Early Career Faculty of Asian Descent Workshop (Hybrid)

Description

This hybrid workshop will gather faculty of Asian descent drawn from diverse religious specializations, in their first six years of teaching, for seven monthly online sessions and a weeklong in-person meeting in June 2023. As a learning community of committed and skilled teachers, this hybrid workshop will explore issues such as:

• pedagogy and politics of faculty of Asian descent, especially the realities of racism
• being a fulfilled and engaged teacher/scholar
• career growth such as tenure and alternate academic tracks
• teaching and thriving in one’s institutional context including Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility issues
• dealing with religious, social, ethnic, racial, and learning diversities in the classroom
• connecting the classroom to broader social issues
• course design, assignments, learning goals, and assessment

There will be a balance of plenary sessions, small group discussions, structured and unstructured social time, and time for relaxation, exercise, meditation, discovery, laughter and – during the in-person session – lots of good food and drink.

Workshop Goals

• To develop a professional network of mutually supportive teachers/scholars of Asian descent
• To speak candidly about the politics and pressures of teaching and learning in higher education
• To explore the intersections of positionality in the classroom, institution, and academy, such as race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and age
• To engage in formal and informal dialogue about existing and needed habits and practices of teaching in mono- or multi-cultural contexts
• To reflect critically on vocation, identity, and well-being that integrates scholarship, teaching, leadership, and work/life balance over the arc of one’s teaching career
• To hone teaching practices and innovative pedagogies through design and implementation of collaborative projects
• To prepare for trends and changes in higher education

Participant Eligibility

• Tenure track, continuing term, and/or full-time contingency 
• 1-6 years of teaching experience
• Job description or contract that is wholly or primarily inclusive of teaching 
• Teaching in accredited college or university or theological school in the United States, Puerto Rico, or Canada 
• Doctoral degree awarded by January 2023 
• Tenure decision (if applicable) no earlier than January of 2024 
• Institutional support and personal commitment to participate fully in workshop sessions

Application Materials 

Please complete and attach the following documents to the online application:

1. Application Contact Information form. 

2. Cover letter:

• An introductory letter that includes why you want to participate in the hybrid workshop and how a sustained conversation with peers will contribute to your own development as a teacher/scholar? (500 words)

3. Brief essay describing:

• Describe a specific scenario that prompted you to reflect on race, racism, and teaching. (500 words)

3. Academic CV (4-page limit). 

5. Letter of institutional support for your full participation in this hybrid workshop from your dean, rector, president, provost, principal, or department chair.