Job Opening: Publicity Coordinator, Embassy of Japan, Washington D.C.

Institution: Embassy of Japan
Location: Washington D.C.
Education: Bachelor’s degree
Deadline: not listed

The Japan Information and Culture Center (JICC), Embassy of Japan, is seeking a highly motivated, team-oriented individual for the Publicity Coordinator position. This individual is responsible for supporting the JICC’s goal to promote a better understanding of Japan and Japanese culture by disseminating information about the JICC and various Japan-related events to the public and media. Possessing excellent writing skills, this individual will have primary responsibility for creating and designing promotional materials and will also be responsible for drafting speeches for Embassy of Japan diplomats.

This position also entails other duties shared with coworkers at the JICC, such as assisting the diplomats and other colleagues with events held at the JICC, and responding to public inquiries about Japan. Please see below for a more detailed listing of responsibilities.

The Embassy offers group health insurance coverage, paid vacation and sick leave. Working hours are 9am – 5pm, Monday through Friday with weeknight and/or weekend events several times a month (paid overtime).
Salary is commensurate with experience.

Candidate must be a U.S. citizen or a U.S. green card holder. All candidates will be subject to background checks and security clearance.

Responsibilities:

  • Draft flyers, brochures, pamphlets, posters and advertisements for JICC events
    Draft speeches, statements, remarks and correspondence for diplomats and staff
    Develop materials for JICC exhibits such as signs and posters
  • Keep the staff updated on news coverage of JICC events in the media
  • Maintain a database of media and art-related contacts and build relationships with relevant media
  • Disseminate information on Japan to the public; respond to public inquiries on Japan
  • Assist the diplomats with administrative tasks, writing and research
  • Support other staff with JICC events and other office tasks

Requirements and Preferred Qualifications:

  • Superior writing and editing skills in English; experience in journalism or writing for public relations preferred
  • Ability to use Adobe Creative Suite preferred
  • Strong computer skills
  • Proficiency in Japanese
  • High attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple ongoing projects
  • Experience living or working in Japan preferred
  • Understanding of Japanese culture and passion to teach others
  • Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in relevant field: e.g. Communication, East Asian Studies, International Relations

For full information and to apply, see employment page on the Embassy’s website. (via JETWIT.com.)

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Job Opening: Program Associate, Academic Exchange, World Learning

From the World Learning mailing list:

Institution: World Learning
Position Title: Program Associate, Academic Exchange
Grade: G-5
Reports To: Program Officer, Academic Exchange Team
Location: Washington, D.C.
Deadline: November 16, 2012,  5 pm
Education: Bachelor’s Degree and three years of related work experience or Master’s Degree plus one year of related work experience.

General Description:
On behalf of various funders, World Learning administers academic exchange programs for undergraduate and graduate students in the US and other countries. Programs vary in duration from one semester to several years, depending on whether a student is seeking a degree or pursuing non-degree studies. These programs often have both academic and cultural components, with students engaging in full-time studies, community service, practical internships, and enrichment activities.

This Program Associate position will be part of the Global Undergraduate Exchange (Global UGRAD) Program team and will report to a Program Officer. Funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Global UGRAD Program provides a diverse group of emerging student leaders with scholarships to attend US universities for up to one academic year and opportunities for cultural engagement. World Learning administers the Global UGRAD Programs for East Asia and the Pacific, the Western Hemisphere, and Serbia and Montenegro.

Specific Responsibilities Include:

    • Assist Program Officer in the student application and admissions process.
    • Provide administrative support for the program.
    • Regularly communicate with students to monitor their progress and act as liaison for questions and problems
    • Set up and maintain comprehensive electronic and paper files.
    • Assist with program orientations and workshops by preparing material and organizing logistics.
    • Assist in making travel and logistical arrangements for students.
    • Oversee health insurance registration and assist students with their questions.
    • Ensure proper receipt collection and reconciliation;
    • Make timely payments including monthly stipends, tuition and fees, book allowances, and insurance premiums;
    • Enter and maintain data in the comprehensive student database;
    • Maintain an active presence on program social networking sites;
    • Other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s Degree and three years of related work experience or Master’s Degree plus one year of related work experience.
  • Energetic and strong team player.
  • Office work experience and strong computer skills, including Excel.
  • Detail oriented with excellent organizational ability.
  • Strong cross-cultural and communications skills.
  • International experience.
  • Knowledge of U.S. university system or international education desirable.
  • Foreign language desirable.

To apply, email resume and cover letter (with current salary information) to recruitment@worldlearning.org with “Program Associate, Academic Exchange” specified in the subject heading. Cover letters without salary information will not be considered. Permanent U.S. work authorization required. Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply soonest possible. Only finalist candidates will be contacted. Closing date: 5pm November 16, 2012.

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Job Opening: Language Resource Center Technologist & Communications Office Multimedia Editor, Swarthmore College

Job Title: Language Resource Center Technologist and Communications Office Multimedia Editor
Job Type: Full-time
Location: Swarthmore, PA
Education: Bachelor’s preferred

Description
35 hours/week, 10 months/year, regular, benefits eligible

The Language Resource Center (LRC) is a flexible, dynamic teaching and learning space serving primarily the Departments of Modern Languages and Literatures and the program in Film and Media Studies. The LRC provides access and support to software, hardware and resources for use and loan. The LRC Technologist is essential in ensuring that the facility supports the needs and aspirations of the students, faculty, and staff who visit the center.

The Technologist’s duties include the following:

  • Support for digital media assignments with faculty who use the LRC for class time or assigned projects
  • Provide enthusiastic technical support to users of the facility
  • Work to creatively document and showcase faculty, student, staff, and alumni work in the LRC and/or on the College’s website Assists with configuring, maintaining and updating computers and equipment
  • Create documentation and video training materials to facilitate use of resources
  • Provide training for student workers
  • Work on faculty/curricular web and digital media projects

Among the responsibilities of the Communications Office is the creation of content on and maintenance of the College’s homepage and top tiers of the College’s website in order to support the College’s overall strategic goals. The multimedia editor provides vital support to those efforts, in particular by producing edited highlights from lectures by faculty, alumni, and visiting scholars, among other projects.

Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree preferred. Demonstrated experience with Mac OS X; advanced non-linear video editing, especially Final Cut, Audacity, and After Effects. Demonstrated ability to provide one-on-one instruction and write clear documentation. This position requires a cheerful disposition for supporting others at all technical skill levels and ongoing interest in learning new technologies and techniques.

Preferred qualifications: Experience with web design, Mobile Devices, Adobe Creative Suite, and/or video production. Prior work experience with instructional technology in higher education. Demonstrated ability to teach digital media techniques in classroom or workshop settings. Prefer knowledge of one of the languages taught at Swarthmore (Russian, French, German, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese).

To apply, see original posting on Swarthmore’s employment page. (Information via HigherEdJobs.com)

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Internship Opportunity: 2013 Summer Print News Internship, Bloomberg Tokyo

Company: Bloomberg News
Location: Tokyo
Pay status: unspecified
Dates: beginning June 2013, 10 weeks
Education: at least 3 years of undergraduate program or equivalent experience

The Company

Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas. The company’s strength – delivering data, news and analytics through innovative technology, quickly and accurately – is at the core of the Bloomberg Professional service, which provides real time financial information to more than 310,000 subscribers globally. Bloomberg’s enterprise solutions build on the company’s core strength, leveraging technology to allow customers to access, integrate, distribute and manage data and information across organizations more efficiently and effectively. Through Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Government, Bloomberg New Energy Finance and Bloomberg BNA, the company provides data, news and analytics to decision makers in industries beyond finance. And Bloomberg News, delivered through the Bloomberg Professional service, television, radio, mobile, the Internet and two magazines, Bloomberg Businessweek and Bloomberg Markets, covers the world with more than 2,300 news and multimedia professionals at 146 bureaus in 72 countries. Headquartered in New York,

Bloomberg News

Bloomberg News has aimed for over 20 years to provide the most influential coverage of money in all of its forms for people with the most at stake. Today, 2,300 news and multimedia professionals in 72 countries publish 6,000 stories a day for over 300,000 terminal clients, Bloomberg Businessweek and online readers, and customers of the 440 publications that print our articles.

Bloomberg News reports on the issues that matter to financial and business professionals – when they happen, from where they happen. If it affects markets, Bloomberg News will be there first, delivering the world’s most accurate information in milliseconds, on virtually every stock, bond and economic indicator. Bloomberg News also leads the way in breaking news about mergers and acquisitions and other events that help our readers to stay a step ahead of the markets.

The Role

Bloomberg News interns will gain hands-on experience reporting for the print department of one the world’s leading financial news services. During the 10-week program, interns will produce breaking news stories under deadline for our coverage of markets, companies, economies, and governments. Responsibilities may include pitching and writing enterprise stories, conducting exclusive interviews, and collaborating with our other media platforms.

All applicants must submit three published samples of work, along with a resume and a cover letter. The interns selected for this role will be based out of Tokyo.

Qualifications:

-Knowledge of global financial markets, companies and economies
-Prior experience in journalism, preferably in a real-time news environment
-Ability to work within a team under deadline pressure
-Completed at least three years of undergraduate work or equivalent experience
-Available for 10-weeks, beginning June 2013

To apply, see original posting on Bloomberg News (via LinkedIn).

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Job Opening: Mellon Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship in Japanese Religions

Institution: University of Southern California, Center for Japanese Religions and Culture and the School of Religion
Location:       California, United States
Position:       Mellon Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship in Japanese Religions

The Center for Japanese Religions and Culture (CJRC) and the School of Religion at the University of Southern California invite applications for an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship, beginning Fall 2013. The fellowship is for one year and is non-renewable.  The fellowship has an annual salary in the first year of $60,000, plus a research/travel allowance of $2,000 annually, and fringe benefits. The field of specialization is Japanese religions. The Fellow will teach one course each semester in the School of Religion, will be given research space at CJRC, and will be expected to participate in CJRC research relevant to his or her interests.  The Fellow must have a Ph.D. in hand, and should be within 5 years of receiving the Ph.D., at the beginning of the appointment.

To apply, please submit an application letter, a CV, a brief description of your research (including both the dissertation and current/future projects), and a dossier of three letters of recommendation to Kana Yoshida at cjrc@dornsife.usc.edu.  The letters should be sent directly by the referees, and one must speak to the candidate’s teaching abilities.

In order to be considered for this position, applicants are also required to submit an electronic application through the USC Jobs Web site, https://jobs.usc.edu/.  Please reference requisition #016384 to locate the job posting for this position.  Review of applications will begin on Jan. 1, 2013, though applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

USC strongly values diversity and is committed to equal opportunity in employment. Women and men, and members of all racial and ethnic groups, are encouraged to apply.

Contact:

Kana Yoshida, Program Specialist
Center for Japanese Religions and Culture
University of Southern California
Tel. 213-821-4365
cjrc@dornsife.usc.edu

Website:        http://dornsife.usc.edu/cjrc

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Job Opening: East Asian Religions (China, Korea, Japan)

Institution: University of Bristol, Religion and Theology
Location:   United Kingdom
Position:   Lecturer in East Asian Religions

Lectureship in East Asian Religions (Ref ACAD100054):  The Department of Religion and Theology invites applications from suitably qualified candidates for the full-time position of Lecturer in East Asian Religions from September 2013. Candidates with expertise in any aspect of the religions of China, Korea or Japan are invited to apply. Candidates must have competence in classical Chinese; knowledge of other primary source language(s) and expertise in Buddhism may be an advantage.

Candidates must demonstrate evidence of excellence in and commitment to both research and teaching, with established or clear promise of distinguished publications in their field that will make a significant contribution to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 appropriate to their career stage. The successful candidate will have the ability to communicate effectively with students in both small and large groups and to teach a broad range of courses from the introductory to advanced levels. A completed PhD in East Asian religions, good administrative and time management skills, along with good IT skills, are also essential.

Salary: Starting salary 33,884 to 38,140

For further information about the department see www.bris.ac.uk/thrs

Closing date for applications: 19 November 2012

Contact: Professor Rupert Gethin (rupert.gethin@bristol.ac.uk)

Website: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/details.html?nPostingId=348&nPostingTargetId=545&id=Q50FK026203F3VBQBV7V77V83&lg=UK

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Funding: Anne van Biema Fellowship: Japanese Visual Arts

Announcing competition for the Anne van Biema Fellowship for reseach and publication on Japanese Visual Arts, Frere and Sackler Galleries, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

Location: District of Columbia, United States

We welcome applications for the 2013 competition for the Anne van Biema Fellowship for excellence in research and publication on the Japanese visual arts, at the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC.

The maximum stipend of $33,750 for nine months will be prorated for shorter terms. The Fellowship includes round-trip travel at U.S. government rates from the fellow’s residence to Washington D.C. Research space, a networked computer, and access to art collections, archives, and Smithsonian Institution Libraries are provided.

This is a postdoctoral fellowship, open to scholars of all nationalities. The application deadline is December 15, 2012.

Please visit the museum website, http://www.asia.si.edu/research/vanBiemaFellowship.asp, for application instructions and do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.

Visit the website at
http://www.asia.si.edu/research/vanBiemaFellowship.asp

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Book Announcement: Sword of Zen: Master Takuan and His Writings on Immovable Wisdom and the Sword Taie

http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-8764-9780824836788.aspx

Sword of Zen: Master Takuan and His Writings on Immovable Wisdom and the Sword Taie
Author: Haskel, Peter;
University of Hawai’i Press
208pp.
October 2012
Paper – Price: $23.00ISBN: 978-0-8248-3678-8
Cloth – Price: $50.00ISBN: 978-0-8248-3543-9

Takuan Sōho’s (1573–1645) two works on Zen and swordsmanship are among the most straightforward and lively presentations of Zen ever written and have enjoyed great popularity in both premodern and modern Japan. Although dealing ostensibly with the art of the sword, Record of Immovable Wisdom and On the Sword Taie are basic guides to Zen—“user’s manuals” for Zen mind that show one how to manifest it not only in sword play but from moment to moment in everyday life.

Along with translations of Record of Immovable Wisdom and On the Sword Taie (the former, composed in all likelihood for the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu and his fencing master, Yagyū Munenori), this book includes an introduction to Takuan’s distinctive approach to Zen, drawing on excerpts from the master’s other writings. It also offers an accessible overview of the actual role of the sword in Takuan’s day, a period that witnessed both a bloody age of civil warfare and Japan’s final unification under the Tokugawa shoguns. Takuan was arguably the most famous Zen priest of his time, and as a pivotal figure, bridging the Zen of the late medieval and early modern periods, his story (presented in the book’s biographical section) offers a rare picture of Japanese Zen in transition.

For modern readers, whether practitioners of Zen or the martial arts, Takuan’s emphasis on freedom of mind as the crux of his teaching resonates as powerfully as it did with the samurai and swordsmen of Tokugawa Japan. Scholars will welcome this new, annotated translation of Takuan’s sword-related works as well as the host of detail it provides, illuminating an obscure period in Zen’s history in Japan.

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Job Opening: Japanese Art History

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON.

Assistant Professor. Tenure-track; 100% FTE. Salary commensurate with qualifications. September 2013. Applications invited in any area of Japanese art history; interest in and ability to teach undergraduate and graduate courses in Japanese pre-modern and modern art, and supervise M.A. and Ph.D. students. Candidates should have a Ph.D. by the start of the appointment; candidates in the final states of their dissertation may be appointed on an acting basis.

Include letter of application, CV, list of references with contact information, statement of teaching philosophy and interests, course syllabi, dissertation abstract, and any publications and/or three dissertation chapters. Three letters of recommendation should be sent to Chair, Japanese Art History Search Committee, School of Art, Box 353440, Seattle, WA 98195-3440. (Express mail and courier service to: Art Building—Room 104, 4000 15th Ave NE, Seattle, Washington 98195-3440).

All materials are due by Wednesday 09 January 2013. AA/EO Employer.

University of Washington faculty engage in teaching, research and service.

The University of Washington is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. The University is building a culturally diverse faculty and staff and strongly encourages applications from women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and covered veterans.

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Fun Link Friday: Apple Stencils

It’s autumn in Japan, which means the apple crop is in! The large size of Japanese apples is famous among those who have lived here, but how many of you have seen a designer apple?

About four years ago, there was a flurry of articles about how some orchards in Japan add a design to their fruit by use of bags, stencils, and the sun. In 2008, photographer Prof. Jane Alden Stevens traveled to Aomori to document Tsugaru apple cultivation, which is detailed in “Photography professor researches Japanese method of raising apples” from UC [University of Cincinnati] Magazine.

Photo by Jane Alden Stevens via UC Magazine.

Also of note is a recent Design Taxi article about apples branded with the Apple Brand logo with this technique, in which a sticker covers part of the skin, thus creating a “tantoo” since the covered skin will not mature or “tan” as much as the rest. You can read the original Japanese blog post that launched the frenzy for these unofficial Apple-apples on the Apple-enthusiast blog Nobon.

Photo from Nobon via Design Taxi.

These apples, of course, would be sold as luxury gifts, not just as regular fruit. On a recent trip to Takayama, Gifu pref., I finally got to see stenciled apples, where they were sold as omiyage at the morning market and bore a stenciled 飛騨 (Hida) logo.

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