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[ Regional Conference Announcements | Regional Conference Histories ]
[ From the Asian Studies Newsletter, Volume 45:1, 2000 ]
The idea for a special section dealing with regional issues has been in the planning stages for awhile, and we felt Charles Springer’s contribution below would be an excellent way to launch the feature. We originally envisioned it serving as a venue for debate of various issues, such as roles and priorities, suggestions for regional cooperation and interaction, etc., as well as a "how-to" column for each group to share what works well for them, e.g., effective outreach and teacher training initiatives, ways of increasing student participation, etc. We are flexible about how the feature develops though, so please send your ideas and contributions via e-mail to Michael Paschal, at mpaschal@aasianst.org.
As a member of the AAS and regular reader of the Asian Studies Newsletter, it is difficult to ascertain as anything but paternalistic the relationship between the AAS and the regional organizations, traditionally referred to as "conferences." By regional organizations, I am referring to the Southeast Conference, New England Conference, Western Conference, Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs, New York Conference on Asian Studies, Mid-Atlantic Region Conference, and et.al. After a reading of the Newsletter it is apparent that the AAS has a dated view of the regional organizations as only functionaries for the holding of regional meetings or conferences. The only regional organization officers listed in the Newsletter are the conference program chairs and the requests for information from the regional organizations consists of a "call for papers," and summaries of the conferences.
As a member of two regional conferences, The Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, I can attest to a wide range of activities including the publishing of a journal which goes beyond the AAS perception of "conferences."
In particular, the Mid-Atlantic Region (MAR) has a long tradition of promoting interest in and the scholarly exchange of information on Asia. In more recent years that focus has widened to actively include high school students, secondary teachers, undergraduate, and graduate students, and life long Asianists in addition to current active scholars. For high school students the Marie Wanek essay contest encourages the brightest of young minds to research and write about Asia. Both the quantity and quality of the essays submitted for the 1999 contest indicates the interest and talent are present in the high schools of the Mid-Atlantic region. The winning student’s essay is posted on the MAR website and published in the "Education Forum" of MAR’s Asia Newsletter.
For eight consecutive years MAR has conducted a Teaching Asia Workshop for teachers eager to increase their knowledge about Asia. In October, a very successful workshop was held with the afternoon session featuring a hands-on activity with Cambodian American musicians and dancers. With support from the AAS COC and in conjunction with the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, the MAR is conducting in January, a Teaching Asia Workshop on "Using Asian Art to Teach World History." There are preliminary discussions for a 2001 workshop on writing about Asia and viewing feature films from Asia. The MAR conducts two Teaching Asia Workshops each year.
For undergraduates, MAR, under the leadership of Ann Hill, included a special panel in the 1999 program, "Life in Cambodia after Pol Pot: Can Justice be Done?" To encourage participation, MAR underwrote the students’ expenses. The MAR is planning to offer this undergraduate panel for the 2000 Annual Meeting.
Graduate students are encouraged to participate in the Annual Meeting through a small underwriting by MAR. For scholars, in addition to the traditional panels, David Prejsnar, the program chair, developed a series of panels around the theme "Ethnic and Cultural Nationalism." A select group attended the theme panels which formed the basis of the panel, "Presidential Roundtable: Themes and Issues in Ethnic and Cultural Nationalism." The evaluation of the theme panels by attendee and participants was positive. Also participating in panels were scholars from African Studies and American History. For recognition of successful careers in Asian Studies, each year the MAR presents a Lifetime Achievement Award. Past recipients include Ainslie Embree, Kanta Bhatia, and E-Tu Zen Sun. The annual Lifetime Achievement Award lecture is published in the MAR Asia Newsletter.
In addition to the previously mentioned MAR Asia Newsletter and "Education Forum," MAR is active in its financial support in the publishing of the Mid-Atlantic Bulletin of Korean Studies. The excitement, enthusiasm, and commitment of the regional organizations to all their activities is not consistent with the perception of the AAS toward the regional organizations or conferences, or what is reported in the Asian Studies Newsletter.
Charles Springer
President, MAR
We thank Dr. Springer for his contribution above, and applaud the diverse range of activities carried out by MAR in the promotion of Asian studies. Efforts involving outreach workshops, undergraduate and secondary instruction, and increasing graduate student participation are especially admirable, and we hope, duplicated by other regional conferences as well.
At the risk of sounding defensive however, I must disagree with Dr. Springer’s characterization of the AAS/regional conference relationship as being paternalistic. While I cannot speak to individual scholars’ perceptions of what the role or status of the regional organizations should be, I am confident that no such attitude exists on an organizational level. On the contrary, the AAS (i.e., the Board of Directors, the Council of Conferences and the Secretariat) over the last few years has endeavored to broaden communication and cooperation among and between the regionals and the AAS. This has proved far from easy to do however, for a number of reasons.
Each regional group is an autonomous body having its own constitution and bylaws. There are no legal or organizational ties between the groups and the AAS, other than representation on the Council of Conferences. Each group elects its own leaders, organizes its own meetings, and determines its own priorities and activities. Each has its own administrative structure and procedures, which vary considerably from one group to another. Some are highly organized with well-established procedures, but others are less so. Due to reliance on volunteerism, to leadership turnover, and in most cases to the absence of permanent secretarial assistance, it often has been difficult to maintain momentum behind projects and consistency in reporting. Communication has steadily improved over the last few years, but still is not all it could or should be, and we would like very much to improve the current situation.
Despite these structural problems however, AAS interaction with the regionals has involved much more than merely providing a list of conference dates and program chairs in the Newsletter. We have tried to provide greater exposure to regional activities through various means, e.g., linking regional websites to the AAS homepage; listing regional officers in the annual meeting program; and developing this feature in the Newsletter devoted to regional issues. The recently printed histories of the Southeast and Midwest conferences were a first step in this direction.
On a more personal basis, we continue to encourage and financially support visits by the AAS president to the conferences—not only to give a formal address, but also to actively participate in panel sessions and/or discuss issues of concern with regional members. We plan to expand this interaction by having AAS administrative personnel also attend regional meetings to develop program initiatives, discuss ways of improving communication channels, etc. Another venue for dialogue was the breakfast meeting for regional officers organized in Boston last year, which resulted in several good ideas for increasing cooperation.
We have begun to integrate regional components into grant proposals, such as that contained in the recent "border-crossing" initiative funded by the Ford Foundation. We also hope to encourage greater graduate student participation and integration at both the AAS annual meeting and regional levels by inviting outstanding student panelists from the regional meetings to also present at the AAS meeting.
All of the above initiatives need further development, and I am sure there are many other areas where cooperation would benefit all concerned.
I believe the regional organizations and the AAS should be considered complementary—not hierarchical, and provide mutual support toward the promotion of Asian studies at all levels. Hopefully, this new feature will serve as a forum for discussing issues germane to both regional and national concerns. We also would be delighted to expand coverage of regional activities and welcome announcements for either the printed Newsletter or the website. Please let us know what you are doing and how we can help. We can’t print what we don’t know!
Michael Paschal
AAS Associate Director