Past K-12 Seminars

Join us for this five-week complimentary online seminar that offers teachers an engaging introduction to Japanese religions in historical and cultural context. The seminar explores major traditions and themes such as Shinto, the transmission of Buddhism to Japan, monastic culture, Pure Land Buddhism, women and Buddhism, Zen, and contemporary Japanese Buddhism. Alongside building a strong foundation of knowledge, teachers will consider how religious ideas, rituals, institutions, and practices have shaped Japanese society, culture, identity, and everyday life over time. Teacher participants will walk away with fresh perspectives and practical examples to incorporate Japanese religious traditions into the curriculum in clear, nuanced, and meaningful ways.

Join us for an engaging exploration of Washoku, Japan’s traditional food culture, through a curator-led exhibition tour and collaborative discussion. Designed for K-12 educators, this onsite workshop will examine how foodways can be used to teach geography, sustainability, cultural identity, human-environment interaction, and everyday life in Japan.

Join us for an immersive professional development workshop exploring how contemporary art and traditional cultural practices can enrich the teaching of Japan. Through guided exhibition tours, a curator presentation, and collaborative discussion, K-12 educators will gain practical classroom ideas, interdisciplinary resources, and fresh perspectives for teaching Japanese history, culture, and society through art.

Join our special educator visit to LACMA’s exhibition Fashioning Chinese Women: Empire to Modernity. Through garments from the Qing Dynasty through the 1960s, teachers will explore Chinese women’s history, identity, fashion, and social change through a guided museum tour, lunch, and group discussion.

Join us for a fascinating five-week course that explores the key cultural moments, movements, and individuals who have shaped the urban and artistic landscapes of East Asia. Designed especially for middle school educators in history, art, geography, and cultural studies, this course invites participants to expand their global curriculum with compelling stories and case studies from China, Japan, and Korea.

This webinar explores how Korean shamanism (Musok) shapes the symbolism, performance aesthetics, and spiritual themes found in K-pop Demon Hunters and contemporary Korean popular culture. Through visual examples and cultural analysis, participants will examine how rituals (gut), talismans, music, dance, costume symbolism, and spirit mediation are reinterpreted within modern entertainment and global media. Using K-pop Demon Hunters as a case study, the session connects popular culture with broader conversations about globalization, identity, cultural continuity, and intangible cultural heritage in East Asia. Teachers and participants will leave with a deeper understanding of Korean shamanic traditions and practical ideas for incorporating contemporary Korean media and visual culture into classroom discussions.

This session examines how traditional Korean artistic symbolism evolves into modern visual culture, using KPop Demon Hunters to analyze how contemporary Korean identity is constructed and globalized through film and K-pop aesthetics.

Join us for a book talk that examines stories from East Asia to America and their place in the K–12 classroom. This session focuses on how personal narratives and historical storytelling support student understanding of migration, identity, and connections between East Asian histories and the United States. Educators will gain classroom-ready strategies to help students analyze texts, make cross-cultural connections, and communicate their understanding through reading, discussion, and writing in their classrooms.

Join us for this five-week complimentary online seminar offers teachers a comprehensive introduction to the major social, political, economic, and cultural forces shaping contemporary China. The seminar explores topics such as daily life, demographic change, technology and innovation, environmental challenges, and China’s expanding global influence. Alongside building a strong foundation of knowledge, teachers will consider multiple perspectives and examine current debates that drive conversations about China today. Teacher participants will walk away with some practical strategies, classroom resources, and examples to incorporate modern China into the curriculum in clear, engaging, and meaningful ways.

Join us for this five-week online seminar covering Japan’s cultural landscapes through castles, imperial sites, tea culture, and modern memorials. The seminar explores how architecture, gardens, and ritual expressed political power and aesthetic values from the early modern era to today. Teacher participants will walk away with accessible readings, visual analysis, some classroom-ready materials and strategies for bringing Japanese history and culture to life. This seminar is ideal for those teaching world history, social studies, art history, and Asian studies or any subjects.