Welcome to the first full day of the AAS 2018 Annual Conference! Here’s everything you need to know about Friday’s schedule:
• Registration and badge pickup counters, located on the Lobby Level of the Marriott Wardman Park, are open from 8:30am until 6:30pm today. Graduate student stipends can also be picked up by eligible students during those hours; that counter is located across from the registration desks.
• Begin your morning with a stop at the coffee break between 8:30 and 9:00am. Complimentary coffee and pastries will be set up in two places—outside the entrance to the Exhibit Hall (which is open 8:30am-5:30pm) and in row 500 inside the hall.
• At 9:00am, please join us in Marriott Ballroom, Salon 3 (Lobby Level) for the Awards Ceremony honoring winners of the 2018 AAS Book Awards, followed by the Presidential Address by Katherine Bowie, who will speak on “Palimpsests of the Past: Oral History and the Art of Pointillism.”
• Film Expo screenings start at 8:30am in the Taft room (Mezzanine Level) and continue through the day. Many screenings will be followed by a Q&A with the director. Can’t make it to a scheduled screening? Talk with the Film Expo staff and arrange a time in our on-demand screening room.
• Concurrent panel sessions begin at 10:30am and will run until 7:15pm.
• Today will feature three #AsiaNow Roundtables, focused on current events and professionalization issues. During the 10:30am-12:30pm panel slot, there will be a discussion of “What the West Needs to Hear from Asia”; at 12:45, scholars and journalists will explore “The Rohingya Question.” Students and recent graduates will find a 3:00-5:00pm panel, “Beyond the Academy: Public Policy Careers for Asianists,” of special interest.
• Visit Exhibit Hall B (adjacent to the Book Exhibit) between 9:00am and 5:00pm to view three art exhibits we are pleased to present this year:
“From Kabul to Kolkata: Of Belonging, Memories, and Identity”—photographs by Moska Najib and Nazes Afroz
Photographs by Burmese photojournalist Minzayar Oo
“Man and Mirror,” a sculpture assembled on-site by Cambodian artist Sareth Svay
• Bring the drink ticket that was included with your badge to the AAS Member Reception in Marriott Ballroom, Salon 1 between 7:30 and 9:00pm tonight. Grab a beverage and some appetizers, mingle, and make new friends in the Asian Studies community.
• Many universities and other groups will hold receptions and business meetings tonight; please check the online program for the most up-to-date list.
• Anyone in search of a distraction-free space to work or relax is invited to the Quiet Room in Park Tower 8209. Please do not use cell phones or conduct meetings in the Quiet Room.
• A Nursing Mothers’ Room is located in Park Tower 8229 for the convenience of conference attendees.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to approach a member of the AAS staff, or tweet @AASAsianStudies with the #AAS2018 hashtag.