Outreach

CEAS organizes in-service professional development workshops for K-16 teachers to improve their knowledge of East Asia and discuss strategies for incorporating innovative scholarship into their curriculum. CEAS also partners with community organizations on activities to enhance public understanding of and engagement with the societies and cultures of East Asia.
Left: UChicago Educator Outreach workshop with Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Right: Educators participating in hands-on activity and reviewing a display of colleague comments on classroom pedagogy.
Left: UChicago Educator Outreach workshop with Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Right: Educators participating in hands-on activity and reviewing a display of colleague comments on classroom pedagogy.


Public Engagement—also known as outreach—is a vital part of our work at the Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS). Given our considerable intellectual resources and the close ties that both Chicago and the state of Illinois have to East Asia, CEAS organizes outreach activities that extend the impact of university resources into our region and nation. The presentation of East Asian-focused content at K–16 training workshops, support for the development of new and enhanced curriculum at community colleges in the Midwest, as well as a myriad of arts, literary and cultural events geared to the general public, constitute a rich public engagement program that reaches sizeable audiences.

Schools, colleges, and community organizations can call upon CEAS faculty and advanced graduate students to give presentations and lectures on a variety of topics. We will be delighted to collaborate with you to coordinate programming related to China, Japan and Korea. We extend a personal invitation to you to call, visit, or email CEAS to discuss your interests and hear your suggestions for directions in which CEAS should be reaching in order to fulfill our mission.

Professional Development for Educators

CEAS participates in the annual Summer Institute for Educators (SIE) and International Education Conference (IEC) coordinated jointly with other area studies programs on campus. Both events are aimed primarily at elementary through community college educators and focus on content and teaching resources from various world regions; attendees receive Continuing Professional Development Units (CPDUs).

You can find information on our upcoming and past programs on our dedicated UChicago Educator Outreach website which is a collaborative effort by University of Chicago area studies centers to help K-16 educators stay informed about professional development programs and to connect to resources. The website includes information about classroom resources (readings, presentations, images, videos, etc.) by keyword categories. Materials from events before 2014 are available on the CEAS Workshops and Online Resources page. We have also compiled a listing of External Resources from outside organizations.

Community Engagement

CEAS regularly partners with local community entities to extend dialogue on East Asian issues of interest outside the University campus. We host arts and culture events on and off campus, and support student and faculty connections with community groups, among other initiatives.

Please contact eastasia@uchicago.edu to sign up for our mailing lists, learn about upcoming events, or talk about how to transform your ideas into future CEAS events and activities.