Learning New Methods, Teaching New Subjects: How Involvement in the Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment Changed Us as Teachers and Scholars

Abstract

The co-authors were drawn into studies of Asia and the Environment through the Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment (LIASE). Both developed new course material incorporating Asia and the Environment as complementary foci to their areas of expertise. Both made changes to curricular offerings and research trajectories, although pedagogical approaches and take-aways differed. The environmental scientist shifted understanding of the problems that comprise the subjects of environmental science and ethics toward a more global focus; the Asianist developed an appreciation for the importance of environmental studies methodologies tools in an historian’s repertoire. In this essay, the authors evaluate their pedagogical strategies and reflect on the ways in which classroom experiences and LIASE programming have influenced their own trajectories as teacher-scholars.