel that is considered a classic piece of modern day Japanese literature, and was awarded the prestigious 2004 Yomiuri Prize. A best-seller and movie in Japan, Yoko Ogawa’s The Housekeeper and the Professor is centered around the unique friendship between the “professor”, a mathematician whose memory only lasts 80 minutes, and his housekeeper, a single-mother to 10-year old “Root”.

Program leader
The Book Club will be facilitated by EARC China Specialist Tese Wintz Neighbor.

Double Desire: Navigating Post-3/11 Relationships in Hamaguchi Ryūsuke’s “Asako I & II” (2018)

Director Hamaguchi Ryūsuke burst into the cinematic mainstream with his Best International Feature Film Oscar win for Drive My Car in 2022, but few are aware of his already prodigious filmography. Coming from a theatrical background and with a penchant for working with amateur actors, many of Hamaguchi’s films focus on the impact of the 3/11 Triple Disaster on human relationships, Asako I & II being a particular standout. While never addressing or depicting the 3/11 catastrophe directly, the spectre of this tragedy veritably haunts the story of a young woman (Asako) and her relationship with Ryūhei, who bears an uncanny physical resemblance to her enigmatic former lover, Baku. In its incorporation of theatrical conventions and classic filmic tropes, Hamaguchi’s film invokes the very origins of cinema and its connection to the advent of modern psychoanalysis.

In this online workshop we will discuss this fascinating and evocative film and the ways in which it explores interpersonal relationships in the age of climate catastrophe and the limits of cinematic representation.

The Silence of Bones, with author June Hur

The Silence of Bones, with author June Hur
2020 Freeman Book Award Honorable Mention Young Adult/High School

Ghosts of the Tsunami

On March 11th, ten years will have passed since one of the world’s strongest earthquakes struck near the coast of northeastern Japan, triggering tsunami and a meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Plant. The events of 3.11, as they are known in Japan, have had a lasting impact on the politics, environment, and collective psyche of the nation. Richard Lloyd Parry’s book Ghosts of the Tsunami chronicles the immediate impact and lingering effects of the wave on one community in northern Japan. Lloyd Parry, Asia editor and Tokyo bureau chief of The Times of London, spent six years traveling to the village of Okawa where the tsunami took a devastating human toll. Beautifully written and deeply researched, Ghosts of the Tsunami renders a local Japanese story of tragedy into a universal tale of trauma, suffering, remembrance, and activism.

This free two-part online book workshop/discussion group for educators will be led by Dr. Shawn Bender of Dickinson College and Ms. Michele Beauchamp, NCTA alum and literature specialist. In the first session on April 8, Dr. Bender will contextualize the book within the larger discourse of 3.11 in Japan and Ms. Beauchamp will discuss ways of integrating the book’s themes into classroom instruction. In the second part of the workshop/discussion group on April 28, Mr. Lloyd Parry will appear in conversation with Dr. Bender and take questions from participants. Books will be sent to the participants in advance of the workshop.

Teaching East Asia

We invite you to apply for this free seminar that will provide K-12 teachers with the content and resources to teach about East Asia as identified in the New York state curriculum.

Too Young to Escape: A Vietnamese Girl Waits to Be Reunited with Her Family

Too Young to Escape: A Vietnamese Girl Waits to Be Reunited with Her Family

…brother Tuan are gone. They have escaped the new communist regime that has taken over Ho Chi Minh City for freedom in the West. Four-year-old Van is too young –…...

Indigo Girl

Join the Five College Center for East Asian Studies for a discussion of Freeman Book Award 2019 Honorable Mention Young Adult/High School Literature book Indigo Girl, by Suzanne Kamata. This two-week program has two components:
1) Online, asynchronous response to discussions prompts each of the two weeks.
2) Online, synchronous participation in a webinar with author Suzanne Kamata on Nov. 12, 7-8pm Eastern Time.

Participants will receive a copy of the book prior to the start of the book group, and a certificate of completion for 3 contact hours. Limited to 20 participants.

Strike the Zither, with author Joan He.

Strike the Zither, 2022 Freeman Book Of Note, with author Joan He.

Teaching With East Asian Film

This free workshop for educators will look at key films and filmmakers from East Asia as well as provide ways in which films can be incorporated into the classroom.

Chibi Samurai Wants a Pet

Chibi Samurai Wants a Pet

Keywords: humor, ninja, nature, exploration This is the second in a creative series featuring Little Kunoichi the Ninja Girl and her friend, Chibi Samurai. Author and illustrator Sanae Ishida creates…...

Hey! We Gotta Talk about This! China Matters!

Understanding China in the headlines. Exploring China outside the headlines. Investigating China between the lines. This four-part NCTA seminar will explore contemporary topics in detail: Xi Jinping as the President of Everything? China as a Model and Inspiration? How Do We Bridge the US-China Divide? How Do We Wade Through the Media to Teach China Today? Join Tese Wintz Neighbor as she and you don your “dragonfly eyes” and grapple with China Matters.

The Forbidden Temptation of Baseball

The Forbidden Temptation of Baseball

Keywords: sports, immigration, customs, perseverance The Forbidden Temptation of Baseball is a lively, poignant, and nuanced novel based on a little-known episode from history, when 120 boys were sent to…...

Teaching the Global Water Crisis: A Multi-Disciplinary Mini-course

Significant portions of the world’s population lack access to sufficient quantities of water or to water of adequate quality – standards enshrined in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This unfolding global water crisis is making life precarious for billions of people and will increasingly foment environmental conflict, spur transnational migration, strain ecological systems, and exacerbate existing inequalities around the planet.

This free, cross-disciplinary mini-course for K-12 educators will explore the global water crisis through attention to its geo-political, cultural, economic, and technological aspects, with particular attention to scholars and practitioners working within the environmental, political, and technological framework to address these challenges using a people-centered approach. Special attention will be given to the case of East Asia.

When the Sakura Bloom, with author Narisa Togo

Join NCTA for a webinar with author Narisa Togo as she discusses her book When the Sakura Bloom, a 2022 Freeman Book Award Honorable Mention.

Teaching East Asia: A Virtual Workshop in Memory of Arlene Kowal

Join NCTA for a virtual workshop in memory of Arlene Kowal. Arlene was a passionate supporter of NCTA and the cross-disciplinary implementation of East Asia in the classroom. To honor her memory, we will hold our second virtual workshop on Teaching East Asia. Five NCTA alums from New England and upstate New York will present resources they have encountered in NCTA programs and how they use those in their classrooms.

Somewhere Among

Somewhere Among

Keywords: verse, grandparents, disappointment, identity, school Through the eyes of a young girl students can relate to the loneliness and fear of not-fitting in and not knowing the cultural cues…...

The Night Parade

The Night Parade

Keywords: fantasy, folklore, adventure, friendship A fantasy story that will appeal to many middle school students, The Night Parade bridges past and present Japanese cultural customs. It is filled with…...

Reading the Graphic Novel Tiananmen: Our Shattered Hopes

This book group will work with secondary teachers to do a close reading and analysis of this nonfiction graphic novel published in 2020 and recipient of the Freeman Award 2020 Honorable Mention for Young Adult/High School Literature. Lun Zhang teams up with Adrienne Gombeaud and Ameziane to create this first-hand account of the events 30 years ago that led to the Tiananmen massacre.

Open Educational Resources (OER) for Teaching about Asia

Join the College of Education at Michigan State University for a workshop for K-12 educators with a focus on Open Educational Resources (OER) developed at MSU to teach about Asia. The workshop is open to all K-12 teachers who are interested in using open access, restriction-free, and no-cost OER to teach about Asia. With faculty experts, you will discuss what Teaching about Asia encompasses while exploring existing resources that will benefit your classroom teaching. This workshop will deepen your understanding of the elements and design process related to accessing and creating your own OER content from Teaching about Asia.

History

In 1998, Columbia University, the Five College Center for East Asian Studies, Indiana University, the University of Colorado and the University of Washington joined forces to create The National Consortium for Teaching about…...

Japan Sinks “Franchise”

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Becoming Modern: Early 20th Century Japan through Primary Sources

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Cultural Encounters: Teaching Japan in World History

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East Asia Gateway for Linking Educators

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Education about Asia (EAA) Teaching Resource Journal

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Kai and the Dancing Butterfly, with author Crystal Z. Lee

The Program for Teaching East Asia and the Five College Center for East Asian Studies offers a webinar with Crystal Z. Lee, author of Kai the Dancing Butterfly. Join us to hear directly from the author about this beautifully crafted book that features the butterfly migration across the island of Taiwan.

Imaging Japanese History

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Japan Artists Information Directory (JAID)

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Japan: PITT

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Teaching Modules

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East Asia Through the Lens of Visual and Material Culture – 2022

Join our colleagues at Lehigh University, PA for this foundational NCTA seminar. East Asia today represents a broad mosaic of ethnic, economic, geographic, and cultural diversity. Even in our current period of rapid political and economic globalization, within which the region has played a major transformative role, East Asia retains its deep and rich cultural and artistic traditions and practices. Through interactive lectures and activities focusing on the visual and artistic material cultures of East Asia, K-12 educators will explore and integrate a wide range of strategies and resources supporting an enriched classroom learning environment.

Texts and Contexts: Teaching Japan through Children’s Literature

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The Death of Woman Wang

This book group engages secondary teachers with historian Jonathan Spence's classic, The Death of Woman Wang. Explore the lives of the non-elite in 17th-century China's Qing Dynasty as they face climatic catastrophes, famine, banditry, and more. Through the lenses of peasants and the illiterate, learn about the daily struggles of those history often fails to record, with a special focus on women. The book and course interweave Spence's historical writing with tales from the 17th-century writer Pu Songling.

Food in Contemporary Japanese Literature, a workshop for K-12 educators

We can learn so much about a culture through its food, and Japan has an exceptionally rich cuisine. This workshop offers an introduction to contemporary Japanese literature through readings that celebrate food. We will begin with a video featuring award-winning author Hideo Furukawa and his translator, Kendall Heitzman, discussing a chapter from his memoir Zero F, set in Fukushima after the March 2011 disaster. Next, we will look at popular Japanese literary genres, including manga, modern tanka poetry, the I-novel tradition, and zuihitsu. Then we will play with the possibilities of translation, using a tanka by Ainu poet Hokuto Iboshi, guided by notes from poetry translator Andrew Campana. Last but not least, we will brainstorm how these five readings could be used in the classroom. This workshop will provide guidance for teachers in K-12 who want to include contemporary Japanese writing in their curriculum or to focus on food writing.

Before the workshop, you will receive a PDF of the five readings. After the workshop, you will receive a print copy of volume 1 of the annual anthology MONKEY New Writing from Japan.

Spinning Reels: Teaching Throne of Blood, Kurosawa’s adaptation of Macbeth

Join us for this two-evening workshop on the intersection of literature, film and theatre where we will explore Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood and the creativity and power of adapting literature to film. Presentations by faculty experts and master NCTA teachers will include background on the warrior culture of Japan and the ways in which literature is adapted to film as well as interactive curriculum sessions. Learn more about Shakespeare’s tale of ambition and duplicity set in the ghostly world of feudal Japan.

More than a Game: A Look at US-Japan Relations through Baseball

US diplomatic historian Thomas Zeiler explores baseball as a window to teach about power, culture, and profits in US-Japanese/Asian relations, with a focus on the 20th century.

Religion in East Asia: Diversity and Diffusion

This three-module course builds “religious literacy” by engaging participants with the religious and philosophical traditions, practices, and experiences of the diverse belief systems in East Asia. The course will also consider the diffusion and co-existence of these traditions in East Asia over time and across societies. Features three live webinars with specialists in religious and philosophy studies of China, Japan, and Korea.

TEA-NCTA 25th Anniversary Curriculum Recognition Project

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Art and Society in Contemporary Korea

The Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and the Kim Center for Korean Studies are co-sponsoring this upcoming NCTA mini-course focused on Contemporary Korean Art and Society. The first Saturday of the program will be hosted by faculty and staff of the Kim Center for Korean Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and the second Saturday will be held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, coinciding with the opening of the special new exhibition on contemporary Korean Art "The Shape of Time: Korean Art after 1989" (a guided tour will also be part of the program).

Investigating Edo Avant Garde at the Detroit Institute of Art: a K-12 educator workshop

Join NCTA for this Saturday workshop at the Detroit Institute of Art, featuring the documentary and award-winning curriculum units for Edo Avant Garde, a film about the paintings of nature in Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868). Documentary filmmaker Linda Hoaglund and master teacher Angie Stokes will take you into the world of Japanese painting during this period, presenting on the ways teachers can use art to teach about a variety of subjects, from nature to social-emotional learning to studio classes.

Webinars

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Individualism and Upheaval Among China’s Millennials

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Migration and Urbanization in China

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Taiwan: The Other China

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Xi Jinping:(Re)Centralization of Power

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Xi Jinping’s Reform Agenda

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Clothes Make the Nation: China and Globalization

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Hairy Politics: What’s in a Braid?

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Exploring Global Questions in Asian Perspective: A Virtual Workshop

In courses already straining to cover the world’s diverse history, literature, and geography, incorporating Asia often leads to a new question: what material to cut? This PD session seeks to address this issue by considering Asia not as a new, replacement curriculum, but as a way of gaining important global perspectives on familiar questions: the discovery and conquest of the new world, the industrial revolution, World War I, and the global supply chains that define our modern world. This six hour workshop empowers educators to explore essential world history questions like these through fresh perspectives from Korea, China, and Japan. It also provides educators with books, digital curricula, and pedagogical tools for making sense of Asia’s growing importance on the world stage.

Poetry in the Classroom: China

A great poem can be the perfect primary source to introduce students to the social, political and human complexities of important historical periods. Join us for one or all of these webinars that feature Chinese poems in translation that can be integrated into your classrooms.

Sports and Leisure in East Asia: a summer foundational seminar for K-12 educators

What do people in East Asia do for fun?  If you’ve ever wondered about this, join us for a survey of the history and cultures of East Asia while exploring the leisure activities of each country. These include tai chi, mahjong, baseball, gardening, K-pop, watching Godzilla, reading Astro Boy, and so on. We’ll push back against the idea that East Asian life is all work and no play! We’ll also cover the sorts of topics a foundational seminar usually addresses, such as Confucian philosophy, Vietnamese history, Buddhism, and the role of Taiwan in East Asia. 

Learning to “Read” Japanese Paintings: A Social Studies Perspective

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Learning To “Read” Japanese Paintings: An Art Historian’s Perspective

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Japan in the World: Modern History

This online course will look at historical developments in modern Japan (1850-present) applying world history themes such as power relations and the movement and interactions of ideas, people, and materials. Participants will analyze teacher-developed lessons and primary sources for use in their classrooms. Content will address the World History Content Standards and AP World History Course Guidelines.

Pirates and Bandits: Teaching the Myths and Realities in the K-12 Classroom

Join us for a swashbuckling mini-course on historical bandits and pirates around the world. What are the myths? What are the facts? Faculty experts will discuss global piracy, representations of pirates in the media, piracy in the Atlantic world, and bandits in East Asia. We will also discuss curricular applications of pirates and bandits for the K-12 classroom. This mini-course is particularly applicable for teachers of World History, U.S. History, East Asia studies, Global Studies, Film Studies and World Cultures.

Learning to “Read” Japanese Paintings: Using Art as an Entry Point for Japanese Literature

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Teaching with the MIT “Visualizing Cultures” Collection

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Science Fiction & Society: Engaging Students in Sci-Fi to Explore a Changing China

Science fiction is not just a mirror to society, but a lens through which we can envision multiple realities. This short course will look at how China is rapidly becoming a hub for some of the most intriguing science fiction stories being published now. As China continues to undergo massive social, economic, and political transformations, science fiction writers not only tell stories that reflect Chinese history and current changes but also possible futures for all of us. Participants will analyze stories to determine the underlying messages behind each story, discuss how they interact with China’s progress and development, and explore the growing international interest in Chinese science fiction.

Japan-Korea: Histories that Bind

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Japan’s Contemporary Security Challenges: 2016 and Beyond

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Ties that Bind: On the Ground in Boston

Join us for an in-person walking workshop in Boston where we will be on the ground and face to face with early encounters between Boston and East Asia. Participants will learn about these connections and consider how to use them in their classroom.

Karl Neumann (Dana Hall School, Wellesley, MA) will lead participants through sites providing context and sharing his knowledge and successful classroom applications.

The Japanese Constitution at 70. Part 1

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The Japanese Constitution at 70. Part 2

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Teaching Tolerance and Exploring Asian Identity through Children’s and Young Adult Literature

In many parts of the US, the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic has led to a troubling rise in incidents of anti-Asian racism. This full day workshop explores the broader history of anti-Asian racism in America, and shows how recently published children’s books, young adult fiction, and graphic novels can serve as springboards for broader discussions about Asian-American identity and diversity. The workshop will supply teachers with complimentary copies of award-winning books and resources, as well as annotations for approaching these themes in their classroom. Benefits to participants include: 6 hours of continuing education credit, $25 worth of classroom-ready books on Asian and AAPI culture, online toolkit for addressing anti-Asian racism in the classroom, priority registration for future NCTA programs.

Shattering Myths: Teaching About the Diversity of East Asia in the K-12 Classroom

“All Asia is [NOT] One.” East Asia is a culturally diverse and historically rich region. This NCTA seminar will enhance your classroom’s curriculum by providing content and resources for teaching about cultural diversity through the window of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. The seminar is designed for all K-12 educators and will provide you with a foundational East Asia survey, with emphasis on the theme of cultural diversity. Sessions include presentations by scholars and master teachers, hands-on activities, and discussions of resources and teaching strategies, including tools for online learning.

Cultural Appreciation or Cultural Appropriation?

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Japan’s National Stadium and the Struggle for National Identity

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Dispelling Myths about North Korea

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“Reading” South Korea through Literature and Popular Culture

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National Narratives, Personal Memories: Ai Weiwei’s 1000 Years of Sorrows

Ai Weiwei's 2020 memoir 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows  pays homage to his father Ai Qing, one of China's leading 20th century poets, at the same time providing critical social and historical context for both his father's and his careers as artists and sociopolitical commentators. The memoir is a fascinating and complex intertwining of narratives and perspectives on China from the early Mao years to the Xi Jinping Era, offering windows for instruction in social studies, art history, and world literature. This 5-week asynchronous special topics course will focus on selected chapters in Ai Weiwei's memoir, combined with supplemental readings, to explore the political and social context of the father's and son's roles as voices of conscience for their generation

Korea Goes Global, Part 2

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Milestones in K-12 Japan Studies

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Teaching Korea through Children’s Literature: Urban Geographies

This seminar draws on two books, I am the Subway and Mommy's Hometown, to explore the changing cultural and environmental characteristics of South Korea's cities and discuss classroom applications for language arts and social studies.

Religion in East Asia: Diversity and Diffusion

This three-module course of world history and world religions builds “religious literacy” by engaging participants with the religious and philosophical traditions, practices, and experiences of the diverse belief systems in East Asia. The course will also consider the diffusion and co-existence of these traditions in East Asia over time and across societies. Features three live webinars with specialists in religious and philosophy studies of China, Japan, and Korea.

Insights into East Asia for K-12 Educators: China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam

The countries of East Asia are in the news almost daily. This course is designed to enrich your curriculum and provide your students with a better understanding of this important world region, through an introduction to the histories and cultures of China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. Each session is built around a selection of written and visual primary sources, making the seminar perfect for history and social studies educators, art educators, librarians, and world language teachers as well. Our presenters (UMBC faculty) will provide you with both the content and resources needed to more effectively incorporate the study of East Asia into your existing curriculum. Going further, the broadened cultural context of this seminar will enable a deeper understanding of the diverse student populations we all teach.

Using Samurai to Teach Critical Thinking

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Behind the Scenes: Exploring the Environments of Edo Japan through the documentary Edo Avant Garde

Bring your students into the environment of Edo period Japan.

"Edo Avant-Garde reveals the pivotal role Japanese artists of the Edo era (1603 – 1868) played in setting the stage for the “modern art” movement in the West. During the Edo era, while a pacified Japan isolated itself from the world, audacious Japanese artists innovated stylization, abstraction, minimalism, surrealism, geometric composition and the illusion of 3-D. Their elegant originality is most striking in images of the natural world depicted on folding screens and scrolls by Sotatsu, Korin, Okyo, Rosetsu, Shohaku and many others who left their art unsigned."

NCTA master teachers Angie Stokes and Kachina Leigh will share their lesson modules for using concepts from Edo Avant Garde in the classroom. Participants will be challenged to think about how to draw on this resource to teach about history, culture, biodiversity, religion and art. Filmmaker Linda Hoaglund will also join us for Q&A time.

The 83-minute film will be available for workshop participants to view from May 8 to May 16. Access will be via a link to be provided in early May.

“Voices from Japan:” 3.11 through Tanka Poetry

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Ties that Bind: On the Ground in Salem and Boston

Join us for two one-day in-person workshops in the Boston area where we will be on the ground and face to face with early encounters with East Asia. Connections between East Asia and the U.S. began with whalers and traders in the colonial era and continue until today. The greater Boston area offers the opportunity to delve deep into these connections which are documented through images, narratives and resources in the Ties that Bind FCCEAS Historypin project (see link below).

Through site visits in Boston and Salem participants will explore these connections and consider how to use them in their classroom.

Saturday, October 1 - Day 1, Salem, MA: Participants will meet at Boston's Long Wharf for the morning ferry to Salem and arrive at port for a walking tour of the waterfront. Afternoon is spent at the Peabody Essex museum exploring the collection and considering classroom applications. The day concludes with the late afternoon ferry back to Boston. (9am-5pm; begins and ends at Long Wharf; lunch is on your own in Salem)

Saturday, November 5 - Day 2, Boston, MA: Walking tour (approx. 3.5 miles of walking over 3 hours) of Boston from South Station to Long Wharf with stops exploring key pins from the Ties that Bind project. Afternoon visit to the Museum of Fine Arts to consider pieces in their collection that would enhance classroom curriculum. (9am-5pm; begins at South Station, ends at the Museum of Fine Arts; lunch is on your own)

Karl Neumann (Dana Hall School, Wellesley, MA) will lead participants through sites providing context and sharing his knowledge and successful classroom applications. Upon completion of the workshops teachers will be invited to add to the Ties that Bind project, and will be eligible for stipends for that work.

Photo credit: Erol Amhed

Understanding Chinese Sources: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly with Kaiser Kuo

NCTA at the Program for Teaching East Asia offers this webinar with Kaiser Kuo to support teachers in finding the best sources for materials about China for their classrooms. With so much information coming from so many different sources, what and whom do you believe? The analysts, academics, pundits, commentators or talking heads on TV? Register for this webinar and learn how to discern the good, the bad and the ugly sources.

Reinventing Japan, 1945-1989: An NCTA Special Topics Course

As Japanese envoys stood on the deck of the USS Missouri to sign the WWII surrender in 1945, the world and the Japanese people saw a defeated and disgraced nation. Forty-four years later, in 1989, world leaders gathered in Tokyo to pay respects at the funeral of Hirohito, the Showa emperor who had led Japan into, through, and beyond WWII. Japan's trajectory during this period is a critical chapter in understanding Japan in the world, but one that is often skipped in a crowded curriculum.

Ancient Chinese History and Thought

Have you ever wondered how did the early Chinese dynasties come about? How did Chinese writing start? What did the early Chinese philosophers write and teach?

Join Dr. Shelton Woods from Boise State University for an online seminar on Ancient China and develop ideas for integrating East Asia into your teaching while joining a national network of educators. Participants will have access to 15 lectures, each 30 minutes long, which will cover how current day China relates to its rich history of ancient philosophy, calligraphy, early religions, and much more.

Japan in the World: Premodern History

This online course will look at historical developments in premodern Japan (650-1850) applying world history themes such as power relations and the movement and interactions of ideas, people, and materials. Participants will analyze teacher-developed lessons and primary sources for use in their classrooms.

Sencha (green tea) Tasting

Join d:matcha live from Wazuka, Kyoto, Japan to experience five varieties of sencha (green tea) grown organically in their tea fields. Learn why Wazuka is considered to be one of the best tea growing locations in Japan, the differences in the tea varieties, the science behind tea growing, how to properly brew green tea, and more.

Please note that this is *not* a Japanese tea ceremony. The focus is on understanding the differences in teas, much like a wine tasting.

Tea will be shipped via DHL directly from d:matcha’s fields in Wazuka to your home shortly before your session. You’ll connect with their expert via Zoom and enjoy a leisurely conversation as you brew and taste the five varieties of sencha.

Sencha (green tea) Tasting

Join d:matcha live from Wazuka, Kyoto, Japan to experience five varieties of sencha (green tea) grown organically in their tea fields. Learn why Wazuka is considered to be one of the best tea growing locations in Japan, the differences in the tea varieties, the science behind tea growing, how to properly brew green tea, and more.

Please note that this is *not* a Japanese tea ceremony. The focus is on understanding the differences in teas, much like a wine tasting.

Tea will be shipped via DHL directly from d:matcha’s fields in Wazuka to your home shortly before your session. You’ll connect with their expert via Zoom and enjoy a leisurely conversation as you brew and taste the five varieties of sencha.

Inspired Learning through Manga and Anime

Manga and Anime have arrived on the educational landscape and are considered more than mere entertainment. As an appealing literary art form, manga engages resistant readers, second language learners, critical and creative thinkers, and students curious about world cultures. Related anime series and films further invite inquiry and introduce students to fascinating adventures through a unique style of storytelling. Join us as we uncover the intriguing popularity in manga and anime among students and adults alike while discovering opportunities to connect with students and inspire learning through these media.

Teaching Throne of Blood, Kurosawa’s adaptation of Macbeth

Join us for this two-evening workshop on the intersection of literature, film and theatre where we will explore Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood and the creativity and power of adapting literature to film. Presentations by faculty experts and master NCTA teachers will include background on the warrior culture of Japan and the ways in which literature is adapted to film as well as interactive curriculum sessions. Learn more about Shakespeare’s tale of ambition and duplicity set in the ghostly world of feudal Japan. 30 participants will receive a complimentary DVD of the film starring emblematic actor Toshiro Mifune.

NCTA Statement on Anti-Asian Racism and Violence

…of violence, every hate-crime, every case of discrimination threatens not only those against whom it is committed, it threatens all of us. The NCTA therefore stands behind efforts to provide…...

The Study of Asia: from Revolution to Rebirth

This is an interdisciplinary seminar-style exploration of East Asian civilizations with emphasis on the interconnection among Asian states and with the rest of the world. The course is appropriate for those teaching in a wide range of liberal arts and social studies subjects, including: comparative government, geography, literature, world history and world cultures. Emphasis will be placed on the countries of China, Japan and N/S Korea, but coverage will include other Southeast Asian states.

Recovery and the Challenges of Success: Continuity and Change in Japan Since 1945

The USC U.S. - China Institute, Japan Society New York, and National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) are offering a complimentary one-day workshop for K-12 educators on Japan’s rapid economic rise and continued success.


Japan’s economic rise after World War II is well known and the country cemented its return to the global stage with the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and pop culture successes. In this K-12 educators' workshop we’ll look at the roles women played in transforming Japan and their place in contemporary Japanese society. What progress has been made? What challenges persist?  We’ll also look at Japan’s Olympics history (including the cancelled 1940 games and the postponed 2020 games). How and why do such events matter?

Constitutional Crossroads: A Case Study of Japan’s Post-WWII Constitution in the 21st-Century World

Although controversial from the outset, Japan's 1947 Constitution (the MacArthur Constitution) has endured without a single revision. The most serious revision efforts grew during the Abe years, with revision of Article 9 and other provisions seeming inevitable. Japan's constitution is a window into modern Japan and a valuable case study in comparative constitutions for history and government courses.

WWII & Atomic Bomb Museum Exhibits: Japanese and American Perspectives, by Erica Gullickson (iBook – Available in iTunes)

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Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki, by Sarah Campbell (iBook – Available in iTunes)

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China and Japan Between 1912 and 1939

The years between 1912 and 1939 were momentous for Japan and China. In 1912, the Meiji emperor passed from the scene, and Japan faced an uncertain future with a much weaker emperor at the helm. In China, 1912 saw the end of two-thousand years of imperial rule. China was at a crossroads. During the next three decades both countries took on new challenges as well as shifts in ideologies and eventually war with each other. This course traces the evolution of modern Japan and China during these crucial years.

Join Dr. Shelton Woods from Boise State University for a seminar to explore this uniquely interesting and consequential period of history.

Participants will watch three lectures at their convenience each week beginning January 23, 2023 (approximately 35 minutes each) and will complete about ninety minutes of work (reading and writing) each week, for a total of about 15 hours. Additionally, participants will attend two one-hour Zoom meetings, on February 13, 2023 and on February 27, 2023.

Exploring Taiwanese Black Tea with Hugosum

Chi-Mu Black Tea Factory at Xiangcha Lane in Yuchih was established by the Japanese to produce black tea. Mr. Shih Chao Xin, who graduated from Taiwan Tea Industry Transmitting Institute, managed the factory from 1949. The price of Taiwan black tea was so high that it won another name “Tea Gold” at that time. Mr. Shih persisted on black tea cultivation, even when others made a fortune by growing betel-nut palms, he still believed that black tea would come into spotlight again.

The second generation, Ms. Shih Zhu Hua and her husband, Mr. Chen Yen Quan, inherited her father’s tea making technology, devoted themselves not only to making good tea, but also to promoting Taiwan black tea culture. In 2005, the tourism tea factory Hugosum Black Tea Garden was established. In addition to educating customers about the black tea industry, Hugosum promotes local culture as well as Taiwanese black tea culture, and ultimately shows the world the Renaissance of Taiwan’s black tea.

Samples of Hugosum tea are available to the first 20 teachers who sign up and attend the webinar.

Saving Sorya Chang and the Sun Bear

Saving Sorya Chang and the Sun Bear

…isn’t old enough or strong enough, Chang is finally accepted as a rescue center volunteer. But her toughest challenge yet comes when she’s tasked with returning Sorya—the sun bear she…...

Dragonfly Dreams, with author Eleanor McCallie Cooper

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Democracy in Taiwan, Dr. Sara Newland

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Green Island, with author Shawna Yang Ryan

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Visualizing the Taste and Season in Edo

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The Star Festival

The Star Festival

…somen and shaved ice. But when Obaasan gets lost in the crowd, Keiko and Mama must make their own bridge to find her again—and see if their tanzaku comes true…....

Online Book Talk – Mind, Body & Soul in “Shadow Life” by Hiromi Goto

Join Professor Kathy Whitham for an online conversation with Japanese Canadian author Hiromi Goto to discuss aging, mortality, intersectionality, independence, body positivity, friendship, living life to the fullest, and other themes in her delightful graphic novel Shadow Life. Professor Whitham will lead an author interview, followed by Q&A.

Contact Us

See our national coordinating sites or partner sites to contact sites directly. For general questions, email Comments@nctasia.org   Sign-up below to get more information about our programs. Name(Required) First Last Email(Required)…...

The 14th Dalai Lama: A Manga Biography

Teaching about East Asia through Graphic Novels

The 14th Dalai Lama: A Manga Biography. Written and illustrated by Tetsu Saiwai.

At the age of two, Tenzin Gyatso, child of a peasant family in northeastern Tibet, was recognized as the reincarnation of his predecessor, the Thirteenth Dalai Lama-the manifestation of the Buddha of Compassion. Just fourteen years later, this young man assumed full political power over his nation upon the invasion of Chinese forces.

While I Was Away

While I Was Away

…mesh with her complicated and distant Obaasama, and gets made fun of by the students in her Japanese public-school classes. Even though this is the country her parents came from,…...

How Do You Live?

How Do You Live?

Keywords: translation, philosophy, coming-of-age, friendship First published in 1937, Genzaburō Yoshino’s How Do You Live? has long been acknowledged in Japan as a crossover classic for young readers. Academy Award–winning…...

Understanding Korean Society through Popular Culture

Americans and people across the globe are avidly consuming Korean popular culture. In this new complimentary online course, participating educators will learn more about the content and production of these hugely successful films, television dramas and music and will explore what they suggest about contemporary South Korean culture and society.

Grass

Teaching about East Asia through Graphic Novels - Grass. Written by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim

The term "comfort women" is widely used to refer to the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery. Grass is a powerful antiwar graphic novel, telling the life story of a Korean girl named Okseon Lee who was forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War―a disputed chapter in twentieth-century Asian history. Beginning in Lee’s childhood, Grass shows the lead-up to the war from a child’s vulnerable perspective, detailing how one person experienced the Japanese occupation and the widespread suffering it entailed for ordinary Koreans.

Schenectady NCTA Alumni Presentation Day

Have you developed an interesting lesson as a result of participating in the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia seminar series? If so, please consider sharing that with other NCTA alumni and friends at our first Alumni Presentation Day on October 22, 2022 from 9:00-3:00 at Clarkson University in Schenectady. Presentations will be 30 minutes in length, and preference will be given to alums of Schenectady NCTA seminars.

Accepted presenters will receive a $25 stipend to cover the cost of transportation and materials.

Considering Early Modern East Asia through Maritime History

From the 14th to 19th centuries, the countries of East Asia were engaged in rich economic, diplomatic, and cultural exchange. While land-based connections are the focus of textbook narratives, this region also was linked closely by sea. The seas carried diplomats representing their states in the tributary system. Commercial cargo ships transported Confucian texts, porcelain, silver and more. Pirates navigated the waters smuggling, raiding ports, and instigating rebellions. And Japanese, Korean, and Chinese soldiers sailed into battle in the largest war in the 16th-century world.

Using the lens of maritime history, this institute offers secondary social studies teachers an opportunity to work with scholars and specialists to re-center historical studies of early modern East Asia from national histories of China, Japan, and Korea to narratives focusing on the sea- based, transborder people, institutions, and practices that connected the region. In this online institute, teachers will gain an understanding of the political, economic, and cultural systems of the early modern East Asian world and reconsider narratives of encounters and conflicts with European imperialist powers.

Colorful

Colorful

…just committed suicide. It looks like Makoto doesn’t have a single friend, and his family don’t seem to care about him at all. But as the soul begins to live…...

Disaster in China and Japan; what can we can learn from them?

The Thursday seminar starts with a lecture on the 1959-61 famine in China, followed by an introduction to resources on East Asia and viewing of a film, "Radiant." Friday workshops include an award-winning book author's reading & discussion, followed by the Q&A sessions of the film "Radian" and Fukushima updates by MOTOKO. Friday afternoon workshop, participants will learn how to make a story and create one with MOTOKO. A certificate of completion will be provided after the seminar.

Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence

Join us for a morning at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston to view the exhibit Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence. Maine art educator Lynda McCann-Olson will facilitate the workshop and participants will have the chance to explore the exhibit and ways to bring the art into the classroom.

Image: Katsushika Hokusai, Under the Wave off Kanagawa (Kanagawa-oki nami-ura), also known as the Great Wave, from the series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji (Fugaku sanjūrokkei) (detail), about 1830–31. Woodblock print (nishiki-e); ink and color on paper. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, MFA.

Sake: Beyond the Basics

Dive into the world of sake with this lecture and go beyond the basic distinction of ​junmai​ and ​honjozo​. Deb Mortillaro, certified sake sommelier, will guide us through how five elements - the ​rice, the region, the water, the yeast, and the brewer - combine to create unique flavors, even within the same grade of sake. We will learn how those elements are reflected in the labels so you can become a more confident sake connoisseur. This class is a practical tasting, covering Ishioka, Mighty Peak Tokubetsu Junmai; Housui, Fragrant Water Tokubetsu Junmai; Echigo Ikarashi-Gawa, Blue River Ginjo; and Hakuyou, White Sun Junmai Ginjo.

Modern East Asia

This complimentary online seminar offers in-depth presentations on the history and culture of East Asia since 1800 as well as aids K-12 educators incorporate these learnings into their curriculums. All instructional materials and discussions are online. Topics include post-war Japan, two Koreas, and nation building in China.

Two Koreas

This five-week intensive online course will help participants better understand North Korea and South Korea as two countries with a common past, divided only since 1945, and still stuck in the Cold War years after the fall of the Soviet bloc.

Hallyu! The Korean Wave

Join us as we visit the "Hallyu! The Korean Wave" exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.

Two Koreas

This three-week intensive online course will help you better understand North Korea and South Korea as two countries with a common past, divided only since 1945, and still stuck in the Cold War many years after the fall of the Soviet bloc.

The Forest of Stolen Girls

The Forest of Stolen Girls

…to pick up the trail. As she digs into the secrets of the small village—and collides with her now estranged sister, Maewol—Hwani comes to realize that the answer could lie…...

East Asian Cultures: Influencing the Globe

East Asian countries are having both an economic and cultural impact on the world. Explore the historical and modern impacts of these amazing cultures on the west and how we can better connect through meaningful cultural dialogue.

Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden

The divide between China and Taiwan is brought to a personal level in this remarkable book. Join us March 6-27 for this asynchronous book group, which culminates in a synchronous webinar on Tuesday, March 21, 7-8pm ET with the author, linguist and East Asian scholar Zhuqing Li, who is the niece of the women who are profiled in this family story.

Daughters of the Flower Fragrant Garden, with author Zhuqing Li

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The Red Palace, with author June Hur

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Human and Physical Geography of East Asia

This twenty-hour introductory seminar is open to K-12 classroom teachers of history, geography, social studies, art, music, English/language arts, technology, and other teachers who desire to incorporate teaching about East Asia into their curriculum. School librarians and administrators are also encouraged to apply. It provides content and resources for teaching about China, Japan, and Korea.

Alone Like Me

…and they walk bravely into the park–together. With luscious watercolor illustrations and lovely poetic text, this achingly beautiful story is about our universal desire for connection, and the comfort we…...

Masked Hero: How Wu Lien-Teh Invented the Mask That Ended an Epidemic

…and a time line, sheds further light on the ever-relevant past, encouraging budding scientists to think bravely—and remember the small acts we all can perform to keep our communities safe…....