The International Association for Japan Studies (IAJS)
2018 Guidelines for Submitting Conference Proposals
J.A.P.A.N ‛in Bits’

International Association of Japanese Studies, 2018 J.A.P.A.N ‘in Bits’ December 1-2, Toyo, University, Tokyo Applications must be sent by October 31, 2018 to s_maezaki@yahoo.co.jp

More information:　http://www.iajs.net/cfp.html

CFP

Since the latter half of the 20th century, the assumption that nations possess an organic unity has been increasingly challenged as supporting entrenched hierarchies and naturalizing the power of the state while masking violence and oppression. Assumptions of a people unified across time and space by a monolithic culture have been cast into doubt more recently by the erosion of liberal democratic structures, the rise of transnational hyper-capitalism and epochal changes in communication, information and human migration flows. In order to theorize how analyses premised on the nation have foreclosed alternative approaches, the theme of this year’s IAJS conference is “J.A.P.A.N in Bits.” We invite papers that consider how the claim of a singular Japan—past, present and future—has been ripped apart and fragmented into parts that are impossible to conceive as a recoverable totality. We are asking the question: Can we detect fractured and ‘othered’ j.a.p.a.n.s?

In order to seek a path beyond the hopeless, the incurable, the ruined and the cynical, we ask presenters to imagine the future becoming of j.a.p.a.n.(s). What flux of identities might seep out from the breaches and outlets? What must be resisted and what must be summoned forth? While we hope to gather scholars researching seemingly irresolvable ‘bits’—such as the Fukushima nuclear power issue; Okinawa and the American military; structures of ethnic, cultural and gendered oppression; the hikikomori syndrome and rising precarity—we also invite research that detects hairline fractures signaling something affirmative to come. We challenge scholars to delve into catastrophic crises to engage in utopian, imaginative projections or thought experiments, involving art, anime and manga, architecture, film, literature, philosophy, science fiction, and social practice. Scholars are also invited to consider issues connected with activation points, political incitement, social confrontation and ecological defiance.

More information：　

The 2018 Conference of the IAJS will be held on Saturday, Toyo University for December 1st and 2nd in Tokyo. Applicants wishing to submit proposals for conference papers should follow the guidelines below：

• Proposals should be sent by e-mail in plain text and with an attached text file.
• Application should be sent by 31 October, 2018 to the address below:
  §  E-mail : s_maezaki@yahoo.co.jp
  §  Address : The International Association for Japan Studies (IAJS)
  c/o Dr. Shinya Maezaki, Kyoto Women’s University
  35 Kitahiyoshi-cho, Imakumano, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto. 605-8501, Japan
  §  Tel＆Fax : ＋81-75-531-7250

[Name]

For a Japanese name, both in Japanese and English.

For a foreign name, both in foreign and Katakana.

[Institution]

If relevant, include Rank (e.g. Professor, Associate Professor, Ph.D.Cand.).

If the institution is in Japan, then the name should be given in both English and Japanese.

[Title of Paper]

In English and Japanese.

[Précis]

In English, 300 words or less.

[Brief CV]

In English or Japanese.

[Publication]

Title of one book or one article (with title, year of publication, name of the journal, etc.).

[Research Field or Topic]

[Nationality]

[Contact Address]

Name, address, e-mail, and telephone number.

[Conference Presentation Fee]

All the members are free to participate in the IAJS conferences. Conference Presentation Fee for non-members is 5,000 yen