Dear all,

We are seeking members for a 4-5 person panel on Women and Fan Cultures in Japan at the International Communication Association Preconference (Communicating with Cool Japan: New International Perspectives on Japanese Popular Culture) on June 8th, 2016, hosted by Waseda University.

Our tentative proposal is as follows:

What We Live For: Women, Identity, and Empowerment in Japanese Fan Cultures

Organizer: Adrienne Johnson, University of Tokyo

Current scholars in Japanese studies have produced impressive amounts of research on Japan-specific fan cultures and their expansion overseas; thanks to the internet even niche cultures can find significant audiences at home and abroad. Women’s presence within these fan cultures, however, remains largely under-unexplored, particularly outside of anime and manga fandoms. Despite pressures to marry and produce children, many Japanese women identify through their fannish performance and consumption, delaying or even altogether avoiding restrictive societal roles. As these fandoms and their targets of adulation now span the globe, their further investigation is highly significant to studies of Japanese Popular Culture.

We are primarily looking for works that do not focus solely on anime or manga fandom, but we are open to all ideas related to our general theme. We currently have presentations on Visual Kei and K-pop fan cultures.

The deadline for proposal submission is January 31st.

Please write me at adrienne.edo.johnson@gmail.com if you are interested in participating in this panel, and feel free to contact me with any questions. If participating, please submit your 150-200 word abstracts to me by January 27th to ensure time for editing.

Thank you!