Tennessee NCTA presents "Teaching East Asia in Middle and High Schools," a workshop for teachers of grades 5 - 12 on March 1st. This workshop equips educators with digital tools and strategies to integrate Asia into their classrooms. Register here!
When: Saturday, March 1, 2025, 8:30 am to 1:30 pm
Location: Rhodes College
Format: In person
Contact: tnncta@rhodes.edu
Benefits to Educators:
- 5 hours of PD credit
- FREE books for teaching Asian culture and history
- Access to a suite of classroom-ready digital teaching resources
- $50 stipend
1. Teaching Buddhism through the Buddha's Life Story
Dr. Brooke Schedneck, Associate Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Rhodes College
Like all religious traditions, Buddhism is complex and often misunderstood. A simple and effective way to accurately teach the basic beliefs and practices of Buddhism is through the Buddha's life story. This talk will give an overview of the Buddha's biography along with relevant teachings and central tenets still held by Buddhists today. Through mural paintings from across the Buddhist world, we will visualize his life and consider why and how it has remained so meaningful.
2. Taiwan in Sino-US Relations
Dr. Chien-Kai Chen, Associate Professor and Chair, International Studies Department, Rhodes College
The Taiwan Strait that divides the island of Taiwan from the Chinese mainland has been one of the flashpoints in our world since 1949, and the issue of Taiwan is still regarded as one of the most important in the relations between the US and China, two of the most powerful countries in today’s international system. Some scholars of international relations even argue that the so called “Taiwan Problem,” if not managed well, would be very likely to cause a war between China and the U.S. Therefore, in order to understand Sino-US relations and the contemporary international politics where these two powers are competing with each other, we have to examine the role played by Taiwan in them. In other words, how the “Taiwan Problem” will evolve in the future will have a great impact on not only China and Taiwan but also the US and the region of East Asia or even the whole world.
3. Making Sense of the Two Koreas
Dr. Seok-Won Lee, Associate Professor of History, Department of History, Rhodes College
This discussion aims to provide an educational space for one of the most controversial areas in K-12 education, the Two Koreas. The more South Korea is being overconsumed in a series of phenomena – K-Drama, K-Food and K-pop, the quicker students forget about the presence of North Korea. Therefore, this talk attempts to highlight how the North Korean state was created and why this country has become a nation in a great question – an Axis of Evil or a rogue state. Discussing the history of decolonization in the Korean peninsula in 1945, this talk will first discuss the ten-year time period between 1945 and 1955 and then move on to a set of contemporary questions around the North Korean state and its relations with South Korea and the United States.