Your contribution enables the Association for Asian Studies to continue offering programs and opportunities to scholars around the world. Donations may be directed to the fund of your choice; please see below for complete descriptions of each. THANK YOU for supporting the future of Asian Studies!
To direct your donation toward a committee of the AAS, please visit our Committees page.
The Association for Asian Studies is a 501(c)(3) corporation and your contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Greetings from the Association for Asian Studies!
As a non-profit, we rely on the dedication and collaboration of our small staff at the Secretariat in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Your support will allow our financial capabilities to match the nimbleness and flexibility of our staff. To that end, your contribution to our Endowment Fund is multitudes more valuable than contributions elsewhere because these monies can be applied toward new priorities and programs at the Association and help us weather the storms of change. The endowment funds were critical to getting us through the first years of the COVID-19 pandemic as we experienced a decrease in annual revenue while also creating new programs to better serve our membership and the field of Asian Studies.
We would also like to see programs such as our new Dissertation Workshops, currently supported by seed money from the Henry Luce Foundation, expanded. These two-day workshops, held in conjunction with the Annual and AAS-in-Asia Conferences, provide intimate, mentor-led sessions on specific themes. We will pilot one on “Global China” for the Seattle meeting, and would like these workshops to become a regular feature of our Annual Conferences and cover all areas under the AAS remit. While such workshops are time, energy, and financially intensive, they have the potential to reshape the wider field of Asian Studies.
Similarly, our current work with the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), including organizing the AAS-in-Asia conference, requires our own financial, time, and labor contributions that are not covered by their grant. To continue and expand these important projects, we need your support more than ever.
Donate to the AAS Endowment Fund
Another critical means of support for the AAS would be to donate through end-of-life and estate planning as a member of the AAS Legacy Society. Your bequest creates a base of support for the long-term goals of the Association, such as further internationalization and diversification of the membership. We are grateful to those who have already included the AAS in their bequest intentions and hope this will inspire others to follow their lead. If you are interested in joining the AAS Legacy Society, please initiate the process through our online form.
If you prefer to donate to a specific fund, such as those dedicated to young scholars, new initiatives, or international exchange, listed below is a description of the various funds that support our members, our initiatives, and the wider field of Asian Studies.
Thank you for your continuing support, which has helped AAS to remain at the forefront of scholarship on Asia and to work toward sustaining a global and inclusive community of Asianists.
Sincerely,
Jean Oi, AAS President
William Haas Professor of Chinese Politics
Department of Political Science
Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute of International Studies
Director, Stanford China Program
Stanford University
AAS Fund Categories
AAS Development Initiatives
The Wm. Theodore de Bary and Ainslie T. Embree Fund for Education and Outreach supports the AAS in providing affordable teaching resources, as well as disseminating Education About Asia in print and online materials. The fund is named in honor of two past presidents of the AAS who were early champions of the integration of Asian Studies into the core curriculum.
The AAS Fund for International Exchange makes it possible for the Association to provide travel subsidies for active panel participants from non-high-income, non-OECD countries to attend both the AAS annual conference and the AAS-in-Asia conference.
The AAS New Initiatives Fund facilitates the Association’s exploration of new ideas and projects. Beyond its annual and AAS-in-Asia conferences, the AAS advocates for the training of new scholars and teachers, encourages the teaching of Asian languages, and advances information literacy about Asian societies and cultures. The New Initiatives Fund supports endeavors such as the AAS First Book Subvention Program, oral history project, and Global Asias initiative.
The Fund for Young Scholars encourages young scholars to attend and present their research at AAS conferences. The fund also supports the annual AAS Dissertation Workshops.
The AAS Endowment Fund guarantees the Association’s ability to support and expand the study of Asia far into the future.
The Low/Lower Middle Income Membership Fund enables the AAS to provide one-year memberships to scholars living in low or lower middle income countries (as defined by the World Bank).
AAS Book Prizes
East and Inner Asia
- The Gene E. Smith Book Prize for English-language scholarly books published on Inner Asia
- The Joseph R. Levenson Book Prize for English-language non-fiction scholarly books on China
- The Patrick D. Hanan Book Prize for translation from Chinese or Inner Asian languages into English
Northeast Asia
- The James B. Palais Book Prize for English-language scholarly books published on Korea
- The John Whitney Hall Book Prize for English-language scholarly books published on Japan
South Asia
- The A.K. Ramanujan Book Prize for translations from South Asian languages into English
- The Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy Book Prize for English-language scholarly works on South Asian studies
- The Bernard S. Cohn Book Prize for a first book on South Asia
Southeast Asia
- The A.L. Becker Prize for translations from Southeast Asian languages into English
- The George McT. Kahin Prize for distinguished scholarly works on Southeast Asia
- The Harry J. Benda Book Prize for English-language scholarly non-fiction works on Southeast Asian studies
For more information about the AAS book prizes, visit this webpage.
AAS Awards for Scholarship
The AAS East and Inner Asia Council’s EIAC Small Grants Program provides awards of $2,000 or less to early-career scholars. The Council encourages applications from dissertation-level graduate students, junior faculty, independent scholars, and adjunct faculty.
The Franklin R. Buchanan Prize, administered by the Committee on Teaching about Asia, is awarded to educators who develop outstanding curriculum materials relevant to the study of Asia.
The F. Hilary Conroy Award honors an outstanding panel focusing on transnational and/or transcultural issues in Asia. The panel must include presenters from diverse locations, and at least one of the presentations should focus on Northeast Asia. One panelist traveling from outside of North America will receive travel support. The conference program listings indicate the award designation.
The Short-Term Research in the History of Japanese Sexualities Grant Fund was established by a bequest from Emeritus Professor Mark McLelland and provides funding for early-career scholars to cover travel expenses on trips to Japan for research projects focused on the history of Japanese sexualities.
The AAS Legacy Society
The AAS Legacy Society is endowed through estate planning. Such bequests create a base of support for the long-term goals of the Association, such as further internationalization and diversification of the membership. We are grateful to those who have already included the AAS in their bequest intentions and hope this will inspire others to follow their lead. If you are interested in joining the AAS Legacy Society, you may contact Executive Director Hilary Finchum-Sung (hvfinchum@asianstudies.org).
**We publicly acknowledge all donors in an annual report. If you would prefer to be listed as “Anonymous” in the report, please check the box for “Donate anonymously” when making your contribution online.