Outreach
Spotlight
Sarah Campbell
World Literature, Speech, and Asian Literature Teacher
Ketchikan High School, Alaska
Sarah Campbell’s experience as a participant in the 2005 Teaching East Asian Literature in the High School workshop made the journey from Alaska to Indiana worthwhile. She learned from highly trained professors in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean history and participated in cultural activities that ranged from East Asian fashion to t’ai chi. For Campbell, the best part of the workshop was the new teaching methods and materials—she left with novels, short stories, presentations, and over 50 lesson plans. “I returned to Alaska so enthused about Asian studies that I wrote a course description for Asian literature that was approved and offered the following year,” she says.
Teaching East Asian Literature in the High School
July 12-18, 2009; Indiana University Bloomington
Application deadline: March 6, 2009
We host an annual weeklong, intensive summer workshop for high school English and world literature teachers who are interested in incorporating Chinese, Japanese, and Korean literature into their curriculum.
Following the workshop, each participant develops a complete lesson plan for at least one of the pieces covered in the workshop. Those who turn in their lesson plan by the deadline are eligible to receive a $300 book-buying grant.
The workshop is generously funded by the Freeman Foundation.
Expanding Worldviews
The geo-strategic importance of East Asia—defined here as China, Japan, North and South Korea, and Taiwan—has compelled Americans to look at these cultures with new eyes. While there has been an increase in the teaching of East Asia in the national social studies curriculum, there has yet to be a similar effort in the language arts.
Literature opens a window on the inner life of a culture, offering readers a glimpse of how another culture understands and represents itself. Studying East Asian literature helps high school students to develop an appreciation of other cultures, allowing them to participate more fully as informed members of the world community.
Participation Includes:
- Set of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean literary works covered in workshop (mailed to participants prior to workshop)
- Free housing and one meal per day provided
- Certificate of completion
- Option to purchase three graduate credits from Indiana University at in-state rate
- Book grant for purchasing East Asian literature for classroom use, provided upon completion of all requirements
Workshop Format
The workshop kicks off with a Sunday dinner. Monday through Saturday morning, area specialists lead lectures and discussions on specific facets of China, Japan, and Korea that are pertinent to the literary works covered. Topics discussed include history, religion, culture, family and gender, and language.
Each afternoon, IU literature professors or visiting professors discuss the short stories, novels, and poetry that participants have read prior to arrival at the workshop, focusing on universal as well as culture-specific aspects of the works.
A high school world literature teacher with experience teaching East Asian literature acts as curriculum consultant, leading strategy sessions on how to teach the works at the high school level.
Participants are also encouraged to attend Chinese, Japanese, and Korean cultural activities during the day and film viewings in the evenings.
Participant’s Responsibilities
- $60 registration fee, travel expenses to and from Bloomington, two meals a day
- Read all works to be covered at workshop prior to arrival
- Participate in online discussions on the workshop's Moodle Web site prior to the workshop
- Submit one lesson plan on a specific work within five weeks of close of workshop. Those who turn in a lesson plan by the deadline are eligible to receive a $300 book-buying grant.
2009 Application Deadline: March 6, 2009. Participation is limited to 25 teachers and is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please mail the application form (PDF) to:
kvenit [at] indiana [dot] edu (Katie Venit), Assistant Outreach Coordinator
East Asian Studies Center, Indiana University
1021 East Third Street, Memorial Hall West 207
Bloomington, IN 47405-7005
(812) 856-6850 or (800) 441-EASC
Fax: (812) 855-7762
