Saturday, January 10, 2009, 11:30am – 3pm. Religions of India Workshop. The Program for South, Southeast, and West Asia (SSEWA) at the Center for Asian Studies at the University of Colorado invites you to join CU Associate Professor of Religion, Dr. Loriliai Biernacki, in an afternoon workshop to explore religions of India and to examine the role of religions in shaping everyday life in India. Dr. Biernacki’s lecture will be supplemented by a short video to visually explore the Indian spiritual landscape. Teachers will receive curriculum materials to help disseminate what is learned from the workshop to their students. Please note that this workshop is offered only to high school teachers. The workshop will also be a precursor to SSEWA’s Summer 2009 Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad entitled Religious Pluralism in India. This study tour, led in part by Dr. Biernacki, will take place from June 30 – July 29, 2009. Applications and more information will be available at the workshop. $15 registration fee covers cost of curriculum and lunch. Deadline to apply for the workshop is January 5, 2009. You can download the application for the workshop at: http://www.colorado.edu/CAS/ssewaoutreach.htm. For more information, contact Kunga Lama, SSEWA Outreach Coordinator, 303-735-5124.

Monday, January 12, 4:00pm (Humanities 135) and 5:00pm (Humanities 250). A Japanese Double-Header: Lectures by David Hughes on Japanese Folk Song and Gina Barnes on State Formation in Early Japan. Dr. David Hughes will give the first lecture on his research in Japanese folk song. He is a well-respected scholar in East Asian, especially Japanese, ethnomusicology. Dr. Gina Barnes, one of the foremost experts on early Japanese archaeology and history, will then give a talk about her research on early Japanese government. There will be a short intermission between lectures. Sponsored by the Center for Asian Studies.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009, 4:30 – 7:30pm. Calligraphy Workshop. TEA celebrates the Asian New Year with calligraphy master, Yunn Pann. Participate in a calligraphy demonstration and hands-on brush practice. The session will feature presentations and curriculum on the origin of Chinese characters and the use of literature to teach and read characters. Registration forms available from January 5, 2009, at: www.colorado.edu/cas/tea.

Saturday, February 7, 2009. Teaching about India and China as Global Economic Leaders. The Program for Teaching East Asia (TEA) and the Center for Asian Studies’ South, Southeast, and West Asia (SSEWA) Program will host a collaborative workshop for secondary school teachers on the Emerging Asian Leaders of China and India. Professor Devin Joshi from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver will be presenting at the workshop. Dr. Joshi is the author of the book The Rise of India and China: Why Government Effectiveness Is Crucial for Human Development. Dr. Joshi was also a visiting scholar at the Center for Human and Economic Development Studies at Beijing University in 2007. Dr. Joshi's two-part presentation will cover both India and China, specifically focusing on their rising prominence in the world economy as well as issues and challenges they face more generally. The program will also feature a curriculum session to help participants transfer the knowledge gained from Dr. Joshi into their own classroom teaching. Application for the workshop and more information will be made available shortly at the TEA and SSEWA websites. Please visit us at www.colorado.edu/cas/tea for updates.

Saturday, February 21, 2009. Texts and Contexts: Teaching Japan through Children’s Literature. Explore hands-on, teacher-developed activities for integrating Japan into your elementary curriculum through exemplary children’s literature. Art lessons, poetry and folk tales, environmental studies, and more! Presenters include alumni of the 2006, 2007, and 2008 Texts and Contexts elementary study tours to Japan. Registration forms available from January 5, 2009, at: www.colorado.edu/cas/tea.

Two Colorado NCTA Seminars Beginning in January 2009! The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia, now in its 11th year at the University of Colorado’s Program for Teaching East Asia, is conducting two 30-hour professional development courses on East Asian history, geography, and culture for Colorado secondary teachers beginning January 2009. The South Denver seminar will take place at West Middle School in the Cherry Creek district and the North Denver seminar will take place at Vantage Point Campus, Thornton, in the Adams 12 district. The seminars are open to any secondary teacher of world history, world geography, or world literature. Teachers from all districts are welcome to participate. Currently, the North Denver seminar has four openings for the winter-spring 2009 seminar and the South Denver seminar has six openings. Participating teachers receive approximately $600 in cash and material incentives and may take the course for graduate credit. In addition, schools of participating teachers receive $200 in curriculum materials on East Asia. Participants are eligible to apply for annual study tours to East Asia through the program. To learn more about the upcoming seminars, contact Meredith Melzer for the North Denver seminar, Tamara Hoffman for the South Denver seminar, or Chris McMorran at NCTA at the University of Colorado.

Previously Mentioned Opportunities

The “It’s Elementary” Service Project Expands. The Program for Teaching East Asia is pleased to announce that, as it enters its 12th year, the “It’s Elementary” Service Project is expanding to offer free, hands-on and engaging presentations to Boulder Valley K-5 classrooms on India, in addition to Japan, China, and Taiwan.  The project provides elementary teachers the opportunity to invite CU student interns studying Japanese, Chinese, Hindi, and related cultures, and international students from China, Taiwan, and Japan into their classrooms for one to five presentations on a variety topics connected to their curriculum. This year, with the addition of lessons on India and larger numbers of undergraduate recruits, elementary students at all grade levels will have the opportunity to learn about Asian elementary school and family life, foods, songs, children’s literature, traditional games, arts and crafts, written language, and other fun topics. The CU student interns have access to a large selection of children’s literature and artifacts to enhance their lessons.  While this is commonly the undergraduates’ first experience with teaching, district teachers comment that their well-prepared, active lessons geared to meet district curriculum standards are an excellent opportunity to engage young students in the study of Asia.  Selected CU students will attend trainings with experienced students and Teaching East Asia staff in January and will be able to offer presentations beginning Feb. 1, 2009.  Please visit http://www.colorado.edu/cas/teaz/  for a presentation request form and to view a flyer with further information. 

February 27, 2009 (Deadline). Religious Pluralism in India: Islam, Hinduism and Other Traditions. A Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad in India for Colorado High School Teachers, June 30 – July 29, 2009. The Center for Asian Studies is pleased to announce an opportunity for high school teachers in the state of Colorado. The Religious Pluralism in India four-week study tour is the first of its kind offered by the South, Southeast and West Asia Outreach Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Join CU Professor of Religion Loriliai Biernacki, as well as project advisor Philip Lutgendorf  (Hindi and Religious Studies, University of Iowa),  in a tour of North India that examines Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and other traditions through contemporary and historical lenses. The group will gain insight into these traditions as they are lived today through numerous visits to pilgrimage sites, temples, and other places of worship, as well as guest lectures by Indian scholars in New Delhi and Varanasi. Teachers may apply their experience to enhance World Geography, World History, World Religions, Asian Studies and more. Cost to participants is approximately $1,300 for the entire four-week program. Please note: participants in Fulbright-Hays Group Project Abroad study tours over the last three years are not eligible to apply. For more information, contact Kunga Lama, SSEWA Outreach Coordinator, 303-735-5124.

Presenters on Japan, China, and India Are Ready to Come to Your Secondary Classroom! The Center for Asian Studies at CU-Boulder, in cooperation with TEA, is again offering its educational outreach program to middle and high schools. The program has expanded this year to presentations on India, China, and Japan. The presentations cover a variety of subjects from performing and visual arts to religion and ethics and are carried out by graduate and undergraduate Asian studies majors in the respective fields. This year we have five presenters speaking on six specific topics (adding four more topics on China and India in November). Having one or all five of our presenters visit your class will not only stimulate your students’ interest in cross-cultural learning and pursuing foreign languages, but will also add new dimensions to your curriculum. The content covered by these presentations may easily be applied to History, World Civilizations, Art, and Literature classes. Presentations are available free of charge and presenters may visit individual classes (preferred) or assemblies. Here are the available presentations and contact information to request a speaker for your class:

Japan

“Bushido: The Way of the Samurai”
Contact: Ben Grafström

“Manga: The Story of Japanese Literature and Cartoons”
Contact: Ben Grafström

China

“Traditional Chinese Culture Taught through the Art of Paper Cutting”
Contact: Lydia Halvorson

“Understanding the China of Today: Dispelling Cold War Myths” (tentative title)
Contact: Amy Sereda

India

“Bhakti: Hinduism and the Performing Arts”
Contact: Alison Clowes

“Traditional Indian Values and the Teachings of Gandhi”
Contact: Mark Wiebers

July 19-24, 2009. NEH Summer Workshop for NCTA Alums: Visualizing Japan in World History. NCTA alums from the University of Colorado, its California and Iowa partner sites, and University of Washington have the opportunity to apply to a unique one-week summer program at CU-Boulder this coming summer. For the first time, NCTA has received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to conduct an intensive workshop designed to encourage NCTA teachers to teach history and humanities using art and visual source materials. The workshop will focus on the period from 1853 (the arrival of Commodore Perry in Japan) to the early 20th century, as Japan transformed into a modern nation and world power. Unique to the workshop is the focus on using online resources, particularly those made available through the groundbreaking MIT project, Visualizing Cultures. MIT professor of history John Dower and his colleague Shigeru Miyagawa, co-developers of the Visualizing Cultures project, will be faculty at the summer workshop, as will other developers, including Boston Museum of Fine Arts Japanese art curator Anne Nishimura Morse. The University of Colorado NCTA national site will select up to 30 teachers from the University of Colorado and University of Washington NCTA regions seminars only on a first come, first served basis. Applications will be available online beginning January 3, 2009. All customary expenses are paid for participation in this program and participants receive a stipend.  Participants will work with project faculty to develop lessons using the MIT visual resources for teaching, and successful lessons will be published online by NCTA and NEH. For more info, email Lynn Parisi.

July 1, 2009. (Deadline). Global Studies Foundation Grants. Each year, the Global Studies Foundation offers three grants, each of $1,000, with separate categories for students, faculty, and institutions:
1. The Global Studies Grant for Student Travel and Study Abroad
2. The Global Studies Grant for Faculty Travel and Professional
Development
3. The Global Studies Grant for Institutional Program Development
The next round of grants will be awarded in August 2009 by GSF's Board of Directors.

Keizai Koho Center (Japan Institute for Social and Economic Affairs) Educational Tour to Japan. In cooperation with the National Association of Japan-America Societies (NAJAS) and the Japan-Society of Pennsylvania (JASP), Keizai Koho is now accepting applications for its 2009 study tour. The fellowship is only open to those who have never lived or visited Japan on a similar study tour. The fellowship is open to secondary classroom teachers of economics, social studies and history; supervisors, specialists and school administrators at the district and state levels; and faculty associated with four-year colleges directly concerned with the training of K-12 teachers. Contact Wendy Bennett or (412) 433-5022 with questions.

July 12 – 18, 2009. No-cost 2009 Teaching East Asian Literature in the High School workshop. The East Asian Studies Center (EASC) at Indiana University will hold the 2009 Teaching East Asian Literature in the High School workshop in Bloomington, IN, July 12 – 18, 2009. This one-week workshop provides an intensive introduction to the literature and history of China, Japan, and Korea and gives teachers the opportunity to discuss classroom applications and resources. Those who successfully complete the workshop will receive a $300 resource-buying grant for their school. Generously funded by the Freeman Foundation, the Teaching East Asian Literature in the High School workshop is a no-cost professional development program for high school teachers of English and world literature. The application deadline is March 6, 2009, or until the seminar fills. Applications are accepted on a first come, first served basis, so we encourage teachers to apply as soon as possible. If the applicant is accepted into the workshop, there is a $60 nonrefundable registration fee. Please feel free to contact Katie Venit, or call 812-856-6850 if you have any questions.

Previously Mentioned Opportunities

April 30 – May 2, 2009. National Chinese Language Conference, Chicago. Asia Society, Chicago Public Schools, and College Board are pleased to announce the 2009 National Chinese Conference.This year's conference will bring together K-16 educators to advance the field of Chinese language education by fostering high-quality programs, teacher development, knowledge sharing, and partnerships. Updates and more details will be posted at the Asia Society's website. Highlights and presentations from the 2008 Conference are also available online.

July 6 – August 8, 2009. From Chang'an to Xi'an: Ancient Capital to Modern Metropolis. An institute for school teachers, typically led by a team of core faculty and visiting scholars, is designed to present the best available scholarship on important humanities issues and works taught in the nation's schools. Institute locations are in Beijing and Xi'an, China. The 25 to 30 participating teachers compare and synthesize the various perspectives offered by the faculty, make connections between the institute content and classroom applications, and often develop improved teaching materials for their classrooms. Hsin-Mei Agnes Hsu, China Institute, and Annette Juliano, Rutgers University. For information, contact: Kevin Lawrence, China Institute, 125 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10065, (212) 744-8181, ext. 129.

August 3 – 7, 2009. The Sixth Annual Seminar on Korean History & Culture and the Korean American Experience for K-12 Educators in Los Angeles. This five-day seminar offers a unique opportunity to learn about Korean history and culture and the Korean American experience. The curriculum provides an understanding of Korean history, fosters an awareness of its rich culture, and makes available outstanding resources and lessons. Participants learn about Korea from prominent scholars, view engaging and informative films, explore Koreatown, savor delicious food, visit a Buddhist temple, view exquisite art, hear the unique sounds of Korean music, enjoy a lesson on the Changgo drum, observe teens performing traditional dances, learn the theory and experience the practice of martial arts, observe a traditional tea ceremony, and create art that reflects ancient tradition. Educators of all disciplines and grade levels are welcome. UCLA Extension credit is available. Fellowships (airfare, hotel stay in Koreatown, and additional funds for meals) will be available for teachers who live over 60 miles from the Los Angeles area. The seminar is free, but requires a $75 refundable deposit. Sponsors: The Korean Cultural Center & the Korea Academy for Educators. For information, contact Mary Connor.

iEARN-USA Scholarship Opportunities. iEARN-USA has received financial support from the U.S. Department of State through the Global Connections and Exchange program to increase U.S. teacher and classroom interaction with peers in countries with significant Muslim populations. As part of the grant guidelines, schools that receive scholarship assistance are expected to engage in interaction with peers in the following countries: Egypt, Indonesia, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Israel, Kenya, Oman, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Algeria, Belarus, China, Iraq, Qatar, Sierra Leone, Syria, Thailand, and UAE. Scholarships are available for the following opportunities:

• Engaging in online communication and collaborative project work through an iEARN membership
• Participation in an online professional development course on how to integrate online collaborative Project-Based Learning in the classroom
• Participation in a three-day "Master Trainer" seminar in Morocco with colleagues from the participating countries, in July 2009
  

If you are interested in applying for these scholarship opportunities, please contact Tina Habib, Director of Government Grant Programs.

February 1, 2009 (Deadline). Elgin Heinz Award Open for Nominations. The US-Japan Foundation invites nominations for the 2009 Elgin Heinz Award, which annually recognizes outstanding teachers of Japan studies at the K-12 level in the areas of humanities and Japanese language instruction. The award carries a $2500 monetary award as well as  $5000 to support a curriculum project. For details and application guidelines, contact David Janes, US-Japan Foundation, 145 East 32nd Street, New York, NY 10016; djanes@us-jf.org. Teaching East Asia is proud to note that the 2007 and 2008 Elgin Heinz Awards were received by Colorado teachers Alex Echevarria, Academy 20 district, and Michelle Pearson, Adams 12 district, each of whom has been very active in TEA and NCTA workshops, seminars, and summer programs. Find out more about this year's winner Michelle Pearson in October's issue of TEA Enews.

February 6, 2009 (Deadline). Journey to the Interior. A Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Seminar for Teachers of Japanese Language, Literature, and History, June 28 - July 28, 2009. The Center for Asian Studies at the University of Colorado announces a Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Seminar in Japan designed for secondary teachers of world literature or history, teachers of AP Japanese Language and Culture, and university instructors of Japanese. Participants will spend four weeks studying Japan through the lens of the famous travel diary Journey to the Interior (Oku no hosomichi), composed by the haiku poet Matsuo Basho after his journey through northern Japan in 1689. As they travel, they will build their Japanese language and culture skills, expand their knowledge of Japanese history and literature, and collect materials for use in preparing curricular units. Please contact Laurel Rasplica Rodd, Project Director, 303-492-1138, or Catherine Higbee Ishida, TEA Japan Project Coordinator, 303-735-5115. 

March 2, 2009 (Deadline). The National Committee on United States-China Relations is now seeking applications for an exchange program for teachers in American and Chinese schools. This is an unusual opportunity for schools and districts wishing to begin or to strengthen Chinese language and culture programs and for teachers wishing to live and teach in China. The National Committee sponsors orientation programs in the United States and in China during the summer before the exchange year. For American teachers this covers “survival” Chinese, the teaching of English as a foreign language, and an introduction to China and its schools. The orientation session for Chinese teachers covers the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language, instruction on American teaching methodology, and an introduction to the United States and its schools. Those interested in the exchange should write to tep@ncuscr.org or send a letter to the Teachers Exchange Program, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, 71 West 23rd Street, Suite 1901, New York, NY 10010, for more information and an application package. The application deadline for the 2009-2010 school year will be March 2, 2009.

November 2009 (Deadline). Laurasian Institution Overseas Programs for Secondary Groups. The Laurasian Institution offers overseas programs in China and Japan. New Perspectives: Japan and New Perspective: China take teacher-led secondary-student groups to Japan and China, respectively, to study the cultures of these countries over a two-week period each summer.  Homestays and school visits are included. The application deadline for each program is late November 2009.

Join a National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) 30-hour professional development seminar on East Asia in your area in 2008-09, offered through the NCTA national coordinating site at Teaching East Asia, University of Colorado.

Winter/Spring 2009
North Denver (Adams 12), CO
South Denver (Cherry Creek), CO
Charlottesville, VA
Beloit, WI
Omaha, NE
St. Louis, MO
Orange County, CA
Sonoma County, CA
Iowa (statewide)

NCTA Summer Study Tour to China, June 25 – July 15, 2009. Please alert your NCTA alumni colleagues in your state and district.  NCTA alums of University of Colorado and its partners are eligible to apply to the 2008 study tour to China that will focus on the theme Inventing and Reinventing China: The People’s Republic at 60. A highlight of the three-week program will be a focus on tourism, heritage, and development in Western China, including Guizhou and Yunnan. Application for the program is now available online at the TEA website.

School Life in India Workshop

On December 1, 2008, the School Life in India K-8 workshop took place, completing the two-part School Life in Asia workshop series. The series was kicked off by School Life in Japan in November. Part of the South, Southeast, and West Asia program at the Center for Asian Studies, School Life in India was attended by 23 teachers, including both elementary and secondary teachers. Professor of Hindi Laura Brueck presented a lecture on Indian culture and history, followed by an introductory Hindi language lesson.

The participants watched clips from two documentary videos titled Going to School in India and 2 Million Minutes about everyday school life in India, the former specifically shown for elementary and the latter for secondary teachers. The teachers also enjoyed clips of a classic Bollywood film about school life in India. A catered Indian meal was served and the teachers received curriculum materials, including one of the DVDs they previewed and a book to supplement Going to School in India.

The Program for Teaching East Asia
University of Colorado at Boulder
595 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309

(303) 735-5122

Imaging Japan: Online Lessons on Japanese History through Art Available in January!  Please help us spread the word about these free, online lesson modules. The five modules in the program represent the culmination of a two-year project at TEA, funded by the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership. The project represents TEA’s continuing work on teaching history through visual sources. Each module consists of a background essay on a period in Japanese history written by a leading scholar in the field and a lesson for approximately two days for exploring a period of history through representative artistic genre. Four of the five modules will be online by January 5th: Heian Japan, Medieval Japan, Tokugawa Japan, and Contemporary Japan. The final module on Meiji-Taisho Japan will be available online in February 2009.

New from the Asian Educational Media Service (AEMS). Kay Ikeda, anthropologist and dean of the Graduate School of American Studies at Doshisha University in Japan, recently collaborated with David Plath, founder of Media Production Group (MPG), to create the DVD "On Another Playground: Japanese Popular Culture in America," and discussed this work and her own background in an interview with writer Rand Hartsell.

Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective's December 2008 issue features Making Sense of the "Hermit Kingdom": North Korea in the Nuclear Age, by Mitchell Lerner. The Bush administration's controversial October 2008 decision to take North Korea off the list of state sponsors of terrorism, in an effort to keep Pyongyang's nuclear program halted, opens a new chapter in the history of North Korea's international relations. Nuclear proliferation is worrisome anywhere in the world, but particularly coming from secretive, unpredictable, and, for many analysts around the world, incomprehensible North Korea. Water Mondale once declared "anyone who claims to be an expert on North Korea is either a liar or a fool." This month, Mitchell Lerner, a professor of history at Ohio State, braves being called one or the other. He offers insight into how policy is formed in North Korea and what drives its seemingly fickle relations with the rest of the world.

The Forbidden City: Beyond Space and Time is a joint project between IBM and the Chinese Palace Museum. The Forbidden City is being recreated in virtual reality, in which a user will see and interact with other users and a range of artificial intelligence characters.

Read Chinese: Free Online Chinese reading lessons now available. Developed by the National Foreign Language Center, this new online database offers more than 70 reading lessons for beginning and intermediate readers of Chinese. The series includes passages in both traditional and simplified Chinese characters, Pinyin transcription, audio recording, and English translations.

XueYuWen is a monthly periodical that provides supplementary materials for students to build up their Chinese language skills. It has been recommended by the College Board for Chinese AP and Pre-AP.

Great Decisions 2008 from Foreign Policy Association: China Trade. Recent product safety scares have thrown the spotlight on the enormous role China plays in supplying products to the U.S. Could the large and growing trade imbalance with China have an adverse effect on the U.S. economy? What role does the undervalued Chinese currency play? Includes Great Decisions television introduction and online resources on the topic.

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