Call for Applications: Mentoring Workshop for Black Graduate Students in Asian Studies

The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is calling for participants in a mentoring workshop for Black graduate students. The virtual workshop will be held on Friday, April 9, 2021 from 5:00 to 7:00pm Eastern Time. Undergraduates considering graduate study may also be eligible on a case-by-case basis. AAS membership is not required to participate in this mentoring workshop.

The goal of this workshop is to provide a space for supporting diverse identities in the field of Asian Studies. The Association for Asian Studies presents this workshop in recognition of problems of systemic racism in the academy and to take steps toward building a pipeline for junior Black scholars of Asia.

Participants in the workshop will receive complimentary conference registration for our AAS 2021 Virtual Annual Conference (March 21-26).

Interested participants are invited to submit a one-page (single or double-spaced) abstract of their research interests along with a current CV (two-page maximum) to AAS Executive Director Hilary Finchum-Sung (hvfinchum@asianstudies.org) by February 22, 2021. Notifications of acceptance will be made by early March 2021.

Invited participants will be expected to contribute a personal statement (maximum 1000 words) detailing their experiences as a graduate student in Asian Studies prior to the workshop.

Mentors for this workshop include:

Keisha Brown, Assistant Professor of History, Tennessee State University; History, China

Mitzi Uehara Carter, Teaching Assistant Professor, Anthropology, Florida International University; Anthropology, Okinawa

Marvin Sterling, Associate Professor, Anthropology, EALC, Indiana University; Anthropology, Japan

Jolyon Thomas, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Interim Graduate Studies Chair, University of Pennsylvania; Religious studies, Japan

Space is limited to 20 graduate students to allow for maximum time with mentors. For more information, please contact Hilary Finchum-Sung at hvfinchum@asianstudies.org