A delegation from the US-China Education Trust (USCET) and Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) joined other Americanists in Atlanta, Georgia earlier this month to attend the 2018 edition of the American Studies Association’s Annual Meeting. 

Each year scholars, teachers, students, activists, and artists come together to share interdisciplinary research on US culture and history in a global context. This year’s meeting focused on “States of Emergence,” emphasizing that our sense of crisis must be thought alongside our constant commitment to challenging the calamities that beset us and to producing alternative and better worlds.

The meeting which ran from November 8-11 was comprised of a number of lectures, sessions, and panels throughout the three days. The four members from BFSU, which included professor Fu Meirong, professor Li Jinzhao, Zou Hongjin, and Tianhong Yin held a successful and insightful panel exploring The Role of Education and Cultural Exchange in Mitigating Crises: Case Studies of Exchanges between the US and China.

Each of the panelists discussed research they’ve been working on recently related to exchange between the US and China. Professor Fu presented her study on the experiences of Chinese Fulbright scholars in the United States while professor Li spoke on two feminist movements that have made their way from the United States to China: “The Vagina Monologues” in 2013 and the #MeToo movement in 2018. 

The two graduate students, both of whom recently won the Graduate Student Forum competition and were given the opportunity to join the delegation also participated in the panel. Zou spoke on her comparative analysis work, which explored Sino-US international exchange during two periods: 1905-1949 and 1979-to the present. Yin meanwhile, discussed her statistical analysis exploring the effect of educational exchange on US-China relations.

Participating in the ASA Conference also afforded the Chinese delegation multiple opportunities to network and meet Americanists from different universities, to share in ideas, and to learn what others are working on within the American Studies discipline. And despite a busy conference schedule, the delegation was able to take part in a few cultural activities in the city of Atlanta. 

USCET regularly supports faculty and grad students from its American Studies Network (ASN) to participate in the Annual Meeting of the ASA. Earlier this month, USCET also held its 15th Annual ASN Conference at East China Normal University in Shanghai.            ———————————————————–

来自中美教育基金会和北京外国语大学的代表们在11月初前往亚特兰大参加2018年美国研究协会年度会议。

每一年，来自世界各地的学者、老师、学生、社会活动家和艺术家汇集一堂，一起分享他们对美国文化和历史的跨学科研究。今年的会议关注在“紧急情况的出现”，强调说我们必须考虑到我们的危机感，同时我们不断致力于挑战困扰我们的灾难，并去努力创造更好的世界。

会议11月8日开始，11月11日结束，由讲座，座谈会，和讨论会组成。来自北京外国语大学的4名代表有付美榕教授、李今朝教授、邹虹瑾、和印天红，他们成功组织了一场关于讨论会，探讨主题为“教育和文化交流在减轻危机中的作用：中美交流案例研究”。每个小组成员讨论了他们最近与美国和中国之间的交流有关的研究，傅教授介绍了她作为福布莱特计划学者经历的研究，而李教授则讲述了两条从美国走向中国的女权主义运动：2013年的“阴道独白”和2018年的#MeToo运动。

两位研究生最近都参加了研究生论坛比赛，并有机会参与了中美教育基金会代表团，也参加了小组论坛。邹虹瑾谈到了她的比较分析性工作，该工作探讨了中美两国两个时期的国际交流：1905-1949年和1979年至今。印天红则探讨了她对于教育交流对中美关系影响所做的统计分析结果。

参加此次美国研究协会会议还为中国代表们提供了机会，与来自不同大学的美国研究专家们进行交流和会面，分享想法，并了解其他人在美国研究学科中的工作和成果。尽管会议日程繁忙，代表团仍然能够参加亚特兰大市举办的一些文化活动。

中美教育基金会定期支持其美国研究联络会的教师与学生参加美国研究协会会议。本月早些时候，中美教育基金会还在上海华东师范大学举办了第十五届美国研究联络会会议。