Workshop: Comparative perspectives on body materiality and structure in the history of Sinitic and East Asian medicines

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Paula

call for papers [150-2]Workshop announcement: “Comparative perspectives on body materiality and structure

in the history of Sinitic and East Asian medicines”, October 2-4 2015,  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Co-sponsored by The Wellcome Trust/”Beyond Tradition” Project at EASTmedicine, University of Westminster, London; the American Council of Learned Societies/Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange; and the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

Description and goals

How did practitioners of East Asian medicine historically understand the material structures of the human body?  How did ideas from the Chinese (Sinitic) tradition compare to and interact with ideas from other healing traditions?  How did different actors create, assess, and disseminate knowledge about bodily structure, and how were perceptions of bodily structure intertwined with ideas about health, illness, and therapeutics?  Our workshop will address these questions in order to investigate an important—yet widely neglected–epistemological dynamic in the development of medicine in the East Asian region.

East Asian medical texts historically contained numerous discussions of the body’s structures and material components.  However, the scholarly tendency has been to assess these historical portrayals in terms of their distance from or similarity to the ideas of Western anatomical science.  Our workshop will challenge this interpretative bias by investigating East Asian views of the structural and material body on their own terms, taking them seriously as a form of knowledge that informed what healers believed and how they practiced. Our aim is to arrive at a better understanding of East Asian medicines while shifting the current analytical frameworks that bias cross-cultural comparisons of the body.

Invited participants:

Paper presenters: Paul Buell (Charite Medical School), Susan Burns (University of Chicago), Wong Seok Cha (Kyunghee Univ.), Shih-ch’i Chin (National Chengchi Univ.), Leslie DeVries (Univ. of Westminster),  Jianmin Li (Academia Sinica), Andreas Niehaus (Univ. of Ghent), Katharina Sabernig (Medical Univ. of Vienna), C. Pierce Salguero (The State Abington College of the Pennsylvania State Univ.), Volker Scheid (Univ. of Westminster), C. Michele Thompson (Southern Connecticut State Univ.), Daniel Trambaiolo (Univ. of Hong Kong), Yi-Li Wu (Univ. of Westminster/Univ. of Michigan), Ronit Yoeli-Tlalim (Univ. of London), Kiebok Yi (Univ. of Westminster).

Commentators: Juhn Young Ahn (Univ. of Michigan), Miranda Brown (Univ. of Michigan), Henry Buchtel (Lotus Center/Michigan Association for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine), Aileen Das (Univ. of Michigan), Michael Sappol (National Library of Medicine), Hitomi Tonomura (Univ. of Michigan), Suzanna Zick (Univ. of Michigan)

For further details, contact Yi-Li Wu yiliwu@umich.edu or see the workshop website at https://sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/bodymaterialityoct2015/

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Job Opening: Karashima Tsukasa Endowed Professorship of Japanese Language and Culture.

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Paula

job opening - 5The University of Montana invites applications for an Associate Professor, tenure-track position in Japanese to begin August 2016. This position, in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, is the Karashima Tsukasa Endowed Professorship of Japanese Language and Culture. UM, the College of Humanities and Sciences, and the Department embrace diversity as a core value. Applications from persons with diverse backgrounds are especially welcome. The successful candidate will be an established scholar in the field of Japanese studies, with a PhD or equivalent qualification in a Japan-related field.  A substantial record of publication and research is essential. Candidates with expertise and research interests in Japanese language pedagogy, linguistics, or Japanese literature and cultural studies are particularly encouraged to apply.  The successful candidate’s teaching duties will include undergraduate-level courses in his or her area of academic specialization, as well as courses in Japanese language; as such, a strong commitment to Japanese language education and prior experience teaching undergraduate-level courses in Japanese language are particularly desirable.

Located in Missoula, Montana, the University of Montana is the state’s flagship liberal arts institution, with approximately 13,000 students. The Japanese section hosts one of the largest language majors at the university, offering both a major and minor in Japanese and numerous study abroad opportunities with partner universities in Japan. In addition to teaching and research responsibilities, the successful candidate will be expected to take on a leadership and mentoring role as Head of the Japanese Section, to assist in co-ordinating student study abroad programs, and to advise students and Japan-related student groups on campus.

Established to honor the connections between Kumamoto and Missoula in 1991 through a generous donation from Mr. Karashima Tsukasa, then president and director-general of the Foreign Language Academy in Kumamoto, the Karashima Endowed Professorship reflects the University of Montana’s strong commitment to the study of Japanese language and culture.

Native/near-native fluency in Japanese and English required. Supporting materials for the application are listed below.

Screening will begin on Oct 1, 2015 and continue until position is filled. Applications received by September 30, 2015 will be guaranteed consideration.

 

How to Apply

Applicants are required to submit the following materials online via “New Resume/CV” button below (this is available athttps://university-montana-hr.silkroad.com/epostings/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.jobinfo&jobid=1349&company_id=16254&version=1&source=ONLINE&jobOwner=992276&aid=1).

.  Step 5 “Attachments” in the online application process is where you may upload additional materials.

Only five (5) attachments are allowed per application. Please combine documents accordingly.

*   Letter of intent

*   Curriculum Vitae (CV)

*   Statement of teaching philosophy

*   Recent and/or representative peer-reviewed publications

*   Evidence of effective teaching (such as recent teaching evaluations, sample syllabi, etc.)

*   The names of three (3) referees who can address the candidate’s teaching and research record

Criminal Background Investigation is required prior to Offer of Employment In accordance with University policy, finalists for this position will be subject to criminal background investigations. ADA/EOE/AA/Veteran’s Preference Reasonable accommodations are provided in the hiring process for persons with disabilities. For example, this material is available in alternative format upon request. As an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer, we encourage applications from minorities, veterans, and women. Qualified candidates may request veterans’ or disabilities preference in accordance with state law. References *References not listed on the application materials may be contacted; notice may be provided to the applicant.Testing Individual hiring departments at UM-M may elect to administer pre-employment tests, which are relevant to essential job functions. Employment Eligibility. All New Employees must be eligible and show employment eligibility verification by the first date of employment at UM, as legally required (e.g., Form I-9).

For the full ad and to apply, please visit:

https://university-montana-hr.silkroad.com/epostings/index.cfm?fuseaction=app.jobinfo&jobid=1349&company_id=16254&version=1&source=ONLINE&jobOwner=992276&aid=1

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Book Announcement: Yasukuni Shrine: History, Memory, and Japan’s Unending Postwar

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Paula

yasukuniYasukuni Shrine: History, Memory, and Japan’s Unending Postwar

Author: Takenaka, Akiko

This is the first extensive English-language study of Yasukuni Shrine as a war memorial. It explores the controversial shrine’s role in waging war, promoting peace, honoring the dead, and, in particular, building Japan’s modern national identity. It traces Yasukuni’s history from its conceptualization in the final years of the Tokugawa period and Japan’s wars of imperialism to the present. Author Akiko Takenaka departs from existing scholarship on Yasukuni by considering various themes important to the study of war and its legacies through a chronological and thematic survey of the shrine, emphasizing the spatial practices that took place both at the shrine and at regional sites associated with it over the last 150 years. Rather than treat Yasukuni as a single, unchanging ideological entity, she takes into account the social and political milieu, maps out gradual transformations in both its events and rituals, and explicates the ideas that the shrine symbolizes.

Takenaka illuminates the ways the shrine’s spaces were used during wartime, most notably in her reconstructions, based on primary sources, of visits by war-bereaved military families to the shrine during the Asia-Pacific War. She also traces important episodes in Yasukuni’s postwar history, including the filing of lawsuits against the shrine and recent attempts to reinvent it for the twenty-first century. Through a careful analysis of the shrine’s history over one and a half centuries, her work views the making and unmaking of a modern militaristic Japan through the lens of Yasukuni Shrine.

Yasukuni Shrine: History, Memory, and Japan’s Unending Postwar is a skilled and innovative examination of modern and contemporary Japan’s engagement with the critical issues of war, empire, and memory. It will be of particular interest to readers of Japanese history and culture as well as those who follow current affairs and foreign relations in East Asia. Its discussion of spatial practices in the life of monuments and the political use of images, media, and museum exhibits will find a welcome audience among those engaged in memory, visual culture, and media studies.

10 black & white illustrations
296pp. July 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8248-4678-7

Table of Contents:

Introduction

  1. Mobilizing Death: Developing the Myth of Yasukuni
  2. Institutionalizing Joy: Turning War into Spectacle at Yasukuni Shrine
  3. Networks of Grief and Pride: Yasukuni Shrine in Regional Japan
  4. Institutionalizing Grief: Yasukuni Shrine and Total War
  5. Who has the Right to Mourn? Politics of Enshrinement at Yasukuni Shrine
  6. Mobilizing Memories: Postmemorial Conservatism at Yasukuni Today

Epilogue: Contesting Memories: Yasukuni Shrine as a Countermonument

Author information:

Akiko Takenaka is associate professor of Japanese History at the University of Kentucky.

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Job Opening: East Asian religions, Northwestern University

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Paula

job opening - 5Institution:      Northwestern University, Religious Studies Department
Location:         Illinois, United States
Position:          Assistant Professor in East Asian Religions

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY, The Department of Religious Studies invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track appointment beginning September 1, 2016 at the rank of Assistant Professor for a specialist in the study of East Asian religions of any period, geographical region, or religious tradition. The department welcomes applicants with diverse research interests, such as classical texts, lived religious practice, material culture, and others. Candidates must demonstrate expertise in the relevant research languages and combine their research interests with questions of theory and method in the study of religion. The successful candidate will contribute to the graduate and undergraduate programs of a religious studies department, including responsibility for introductory courses in Buddhism. Please send in PDF format a cover letter, 3 letters of recommendation, CV, and writing sample no longer than 25 pages. Applications must be submitted online and will be given primary consideration if received by October 25, 2015.

For details on preparing the application and applying online, please visit http://www.religion.northwestern.edu and feel free to contact us with questions at religion@northwestern.edu.

Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Hiring is contingent upon eligibility to work in the United States.

Contact: religion@northwestern.edu

Website: http://www.religion.northwestern.edu

 

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Job Opening: Asian studies, University of Tokyo

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Paula

job opening - 5Institution:            University of Tokyo, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia
Location:              Japan
Position:               Associate Professor

The Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (IASA 東洋文化研究所) at the University of Tokyo has an opening for an associate professor in its Department of Pioneering Asian Studies. This department was created on 1 April 2011 with the objective of developing new perspectives in the field of Asian studies through 1) venturing in new fields of research and/or 2) adopting innovative methodologies. (Please visit our website for more information on IASA.http://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp .) The successful candidate will teach in related faculties and graduate schools.

Qualifications: Candidates should hold a doctor degree in humanities or social sciences and should be engaged in research related to Asia. They must furthermore have a proven track record of publications of international repute. Proficiency in Japanese language is not required, but the successful candidate will be expected to participate in the daily administration of the Institute.

Stipend and benefits: In accordance with the regulations stipulated by the University.

Expected date of appointment: 1 October 2016 or as soon as possible thereafter

Term of office: Five years (with no possibility of extension)

Documents for application:
1. A Curriculum Vitae (please use the University of Tokyo standard resume form, which may be downloaded fromhttp://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/news/jobs/)
2. A list of publication (in any format) and a copy of applicant’s most important works (up to three).
3. A copy of applicant’s final degree diploma.
4. An essay describing your research achievements (maximum 2,000 words in English or 4,000 characters in Japanese).
5. An essay describing your research topic and research plan for the next five years. Please state clearly your research title and what you intend to accomplish while you are at the Institute given the mandate of the department stipulated above. (Maximum 2,000 words in English or 4,000 characters in Japanese)

Application and deadline: All applications must reach us by post (registered mail) at the following address by November 30, 2015. E-mail applications cannot be considered.

Director
Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (Toyo-Bunka Kenkyusho)
The University of Tokyo
7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan

Selection Process: All successful candidates after the first screening will be notified of the interview date and time via e-mail. Interviews are scheduled for February 18, 2016. All costs, including travel and accommodation, will be fully borne by the applicant.

Enquiries: e-mail only at koubo03 @ ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Enquiries by telephone only in Japanese language.

Notes:
1) Materials submitted for the application will not be returned.
2) Personal information received through this application process will not be used for any other purposes.
3) The University of Tokyo is an equal opportunity employer.

Contact:           Enquiries: e-mail only at koubo03 [at mark] ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp

(In the above address, please replace [at mark] with @)

Enquiries by telephone only in Japanese language.

Website:          http://www.ioc.u-tokyo.ac.jp/recruit/index.html

 

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Job Opening: Modern Asian History, National University of Singapore

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Paula

job opening - 5Institution:  National University of Singapore, Department of History
Location:     Singapore
Position:      Full Professor, National University of Singapore, Department of History

The George E. Bogaars Professorship in History

The Department of History at the National University of Singapore (NUS) will make a tenured appointment at the senior Professorial level in Modern Asian History. This will be an endowed research oriented Professorship named after George Edwin Bogaars. Mr. Bogaars was one of the most distinguished Singaporeans of the Pioneer Generation that lay the grounds for the independent Republic, a key architect of the Singapore civil service, and one of the most eminent graduates of the Department of History, NUS.

The Department will appoint a scholar of the highest international caliber, working on topics that relate to Singapore or Southeast Asia in particular, or modern Asia in general. Applications by scholars with research interests in the history of political economy, maritime trade, state building, or international relations are especially welcome. The successful candidate will have a strong publication record, contribute to teaching at the graduate and senior undergraduate levels, and provide research leadership within the department. A highly competitive package of remuneration and benefits will be offered, tailored to the appointee.

According to the QS Rankings 2015, the Department of History, NUS, ranked first in Asia and number 22 among history departments worldwide. It counts over 30 faculty members with research interests in various aspects of Asian, European, American and transnational histories. The George E. Bogaars Professor of History will further strengthen the Department’s research profile, and advance its vision to be recognized as a first rank university history department providing leadership in the study of all aspects of Asian history.

The application dossier should include a full CV, a letter explaining why the position is of interest, and the names of six academic referees. In addition, candidates will need to submit a Personal Data Consent Form, which can be downloaded at the link below. There is no deadline for applications, which will be received until an appointment is made. Please submit documents, soft and hard copy, to:

Professor Brian P. Farrell
Head, Department of History
National University of Singapore
11 Arts Link
AS1-05-38
Singapore 117570
Email: hishead@nus.edu.sg

Visit our websites at http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/ for more information on the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, andhttp://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/hist/ for more information on the Department of History. The Personal Data Consent Form can be found at the following link: http://www.nus.edu.sg/careers/potentialhires/applicationprocess/NUS-Personal-Data-Consent-for-Job-Applicants.pdf

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Fun Link Friday: Cherry-Blossom Stones (Sakura Ishi)

Posted on September 18, 2015 by LM

For the science enthusiasts among us, I present sakura ishi, the “cherry-blossom stone.”

Dr. John Rakovan of Miami University (Ohio) has published work on these stones which occur in Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture.

Science Alert describes them as

So-called because when you crack them open, their internal cross-sections look like tiny golden-pink flowers, cherry blossom stones (sakura ishi in Japanese) get their beautiful patterns from mica, which is a commonly found silicate mineral known for its shiny, light-reflecting surface.

These flower patterns weren’t always made of mica. They started their existence as a complex matrix of six prism-shaped crystal deposits of a magnesium-iron-aluminium composite called cordierite, radiating out from a single dumbbell-shaped crystal made from a magnesium-aluminium-silicate composite called indialite in the centre.

“Although the sakura are ephemeral in their beauty, lasting only a few weeks each year,” says Rakovan, “their image has been set in stone in the sakura ishi of Kameoka.”

Via Amusing Planet, via Science Alert, via Taylor & Francis Online

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Workshop: ‘Leftover’ and ‘Stale’ Women: A Graduate Student Workshop on Gender Inequality in Contemporary China and Japan

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Paula

call for papers [150-2]The University of San Francisco Center for Asia Pacific Studies invites graduate students to participate in its Tuesday, October 6, 2015 workshop, “‘Leftover’ and ‘Stale’ Women:  A Graduate Student Workshop on Gender Inequality in Contemporary China and Japan.”

In East Asia, and many other parts of the world, highly educated women are electing to remain single to focus on their careers and live more independent lives. Education and economic freedom have also allowed women to become more selective in their choice of a life partner. Once past the acceptable age of marriage though, these women face condemnation and ridicule from societies in which strong beliefs regarding traditional family structures are deeply ingrained.  With this workshop, the Center aims to provide a forum for the discussion of  the labeling of these unmarried women as “leftover” in China and as “Christmas cakes” in Japan.

Participating Scholars:

Susan Holloway, Professor, Cognition and Development, School of Education, University of California Berkeley

Leta Hong Fincher, Lecturer, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and author of Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China.

Sponsored in part by a grant from the USF President’s Advisory Committee on the Status of Women. Co-sponsored by the USF Master in Asia Pacific Studies (MAPS) program.

Interested graduate students are welcome to apply to participate in the workshop.

Space is limited.

Date:  Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2015
Time:  6:00-8:00 p.m.
Place:  University of San Francisco (location TBA)

Networking reception and dinner:  5:00 p.m.

A small number of travel grants ($150 max) will be available to assist participants traveling to USFfrom outside of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Interested graduate students should send an email to ahdzida@usfca.edu (subject line:  Leftover Women Workshop) with the following information:

Name
Affiliation
Year in program
Deadline for receipt of applications:  Friday, Sept. 25, 2015

(Applications will be read on a rolling basis starting Sept. 21, 2015)

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Call for Papers: Networks and Negotiations, UCSB Graduate Student Conference on Premodern Japan

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Paula

call for papers [150-2]Networks and Negotiations: UCSB Graduate Student Conference on Premodern Japan, February 12-13, 2016

This conference aims to explore the relationships between individuals, institutions, polities, and frameworks in premodern Japan. With the theme of “networks and negotiations” in mind, we aim to expand our understanding of the construction and maintenance of complex connections between diverse groups and how they shaped the premodern history of Japan.

We welcome proposals for panels and individual papers from graduate students working on pre-Meiji Japan in any discipline within the humanities and social sciences. Proposal topics may include, but are not limited to the following: shrine and temple networks, domestic and international diplomacy, travel and travel culture within and without Japan, economic organization, and artistic networks.

Please send a 200-word abstract and brief biography to Travis Seifman and Emily Simpson at ucsbnetworksandnegotiations@googlegroups.comby November 1, 2015.

I look forward to hearing from you, and would be happy to answer any questions you may have, either at this email address (tseifman@umail.ucsb.edu) or at the one above.

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Job Opening: East Asian Languages and Literatures, and Humanities, Yale University

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Paula

job opening - 5Institution:            Yale University, East Asian Languages and Literatures, and the Humanities Program
Location:              Connecticut, United States
Position:               Assistant Professor

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and the Humanities Program seek to make the joint tenure-track appointment of an assistant professor, to begin July 2016. The appointee will teach undergraduate and graduate courses in EALL and also undergraduate courses suited for the interdisciplinary Humanities Program.  We seek a scholar of outstanding promise who engages intensively with Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Inner Asian primary materials.  Since this is a fully joint appointment, the successful applicant will demonstrate abilities and research interests in both the East Asian and broader humanistic contexts as well as a commitment to interdisciplinary dialogue with other departments and programs.  The period, field, and specialization are open.

More information on these programs can be found at eall.yale.edu and http://humanities.yale.edu

We welcome applications from scholars who already hold teaching positions, as well as recent PhDs and those who expect their PhD by the time of appointment. Yale University is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer. Yale values diversity among its students, staff, and faculty and strongly welcomes applications from women, underrepresented minorities, protected veterans, and persons with disabilities.

Submit letter of application, curriculum vitae, a chapter-length writing sample prepared for blind reading, and three letters of references through Interfolio.

Review of applications will begin on November 15, 2015, and will continue until the position is filled.

Contact:           Tina Lu, Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures, tina.lu@yale.edu

Website:          http://apply.interfolio.com/30800

 

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