This program is tentative and subject to change.
Friday, May 8, 2026
| Time | Location/Modality | Session |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 - 9:00 AM | Registration and Breakfast | |
| 9:00 - 10:30 AM |  | Welcome Remarks Opening Plenary: New Frontiers for International and Area Studies |
| 10:45 AM - Noon | | Plenary Session II. Reckoning with Uncertainty: Why the Field Matters Now Moderator: TBD Speakers Melissa Baralt (Florida International University) Siddharth Chandra (Michigan State University) Kislaya Prasad (University of Maryland) |
| Noon - 1:30 PM | Lunch and Virtual Networking Café | |
| 1:30 - 3:00 PM | Breakout Session I | |
 | I.A. From the Transnational to the Translational: Rethinking Language Instruction in Humanities Programs Three faculty members who administer translation programs in state universities in the Midwest will explore recent curricular and instructional efforts to introduce translation into their respective curricula, compare notes about challenges and solutions, and think ahead about building alliances. The presenters invite participation from a broad range of stakeholders and potential collaborators. | |
 | I.B. Workshop on Recognizing K-12 Teachers as Leaders: African Studies Curriculum Development as a Model for Collaborating on Global Education A virtual workshop exploring how K-12 educators can serve as partners and leaders in the productive of global knowledge and elevation of Area Studies in the classroom. Based upon the results of a K-12 curriculum development grant that UNC’s African Studies Center received from the Oak Foundation. | |
| 1.C-1. Establishing the Indigenous Latin American and Caribbean Studies Consortium in the Great Lakes Region In this roundtable, we will discuss our steps in creating the consortium and establishing membership, how we identified and achieved our objectives, the challenges we have encountered in trying to bring seven R1 institutions together, and our hopes and goals for the short and long term. | |
| 1.C-2. European Studies Panel Speakers Randall Halle (University of Pittsburgh) Amie Kreppel (University of Florida) Elizabeth Covington (University of Wisconsin-Madison) Akasemi Newsome (University of California-Berkeley) Abby Lewis (Council for European Studies) Mark Copelovitch (European Union Studies Association) | |
| 1.D. Anti-Atlas: Toward a Critical Area Studies A roundtable discussion on the book Anti-Atlas: Critical Area Studies from the East of the West edited by Tim Beasley-Murray, Wendy Bracewell, and Michal Murawski (UCL Press 2025). The discussion will highlight some of the taken-for-granted assumptions of an Area Studies primarily situated in the context of US higher education. | |
| 1.E. From Crisis to Collaboration: Building the Future of Area and International Studies This panel will focus on how Baylor University’s Area Studies and International Studies programs have responded to this new challenging environment with more thematic, interdisciplinary, and professionally-oriented initiatives. These initiatives also create opportunities for resource sharing—shared speakers, shared programming, and shared experiential learning partnerships—especially important when our language instruction and area programs are stretched thin. Thematic approaches broaden student interests beyond traditional majors, and collaborative teaching builds cross-campus and cross-disciplinary cooperation. | |
| 3:15 - 4:30 PM | | Plenary Session III. In the Age of AI: Language and Training Needs in the Language Industry Moderator: TBD Speaker: William P. Rivers (WP Rivers and Associates) |
| 4:45 - 6:00 PM | | Plenary Session IV. Title VI: From Origins to Legacy Moderator: TBD Speakers Thomas F. Reese (Tulane University) Rudra Sil (University of Pennsylvania) |
| 6:00 - 7:45 PM | | Reception |
Saturday, May 9, 2026
| Time | Location/Modality | Session |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 - 10:15 AM |  | Plenary Session V. Building Shared Futures: Libraries as Partners in Sustaining Global Knowledge Infrastructure Moderator: Steven Witt (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) Speakers Anna Arays (Yale University Library) Esmerelda M. Kalé (Northwestern University) Mary R. Rader (University of Texas - Austin) Brian Vivier (University of Pennsylvania Libraries) Steven Witt (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) |
| 10:30 AM - Noon | Breakout Session II | |
 | II.A. CLAC as a Bridge to the Future: Spanning Boundaries and Building Networks This roundtable discussion, convened by the Chair of the Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum Consortium, will introduce and explore CLAC at three scales; (1) building campus networks that value and incorporate global knowledge across disciplines; (2) bringing multilingual and cross-cultural community partners into conversation with institutions of higher education; and (3) sustaining national networks in global education via professional development programming. | |
| II.B. From Campus to Community @ Pitt: Designing New Models for Internationally Engaged Scholarship & Learning In this session, we will look at how the University of Pittsburgh is leveraging historical strengths and current institutional priorities to create new models for outreach and community-engaged scholarship and teaching. We encourage you to explore the University’s world-famous Nationality and Heritage Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning during your time in Pittsburgh to better understand where we are starting from. | |
| TBD | II.C. Big Ten Academic Alliance Collaboration in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies The roundtable will explore partnerships through and beyond the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) and allow for discussion of our successes and challenges so far, share best practices for other institutions, and generate new ideas for future collaboration. | |
| II.D. Reimagining Area Studies: Sustaining Knowledge Production and Global Scholarship in Times of Uncertainty This roundtable will engage participants in a forward-thinking conversation about the future of International and Area Studies librarianship, emphasizing its deep interdependence with the evolution of international and area studies as academic fields. Bringing together librarians with expertise spanning African, East Asian, European, and Latin American Studies the session will explore the shared challenges and opportunities shaping both the library profession and the broader scholarly community. | |
| II.E. Communication, Collaboration, and Comparison Across Area Studies: A View from the Social Sciences Chair: Rudra Sil (University of Pennsylvania) Speakers Graeme Robertson (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) Erica Simmons (University of Wisconsin) Jan Kubik (Rutgers University) Amel Ahmed (University of Massachusetts) Ryan Saylor (University of Tulsa) Nora Fisher-Onar (University of San Francisco) Nicholas Rush-Smith (School of Oriental and African Studies) | |
| Noon - 1:30 PM | Lunch | |
| 1:30 - 2:45 PM | | 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM: Plenary Session VI. From Federal Funding to Institutional Innovation: Policy Schools Chart New Paths Forward Moderator: Carissa Slotterback (University of Pittsburgh) Speakers Allyssa Ayres (George Washington University) David Bosco (Indiana University) Scott Taylor (Boston University) |
| 3:00 - 4:30 PM | Breakout Session III | |
| III.A. African Languages in an Era of Shifting U.S. Global Priorities: Reframing Value, Relevance, and Resilience Chair: Filipo Gao Lubua (University of Pittsburgh) Speakers John Mugane (Harvard University) Zoliswa Mali (Boston University) Maryame Sy (Columbia University) | |
| III.B. Content-Driven Collaborations Promoting Global Citizenship Education The National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) has been creating professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers since 1998. As we enter a new phase of challenges affecting area and global studies, how can we use our experiences to ensure the current and next generation of teachers continue to learn and teach about the world? This panel will discuss different ways to work in partnerships and forge collaborations to create content-oriented outreach programs for K-12 teachers. | |
| III.C. Reimagining the Future of African Studies in Global Contexts This workshop explores the future of African Studies amid shifting geopolitical, intellectual, and technological contexts, bringing together scholars and practitioners to develop forward-looking strategies for reimagining the field as a dynamic, interdisciplinary, and globally-engaged center of knowledge production. | |
| III.D. Comparative Colonial Knowledge: Archives, Pedagogy, and the Future of Area Studies This panel brings together historians of four different imperial contexts—South Asia, Central Asia, and North Africa—to examine how colonial knowledge production shapes contemporary area studies research and teaching. Panelists will also demonstrate how comparative approaches to colonial knowledge production can strengthen area studies methodology, share practical pedagogical strategies, and foster cross-regional dialogue within area studies. | |
| III.E-1. Listening to the Next Generation: Student Voices, Value Narratives, and Funding the Future of Area Studies Organized by the REEES Undergraduate Think Tank, the roundtable session brings together faculty, administrators, and student representatives to examine how students understand the value of language learning and area studies, what barriers they face, and what forms of support, framing, and institutional structures they find most meaningful and impactful. | |
| Mobilizing Community Support for Area Studies Panelists will consider approaches to and strategies for interacting with parents of students, university alumni, and community organizations in fundraising and advocacy. | |
| 6:15 - 7:45 PM | | Breakout Sessions Reports |
| Dinner & Group Meetings by Area | ||
Sunday, May 10, 2026
| Time | Location/Modality | Session |
|---|---|---|
| 9:00 - 10:15 AM | | Plenary Session VII. Major Foundations on Philanthropy Now Moderator: TBD Speakers: TBD |
| 10:15 - 10:30 AM | TBD | Closing Remarks & Next Steps Moderator: TBD |