Teaching Asia Beyond the Ivory Tower:
The American Overseas Research Centers and Broad Educational Engagement
An Association for Asian Studies 2019 Conference Panel Session
Saturday, March 23, 2019 | 9:00 – 10:45am
Columbine, Tower Building, Terrace Level
Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel
The American overseas research centers (ORCs) have long played a critical role in supporting American and international scholarly research within Asian area studies, offering a broad range of fellowship opportunities that allow junior and senior scholars to do intensive in-country research in the humanities and social sciences.
But increasingly the ORCs are looking beyond the research needs of traditional academia to engage new but often under-resourced academic and educational audiences—from community college faculty, to high school teachers, to military cadets—that are eager to incorporate informed perspectives about Asian societies and cultures into their classrooms, campuses, and communities.
This panel highlights several innovative programs developed by the ORCs, including faculty development seminars, summer learning institutes, and faculty and administrative exchanges, that are bringing critical global perspectives and international experiences to the educators and institutions—both within the U.S. and in the host countries—that arguably need them the most. This panel will feature presentations by representatives from the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, American Center for Mongolian Studies, American Institute of Indian Studies, American Institute of Pakistan Studies and Center for Khmer Studies.
View the panel abstract on the conference website here.
