First Notice for the 2nd Symposium on Local Cultural Studies in and for Education in China

In recent years, research in local studies has received widespread attention both at home and abroad. Local studies can be simply defined as a general term for disciplines named after places (or regional aliases) or places of interest, and its purpose is generally considered to be "to excavate, organize, and study the tangible or intangible cultural heritage of a specific geographical area for its unique historical, political, economic, social, and other aspects, to enable it to be better preserved and inherited ^[1]." The mission of local studies, as an interdisciplinary, comprehensive research discipline serving the local developments, can be summarized as studying the locals and cultivating the homeland; exploring the cultures and the gist of national spirits; preserving the heritages and enhancing the confidence; promoting the development and nurturing the pioneering mentality. According to statistics, there are about nearly 50 kinds of local studies across the country. Although some studies have defects in scientific and rigorous standardization ^[2], the interpretation, exploration, and promotion of the tangible or intangible cultural heritage of many cities and places in terms of history, politics, economy, society, and dialect, has brought opportunities to the local tourism industry.

The application of local cultural studies in the field of education is also becoming increasingly evident. Many museums, places of interest, and cultural tourism sites have established their unique mechanisms for local cultural education. There is a close link between local studies and school education. Local studies are concerned with the study of local culture, history, and traditions, and many of these are integrated into education to pass on and promote local culture through teaching activities and the preparation of teaching materials, and to cultivate in students a sense of identity and pride in their local culture. However, existing research and literature show that research and practice in this area of how local culture can be effectively integrated into the field of education are still relatively weak. As an independent discipline, many in-depth studies and research on local monuments, local history, humanities, geography, science and technology, and other cultural aspects naturally do not necessarily involve the integration of education. However, there is an urgent need to strengthen the research and discussion on how to effectively disseminate authentic and meaningful local cultural knowledge to the public under the specific environment and conditions of museums, scenic spots, and cultural tourism sites, and how to ensure the space for the implementation of the local culture curriculum in schools, the quality of teaching materials, and the educational methodology. For this reason, two years ago, our team started to work on how to effectively integrate local culture into the educational field.

In May 2022, our team hosted China's First Symposium on Local Studies and Education at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC). The symposium featured a total of five research topics, including 1) methods, norms, and purposes of local studies and education; 2) how local studies can be discussed through interdisciplinary, interregional, transnational, cross-professional, and cross-level research; 3) how local studies can preserve and transmit local cultures for the modern society; and 4) dialects, as well as 5) excellent traditional skills. Topics. Experts from UNNC, Shantou University, Dali University, and local scholars of local studies in Ningbo delivered keynote speeches and lectures at the symposium. The experts agreed on the importance of the development of local studies, and proposed research directions that need to be focused on in the coming years. It is against this background that we are organizing the second symposium, which aims to bring together scholars of local and international regional studies, as well as researchers and practitioners in education, media, and other humanities and social sciences, to exchange ideas and discuss how to help preserve and pass on regional, national, and even international cultural heritage, whether tangible or intangible, through the use of educational tools such as schools, museums, the media, key places of interest, and modern high-technology education, and to seek space for cooperative research and cooperation. We seek space and opportunities for collaborative research. As the title of the symposium suggests, our focus is on the current situation, challenges, and perspectives of integrating local cultures into education. To this end, the main topics of the symposium include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Research methodology, norms, and aims of research on local studies and inclusive education;
2. How local studies can contribute to the preservation and transmission of local cultures, dialects, and excellent traditional skills in modern societies through interdisciplinary, interregional, transnational, inter-professional, and cross-level research discussions;
3. Current situation, challenges and perspectives in the field of local studies and education in museums, media, places of interest, mobility, etc.
   
   • Application to museums, key historic interests and scenic sites, media, and mobile technologies reflecting the results of high-quality research in local studies education;
   • Educational methodologies reflecting high-quality local studies in museums, key historic interests and scenic sites, media, and mobile technologies;
   • Assessment of the educational effectiveness of high-quality local studies in museums, key historic interests and scenic sites, media, and mobile technologies.
4. How local studies can contribute to the educational reform of local curricula in schools [3], so that local curricula can more effectively contribute to the preservation and transmission of local culture, dialects, and excellent traditional skills.
   
   • Local studies and local curriculum content, teaching methods, and curriculum evaluation in schools (current status, challenges, and prospects);
   • Content, teaching methods and curriculum assessment (current situation, challenges and perspectives) of local studies and other school curricula (e.g. history, geography, foreign languages, etc.);
5. Main challenges in applying the findings of local studies to school education and the media.

References:

1. 王枫云,刘鉴萱,任亚萍 (2021) 当代中国地方学：发展模式与未来进路 [学习与实践], 6,116-126.
2. 范瑜容 (2020) 关于地方学发展中遵循学术规范的探究 [现代交际], 1, 252-253.
3. 韩宝江 (2017). 地方课程建设路在何方. [新课程研究], 11, 34-40.

Time: 8 June 2024

Venue: New International Conference Centre, UNNC

Resister now: Click

Organising Committee of the 2^nd Symposium on Local Cultural Studies in and for Education in China

• Dr Yanhui ZHANG, EdEn,UNNC (co-chair)
• Dr Lili ZHANG, NUFE (co-chair)
• Professor Anwei FENG, EdEn, UNNC
• Dr Dan SHI, EdEn, UNNC
• Ms Vivian YAN, LC, UNNC
• Dr Xiaoming SHI, NUFE
• Dr Yu YU, NBYG
• Dr Cheng YU, NIER

Special notes: 

• There is no registration fee for the symposium.
• We will provide certificates to all speakers.
• We have invited plenary speakers, including experts from Shantou University and Ningbo Studies.
• Please contact Luna Zhang if you need assistance with arranging accommodations.