Each Monday evening during the Fall of 2022, I looked forward to my trek to the Frick Fine Arts Building. Located in the upstairs corner was HAA 1641: Modern and Contemporary Chinese Art, a course that perfectly blended my interests in Asian and contemporary art. As I learned about ink painting and calligraphy or Mao Zedong and portraiture, I formed a connection with my professor, Dr. Michelle McCoy whom I would grow a relationship with during my time at Pitt. Dr. McCoy is a historian of Chinese and Inner Asian art, particularly in relationship to religion and science. My interests in Buddhist sculpture and depictions initially led me to reach out to her for an Honors Thesis in the History of Art & Architecture Department, but because of scheduling conflicts and time constraints, I was unable to pursue these goals. Instead, I proposed the idea of helping incorporate Southeast Asian works and discussions into HAA 0020: Intro to Asian Art through the CUTF. The fellowship allows me to explore my previous interests in Buddhist art alongside Dr. McCoy, as I learn more about Southeast Asia and Southeast Asian art.

Fun fact: sculptures typically portrayed the Buddha as either standing or sitting, but the first known sculpture of the Buddha walking was found in Southeast Asia! In modern-day Thailand, the Sukhothai walking Buddha statue conveyed the Buddha’s compassion and serenity and helped Thai kings connect to their people.

For other students who want to get involved in teaching, I would suggest first reaching out to professors that you’ve had in the past, so that it’s not as scary or overwhelming. All of the faculty that I have talked to have been extremely supportive of both my personal and professional goals! Faculty members have a broad network of connections and can help point you in the right direction—whether that be by workshopping your ideas with you or by providing contact information of a researcher or other faculty member who specializes in your area of interest.

Once you move from student to collaborator or instructor, it can be a little intense or daunting. I found that keeping in regular contact with your faculty mentor will provide immense support and help make your overarching goals more feasible. When I first started researching Southeast Asian art, I was overwhelmed by the amount of material and different objects in existence, but Dr. McCoy shared resources and starting points for my research, which made me feel more at ease. Since then, I have enjoyed the flexibility of choosing objects I’m curious about and learning about topics that truly interest me. The CUTF has allowed me to dive deeper into Southeast Asian art than I would have been able to as a student in a traditional art history course, and I am excited for what the rest of this semester looks like!