Great Books of East Asia Series
Revisiting The Book of Tea: Modern Approaches to a Classic Text
Okakura Kakuzō’s Book of Tea is a classic expression of the philosophy and aesthetics of Japanese tea ceremony. In this online book workshop, teacher-participants will revisit Okakura's text, placing it into historical context and considering it critically in light of new approaches to understanding Japanese approaches to tea ceremony.
The online workshop will be led by Dr. Shawn Bender, associate professor of East Asian studies at Dickinson College, and feature a critical presentation on The Book of Tea by Dr. Rebecca Corbett, a scholar of Japanese tea ceremony at the University of Southern California. A session with NCTA Master Teacher Michele Beauchamp focused on potential applications of tea ceremony in the classroom will follow Dr. Corbett's presentation. Teacher-participants will come away from the workshop with a renewed appreciation of this text as well as suggested methods for introducing elements of Japanese tea ceremony into classrooms.
Participants will receive a copy of The Book of Tea, in addition to a Japanese matcha tea set.
Pennsylvania teachers who complete this workshop will receive two Act 48 hours. For teachers in other states, we can provide you with a certificate of completion.
After you register, we will send you a confirmation email and will (depending on your response below) a complimentary copies of the books. Educators who complete the program will receive a Certificate Completion; Pennsylvania teachers will receive Act 48 hours. You will also receive information on accessing the Zoom meeting for the workshop in a follow-up email.
Registration Deadline is May 31, 2024
Learn More About our Presenters
Moderator/Organizer: Dr. Shawn Bender is Associate Professor of East Asian Studies at Dickinson College. Trained as a cultural anthropologist, Dr. Bender teaches courses on contemporary Japan, cultures of care and the family, and the social effects of digital technology. His research examines the use of robotics in fields as diverse as eldercare and agriculture. He is the author of Taiko Boom: Japanese Drumming in Place and Motion (California, 2012). His most recent book monograph Feeling Machines: Japanese Robotics and the Global Entanglements of More-Than-Human Care is under review at Stanford University Press.
Master Teacher: Michele Beauchamp is an English teacher at Manheim Township High School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She received her MEd from the University of Pittsburgh and for the past 25 years she has taught all levels of secondary English Language Arts. She has participated in two NTCA study tours and has taken advantage of numerous opportunities to study about Asia. In 2019 she trained to lead NCTA seminars and has since conducted several presentations and book discussions on East Asian novels and nonfiction texts.
The Great Books of East Asia is a free book discussion series that will give K-12 educators a chance to delve deeply into important and foundational books from East Asia that they may know of or even teach about but may have never read in an enriching way. Some books in the series are significant for understanding East Asia or are well known as important works of world literature. Others may not be familiar outside of a particular country but are a central part of that country’s literature. Participants will be provided with complimentary copies of the books (in translation). The discussions will be led a faculty expert who will provide content and context on the work, and an NCTA master teacher who will discuss ways to incorporate the work into the classroom.