This proposal, by Dr. Shu-min Huang of Iowa State University, requests funds to support a planning meeting between U.S. and Chinese anthropologists to present research and develop future collaborations on the Zang-Yi Corridor, a geographical zone that encompasses the Salween, Mekong and Yangtze Rivers and borders western and southwestern Sichuan Province, northeastern Yunnan Province, and eastern Tibetan/Zang Autonomous Region. This region has been subjected to rapid change under the Chinese government's current "Greatly Opening Up China's Western Regions" project. It thus provides an ideal research ground to assess how top-down economic development plans impact the diverse environments, peoples, and agencies in the area.
The meeting will be held from August 11-17, 2005 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The U.S. research team includes a gender-diverse mix of scholars, including one graduate student and one undergraduate student, from six universities. The Chinese counterpart team consists of a group of scholars from Sichuan University, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and other institutions. The meeting will include: presentations by participants on individual research interests and major accomplishments; identification of shared research topics; development of joint research collaborations; visits to local research institutions, archives and libraries; establishment of formal exchange protocols for faculty and graduate students; and establishment of a resource/information clearinghouse through the construction of a web-site.
