Call for Papers: Mobilities & Temporalities: Rethinking Migrant Trajectories and Transnational Lifestyles in the Asian Context

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Paula

call for papers [150-2]Location:  Singapore

In recent years, the so-called ‘mobilities turn’ has had considerable impact on the study of migration and transnationalism. Ushered in as a new paradigm within the social sciences, it presents a new way of looking at social phenomena through the prism of mobility. While on the one hand a direct response to the often static approach in social sciences towards the idea of ‘movement’ itself – largely treating it as a given, something that needed no further explanation or thought – the paradigm shift is also an endeavour to engage with the speeding up of the mobility of people, goods and ideas in general. ‘Mobilities’ as such has become synonymous with an acceleration of economic, social and cultural life.

Migration scholars however have also noted that the renewed focus on ‘mobilities’ is not necessarily new. The introduction of the concept of transnationalism two decades ago can be thought of as an earlier ‘turn’ towards a ‘mobilities’ oriented perspective within the study of migration itself. Where migration trajectories were once imagined along rather uni-directional linear pathways, during the 1990s, the focus gradually moved to spotlight the transnational character of many migrants’ lives and livelihoods. In Asia, the availability of budget airlines and cheap air-tickets allowed migrants to return home much more frequently than ever before. In addition new developments in telecommunications made it possible to stay in touch with family and friends on a daily basis over transnational space. This presented a fundamental change in the migration experience and demanded a response from researchers.

Building upon the transnationalism optic and the more recent ‘mobilities’ turn, this workshop seeks to advance the migration literature in two ways:

  • First, it seeks to understand how migrant trajectories coalesce with pathways of upward or downward social mobility. How is social mobility experienced by people on the move in Asia and how is it strategized as part of transnational migration trajectories?
  • Second, in the context of migration regimes in Asia where temporary migration predominates, recent studies have started to flag how an increasing number of migrants are in essence ‘permanently’ temporary while migrations are continually ‘circular’. How do migrants navigating temporary or circular migration pathways engage notions of transience and permanence, and the many gradations of temporary or partial membership in(-between) home and host societies? How do temporalities impact the engagement with local/transnational space and place?

REQUIREMENTS OF PROPOSALS & DATE OF SUBMISSION

For this workshop we are primarily interested in Asia-focused papers that build upon strong ethnographic material and that seek to make a conceptually bold and innovative contribution to the discussion on mobilities and migration/transnationalism. We particularly welcome contributions from the fields of anthropology, sociology and geography. If your work is mainly quantitative or historical in nature you might not be a good fit for this workshop. If your paper is selected, the Asia Research Institute will cover your airfare and accommodation.

Paper proposals should include a title, an abstract (250 words maximum) and a brief personal biography of 150 words for submission by 1 October 2015. Please send your proposals to Ms Tay Minghua at minghua.tay@nus.edu.sg.

Successful applicants will be notified by November 2015 and will be required to send in a completed draft paper (5,000 – 8,000 words) by 1 February 2016.
CONVENORS

Dr Michiel Baas
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
E | arimba@nus.edu.sg
Prof Brenda S.A. Yeoh
Asia Research Institute, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences,
and Department of Geography, National University of Singapore
E | geoysa@nus.edu.sg

Contact Info:

Ms TAY Minghua

Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
469A Bukit Timah Road, Tower Block #10-01
Singapore 259770

T | (65) 6516 4224

Contact Email:
minghua.tay@nus.edu.sg

URL:
http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/Seminars/events.html

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Job Opening: Vassar College, Assistant Professor, East Asian History

Posted on September 12, 2015 by Paula

job opening - 5Vassar College, History

Assistant Professor, East Asian History

East Asia.  The Department of History at Vassar College invites applications for a full time tenure-track appointment in East Asian History at the rank of assistant professor beginning August 2016.  Vassar College is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. Members of historically underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply.  Vassar is strongly committed to fostering a community that reflects the values of a liberal arts education and to promoting an environment of equality, inclusion and respect for difference.

Specialization in either modern China or modern Japan is required; ability to teach in the other area, whether China or Japan, is also expected.  Appointment includes teaching in Vassar’s Program in Asian Studies; broader interest in multidisciplinary teaching is welcome.  Teaching load in the first year is four courses; after that it is five courses per year.  PhD and teaching experience required.  Interviews of selected candidates will be conducted at the AHA annual meeting.   Candidates are asked to submit a letter of application, a current C.V., graduate school transcript (unofficial copies accepted for initial application), and three letters of recommendation. Review of applications will begin November 1, 2015.

Please send queries to Prof. Robert Brigham, Search Committee Chair (robrigham@vassar.edu).

To apply, please visit http://employment.vassar.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=51873

 

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Fun Link Friday: Giant Straw Dinosaurs

Posted on September 11, 2015 by Paula

Last year in October we had the chance to show you some of Ehime’s giant straw boars made by local residents and professors. This year, September has brought us the Wara Art Festival in Niigata. There, the locals took the straw from their year’s harvest and made spectacular giant straw dinosaurs (among other enormous beasts, such as crabs and cobras!).

dinostraw

There’s a number of great pictures from twitter users who worked on or visited the project, including some shots of the works in progress, so be sure to check it out at the original Kotaku article here!

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Call for Papers: MCAA-Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Paula

call for papers [150-2]Date: October 16, 2015 to October 18, 2015

Location: Missouri, United States

The Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures is pleased to host the 64th Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA) from October 16 – 18, 2015 at Washington University in St. Louis.

A regional conference of the Association of Asian Studies (AAS), MCAA has provided a forum for scholars and teachers of Asian Studies in the Midwest to gather and exchange knowledge about the history and cultures of Asia for over a half-century. The conference will feature individual paper presentations, as well as panels, and diamond sessions, and roundtables at which faculty, graduate and undergraduate students will present and discuss new research and pedagogical tools.

Dr. Timothy Brook (AAS President and Professor of History, University of British Columbia) will present the keynote speech on October 17 at the conference banquet.  Please see the website for a full conference program.  The early registration deadline is September 15.  All attendees must be registered members of MCAA.

Contact Info:

Krystel Mowery, EALC Administrative Assistant
East Asian Languages and Cultures
Washington University in St. Louis
314-935-4448

Contact Email:

ealc@wustl.edu

URL:

http://ealc.wustl.edu/mcaa

 

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Call for Writers: Articles, Resource Review, Fun Links

Posted on September 10, 2015 by Paula

Here at What can I do with a B.A. in Japanese Studies? (Shinpai Deshou) we aim to provide people with as much information on using Japanese in academic and professional fields as possible, but our limited number of writers can make it difficult to keep up with our own full-time work schedules.

Therefore, we would like to welcome one-time and/or regular (monthly or bi-monthly) writers in three different areas:

Main Articles:

These are 3-6 page articles that offer information or advice for people (students to professionals) in the Japan field. Share your experiences and knowledge with others! For examples, see this page.

Length: One-time or more!

We are interested in people who:

  • Work or have worked in professional settings in or related to Japan
  • Have worked at or with translation companies (we get a lot of questions about this!)
  • Have experience with Japan-related societies
  • Have experience with Japan-related NPOs in the US or abroad
  • Work in an academic setting in the US or Japan
  • Have any other ideas about an article (or articles!) they would like to write that relates to their experiences in the Japanese field

Resource reviews:

These articles are 1-2 pages long, and offer brief introductions to an online resource (both academic and non-academic) related to the Japan field. Oftentimes these are websites, databases, museum catalogs, etc. For examples, see this page, this page, and this page.

Length: One-time; once or twice monthly

We are interested in people who:

  • Would like to write reviews of/introductions to online resources specifically geared towards information on Japan/Japanese language**
  • Would like to review/introduce their own university or business’s useful resource

** we actually have a lot of these backlogged we could provide a writer!

Fun Link Fridays:

These mini-articles, 1-3 paragraphs in length, focus on something culturally fun or recently newsworthy having to do with Japan. These can be cultural events, new gadgets, online language games, Japan-events highlighted in the news, etc. They’re quick to write and fun to search for down the rabbit-hole of the internet. For examples see this page.

Length: One-time; once or twice monthly

We are interested in people who:

  • Would like to share their fun (and appropriate!) internet findings having to do with Japan from a variety of sites around the web

===

As you can probably tell, this is voluntary work, and we can offer no compensation but good karma for helping make Shinpai Deshou one of the best websites out there for Japan-field resources and information.  Our writing requirements are low-maintenance and more details can be provided upon contact. Please consider becoming a part of our team!

Interested parties can reach us at shinpai.deshou@gmail.com

 

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Call for Papers: ASCJ 2016 Conference at ICU

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Paula

call for papers [150-2]The Executive Committee of the Asian Studies Conference Japan (ASCJ) invites proposals for panels, roundtables, and individual papers to be presented at the Twentieth Asian Studies Conference Japan. The conference will be held at the International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo on Saturday and Sunday, July 2-3, 2016. All presentations are to be delivered in English.

Please visit the ASCJ website for details:

http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~ascj/

Proposals may be submitted online beginning on September 1, 2015. The online application forms are available on the ASCJ website:

http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/%7Eascj/forms/index.html

The deadline for proposals is October 15. Results will be announced by late December.

Panels are proposed by a group of scholars around a common subject. A complete panel includes up to five participants, three or four paper presenters and one or more discussants. Panel proposals should include a 250-word (maximum) abstract from each participant as well as a 250- word (maximum) statement that explains the session as a whole. Only complete panels will be considered for acceptance.

Roundtables offer an opportunity for participants to discuss a specific theme, issue or significant recent publication. A maximum of six active participants is recommended. While a roundtable proposal will not be as detailed as a panel proposal, it should explain fully the purpose, themes or issues, and scope of the session.

Individual papers give scholars an opportunity to participate in the conference even if they are not able to put together a complete panel. Since only a limited number of individual papers can be accommodated, preference will be given to junior scholars. Applicants have a better chance of acceptance as part of a panel.

The Executive Committee encourages members to submit proposals that, by focusing on more than one region or by drawing on more than one discipline, will attract a broad range of scholarly interest. Suggestions for innovative alternatives to the panels, individual papers and roundtables described above are also encouraged.

The Executive Committee also strongly encourages graduate student participation, and will give favorable consideration to panels that include junior as well as senior scholars.

From 2014 the ASCJ initiated a Graduate Student Paper Prize. For details on this competition please see the ASCJ webpage. To be considered for this prize the student must be enrolled in a degree program at a Japanese university and present the paper at ASCJ 2016. The deadline for submission of the completed paper is June 14, 2016. The winner will be announced at the time of the keynote lecture.

The programs and abstracts of past ASCJ conferences can be found on the ASCJ webpage: http://www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~ascj/

Everyone worldwide interested in Asian Studies is invited to participate. Unfortunately we cannot provide visa support, and can only draft letters of invitation for participants scheduled to present papers at the ASCJ.

Mark E. Caprio

ASCJ President

ascj20xx@gmail.com

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Job Opening: Assistant Professor, Japanese Literature and Culture

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Paula

job opening - 5The Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at Northwestern University seeks to appoint a full-time faculty member in Japanese Literature and Culture at the assistant professor level. We are especially interested in candidates whose research and teaching complement Northwestern’s strengths in media and performance studies and/or gender and sexuality studies. The successful candidate will join several tenured and tenure-line faculty specializing in Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Korean, and Urdu literature, as well as fifteen continuing lecturer faculty in Chinese, Hindi-Urdu, Japanese, and Korean language in the newly-formed Department of Asian Languages and Cultures. As a new member of a growing department, the candidate should bring excellence in research and teaching, as well as enthusiasm and creativity in developing undergraduate curricula, establishing departmental governance, and, at a future date, planning a competitive graduate program. This search is proceeding in tandem with a search for an open rank tenure-line position in Transnational East Asian literatures and cultures. More information on the current searches and the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures can be found at: http://www.alc.northwestern.edu/

Applicants should submit a letter of application, C.V., a substantial writing sample (e.g., a dissertation or book chapter), and three letters of recommendation (sent separately). All materials must be submitted electronically through the online application form via this link.

For full consideration applications should be received by OCTOBER 23, 2015. The position is open until filled. 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.

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Job Opening: Grinnell College, Department of Chinese and Japanese (Japanese) 3 Year Position

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Paula

job opening - 5Grinnell College, Department of Chinese and Japanese (Japanese)

3 Year Position

GRINNELL COLLEGE. The Department of Chinese and Japanese invites applications for a 3-year position in Japanese beginning Fall 2016. Assistant Professor (Ph.D.) preferred; Instructor (ABD) possible. The field of specialization is open, but candidates with a background in Linguistics or Second Language Acquisition are especially encouraged to apply.

Grinnell College is a highly selective undergraduate liberal arts college with a strong tradition of social responsibility. In letters of application, candidates should discuss their potential to contribute to a college community that maintains a diversity of people and perspectives as one of its core values. To be assured of full consideration, all application materials should be received by October 1, 2015.

Grinnell College is committed to providing a safe and inclusive educational and work environment for all College community members, and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, veteran status, religion, disability, creed, or any other protected class.

Please visit our application website at https://jobs.grinnell.edu to find more details about the job and submit applications online. Candidates will need to upload a letter of application, curriculum vitae, transcripts (copies are acceptable), and provide email addresses for three references. Questions about this search should be directed to the search chair, Professor Mariko Schimmel, at [JapaneseSearch@grinnell.edu] or 641-269-3141.

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Funding: IHS PhD Application Fee Waiver

Posted on September 7, 2015 by Paula

money [150-2]Applying to graduate school? Allow us to cover up to $300 in graduate school application fees!

https://theihs.org/funding/ihs-phd-application-fee-waiver/

The IHS PhD Application Fee Waiver awards up to $300 to help you increase your chances of being accepted and funded in a graduate program by reducing application costs so you can afford to apply to more programs.

Who is eligible for an IHS Application Fee Waiver?

The IHS Application Fee Waiver is available to undergraduates and recent graduates applying for full-time doctorate programs starting in the 2015-16 academic year. A demonstrated interest in focusing your studies on individual and economic freedom and strong academic potential are also essential. (See the frequently asked questions for a list of eligible degree programs.)

How it works:

  1. Complete the PhD Application Fee Waiver application, including a list of the schools you intend to apply to, 60 days prior to submitting applications for admission. (Click here if you have already submitted all your graduate program applications.)
  2. You will be notified of your status within 3 weeks (including whether or not you have been chosen for an IHS Application Fee Waiver award, and the amount).
  3. Complete and submit your graduate school applications, including payment.
  4. Submit proof of application and receipts for application fees to the IHS program coordinator within 30 days of submitting your application to receive reimbursement.

Please note: At this time only individuals applying to PhD programs in the US are eligible for IHS Application Fee Waiver.

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Book Announcement: Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese American Family

Posted on September 6, 2015 by LM

Via University of Washington Press

YOSHIKO UCHIDAUCHDE2
INTRODUCTION BY TRAISE YAMAMOTO
$18.95 PAPERBACK (9780295994758)
hardcover not available
PUBLISHED: April 2015
SUBJECT LISTING: Asian American Studies; Biography, Autobiography, and Memoir
BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION: 184 pp., 21 bandw photos, 5.5 x 8.5 in.
SERIES: Classics of Asian American Literature
CONTENTS

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, everything changed for Yoshiko Uchida. Desert Exile is her autobiographical account of life before and during World War II. The book does more than relate the day-to-day experience of living in stalls at the Tanforan Racetrack, the assembly center just south of San Francisco, and in the Topaz, Utah, internment camp. It tells the story of the courage and strength displayed by those who were interned.

“A sensitive, readable account that captures with insight and human warmth the feel of what it was like to be sent by one’s own government into exile in the wilderness. It is a work worthy of an unforgettable experience.”
–Pacific Citizen

“In Desert Exile the happy life of a Japanese American family before [being removed to a] concentration camp makes their surrealist nightmare experience after December 7, 1941, all the more inexplicable and horrifying.”
–San Francisco Review of Books

“Desert Exile is a beautifully written personal history. . . . Uchida’s intention was to illuminate the Issei and Nisei internment experience on a personal level for the benefit of later generations. She has succeeded.”
–Western Historical Quarterly

YOSHIKO UCHIDA (1921-92) was born in Berkeley, California, and was in her senior year at the University of California, Berkeley, when Japanese Americans on the West Coast were rounded up and interned. TRAISE YAMAMOTO is associate professor of English at the University of California, Riverside. She is the author of Masking Selves, Making Subjects: Japanese American Women, Identity, and the Body.

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