SPICE wins Buchanan Prize for fourth time

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On April 4 SPICE formally received the 2008 Franklin Buchanan Prize at the Association for Asian Studies conference in Atlanta. The Buchanan Prize, which is awarded annually to an outstanding curriculum publication on Asia designed for any educational level, elementary through university, this year recognized Waka Takahashi Brown and Selena Lai for Bundled Set: Chinese Dynasties Part One and Two.

Together the units cover each dynastic period beginning with the Shang through the fall of the Qing, providing more than 12 weeks of material for middle- and high-school history and social science courses. The units provide an accessible synthesis of an enormous span of Chinese history, introducing students and their teachers to key questions and sources for understanding Chinese civilization at different moments in time. Through primary sources and age-appropriate readings, the units engage students in standards-based lessons that address an impressive array of institutions and ideas, including political and social developments, ritual, philosophy and religion, technological innovations, arts and literature, education and the economy.

This is the fourth time that SPICE has won the prestigious Buchanan Prize since it was established in 1995. The Association for Asian Studies publishes the Journal of Asian Studies and is the largest scholarly association on Asian countries, cultures, and regions in the world.