Write about Asia was offered by the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington in conjunction with the Seattle Asian Art Museum’s (SAAM) Gardner Center for Asian Art and Ideas and its seasonal Saturday University Lecture Series. This series was titled Sites of Memory in Asia: Remembrance and Redemption and looked at how monumental structures encapsulate poignant events and memorable moments in history. Their construction, demolition, or remodeling often illustrate larger sociopolitical movements. The four talks in this lecture series presented cases in North India, Japan, West India, and China; each revealed a highly-charged story behind the iconic site, one that embodies significant political or religious changes.
About the SAAM Saturday University Lecture Series
Participants delve into new themes every season with a different speaker each week. Challenging, thought-provoking, and sometimes surprising, this long-running and always popular lecture series incorporated audience discussion as experts from around the world join us to share their insights on Asia throughout time.
About Write About Asia
Write About Asia was offered following each SAAM public lecture and was facilitated by Mary Roberts. During the workshop, time was given to solitary writing in response to the morning lecture. The workshop nurtureed educators as writers through self-reflection and group discussion, and takes place after each lecture from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM.
Write About Asia was offered at no cost to current, in-service teachers, and is sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center (EARC) and the South Asia Center in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, with funding from a Freeman Foundation grant in support of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA).
Online procedure for each Saturday University Lecture + Write About Asia:
- 10:00 to 11:30 AM, PST: participants attended the online Zoom SAAM lecture for 90 minutes.
- Following the lecture, participants drafted a response to the lecture topic offline. This exercise took about 45 minutes.
- 1:00 to 2:00 PM, PST: participants attended the online Zoom Write About Asia Group to share writing with other educators.
SAAM Lectures and Write About Asia Schedule
- Saturday, April 3, 2021, 10:00 AM – 11.30 AM (PST); Virtual Saturday University: Creating and Destroying Sacred Spaces in North India, followed by Write About Asia, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (PST).
- Saturday, April 10 2021, 10:00 AM – 11.30 AM (PST); Virtual Saturday University: Building Ancient Memory in Modern Kyoto, followed by Write About Asia, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (PST).
- Saturday, April 17 2021, 10:00 AM – 11.30 AM (PST); Virtual Saturday University: The Memory of the Ancients in Modern Iranian and Parsi Architecture, followed by Write About Asia, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (PST).
- Saturday, April 24 2021, 10:00 AM – 11.30 AM (PST); Virtual Saturday University: Mao’s Great Leap Forward in Tian’anmen Square, 1958-59, followed by Write About Asia, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM (PST).
Important: Participation to the public lecture was mandatory and free for Write About Asia participants. Please make sure to register for the lectures following the links above.
Benefits
- Free participation to the SAAM public lecture.
- Four free WA OSPI clock hours were available for each workshop. Participation to a minimum of two workshops and fulfillment of online discussion prompts are required in order to obtain clock hours.