Introduction

Teach 3/11 is a participatory resource to help teachers and scholars locate and share educational resources about the historical contexts of scientific and technical issues related to the triple earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disasters in Japan.

• “What should I read?”
• “What should I teach?”
• “Who studies these issues?”

These represent a sample of the kinds of questions that have been directed at and among many Japan-watchers and analysts of science and technology since 3/11. As an independent initiative spurred by the hope of helping people find answers to such questions more quickly, Teach 3/11 is a participatory online project built in the spirit of international cooperation and solidarity that disaster recoveries depend upon, regardless where they occur. In partnership with the Forum for the History of Science in Asia, Teach 3/11 has a simple goal: to develop a list of teaching resources with the help of the the collective wisdom of scholars worldwide working at the intersections of history of science and technology and Asia.

Beginning on 14 April through the end of the month, we will make a post every weekday at 2:46 p.m. local time in Japan to remember the events that have since unfolded. We will also field the receipt of citation suggestions during our first phase of development through a self-imposed deadline of April 22nd in order to post the most relevant information about references, readings, and audio-visual materials to aid teachers interested in the most pertinent history of science and technology resources in the wake of 3/11 current events.  In our second phase of development, we will work on preparing contributed material for continued online postings, which will collectively result in an online teaching resource.

Beginning with materials in English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese, our hope is to make Teach 3/11 as useful as possible for fellow educators everywhere. Here’s a sample of the kind of entries we’re aiming to compile. We’re also interested in compiling a list of study questions for students. Click here to get started.

Our lines of communication are open to the community. Contact teach3eleven [at] gmail [dot] com or @teach_311 to reach us. Bookmark and check teach311.org as we make continual updates. As we increase our digital capacity, please stay tuned and help spread the word!

Thank you for participating in Teach 3/11.

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Banner image: A house floats intact in the Pacific Ocean, washed out to sea by the tsunami of March 11, 2011.  Credit: US Navy