RESOURCES ESSAYS Studies also offers a study of cartoons from effort to collect video materials about Tibet, Outreach Programs Japan. At the University of Hawaii’s one of its areas of expertise. The East Asian at the National Southeast Asia Center, they have developed Studies Center at Ohio State University has lesson plans (one to two lessons each) on approximately twenty-five feature films and Resource Centers for twenty-five different topics, as well as work- 200 documentaries on East Asian topics. the Study of Asia books for high school students on the Some programs restrict lending to their By Anne L. Foster Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, immediate area, but many others are willing Malaysia, and Indonesia. to mail videos for a nominal fee and/or Columbia University’s East Asian Institute deposit. Most outreach centers with video ncreasingly, Asian history, culture, lan- has run the East Asian Curriculum Project, lending libraries have catalogs available on guage, and politics are being integrated and developed teaching workbooks on Japan request. into the K-12 curriculum in schools and China. The Center for International The outreach programs also offer many I across the nation. Many teachers are Studies at the University of Missouri-St. opportunities for continuing education, pri- now teaching subjects, then, in which they received little or no training while in college. Fortunately, however, centers for the study of Asia at universities around the country have, under the auspices of Title VI of the Higher Education Act, established National Resource Centers (NRCs). One of the nine programs within the Center for International Education of the U.S. Department of Education, NRCs support improvement of university library collections, academic research by faculty, language instruction, and curriculum development, as well as pro- mote outreach to K-12, community college, and four-year college teachers. These out- reach efforts take the form of information, lesson plans, learning opportunities, and instructional materials about Asia. There are currently fifteen NRCs for East Asia, nine 1 Professor Benedict Anderson demonstrates Kumb˚akarn˚a, a puppet from the traditional Javanese wayang (shadow for South Asia, and six for Southeast Asia. play) during the workshop, “Understanding Southeast Asia: Stories from the Flow of Life” at the Kahin Center for The centers are scattered around the country, Southeast Asian Studies, Cornell University, June 1996. and while many provide some services nationwide, most outreach programs focus primarily on assisting teachers and profes- Louis operates a resource library for teachers marily in the form of institutes and work- sors in their own regions. in the state which includes slide lessons, shops. They range in length from two hours Perhaps most immediately useful to teach- children’s literature, curriculum units, and to two weeks, may be held in schools or at ers are the curriculum guides, lesson plans, cultural artifact kits. Cornell University’s the centers, and treat a wide variety of topics. and resource materials offered, usually for a East Asia Program has developed curricula In summer 1996, the University of nominal charge or free, by many of these for schoolchildren, using the resources of the California at Berkeley offered an institute centers. The South Asian Center at Syracuse Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art. And for titled “Waters of Life: Exploring the River University, for example, provides teaching those who live near the University of Civilizations of China, Middle East and kits, some of which include comics from Pennsylvania, the outreach coordinator of its South Asia.” This workshop targeted India, for teachers to use in classrooms. The South Asian Center helps local teachers California teachers of sixth and seventh University of Illinois at Champagne- develop curriculum on South Asia, tailored grade, as did the Summer Institute at the Urbana’s Center for East Asian and Pacific to their specific needs. University of California at San Diego for Most of the outreach programs also offer 1996, “The Great Wall: Connecting Past and video lending libraries of films about or from Present.” Both of these institutes offer lec- ANNE L. FOSTER is a Visiting Fellow at the Asia. Cornell University’s Southeast Asia tures by experts, information about Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University and Program, for example, has thematic video resources, lesson plans, and small group dis- has taught history at SUNY-Cortland. She packages which provide an interdisciplinary cussions to enable teachers to learn from received her Ph.D. in history in 1995 and is cur- look at a country’s culture, history, and poli- each others’ experiences. rently working on a book on U.S. relations with Southeast Asia during the 1920s and 1930s. tics. The South Asian Center at the The three NRCs for Asia at the University University of Virginia has made a special of Michigan collaborate to offer the 36 EDUCATION ABOUT ASIA Volume 1, Number 2 Fall 1996 RESOURCES ESSAYS Teachers Institute in Asian Studies each as well as have explained, traditional LIST OF NRCs FOR ASIA year, for teachers in the midwest. Each four- Japanese living arrangements, including (Outreach Programs not currently designated day institute focuses on a different country stored bedding, a silk weaver’s shop, and as NRCs indicated by an asterisk.) or region, and draws on University of eating customs. The museum also sponsors EAST ASIA Michigan faculty and graduate students as annual celebrations of festivals such as the Columbia University well as K-12 teachers who have particular Chinese and Japanese New Years. Center for East Asian Studies expertise in Asian studies. In summer 1995, The outreach programs of the National Roberta Martin, Outreach Coordinator Cornell University’s three Asia outreach Resource Centers have much more to offer 420 West 118th Street centers also collaborated to offer a two-day than can possibly be described in a short New York NY 10027 workshop, “Teaching Asia through Cultural article, but the two best ways to learn about phone: 212-854-1723 Media,” which provided teachers with infor- the offerings of the closest NRC are to get Cornell University mation about festivals, food, literature, on their mailing lists, and visit their Web East Asia Program music, and drama appropriate for elemen- sites. Everyone on the mailing list of the Laurie Damiani, Outreach Coordinator 140 Uris Hall tary, middle, or high school classroom use. East Asian Center at Indiana University Ithaca NY 14853-7601 The outreach coordinators for East, South, receives their CultureSpeak brochures, brief phone: 607-255-6222 and Southeast Asia at the University of brochures with information and activities University of North Carolina Washington work closely together, often about different cultural issues in East Asia. Triangle Consortium for East Asian Studies jointly sponsoring teacher training institutes, Current topics include Japanese traditions, Judith Farquhar, Director including the 1996 institute, “A World of festivals, and holidays; recent changes in the 301 Alumni Building CB 3115 Cities: Problems and Trends in Urban People’s Republic of China; and elementary Chapel Hill NC 27599 Centers.” The three centers for Asia worked and secondary education in Korea. Many of phone: 919-962-8090 with other area studies centers for an the newsletters provide short articles poten- Harvard University integrated, worldwide study of cities and tially useful in the classroom, but also keep Children’s Museum urbanism. The University of Washington teachers informed about newly available Outreach Coordinator also sponsors popular travel/study programs. resources, opportunities for continuing edu- 300 Congress Street Boston MA 02210 In summer 1996, teachers went to Hy¯ogo, cation, and special programs. phone: 617-426-6500 ext. 235 Japan. These teachers gain knowledge and Many of the NRCs also have their own Indiana University experience of Japan, and upon return have Web sites. These Internet resources provide East Asian Studies Center the opportunity to assist the East Asia information available in many of the Anjali Sengupta, Outreach Coordinator Center with curriculum development and in newsletters, although on a more timely Memorial Hall West 207 leading workshops for other teachers. basis, as well as information, photographs, Bloomington IN 47405 The Speakers’ Bureau, which most out- maps, and stories which teachers may use in phone: 812-855-3765 reach programs offer, is another means of their classrooms. Ohio State University providing information about specialized top- Patricia O’Connell-Young, Outreach East Asian Studies Program ics. Indiana University maintains a Global Coordinator at the University of Michigan’s Owen Hagovsky, Outreach Coordinator Speakers service, with speakers prepared to Center for Chinese Studies, finds it very 318 Oxley Hall, 1712 Neil Avenue Columbus OH 43210-1219 lecture on a wide variety of topics. This ser- exciting to be working in the field of educa- phone: 614-688-4253 vice is easily accessible through their toll-free tion about Asia because of the “almost uni- number. The University of Chicago’s East versal acknowledgment of the active, vital, Stanford University Center for East Asian Studies Asian Studies program, in conjunction with and important roles played by the countries Theodore N. Foss, Outreach Coordinator the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, of East Asia.” Students and teachers are inter- Room 14, Littlefield Center, 300 Lasuen St. sponsors a lecture series for high school ested in learning more about Asia, and she, Stanford CA 94305-5013 teachers and administrators. The Speakers’ like other Outreach Coordinators of the phone: 415-725-1483 Bureaus of the NRCs include experts on top- NRCs for Asia, are there to provide informa- n University of California at Berkeley ics such as politics, economics, or history, tion and resources to satisfy that interest. Institute of East Asian Studies and performance experts in music, drama, NOTE Joan Kask, Outreach Coordinator 2223 Fulton Street dance, storytelling, or puppetry.