Buchanan Prize

Franklin R. Buchanan Prize

The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) invites submissions for the 2025 Franklin R. Buchanan Prize.

Established in 1995 by the AAS Committee on Educational Issues and Policy and the Committee on Teaching about Asia, the Franklin R. Buchanan Prize is awarded annually to recognize an outstanding pedagogical, instructional, or curriculum publication on Asia designed for K-12 and college undergraduate instructors and learners. Any format is acceptable, including print, CD, video, and online formats. Submissions that address underrepresented regions of Asia, as defined by the Association for Asian Studies, are encouraged.

The mission of the Buchanan Prize is to recognize excellence and innovation in curricular and instructional materials, especially for non-specialists teaching in K-12 and college undergraduate classrooms. To that end, the winning submission will reflect current scholarship as well as innovative pedagogical methodologies that emphasize student-centered learning and skill development. Submissions should enhance teaching beyond conventional textbooks, primary source readers, or collected or academic essays. The winning submission will contribute qualitatively to the available materials for teaching the specific content and make a significant impact on the intended audience. Submissions must have been published after January 1, 2023 and include well-articulated and detailed teaching strategies in order to be competitive.

Prize

The 2025 Buchanan Prize will be awarded to the author(s) of the work at the AAS Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio, March 13-16, 2025. The prize includes a $1,000 monetary award and a one-year membership to AAS.

Deadline

Submissions are due November 1, 2024.

For more information and a submission form, please contact the Chair of the Committee:

Kristi Roundtree
East Asia Resource Center
The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies
University of Washington
302B Thomson Hall Box 353650
Seattle, WA 98195-3650
Phone: (206) 685-1389
barnesk@u.washington.edu

Books published by the Association for Asian Studies, Inc. are ineligible for consideration for prizes administered by the Association for Asian Studies. Employees of the Association are excluded from consideration for AAS book prizes, subventions, and grants. Publishers should check with authors to certify that they are not employed by the Association for Asian Studies, Inc. 


2024 Awards

Winner and Citation

Kevin HoskinsSusannah Bechtel, and Sarah KreckelThe Vietnam War: Origins, History, and Legacies 

The Vietnam War: Origins, History, and Legacies is based on recent scholarship in Vietnamese Studies, U.S. history, and the history of the global Cold War. It tells the “long history” of the destructive, deadly, and divisive U.S. war in Vietnam by tracing its long-term origins and assessing its long-term consequences. It looks backward toward the history of French colonialism in Southeast Asia, the evolution of the Vietnamese nationalist movement, and the First Indochina War/Anti-French Resistance War. It also looks forward from the end of the U.S. war in Vietnam to examine the experiences of Vietnamese refugees and reflect on the conflict’s effects on Vietnamese and American societies long into the future. 

Vietnamese personal stories—from the French colonial era to today—are highlighted throughout the readings and lesson plans. Students also engage with a wide array of “bottom-up” Vietnamese, American, and global primary sources from groups and individuals that have often been left out of histories of the U.S. war in Vietnam. The Vietnam War: Origins, History, and Legaciesespecially stands out from other secondary education curricula on the war with its focus on the complex and contentious historical developments within Vietnam itself. For example, students explore divisions within the early twentieth century Vietnamese nationalist movement, investigate multiple vantage points within an occupied and divided South Vietnam, and examine the experiences and memories of post-war Vietnamese, including those who fled the country as refugees. 

Honorable Mentions

Karl Debreczeny and Elena PakhoutovaProject Himalayan Art 

De-nin Lee and Deborah HuttonThe History of Asian Art: A Global View 

Past Awards

Franklin R. Buchanan Prize

1996 Jackson Bailey

1997 Gary M. Mukai

1998 Lynn Parisi, A Humanities Approach to Japanese History

1999 Steven I. Levine, The China Box and China Talk: A Handbook for Teachers, Librarians, and Parents

2000 Roberta Martin, Contemporary Japan: A Teaching Workbook

2001 Yong Jin Kim Choi, Korea: Lessons for Grades 1-12

2002 The China Studies Faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, Contemporary Chinese Societies: Continuity and Change

2003 Linda Menton, Eileen Tamura, Noren Lush, and Chance Gusukuma, Rise of Modern Japan

2004 Waka Takashi Brown, Religions and Philosophies in China: Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism

2005 Donald Johnson and Jean Johnson, India: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

2006 The China Institute of America, From Silk to Oil: Cross Cultural Connections along the Silk Roads

2007 Gregory Francis and Stefanie Lamb, China’s Cultural Revolution

2008 Waka Takashi Brown and Selena Lai, Chinese Dynasties: Parts I and II

2009 John Dower, Meredith Melzer, and Lynn Parisi, Visualizing Cultures: Yokohama Boomtown Curriculum

2010 Rylan Sekiguchi, Joon Seok Hong, Rennie Moon, and Gary Mukai, U.S.-South Korean Relations and Uncovering North Korea

2011 Lynn Parisi and Peter Perdue, China in the World: The Rise and Fall of the Canton Trade System

2012 Andrew Blackadar, Sarah Massey, and Tanya Waldburger, The United States in Afghanistan

2013 Constantine N. Vaporis, Voices of Early Modern Japan: Contemporary Accounts of Daily Life during the Age of the Shoguns

2014 Leah Elliott, Maya Lindberg, and Tanya Waldburger, Indian Independence and the Question of Partition

2015 Rylan Sekiguchi and  Risa Morimoto, “My Cambodia” and “My Cambodian America”

2016 Dorinda Neave, Lara Blanchard and Marika Sardar, Asian Art

2017 Anne  Prescott, East Asia in the World: An Introduction

2018 Aili Mu, Contemporary Chinese Short-Short Stories: A Parallel Text

2019 Michael A. Fuller, An Introduction to Chinese Poetry: From the Canon of Poetry to the Lyrics of the Song Dynasty

2020 Jason A Carbine, Gary Marcuse, and Rebecca Overmyer-Velázquez, Global Environmental Justice Collection

2021 Rylan Sekiguchi, “What Does It Mean To Be An American?”

2022 John Frank, Arlene Kowal, Yurika Kurakata, and Anne PrescottWalking the Tōkaidō: A Multi-Disciplinary Experience in History and Culture

2023 Lucy Park and Elizabeth JorgensenSijo: Korea’s Poetry Form; Honorable Mentions, Catherine Fratto, Lynn Kawaratani, and Evan Dawley, “Centering Taiwan in Global Asia: K-14 Curriculum Website”; Linda Hoaglund, Angela Miesle Stokes, and Kachina Leigh, “Edo Avant Garde: K to 12 Arts Curriculum”; Maria Adele Carrai, Jennifer Rudolph, and Michael SzonyiThe China Questions 2

AAS Members: The Fall 2024 election is open! Please vote by November 18. Read More