Call for Papers: Asian Cinema Studies Society Conference

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Paula

With the Support of The Centre For The Study of Globalization and Culture and the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong

March 18-20, 2012 at the University of Hong Kong

Hong Kong and Asian Cinema:  Creativity and Culture in an Era of Globalization

This meeting of the Asian Cinema Studies Society welcomes paper, poster, workshop and panel proposals covering all aspects of Asian film and media. Although proposals related to the conference theme of Hong Kong and Asian cinema in the era of globalization may be given priority, proposals on all aspects of Asian film and media are welcome.

Please send proposals of 200-300 words as RTF or WORD attachments to Dr. Natalie Wong at siulamwong@gmail.com.   For all proposals, be certain to include the title, author(s) name(s), institutional affiliation, mailing address, and email contacts, as well as a brief biography of each contributor.  For panel, workshop, and group submissions, be certain to provide a brief description (100 words) of the contribution of each participant.  Sessions will be 1 1/2 hours in duration, and time limits will be strictly enforced.

 Deadline for proposals:  December 31, 2011

Notifications of acceptance will be sent out by the end of January 2012.

We regret that we cannot offer any funds for travel or accommodation. However, there will be NO registration fee for those presenting papers, serving as panel chairs, or participating in workshops, poster sessions, or in any other official capacity.  Registered guests are welcome to attend as well; however, some conference events/meals may only be available for those presenting papers or serving in other official capacities.

About the Asian Cinema Studies Society (ACSS):

Inaugurated in 1984, ACSS has been dedicated to fostering research in Asian film and related media.  It publishes *Asian Cinema *twice yearly, and features all types of Asian film, including full-length movies, documentaries, animation, and experimental.  Nine ACSS conferences have been held since 1988, including five in the United States and one each in Australia, Canada, South Korea and China. Many of the papers presented at ACSS conferences have been published in Asian Cinema and other journals and books.

For more information on ACSS and for membership details, visit its website at http://astro.temple.edu/~jlent/asiancinema/acss.html

Posted in announcements, conferences | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Call for Volunteers: TEDxTohoku

Posted on October 23, 2011 by LM

Information via Nick Kaufmann. Contact him at nkauf87[AT]gmail[DOT]com for more information.

The theme of the TEDxTohoku conference is “Asking the 3.11 Generation,” and it will focus on 12 speakers who are doing relief and revitalization projects in the region. Right now, I’m looking for some English speaking volunteers to work with the non-Japanese speaking attendees and make sure they find their way around and can interact with other people at the event. Of course, we are also looking for regular attendees too. It’s Sunday, 30 October 2011, in Sendai, and the event is free with an online application. Applicants and volunteers are responsible for their own transportation costs.

About the conference:

Like it or not, each of us in Tohoku has become responsible for what will happen in the wake of 3.11 and beyond. We call these people the “3.11 Generation”. TEDxTohoku will ask the 3.11 Generation to think about their role in the post 3.11 era, as well as bringing ideas to the table about how we might envision the future of Tohoku. It is only through a deeper understanding of what Tohoku and the disaster is about, that we can come up with great ideas to inspire action in Tohoku.
Our goal with the TEDxTohoku initiative is to jumpstart the 3.11 Generation with ideas and conversation about Tohoku and to create a local and global movement for a better future for the Tohoku region. After TEDxTohoku, speakers and participants are invited to step out and take action armed with the ideas and personal connections generated through the event.

1)A Tohoku Story

2)Ideas for Tohoku

3)Action for Tohoku

1)A Tohoku Story

Read more at the official website.

Posted in announcements, applications, conferences, events, social networking | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Book announcement: Laughing Wolf

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Paula

Laughing Wolf
By Tsushima Yuko
Translated from the Japanese by Dennis Washburn

Iv + 240 pp., Copyright 2011
ISBN 978-1-929280-69-8. Paper only. $20.00
Michigan Monograph Series in Japanese Studies, Number 73
Publication Date: 9/22/11

Published by the Center for Japanese Studies, The University of Michigan

See our website at https://www.cjspubs.lsa.umich.edu/books/list/mono73.php to order

LAUGHING WOLF, which won the 2001 Osaragi Jiro Prize and was selected by the Japanese Literature Publishing Project (JLPP), an initiative of the Agency of Cultural Affairs of Japan, is set in the immediate years of postwar Japan. We follow the exploits of two children as they traverse the country by train.

Through the children we experience the horrors of postwar Japan. Interspersed throughout are newspaper clippings of serial killers, packs of wild dogs attacking and killing humans, and boats sinking with hundreds of passengers aboard after running into mines never retrieved from the water. It makes for compelling reading on what war-torn Japan was like, and it could be used in history classes as well as literature classes.

Excerpt from LAUGHING WOLF

     “Suddenly and unexpectedly I felt a wave of anxiety and wanted to run back out to the platform. But it was too late. What would happen to us, I wondered. The person next to me wasn’t my mother. It was Mitsuo. Just who was he? I felt lonely, and tears filled my eyes and nose. To hide my face from him I drew my knees up to my forehead and closed my eyes.
“Mitsuo murmured in my ear, ‘By the way, you’ve gone to all this trouble to become a boy, Yuki-chan. So let’s think of a name to call you. How about Mowgli? That’s perfect for a brand new boy. You know him, right? The human child in THE JUNGLE BOOK? While we’re at it, I’ll change my name to Akela. I’ve wanted to be called that for a long time. Pretty cool, huh?’”

Tsushima Yuko is the pen name of Tsushima Satoko, an acclaimed contemporary Japanese fiction writer, essayist, and critic. Her accolades include: the Noma Prize for New Writers in 1979, the Kawabata Prize in 1983 for her short story “Danmari ichi” (The Silent Traders), the Tanizaki and Noma Prizes in 1998 for her novel HI NO YAMA—YAMAZARUKI (Mountain of Fire: Account of a Wild Monkey), and the Osaragi Jiro Prize in 2001 for this novel.

Dennis Washburn is the Jane and Raphael Bernstein Professor in Asian Studies at Dartmouth College. Among his numerous works, the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan has also published STUDIES IN MODERN JAPANESE LITERATURE: ESSAYS AND TRANSLATIONS IN HONOR OF EDWIN MCCLELLAN (edited with Alan Tansman, 1997), THE SHADE OF BLOSSOMS by Ooka Shohei (translator, 1998), SHANGHAI by Yokomitsu Riichi (translator, 2001), and A WIFE IN MUSASHINO by Ooka Shohei (translator, 2004).

Posted in announcements, culture | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Conference: 4th Annual Arizona State University Graduate Conference on Asian Studies

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Paula

Places: Connections and Dislocations in Asia
November 4th and 5th, 2011
Arizona State University Memorial Union

Sometimes described as a supercontinent, Asia is extremely diverse geographically, culturally, politically, and historically. Places, both real  and imagined, are not only the backgrounds for nationalism,  egionalism, and localism, they are often the catalysts for cultural change and historical confrontation. Places provide the basis for connections among people and can  construct ties that allow society to thrive, but places are also contested territories that can contribute to disempowerment and conflict.  Papers given at the 4th Annual Arizona State University Graduate Conference on Asian Studies will address the issue of place as it relates to all fields of Asian Studies.

For further information please contact Tim Swanger at twsanger@asu.edu

Visit the website at http://asiaconference.clas.asu.edu/

Posted in announcements, conferences | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Call for Papers: “Rising Asia, Anxious Europe” International Conference

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Paula

On 2-3 May 2012, the Asian Dynamics Initiative, University of Copenhagen will convene an international conference to unravel the ‘new’ encounter between Asia and Europe. The conference will feature distinguished keynote speakers and paper presentations from an inter-disciplinary group of scholars, focusing on Europe’s ‘new’ relationship with Asia or the changes in Europe and Asia against the backdrop of such changing relationships.

We invite scholars to reflect, describe and speculate on the current state as well as the future of Europe’s ‘new’ engagement with Asia. We particularly invite empirical studies, ethnographies and historically grounded accounts of the event – of the rise of Asia – as witnessed in a variety of settings and localities. These include not only different regional experiences, but also transformations experienced at the level of macro policy making to everyday individual choices and patterns.

Abstracts (no more than 250 words) should be submitted by 15 January 2012 to Marie Yoshida (marie.yoshida@nias.ku.dk)

The organizing committee will notify abstract submitters of acceptance by email no later than 27 January 2012.

The idea is to address the political and policy concerns – ranging from anxieties of economic downturn and changing capital flows, climate change attributed to increased energy consumption in growing Asian economies, continued population growth that will potentially lay an even greater demand on the world’s natural resources to fears of Europe losing its competitive edge in a world where Asian economic and military power might have an upper hand. In short, the ‘rise of Asia’ is not an event confined to Asia alone. Its effects can be witnessed in the ways European economies, societies, politics and cultural imaginings are themselves being rearranged as a consequence.

There is of course nothing new about Europe-Asia encounters as such, yet the contours of such encounters continue to shift. The thrust of our exploration is not limited to the imagined rivalries between Europe and Asia, but includes exploring similarities, intimacies and unities in terms of intellectual, literary and artistic output that have defined and blurred the two entities predicated upon one another.

We suggest the following sub-themes, although other topics relevant to the overall Asia-Europe theme are also welcome:

Shifting Centres of Economic Gravity
Environmental Challenges
Urban Imaginaries and Power
Changing Security Dynamics
Historical Difference
Bodies and Boundaries
Cultural Affects
Competition for Resources

Read more on the conference website:

http://asiandynamics.ku.dk/english/rising_asia_anxious_europe/

 

Posted in announcements, conferences | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fun Link Friday: Yôkai Train

Posted on October 21, 2011 by LM

As many of my fellow expats and I are gearing up for Halloween here in Japan, Japan’s native season of ghosts, ghouls, and things that go bump in the night is in late summer, around Obon.

At the risk of oversimplifying it, Obon is the time of year when the dead return to the earth; many Japanese return to their family homes to clean the family graves and visit their relatives. This is also considered to be prime season for ghost stories and haunted houses at school festivals, but what about a haunted train?

Every August since 2007, the Randen (嵐電), Keifuku’s (京福） electric tram line in Kyoto hosts the Randen Yôkai Train (嵐電　妖怪電車) on the Arashiyama Line (嵐山線) that runs from Arashiyama（嵐山), home of a famous bamboo forest, to Shijo-omiya (四条大宮). For 200 yen for adults and 100 for children, passengers can make the terrifying 20-minute ride between the two terminal stations escorted by a host of obakemono (お化けもの), Japanese monsters and apparitions, on the last two weekends in August.

To read more about the Yôkai Train, check out the article “Summer Night Horror – Japan’s Creepy Yokai Monster Train” on Oddity Central, which includes a video. If this isn’t enough for you, see the video below for photos of the 2011 Randen Yôkai Train.

Happy Halloween!
-Leah

Posted in culture, events, fun links | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Call for Papers: Buddhism and the Political Process

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Paula

The Department of Humanities, University of Toronto Scarborough is pleased to present

A Call for Papers
The Tung Lin Kok Yuen Conference:

BUDDHISM AND THE POLITICAL PROCESS

April 13-15, 2012
University of Toronto Scarborough

For more information, please visit our website:
http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~humdiv/prg_bs.html

The Weberian perspective on Buddhism as a tradition in “opposition to the spirit of politics in its most acute form” has, despite a great deal of empirical evidence to the contrary, held sway for a century. Silverstein’s view that “Buddhists never made the intellectual leap from freedom in the religious realm to freedom in the political world” is a good recent example of this way of thinking.

Yet religious systems are not isolated phenomena but aspects of the total culture in which they are located. The apolitical reading of Buddhism has historical roots coinciding with European colonial rule that, in the words of Paul Mus, was only aware of “a kind of rump Buddhist society.” It was also associated with a primordialism that regarded Buddhism as a set of unchanging practices, or classical statements, tending to support a study of Buddhist history conducted in purely Buddhist terms.

Buddhist political influence has been strong in the contemporary period. The election of nine Sri Lankan monks representing the Jathika Hela Urumaya (National Sinhala Heritage Party) to the national parliament in April 2004 and Myanmar’s 2007 “saffron revolution” are glaring examples. Less well known are the lobbying activities of the Buddha Light Mountain (Foguangshan) monastic order in Taiwan’s 1996 Presidential election or the role played by prominent religious personalities in ousting the Thaksin Shinawatra government in Thailand in 2006.

The proposed conference aims to construct a bridge between the disciplines of Buddhist studies and political science, with additional contributions from anthropologists, sociologists and historians, on the relevance of Buddhist categories and practices for the political process.

The program committee accordingly invites proposals for papers that explore the interface between Buddhism and politics, particularly in the modern and contemporary periods. Contributors may focus on an Asian country, adopt a comparative perspective, or offer a more theoretical approach. Topics sought include but are not limited to:

– Kingship and alternative forms of governance
– Monastic protest movements
– Buddhist political parties
– The rhetoric of “nation-protection” and “religious nationalism”
– Buddhism as an ingredient in political conflict
– Debates over the role of Buddhism as a state religion
– Buddhist perspectives on Marxism, liberal capitalism and the “third way”
– Monks and the democratic processes – can and do they vote, belong to political parties, stand for public office, etc?
– Discernible differences between the Mahayana and Theravada attitudes on political activism?
– Compatibility of the “Buddhist” state and liberal democracy?
– Utility of the Western political concepts, such as civil society,”
in studies of the Buddhist religious sphere

This conference will address such questions through multiple formats for scholarly inquiry, namely organized panels with discussants, roundtables, keynotes lectures, and public events.

The program committee welcomes proposals for papers from academics,
professionals, graduate students and others. Proposals that include a max. 300 word abstract of the paper and a short academic CV should be made online through our submissions site at:
http://link.library.utoronto.ca/buddhiststudies/conference/

At this website applicants can cut and paste both abstract and CV into our web form.

The deadline for submissions is Friday November 18, 2011. Participants will be notified by December 17th if their submission has been successful.

This conference is sponsored generously by an endowment for the advancement of Buddhist studies, made possible by a gift from the Tung Lin Kok Yuen Foundation (Hong Kong) to the University of Toronto Scarborough. Questions about this event or any other aspect of the Tung Lin Kok Yuen Conference Series in Buddhist Studies may be addressed to Sarah Richardson at: *tlkyconf@utsc.utoronto.ca*

Posted in announcements | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Job Opening: World Learning Youth Program Associate, Visitor Exchange Program

Posted on October 20, 2011 by LM

Position Title: Youth Program Associate, VEP
Position Grade: G-5
Reports to: Youth Programs Manager, VEP
Location: Washington, D.C.

Deadline: October 28, 2011

The International Development & Exchange Programs of World Learning has an immediate opening for a Youth Program Associate, Visitor Exchange Program. World Learning is a 79-year-old global non-profit with operations in 77 countries. Through its award-winning international education programs – The Experiment in International Living, the SIT Graduate Institute, SIT Study Abroad and the International Honors Program (IHP) – World Learning fosters global citizenship by connecting over 3,000 young ambassadors annually across cultural differences and social barriers. Through its International Development & Exchange Programs, World Learning practices what it teaches, undertaking community-driven international development, training and exchange projects in sixteen countries. For more information visit www.worldlearning.org.

General Description

The overall goal of this program is to provide leadership exchanges for international high school students and adult mentors. Funded by U.S. Embassies or the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Youth Division these programs expose the participants to cross-cultural understanding, leadership development and an awareness of civic responsibility. Students travel to SIT Graduate Institute in Brattleboro, VT, University of Virginia or Washington, D.C. for their orientation, spend almost two weeks with host families throughout the United States and finish in Washington D.C. World Learning works closely with U.S. Embassies and State Department officials to manage the program, lead the workshops, and oversee the U.S. host community programs.

Specific Responsibilities

  • Provide administrative support for the program;
  • Prepare materials for the pre-departure orientation for participants;
  • Manage travel and lodging arrangements for participants and staff;
  • Work with other team members in all aspects of the workshops, including logistical, financial, and programmatic arrangements;
  • Able to work long hours during youth program orientation and end-of-program workshops, when assigned;
  • Maintain communication with participants to monitor their progress and act as liaison for questions and problems;
  • Become familiar with World Learning staff travel and financial policies to help support temporary travel staff;
  • Manage, track and reconcile program and staff expenses;
  • Manage all logistics for the Washington, D.C. program;
  • Maintain program information on webpage and blogs;
  • Able to use social networking tools to communicate with participants and alumni;
  • Coordinate and maintain alumni communication and activities;
  • Provide assistance to Program Officer in all aspects of the program; and
  • Handle other tasks as assigned.


Required Qualifications

  • Eligible candidates should have the following qualifications:
  • Bachelor’s Degree and 3 years of related work experience or Master’s Degree plus one year of related work experience;
  • Office work experience and strong computer skills, including Excel;
  • Strong cross-cultural and communications skills;
  • Detail oriented with excellent organizational ability;
  • Significant International travel and cross-cultural experience;
  • Energetic and strong team player; and
  • Experience with international student programs, event management, or youth programming desirable

Candidates must submit their cover letter (stating salary history) and resume no later than October 28, 2011 to: christina.thomas[AT]worldlearning.org. Please reference “Youth Program Associate, VEP” in the subject line. Only finalist candidates will be contacted. Permanent U.S. work authorization required. While World Learning would like to graciously thank all applicants for their interest and responses, only applicants who meet all requisite criteria and are shortlisted will be contacted. No phone calls please. Thank you.

World Learning is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer, committed to increasing the diversity of its workforce.

Posted in job openings, jobs | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Symposium: Eloquence of the Text Images in Dialoque. The Shuhanron emaki: Literary genres and representations in medieval Japan

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Paula

To be held in Paris (Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Cernuschi Museum) from Thursday, November 3 to Saturday, November 15.

The symposium is organized by Veronique Beranger (Bibliothèque nationale de France), Claire-Akiko Brisset (Paris Diderot University) and Estelle Leggeri-Bauer (INALCO).

The Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Japanese studies Center (INALCO) and the Research Center on East Asian Civilization in Paris organize together an International symposium about the Illustrated Scroll of the Sake and the Rice debate (Shuhanron emaki), on the 3-5 November 2011. This symposium was created in the scope of the Research program entitled “Japanese manuscripts and narrative paintings of the Edo Period owned by the Manuscripts Department or the public collections in France”. This program is a part of the Research triennial program of the Library for 2010-2012. This symposium aims to present the results of these two year of collective research, centered on the Shuhanron emaki and the question of the text (3-4 November) and the images (5 November).

The original manuscript of the Shuhanron emaki dates back to the 16th century, and the huge amount of extant copies from late Muromachi to Edo periods suggests this work to have been quite popular. During this workshop, specialists of Literature and History of Art will examine the multiples significations of those representations.
The discussions will be in Japanese and in French.

For information on the program of the symposium, see the attached file (program roughly translated in English) and the website of the research project (in French):
http://manuscritsjaponais.hypotheses.org/461

Posted in announcements, conferences | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Job Opening: LEO Lecturer I, Political Science

Posted on October 20, 2011 by LM

Job Opening ID: 62758
Job Title: LEO Lecturer I
Work Location: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Full-Time
Regular

Deadline: Review will begin immediately, a decision will be made by Nov. 4

Responsibilities

The Department of Political Science s seeking a LEO Lecturer I. Responsibilities include course coordination and teaching a three credit undergraduate course on government and the politics of Japan in the Winter 2012, January 1-April 30, 2012. In addition to teaching responsibilities the instructor will hold office hours for students, provide appropriate syllabus and course materials electronically, attend regular course meetings and handle routine administrative matters.
Required Qualifications

Candidates should have a Ph.D. in Political Science and some university-level teaching experience. Candidates should also possess expertise in the political development of contemporary Japan and related areas of Asia. Applications will be selected based upon demonstrated subject matter expertise, successful performance in the classroom, the ability to complete administrative tasks competently, and the needs of the department.
Union Affiliation

This position is covered under the collective bargaining agreement between the U-M and the Lecturers Employee Organization, AFL-CIO, which contains and settles all matters with respect to wages, benefits, hours and other terms and conditions of employment.

Contact Information

Please submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, and a list of references via the UM job posting website. Review of the applications will commence immediately, and a decision will be made by November 4.

Posted in job openings, jobs | Tagged , , | Leave a comment