East Asia From The Outside In

Why should you incorporate East Asia into your curriculum? This seminar will offer an outside-in, bottom-up approach to East Asia’s history and culture. Focusing on the everyday culture of ordinary people of China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, we will present lesson ideas and teaching strategies teachers can incorporate into their classes. Topics range from Japanese woodblock prints to contemporary Korean horror films and seminar presentations will include lectures and activities led by Pitt faculty, guest experts, and NCTA master teachers.

• • Starts:
  • August 31, 2026
• • Ends:
  • January 11, 2027
• • Time Detail:
  • Mondays, 5:30-8:30pm
• • Learning Format:
  • In-Person
• • Location details:
  • University of Pittsburgh Main Campus
• • Type of Course:
  • Seminars & Short Courses
• • Offered to:
  • Pennsylvania
• • Registration and Info:

  • Dates and Class Session Topics:

    Aug 31 – Introduction: Borders

    Sept 14 – Chinese Calligraphy & The Literature of Korean and Japanese Court Women

    Sept 28 – Buddhism in Conflict

    Oct 5 – Encounters on the Silk Road

    Oct 19 – Heroic Outlaws of China and Japan: The Water Margin and The 47 Ronin 

    Oct 26 – Encounters with Europe and America

    Nov 2 – Understanding Global Modernity Through Detective Fiction

    Nov 9 – Twentieth Century Revolutionaries

    Nov 16 – Korean and Japanese Ghosts

    Dec 14 – East Asian Peripheries

    Jan 11, 2027 – Democracy and Disability in East Asia

    An additional Follow-up Session (3 hours total) required in the Spring of 2027.

    Free parking and dinner provided. Participants also receive teaching materials and a completion stipend upon successfully completing course requirements.

    Application Deadline: Aug 24 or until course fills

    Questions? Please contact Lisa Lackney at lisa.lackney@pitt.edu