The 72nd Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA) Annual Meeting was hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from September 29 - October 1, 2023. The MCAA seeks to promote Asian studies both at the university and the secondary and primary levels, and particularly to encourage scholarly interchange between Asianists located in the Midwest, though scholars from all regions are invited to participate.

The Keynote lecture was given by:

• Dr. Jean Oi (William Haas Professor of Chinese Politics, Stanford University)

The Presidential panels were given by:

• Dr. Taylor Easum (President, MCAA, Assistant Professor, History, Indiana State University)
• Gardner Bovingdon (Associate Professor, Central Eurasian Studies and International Studies, Indiana University Bloomington)
• Pär Cassel (Associate Professor, History, University of Michigan)
• Tarry Chun (Assistant Professor, Film, Television & Theatre and East Asian Languages & Cultures, University of Notre Dame)
• Roderick Ike Wilson (Associate Professor, History and East Asian Languages & Cultures, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

The 71st MCAA was hosted by the University of Kansas on September 16-19, 2022. The MCAA seeks to promote Asian studies both at the university and the secondary and primary levels, and particularly to encourage scholarly interchange between Asianists located in the Midwest, though scholars from all regions are invited to participate.

The Keynote lecture was given by:

• Prof. Kamran Asdar Ali (AAS President, University of Texas, Austin)

The Presidential Panel "Global Asia and Science, Technology, Medicine, and Environment"; was given by:

• Ian G. Baird (University of Wisconsin, Madison)
• Susan Burns (University of Chicago)
• Megan Greene (University of Kansas)

The Progam Chair for the 2022 Conference:

• Akiko Takeyama (University of Kansas)

The 70th Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA) annual meeting had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, prioritizing the health and safety of participants and attendees.

The 69th Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA) Annual Meeting was hosted by a consortium of MCAA affiliated universities from October 16-18th, 2020. The MCAA seeks to promote Asian studies both at the university and the secondary and primary levels, and particularly to encourage scholarly interchange between Asianists located in the Midwest, though scholars from all regions are invited to participate.

The Keynote lectures were given by:

• Prof. Siddharth Chandra (Director of the Asian Studies Center, Michigan State University)
• Prof. Christine Yano (AAS President, University of Hawaii)

The Presidential Panel were given by:

• Jamie Monson (Director of the African Studies, Michigan State University)
• I Made Andi Arsana (Head of the Office of International Affairs, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia)
• Prof. Siddharth Chandra (Director of the Asian Studies Center, Michigan State University)
• Blandina Lugendo (Department of Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania)
• Mark Axelrod (Professor at James Madison College and the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University)
• Awet Weldemichael (Professor and Queen's National Scholar African and World History, Queen's University, Canada)

Planning Committee:

• Program Chair: Dr. Taylor Easum, Indiana State University
• Conference Submission Coordinator: Dr. Michael Brose, Indiana University

The 68th Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA) Annual Meeting was hosted by Michigan State from October 4-6, 2019. The MCAA seeks to promote Asian studies both at the university and the secondary and primary levels, and particularly to encourage scholarly interchange between Asianists located in the Midwest, though scholars from all regions are invited to participate.

The Keynote lectures were given by:

• Prof. Wendy Larson (Professor of Modern Chinese Literature and Film, University of Oregon)
• Prof. Anne Feldhaus (Past AAS President, Arizona State University)

The Presidential Panel were given by:

• Prof. Laura Miller (Professor of Japanese Studies, University of Missouri)
• Prof. Mary Gallagher (Director of the Asian Studies Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan)
• Prof. Siddharth Chandra (Director of the Asian Studies Center, Michigan State University)
• Prof. Ann Sherif (Professor of Japanese, Oberlin College) 

The 67th Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA) Annual Meeting was hosted by Metropolitan State University from October 19 - 20, 2018. The MCAA seeks to promote Asian studies both at the university and the secondary and primary levels, and particularly to encourage scholarly interchange between Asianists located in the Midwest, though scholars from all regions are invited to participate.

The Keynote lectures were given by:

• Prof. Prasenjit Duara (Vice President for the Association for Asian Studies)
• Dr. Irene Khin Khin Jensen (Professor Emeriti, Augsburg University)
• Prof. Robert Hegel (Washington University in St. Louis; President, Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs)

For more information about the conference visit the 2018 Conference website.

The Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies hosted the 66th Annual Meeting of the Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, September 15–16, 2017. The MCAA seeks to promote Asian studies both at the university and the secondary and primary levels, and particularly to encourage scholarly interchange between Asianists located in the Midwest, though scholars from all regions are invited to participate.

The Keynote lectures were given by:

• Prof. Katherine Bowie (Southeast Asian Studies & Anthropology, University of Wisconsin)
• Prof. Rochona Majumdar (South Asian Studies & Cinema and Media Studies, University of Chicago)
• Prof. Guobin Yang (East Asian Studies & Sociology and Communication, University of Pennsylvania)

The Center of East Asian and Pacific Studies hosted the 65th Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA) from October 14-16, 2016 at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. The conference featured 46 panels and involved 145 speakers and panel chairs. Faculty members, graduate, and undergraduate students presented new research and pedagogical tools across the disciplines of Asian studies.

We welcomed more than 214 registered participants to the conference from the Midwest and beyond, including attendees from China, Japan, Korea, and Europe. We were delighted to have Dr. Laura Kendall (AAS President and Chair, Division of Anthropology, Curator, Asian Ethnographic Collection, American Museum of Natural History) present the keynote speech What Global Asia Means to Anthropology. C. 1900 on October 15 at the conference banquet. We also held the Midwest Japan Seminar workshop during the first two sessions of October 15. In addition to panels and speeches, we featured a film series organized by AMES. We were particularly happy to host the premiere of David Plath’s documentary “So Long Asleep: Waking the Ghosts of a War,” at the Spurlock Museum’s Knight Auditorium October 14 at 7:30 PM. The Presidential Round Table on “Asian Studies, Area Studies and the Future” was held over lunch on October 15. Last but not least, we featured a Music of Asia event in the Music Building Auditorium on the evening of October 15.

We would like to thank all our student volunteers, fellow East Asian faculty, the MCAA officers, the College of Arts & Science, the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, and Illinois International Programs for their generous support of Asian scholarship in the Midwest.

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures hosted the 64th Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA) from October 16 - 18, 2015 at Washington University in St. Louis.

Many thanks to all who attended MCAA! Your presence and contribution helped make this 64th MCAA meeting a great success! With over 300 attending, this was the largest MCAA yet. We welcomed participants from the Midwest and beyond, including attendees from Canada, China, Japan, Korea, and Germany. We were delighted to have Dr. Timothy Brook (AAS President and Professor of History, University of British Columbia) present the keynote speech at the conference banquet. EALC would like to thank all our student volunteers and musicians, our fellow East Asian faculty, the MCAA officers, and Arts & Sciences for their support of Asian scholarship in the Midwest.

For more information visit the Washington University in St. Louis' East Asian language and Culture Website

The Southwest Conference on Asian Studies (SWCAS) and the 63rd Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA) hosted a special joint meeting on October 3 - 5, 2014 on the campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS.

2014 SWCAS & MCAA Conference website.

We invited scholars and graduate students from all disciplines to submit proposals for panels and individual papers on their research on any topic related to Asian studies.

Panel proposals included the following:
A panel summary (250 words max.) that includes a brief description of each paper and makes clear the connection between the papers
A list of participants, their paper titles, their affiliations and their contact information, including email addresses

Individual paper proposals included the following:
Paper title and summary (150 words max.)
Presenter's name, affiliation, and contact information, including email addresses

Proposals were sent to ceas(at)ku.edu

Deadline: June 1, 2014

Megan Greene, Program Chair
University of Kansas
mgreene(at)ku.edu

The Asian Studies Center of Michigan State University was pleased to host the 62nd Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA) from October 25 - 27, 2013 at MSU's Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center in East Lansing, Michigan.

With nearly 300 participants, this was the largest MCAA ever held. Participants came from across the United States as well as from Canada, England, China, Korea, and Japan. We enjoyed speakers from the Presidential Panel on Friday as well as during the Saturday evening banquet. As a highlight of the conference, AAS President Thongchai Winichakul offered the keynote address and the recipients of the Sidney DeVere Brown and Mikiso Hane prizes for undergraduate papers and the Percy Buchanan prizes for graduate students were recognized. The MCAA thus continued its long tradition of contributing to the professional development of the next generation of scholars and teachers. We received numerous pieces of positive feedback from the professionalism of conference staff to the innovative panels. We would like to thank our sponsors, the program committee, the conference chair, the MCAA officers, the conference staff, our volunteers and most certainly the all of the presenters for their work in planning and carrying out a tremendous endeavor.

2013 MCAA Official Program

Call for Papers (Now Closed)

Michigan State University is proud to host the 2013 Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs. Proposals for panels, roundtables, and individual papers from all academic disciplines, on any topic involving Asia, are now being accepted. Panels and individual papers that cross boundaries (national, regional, temporal, linguistic, disciplinary, etc.) are also particularly welcome, as are proposals that suggest new and innovative formats. Graduate students, independent scholars, and K-12 educators and administrators are strongly encouraged to apply. Key points to note are as follows:

• Proposal Deadline: the Call for Papers closed on June 25, 2013. We thank the many scholars and students who have submitted paper, panel, roundtable, and diamond proposals. All submitted proposals will be reviewed by a committee during July of 2013. Final decisions will be made by August 1, 2013, and presenters will be notified immediately following this date.
• Please note that MCAA does not provide funds for travel. Visit the Grants and Fellowships page on the AAS website for assistance options.

External Sponsors

Association of Asian Affairs (AAS)
Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA)
MCAA Presidential Panel
with
funding support from the National Resource Center and
grant support from the International Foreign Language (IFLE) Office of the U.S. Department of Education.

MSU Sponsors

Asian Studies Center
Center for Gender in Global Context
College of Arts and Letters
College of Social Science
Department of Art, Art History, and Design
Department of History
Department of Linguistics & Germanic, Slavic, Asian and African Languages
International Studies and Programs