NCTA 2024 Summer Study Tour:
Heart of the Silk Roads
DESCRIPTION OF THE TOUR:
We are now accepting applications from our NCTA alumni for our summer of 2024 (June 25- July 17) NCTA GEEO study tour to discover the Heart of the Silk Roads and their connection to East Asia, as we travel through Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan! Not only will you experience a fascinating part of the world most travelers miss, but you will also gain a better understanding of how this region contributed to the cultural, economic, religious, and political ideas of our world and East Asia in particular. A true crossroads of empires, Central Asia is a region layered by cultures of ancient civilizations, from those of the ancient Eastern Iranians and Persians to those of the Turks, Mongols, and Russians. These legacies along with the impact on East Asia (China, Japan, Korea) will be thoroughly explored in this tour. Participants will stay at unique homestays, sleep in traditional yurts, discover the breathtaking mountain and desert scenery, and roam gorgeous buildings constructed centuries ago. Beyond the incredibly rich historical sites and architectural monuments, this adventure will enlighten your understanding of Buddhism, Christianity, and especially Islam.
To enhance the educational impact of the trip and to make explicit the East Asia connections to Central Asia and the Silk Roads, China historian Dr. David Kenley (Dakota State University) and Central Asianist David Dettmann (University of Pennsylvania) will be traveling with the group, providing historical and cultural context. Participants will be required to develop teaching materials focusing on the connection between East Asia and the Central Asian Silk Roads.
Those accepted into the study tour are also expected to participate in a pre-departure orientation weekend in Pittsburgh in April or May of 2024 (date TBD; travel costs to Pittsburgh will be covered by NCTA).
This program, which is managed through GEEO is sponsored by the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia (NCTA), University of Pittsburgh coordinating site, and the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Pittsburgh’s Asian Studies Center.
Pitt NCTA has a limited number of travel subsidies to help defray some of the costs for participants who request it (the study tour application has a section to request the subsidy).
For detailed information (including the itinerary) of the tour, please visit the GEEO website (NOTE: this site is ONLY for details of the tour and is NOT the application form. Although this site says "Sorry, this tour is full" the tour is NOT full, and will not be full until all applications are reviewed after November 10.)
EXPECTATIONS
• Applicants will familiarize themselves with all of the details of the study tour, including the itinerary, expenses, expectations, and considerations (such as food/cuisine, climate, altitude, physical challenges, lodging, homestays, and in-country transportation). These are listed on either this webpage or the GEEO website at: https://geeo.org/tour/ncta-central-asia/ (NOTE: this site GEEO website is ONLY for details of the tour and is NOT the application form. Although this site says "Sorry, this tour is full" the tour is NOT full, and will not be full until all applications are reviewed after November 10.)
• Participants will commit to fully participating in all aspects of the study tour, including being an active participant during the tour itself, but also completing all assignments, producing teaching materials based on the tour, and attending the pre-departure orientation weekend in Pittsburgh (some time in either April or May 2024).
• Participants will develop teaching materials on some aspect of the relationship between East Asia and the Silk Roads in Central Asia based on their experiences on the study tour. Prior to the pre-departure orientation weekend (date TBD), participants will submit to the study tour leaders a general outline as to the type of teaching materials they hope to develop. The final product of these teaching materials will be shared with the NCTA for possible use as resources for other educators.
ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION CRITERIA
• Applicants must be NCTA Alumni in good standing, having successfully completed all of the requirements of the standard 36-hour NCTA Seminar from Pitt NCTA’s coordinating site region (Alabama, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia).
• NCTA Alumni will be accepted through an application process, as spaces are limited.
• Applicants must be committed to integrating experiences, knowledge, and ideas gained during the study tour into the K-12 classroom. This includes producing some sort of teaching materials about the relationship between East Asia and the Silk Roads in Central Asia (the application asks for a description of such possible teaching materials).
• Applicants must commit to teach at least three more years following the study tour.
EXPENSES
• Those NCTA alumni who are accepted to the study tour will receive a $2000 subsidy from NCTA, which will be applied to the tour booking with GEEO (bringing the GEEO booking price down to just over $2000). More details on this $2000 subsidy will be sent to those who are accepted into the study tour.
• NCTA has a limited number of additional subsidies for early career educators. If you would like to be considered for an additional subsidy, there is a space on the tour application where you can indicate this (and NCTA will contact you about this).
• NCTA will cover the costs (transportation, lodging, and meals) to Pittsburgh for the pre-departure orientation weekend in April or May of 2024 (date TBD)
• Participants arrange and pay for their own International flights (probably between $1800-$2000)
• Meals during the tour: some are covered by the GEEO registration package, while others will be out-of-pocket.
• For a more detailed list as to what is (and what is not) covered as part of the GEEO registration package, go to the GEEO page at: https://geeo.org/tour/ncta-central-asia/ (NOTE: this site GEEO website is ONLY for details of the tour and is NOT the application form. Although this site says "Sorry, this tour is full" the tour is NOT full, and will not be full until all applications are reviewed after November 10.)