The 52nd Annual Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Region Association for Asian Studies (MAR/AAS) was held at the University of Delaware’s Newark campus on November 2 and 3, 2024. Two Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures faculty — Haihong Yang, associate professor of Chinese and 2024 president of MAR/AAS, and Frank Mondelli, assistant professor of Japanese studies — organized the conference.

The conference theme, “Interdisciplinary Asia: Bridges to New Opportunities,” highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in Asian Studies and encouraged scholars from various academic backgrounds to explore the challenges and opportunities within the field.

The conference featured keynote speakers Bill Einreinhofer, an Emmy Award-winning producer and director, Nancy Peluso, vice president of the Association for Asian Studies and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Yuanchong Wang from UD’s History Department. The conference also included a teaching forum focused on integrating pop culture into K–12 education about Asia. This event aimed to provide educators with tools and methodologies to make Asian studies more accessible and engaging for younger students.

Around 115 scholars presented on the 30 panels during the weekend. The panels featured a wide range of topics, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of Asian studies, and provided a platform for scholars to present their research and share insights. The strong support from UD’s Office of the Provost, College of Arts and Sciences, Center for Global and Area Studies (CGAS), Asian Studies Program, Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (DLLC) as well as efforts of all participants and organizers ensured the success of the conference and continued the tradition of excellence in the field.