PITT OFFERS SEMINAR ON EAST ASIA FOR AREA TEACHERS

PITTSBURGH, Dec. 10 -- Recognizing the need for middle and high school teachers to develop comprehensive curricula about East Asia, the University of Pittsburgh has joined with the Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU) and the national Consortium for Teaching Asia to offer free for those who qualify an intense, 30-hour seminar, "East Asia: Yesterday and Today."

Designed for teachers of world cultures, world history, geography, economics, and literature, the seminar will be taught by Diana Marston Wood, associate director of Pitt's Asian Studies Program, along with faculty from Pittsburgh area colleges and teachers within the region. Teachers who attend the seminar are not assumed or required to have any previous background in Asia.

Benefits for teachers who participate in the seminar include in-service credits. Additionally, those who submit a plan for implementing the seminar ideas and materials into the next year's curriculum can earn financial support toward materials for the teacher's class and school.

"This seminar allows the educational community here to plug into a national consortium dedicated to a focus on the quality of pre-collegiate teaching about East Asia," said Wood. "This mean we can benefit from the seminar approaches being used all over the country."

The seminar will be offered on selected Wednesdays and Saturdays, from Feb. 26 through May 13 at the University of Pittsburgh and the AIU location in the Strip District, according to the following schedule:

At the University of Pittsburgh, 2K56 Posvar Hall (formerly the Forbes Quadrangle Building), 230 S. Bouquet Street

Saturday, Feb. 26

9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The importance in geography in understanding East Asia; basic characteristics of the region's earliest civilizations

Wednesday, March 1

5 p.m. - 8 p.m. The philosophical underpinnings of East Asia

Wednesday, March 15

5 p.m. - 8 p.m. The foundations of urban civilization and the growth of bureaucracy

Wednesday, March 22

5 p.m. - 8 p.m. Trade patterns and the ways that the Western world was drawn to Asia; impact on East Asia

Saturday, April 8

9 a.m. - 12 p.m. A focus on feudalism as it is applicable to Asia; Literature: a valuable window on Asian culture

At the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, 1400 Penn Avenue

Saturday, April 15

9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. The Western intrusion into Asia; reasons for it, and results

Saturday, May 6

9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Twentieth century history: Imperialism, Communism, Capitalism

Saturday, May 13

9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. The importance of East Asia in today's international world

Free parking is available at both sites.

The seminar is sponsored by the Asian Studies Program of the University Center for International Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, and the Consortium for Teaching Asia, a national program funded by The Freeman Foundation.

Registration deadline is January 21, 2000. Anyone wishing to obtain a registration form or more information should call 412-648-7411.

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