Columbus, OH, October 12-14, 2012

Rhetoric and Region: The Local Determinants of Literary Expression is the theme of the 2012 Association of Japanese Literary Studies to be held Oct. 12-14, 2012 at The Ohio State University. The theme of the conference will also be inclusive of a broad spectrum of papers and panels. It will provide a forum for those with an interest in individual writers and will also be inclusive of papers on a broad spectrum of genres: travel writing, poetry, diaries, memoirs, essays. In terms of the relation between linguistics, literature, and place, we anticipate panels both in classical and modern Japanese literature that concern non-standard usage, the representation of dialects, and such theoretical issues as the unique nature of the utterance in time and space, or the idea of chronotopes in relation to Japanese literature. Film, too, is a fruitful subject for exploration at this conference.

We encourage papers from those in a variety of disciplines and hope that the conference will be as inclusive as possible. Proposals may come either from individuals or from panels. Graduate students are especially welcome. Presentations may be delivered in either English or Japanese.

The deadline for panel, roundtable, and individual paper proposals is June 1, 2012.

Please address you proposal (including an abstract of 250 words) or queries to the program committee in care of stucky.7@osu.edu. A link to the conference website is found at http://japan.osu.edu.