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At the 27th Annual ASIANetwork Conference at the University of San Diego April 12-14, Carthage’s Asian Studies Program faculty presented their research, presided over new initiatives, and took on important organizational roles.

History professor Stephen Udry organized and presided over a roundtable titled Enhancing Asian Studies, which focused on building an online database for teaching about Asia at the undergraduate level. Biology professor Daniel Choffnes has become ASIANetwork’s vice-chair as well as a board member. 

Carthage faculty shared their current research on Saturday, April 13, at a panel titled “The Incorporation of Digital Humanities into Asian Studies at Carthage College,” chaired by Prof. Udry. Using geographic information systems tools, Professor James Lochtefeld discussed the distribution of deities in places of worship in the Himalayas, as they correspond to sacred texts and folk narratives (“Parsing the Himalaya: Insights from GIS); Professor Wenjie Sun demonstrated how pairing GIS tools with virtual goggles help immerse students’ learning experience into distant locales (“GIS-related Tools and their Uses in an Asian Studies Classroom); Prof. Udry presented his analysis of Sichuan gazetteers during Ming- and Qing-dynasty China, documenting how shifts in fortunes, renovations, and income correlated with larger historical trends (“Digital Tools and the Study of Chinese Religion”); Professor Darwin Tsen presented on the significance of tracking the movements of late-19th century and early-20th century Japanese anarchists in East Asia and the Americas, as a way to understand how intellectual networks function (“Mapping Early Japanese Anarchism”). 

Prof. Choffnes presented separately on a panel titled “Teaching About Asia Through Popular Culture” on Sunday, April 14, presenting on the effect tea culture has had on his teaching and research, as well as the global reach of tea (“Tea Culture in the Classroom”). 

We expect Carthage’s Asian Studies faculty to retain a strong presence in the ASIANetwork over the years to come!