IUC Series: What is the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies and (when) should I go?

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Paula

I’ve been thinking about writing up something on the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies (IUC) in Yokohama, Japan ever since I came back a year ago. Why? Because the IUC was a fantastic experience that vastly improved my Japanese and, well, it was a heck of a lot of fun. But I was mostly determined to write about my time there for another reason: I couldn’t find any information about it on the internet! In fact, I didn’t even know the IUC existed until I was a graduate student. But when I was trying to figure out if I wanted to go, the net had little to offer in the way of advice.

Now, this is not to say that there is no information at all on the IUC on the web. On the contrary, Stanford University, through which the IUC is coordinated, maintains their own English language website, and the Center itself has both Japanese and English homepages that are regularly updated. But what I really wanted was feedback from previous students. What was the IUC like? How do you get in? When should I attend? What do you do there? Where do you live there? What are classes like? A million questions like this had no readily available answers. For this reason, we’ve decided to write a five or six part series of articles detailing the IUC summer and 10 month programs.

The plan (subject to shuffling depending on our writers or how we handle the topics) will be as follows:

1)      Introduction
2)      Summer program
3)      Funding your stay at the IUC
4)      IUC Housing and alternatives
5)      Year Program
6)      Other sources of information on the IUC

Of course, the big disclaimer to any information I give you is this is just my experience. We may have a couple people write for some of these articles, but there is no absolute, single way to go about anything involving your stay in Japan and work at the IUC. Everyone comes into language study abroad with very different circumstances, goals, and personalities. They live in different places, spend their time differently. People also get from a program what they put into it. So all I can do is offer you one or two perspectives and as well-rounded a view as I can manage and hope it helps out potential applicants who think the IUC might be for them. So, without further ado, let’s jump in!

Photo by Kabacchi

What is the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies?

The Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies is known throughout the academic community as an esteemed program for Japanese language and research, and has offered a unique and intensive language training environment since 1963. According to their Stanford University website, the IUC’s services are provided for “a select number of undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students.” The IUC provides both a summer intensive program and a 10-month intensive program. I say this because both programs are pretty intense. Sometimes students who are accepted to the year program are required to also take the summer program because their Japanese isn’t quite at the level it needs to be for entry, but students also regularly attend the summer program without taking the 10-month session OR as a refresher having already done the 10-month stay.

Why should I go to the Inter-University Center?

The purpose of the IUC is to provide advanced language training, since many universities offer advanced Japanese on a limited basis if at all. If you’re lucky, your university has a Japanese program. If you’re even luckier, it has a full four years of Japanese offered. But in most cases it’s rare that you’ll have a sufficient textbook for those four years (I know that working with Yookoso we were out of the textbook game after second year, whereas books like JSL offer four years but are weak on writing skills). In any case, beyond that, students often lack substantial support for formal Japanese study besides independent courses, much less an all-Japanese environment all the time. This is where the IUC steps in. If you’re an advanced undergraduate, a graduate student, or a professional who’s serious about using Japanese in the future for your research or career, then you should definitely consider attending the Inter-University Center. It’s been the best advanced Japanese language training center for a long time, and I doubt that’s going to change any time soon.

When is the right time to go to the IUC?

For someone who intends to pursue the Japanese field, the question of when to attend the IUC during one’s study is an important one. I attended both the summer and 10-month language training programs during the 2009-2010 academic year, which was my second year at Ohio State University’s East Asian Studies M.A. program. Before last year, I had never heard of the IUC, and the prospect of attending such an advanced program was as exhilarating as it was intimidating. Was my Japanese good enough? Did I have the mettle to endure a full year of intensive training? The impression I received when I asked around was that mostly Ph.D. students and professionals attended the IUC. But at my Japanese professor’s insistence, I applied and was, thankfully, accepted.

The reality of attending the IUC was quite different than my initial impression. Although at 23, I was admittedly on the somewhat younger side of the students there, a significant number were Master’s students in their first year (some of whom I had met as fellow prospectives touring graduate schools!) and Ph.D. students in their first couple years of study. Equally numerous were people who had just graduated college or finished JET, and only a couple people, no longer formal students, were professionals. During my time at the IUC, more than one professor commented to me, “The Center’s students are getting younger every year, aren’t they?” In the past, professionals and advanced Ph.D. research students served as the majority of applicants. So the question remained: was this a good time for me to enter the Inter-University Center?

The answer is a whole-hearted: yes.  Having completed one year of study for my M.A., I had a better idea of what avenue of research I wanted to pursue in Japanese history. I went into the Inter-University Center for my second year, armed with a general plan for research and prepared to find materials for individual study that would support and narrow my topic somewhat. I came back for this, my third and final year of study, with a new repertoire of research skills and a much more advanced reading and speaking level. Not only have I been equipped with language skills that will be much needed to delve into primary source work, but my time at the IUC has also made me a more attractive candidate for Ph.D. programs, which are anxious to find applicants already endowed with advanced research skills in their primary language of study.

This being said, it is important to note that there is not “perfect timeline” of when one should attend the Inter-University Center. I entered the program with five years of Japanese under my belt (four in undergrad, one at OSU), and this placed me within the second or third tier of language students attending that year (level placements of students are in flux depending on the results of each year’s entrance exams—more on this in another article). This was an ideal time for me, and I definitely suggest that Master’s degree students who feel confident with 3-5 years of Japanese seriously consider applying to the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies. Although it is a challenge to your mental fortitude, the benefits of the program far outweigh the stress endured (And what is being a graduate student, if not learning to deal with stress?). Part of the allure of studying at the IUC is that the professors there, like those at your home institutions, know that everyone comes in with specific research and personal goals, and they do everything in their power to facilitate these needs and cultivate your language skills to best serve your plans for the future. It is an opportunity not to be missed.

—

I hope this post was a decent introduction to the Inter-University Center. We’ll have more practical things soon coming your way, such as outlines of the coursework offered in both the summer and 10-month programs, a guide to funding and housing, and more! If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave a comment on this post, email us at shinpai.deshou@gmail.com, or message us on our Twitter and Facebook accounts.

 

 

Posted in graduate school, language schools, living abroad, main posts, study abroad, study tools, summer program, undergraduate | Tagged , , , , , | 19 Comments

Announcement: Summer Institute for Teachers of Japanese Language in U.S.

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Paula

The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles, in collaboration with DePaul University will conduct a four-day Summer Institute in Arlington Heights, Illinois, during summer 2011.

Goals and Objectives:

Workshop participants will review and improve their teaching practices by revisiting basic knowledge and concepts of Japanese language pedagogy.  They will also gain firsthand knowledge of Japanese Studies, and build a network through discussion with other teachers.

Contents:

The following five areas will be covered every day:

Area 1 – JF Standards:

Participants will become familiar with JF Standards in the context of pedagogy in the U.S., and Minna no Can-Do site, an instructional tool to set and/or align their own curriculum goals and to assist learners to self-assess.

Area 2 – Content Based Instruction and Critical Thinking:

Participants will learn how to develop courses incorporating contents so that learners can develop critical thinking skills while learning Japanese language.

Area 3 – Featured Topics in Japanese Studies:
Participants will gain basic knowledge of Japanese studies. Invited Japanese studies experts will lecture and discuss with participants on a different topic on each day.

Area 4 – Assessment:
Participants will learn how to develop evaluations based on curriculum.

Extra Area during the Institute – Network and Advocacy:
Participants will gain knowledge of skills and resources to advocate Japanese language education and their own programs in both micro and macro settings.  They will also develop a local network to support themselves.

The Institute will be conducted mainly in Japanese.

Duration:

August 1 – August 4, 2011 (4 days; approximately 8-9 hours/day)

Participants:

Up to 20 K-16 school teachers of Japanese language, both native and non-native speakers.

Application Eligibility:

Applicants must meet the following criteria*:

  1. K-16 teachers of Japanese language, native or non-native speakers;
  2. currently reside in theUnited States;
  3. are to resume teaching after attending this program;

*Priority is given to those who teach in Mid-West states.

Venue:

Wingate Hotel
Arlington Heights, IL

Teaching Staff:

Nobuko Chikamatsu Chandler, DePaul University, Chicago, IL
Sukero Ito, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Tokyo, Japan
Maki Watanabe Isoyama, The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles, CA

Daily Special Guests: Miho Matsugu (Literature), Yuki Miyamoto (Ethics), and Noriko Tomuro (Gaming & Animation) from DePaul University, and Jason Jones (Culture & Film) form University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Expenses:

The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles will bear the following expenses for those who complete the course with satisfactory attendance.

(1)   Tuition
(2)   Some parts of the fees to purchase materials.
(3)   Accommodations at a designated hotel for NON-LOCAL participants.*

*Note:

  • Non-local participants are those who reside outside Chicago and its suburban areas.  Charges for accommodations will NOT be paid by the Japan Foundation, Los Angeles, if you choose to stay in a place different from the hotel that The Japan Foundation designates.
  • The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles will not pay for the charges for accommodations for those who fail to observe the participants’ obligation without any unavoidable circumstances.

Participants are responsible for

(1)   $50 registration and material fee.  The fee will be collected with the application.
(2)   Transportation to and from your home and the venue
(3)   Meals
(4)   Incidentals during the stay at the designated hotel.*
(5)   Reading materials to be used during the Institute.
(6)   An insurance policy for disease, injury, and/or theft during the program.

Participants’ Obligation (Terms and Conditions):

(1)   To understand that this program is organized for the group as a whole and that you are required to attend all the classes and complete all the assignments.
(2)   To watch your personal belongings.  The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles is not responsible for any loss(es).
(3)   To obtain reading materials to be used during the Institute.
(4)   To pay the $50 course registration when submitting the application form; check made payable to The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles.
(5)   To purchase an insurance policy for disease, injury, and/or theft.  The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles cannot bear any responsibility for any accidents during this program.

Deadline:

Applications must arrive at the Japan Foundation, Los Angeles no later than June 15, 2011, by post.

 

Notification:

Acknowledgement of receipt of your application and an information packet will be e-mailed out to applicants on June 20, 2011.  Applications are selected on a first-come-first-served basis with a consideration that priority is given to those who teach in Mid-West states.  If all the seats were taken by the time your application arrived, your check will be returned to you.

Credit:

The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles is making arrangement for CEU.  Details will be announced later.

Application Form:

An application form is downloadable at the website of the Japan Foundation, Los Angeles (http://www.jflalc.org).

Additional Information:

Please Contact:

Maki Watanabe Isoyama, Senior Program Officer
TheJapanFoundation,Los Angeles
333 South Grand Ave., Suite 2250
Los Angeles,CA90071
Phone: (213) 621-2267
FAX: (213) 621-2590
E-mail: jflaeducation@jflalc.org

http://www.jflalc.org/jle_index.html

 

 

 

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

Call for Papers: Inter-Asian Connections III Workshop: Asian Crossings, 1789-1914

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Paula

http://www.ssrc.org/programs/pages/interasia-program/inter-asian-connections-iii-workshop-asian-crossings-1789-1914/

WORKSHOP DIRECTORS:

Ross Forman
National University of Singapore
ellrgf@nus.edu.sg

Julia Kuehn
 The University of Hong Kong
jkuehn@hku.hk

Call for Workshop Papers

 DEADLINE: June 24, 2011

The long nineteenth century was a period of major social, economic, and cultural shifts in Asia that were often spurred by colonialism, even  when not specifically linked to it. Some of the most noteworthy drives  and effects of these shifts include: competition between European imperial projects (French, British, Russian, Dutch, Portuguese); the growth of intra-Asian imperialist projects (in Korea, Taiwan, Manchuria and elsewhere); changes to historical trade routes in the Indian Ocean and between China and her neighbors; large-scale labor movements both within the region (from China to Southeast Asia, for instance) and beyond (from India to Mauritius, Southern Africa and the Caribbean or from Japan to Brazil and Peru); and the development of multicultural urban spaces as a product of these and other forces. These larger concerns also had a significant impact on local geographies. For example, the East India Company’s opium trade with China altered the lives of peasants in Bengal and Bihar and, in many cases, drove them to emigration. Similarly, the foreign presence in Shanghai had a direct impact on the development of the Chinese periodical press.

Our workshop proceeds from the premise that textual artifact–be they maps, travel narratives, account ledgers, novels, newspapers, or personal paper–offer a privileged means to assess what some of the effects of”Asian Crossings” were and how they manifested themselves.

We invite participants from the humanities and social sciences to join us in investigating how  Asian Crossings  reshaped the real and imaginative geography of the region. Our aim is to bring together scholars in a range of disciplines including literary studies, history, geography, South Asian Studies, and East and Southeast Asian Studies to map some of the ways in which the direct and indirect impact of imperialisms during the long nineteenth century gave rise to contemporary Asian modernities. We also welcome the participation of writers, artists, and filmmakers whose work engages with Asian pasts. We hope to attract scholars not only from different disciplinary backgrounds, but also from different linguistic traditions. In our own field of literature, for instance, it is rare that specialists working on Francophone literature, culture, and history in Asia speak to those working on Anglophone tradition–and equally rare that scholars of literature in English dialogue with scholars of Chinese, Hindi, or Arabic. Thus an important goal of”Asian Crossings” is not just to explore old geographies, but also to create new conceptual geographies of exchange for scholars working on a variety of Asia-centered topics.

The initial research questions for the project are as follows:

How can postcolonial methodologies be revisited so that they take into account relationships other than those between colonizers and colonizeds? How can a better understanding of the multiple exchanges between different Asian locations help us to imagine alternative ways of studying Asia?

In what ways has the area studies model interfered with our ability to see the interconnectedness of different Asian spaces to each other and to other parts of the world during the long nineteenth century?

To what degree can imperialism be considered a process common to different Asian societies during the long nineteenth century? To what degree did it create new “crossings” within Asia and beyond? The workshop is just the beginning of our deliberations. We hope that participants will work with us to produce an edited special issue and/or anthology and will collaborate with us on further inter-institutional and web-based projects on the theme of “Asian Crossings.”

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

Theatre Nohgaku Press Release

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Paula

Theatre Nohgaku is pleased to announce its upcoming June-July tour of the highly acclaimed English Noh play Pagoda in Tokyo, Kyoto, Beijing and Hong Kong.

Pagoda was premiered jointly by Theatre Nohgaku and Oshima Noh Theatre in 2009 to packed houses in London, Dublin, Oxford and Paris. The upcoming tour will be the Asian premiere of the play as well as Theatre Nohgaku’s first Asian tour.

Once again, the two companies will be performing jointly: in Tokyo on June 28th at the National Noh Theater; in Kyoto on June 30th at the Kongo Noh Theater; in Beijing on July 2nd at the Contemporary Arts Centre, and July 4th at the National Centre for the Performing Arts; and in Hong Kong on July 6th at the Academy of Performing Arts.

The tour is sponsored by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunka-cho) as well Mitsubishi Electric and SMBC Europe. Further support comes from the British Council in Tokyo, Beijing and Hong Kong, the American Embassies in Tokyo and Beijing, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing and Japanese Consulate in Hong Kong, and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Hong Kong.

Pagoda, written by British playwright Jannette Cheong with music and direction by Theatre Nohgaku artistic director Richard Emmert, is rooted in the story of the author’s grandmother who sent her son, Cheong’s father, away to sea when he was a young boy to avoid the famine that ravaged China’s rural coastline areas in the 1920s. He never returned to China. After his death in London in the 1970s, Ms. Cheong herself made the journey to China to find her father’s birthplace. Her family’s experiences, at once both tragic and uplifting, are combined with an ancient Chinese legend about a pagoda to form the basis of this piece.

Theatre Nohgaku is an international company comprised of Japan and North American-based members whose mission is to create and present English-language plays in traditional noh style complete with noh music and movement as well as masks and costumes, all in the traditional noh style.  It serves as a unique cultural and artistic intermediary between Japan and the English-speaking world.

Theatre Nohgaku members performing in this production are Jubilith Moore (waki secondary role), Elizabeth Dowd (tsure accompanying shite role), Lluis Valls (ai interlude role), and chorus members Rick Emmert, David Crandall, John Oglevee, James Ferner, Matt Dubroff, Greg Giovanni, Tom O’Connor and David Surtasky.

The Oshima Noh Theatre is affiliated with the Kita school of noh, one of the five main-actor noh schools in Japan. One of the most active traditional noh families, it is headed by Masanobu Oshima, an important intangible cultural asset as designated by the Japanese government. His daughter, Kinue, the sole female professional performer in the Kita school, will perform the lead role in Pagoda while his son, Teruhisa, an experienced young professional Kita school actor, will also perform a tsure accompanying shite role.

The program will also include an excerpt from the classical Japanese noh play Takasago again performed by both groups.

For details about the production contact or see any of the following:

Theatre Nohgaku  Tel: 03-3373-0553 (Japan)  tickets@theatrenohgaku.org  / http://www.theatrenohgaku.org

Kita-ryu Oshima Noh Theatre  Tel: 084-923-2633 (Japan)/ osimano@orange.ocn.ne.jp

Richard Emmert
Hon-cho 2-27-10 Nakano-ku, Tokyo 164-0012 Japan
tel: 03-3373-0553 fax: 03-3373-4509
Professor, Asian Theatre and Music, Musashino University
Artistic Director, Theatre Nohgaku
Director, Noh Training Project

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

Book announcement: NAKAGAMI, JAPAN: Buraku and the Writing of Ethnicity

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Paula

Our book announcements tend to get buried in the files for some reason, so here’s another belated one:

—

How Japan’s most canonical postwar writer brought that country’s largest social minority into the mainstream

NAKAGAMI, JAPAN: Buraku and the Writing of Ethnicity

By Anne McKnight

Anne McKnight shows how Nakagami Kenji’s exploration of buraku writing led to a unique blend of fiction and ethnography-and a reimagining of modern Japanese literature. McKnight develops a parallax view of Nakagami’s achievement, allowing us to see the writer much as he saw himself, as a writer whose accomplishments traversed both buraku literary arts and high literary culture in Japan.

PRAISE FOR NAKAGAMI, JAPAN:

“Anne McKnight’s proposal that we understand Nakagami’s writings in terms of a ‘parallax vision’ immediately resonates in the mind of anyone familiar with his works: it is an approach that finally allows Nakagami to be Nakagami. We know that we need to get outside the framework of national literary studies, but that is a task easier said than done. McKnight goes a good deal of the way toward showing us what is to be done now in the study of both Japanese literature and minority cultures.” -Michael K. Bourdaghs, University of Chicago

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Anne McKnight is assistant professor of East Asian languages and cultures and comparative literature at the University of Southern California.

For more information, including the table of contents, visit the book’s webpage:

http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/M/mcknight_nakagami.html

Posted in announcements, culture, study tools | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Job opening: Senior Program Officer, Fulbright

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Paula

World Learning, a global non-profit organization, (www.worldlearning.org ) is responding to a State Department solicitation for the Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchanges and the Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching.  World Learning is seeking to recruit a Senior Program Officer, Fulbright. Employment is contingent upon successful award of the program. Qualified and interested candidates should transmit a CV and cover letter (in English) with position title on the subject heading as soon as possible, but no later than June 13, to recruitment3@worldlearning.org .  Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Background:

This program will manage, on behalf of the State Department, two components of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program, for a total of 136 participants per year. Pending successful implementation, the program may be supported for a total of three years.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international exchange program sponsored by the US Government, with the goal of increasing mutual understanding and promoting leadership development. The purpose of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program is to promote professional exchanges between teachers in the US and selected countries overseas, with the objective of supporting the internationalization of schools and classrooms, expanding global awareness, and improving knowledge of English and foreign languages. Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchanges provide opportunities for US and foreign teachers to participate in direct exchanges of teaching positions for one semester to one year. Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching recognize and encourage excellence in teaching in the US and abroad by providing opportunities for research and professional development activities.

Responsibilities of the Senior Program Officer, Fulbright:

  • program planning and management
  • adherence to the policies of the J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board, as well as all other Federal regulations
  • selection and oversight of review committees across the US
  • recruitment, placement, supervision, and support of participants
  • orientation and preparation of participants and host/mentor educators
  • coordination of workshops, professional development, and enrichment activities
  • participant supervision and support services
  • fiscal management and budgeting
  • program reporting and evaluation (including ad hoc program and financial reports as requested by the Teacher Exchange Branch)
  • alumni programming, support and follow-on activities
  • preparation of schedules and timelines for notifying ECA, overseas partners, and participants of recruitment cycles
  • placements, travel arrangements and cross-cultural and program information in a timely manner
  • staff supervision
  • liaison with US Department of State, Fulbright Commissions, US Embassies, the J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board, American schools/school systems; and other partners as appropriate
  • host school support.

Required Qualifications:

  • Master’s Degree plus three years of related work experience or a Bachelor’s Degree and five years of related work experience;
  • Experience working with international education exchange programs, particularly at primary and   secondary school level.  Experience with Fulbright programs a plus
  • Strong cross-cultural and communications skills
  • Energetic and strong team player
  • Excellent organizational ability
  • International experience
  • Computer proficiency, including Excel
  • SEVIS and J-1 visa experience desirable
  • Experience with US Department of State programs desirable.
Posted in announcements, job openings, jobs | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Call for Workshop Papers: Anatomies of Knowledge: Medicine, Science, and Health in Asia

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Paula

http://www.ssrc.org/programs/pages/interasia-program/inter-asian-connections-iii-workshop-anatomies-of-knowledge-medicine-science-and-health-in-asia/

Anatomies of Knowledge: Medicine, Science, and Health in Asia at the Conference on Inter-Asian Connections III

Hong Kong (June 6-8, 2012)

 DEADLINE: Friday, June 24, 2011

Co-organized and co-sponsored by The Hong Kong Institute for Humanities and the Social Sciences (HKIHSS) at the University of Hong Kong, the National University of Singapore (NUS), and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC).

The Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (HKIHSS) at the University of Hong Kong, the National University of Singapore (NUS), and the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) (the Organizers) are pleased to announce an open call for individual research paper submissions from researchers in any world region, to participate in a 3-day thematic workshop at an international conference, “Inter-Asian Connections III: Hong Kong.”

To be held in Hong Kong, June 6-8, 2012, the conference will host six concurrent workshops, led by two or three directors and showcasing innovative research from across the social sciences and related disciplines. Workshops will focus on themes of particular relevance to Asia, reconceptualized as a dynamic and interconnected historical, geographical, and cultural formation stretching from the Middle East through Eurasia and South Asia, to East Asia. Four workshops were chosen competitively from among 41 applications while two were organized by the host institution. We are now accepting applications for all six workshops.

The conference structure and schedule have been designed to enable intensive “working group” interactions on a specific research theme, as well as broader interactions on topics of mutual interest and concern. Accordingly, there will be a public keynote and plenary sessions in addition to closed workshop sessions. The concluding day of the conference will bring all the conference participants together for the public presentation and exchange of research agendas that have emerged over the course of the conference deliberations.

Individual paper submissions are invited from junior and senior scholars, whether graduate students or faculty, or researchers in NGOs or other research organizations, for the following six workshops.

WORKSHOP DIRECTORS:

Angela Ki Che Leung
Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong
kcleung7@hku.hk

Izumi Nakayama
The University of Hong Kong
nakayama@hku.hk

“Asia” is still used as shorthand to refer to a large, nebulous region, traditionally defined in opposition to “Western/modern”. Can “Asia” be a new constructive category of analysis, then, if the idea is taken out of oppositional and dichotomous relationships with the “West,” and used as a fluid, plural, maybe unique, and continuous process in the building of the contemporary global? This workshop aims to explore these ideas by focusing on the issues of medicine, science, and health. Does knowledge generated by new technologies and disease studies reinscribe “traditional” beliefs about race, ethnicity and nation, or does it contribute to a new and larger collective, broadly imagined as “Asia”?

Recent research uses the ideas of medicine, science, and health to engage the larger “Asian” identities. Leung and Furth (2010), for instance, identify the porous and interconnected relationships of the local and the global to reconceptualize East Asia. Ong and Chen (2010) use the term “Asian Biotech” to address a growing regional focus on the pursuit of biotechnology as national interest, with Asian players positioning themselves as key global actors to surpass the “West.” This workshop will examine such and other ongoing processes of redefining and reconfiguring “Asia” by focusing on three broad themes, and encourages applications from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds.

Changing ideas/ideals, Changing Asia(s):  Since the mid nineteenth century, “modern” science and medicine, via the “West” and sometimes via Japan, had been interacting with the historically-specific local, socio-cultural perspectives and practices on the “Asian” body. How have these knowledges interfaced in the colonial/postcolonial periods, transforming and impacting the present discourse? How do the “global genealogies of scientific practices in highly local situations” (Leung and Furth, 2010) translate from the past? How are the legacies and genealogies, preserved in policies and institutions, adjusting to the shifting narratives of the rapidly transforming biotechnologies and ethics of medicine, science, and health? How are old and new ethical reasoning informed by, and forming, new modes of capitalism, nationalism, sovereignty, and the notion of “Asia”?

Biosecurity: Crises, Risks, Reactions: The insecurities and risks associated with the modern pandemics results from the continual global movements of peoples, goods, and diseases, with political, economic, and social impact. Are new diseases such as SARS, Bird Flu, H1N1 etc. considered and managed as “Asian” diseases the way cholera, plague, and leprosy were in the 19th century, or differently? How does post-colonial manipulation of international quarantine impact the notions of borders, sovereignty, citizenship, civil rights and identities in “Asia” and in individual Asian states? How does global or “Asian” economics inform quarantine politics and quarantine impact trade? How is the “Asian” element in such institutional setup integrated and interpreted?

Trials and tribulations? New and “experimental” sciences and technologies:

In an age when new technologies outpace legal adaptation and ethical discourse, how do governments, corporations, academics, or other agents provide ethical, legal, political, economic oversight and protection and what are the consequences? How do indigenous medicines fit in? What kinds of historical legacies, cultural capital, religious traditions, and other value systems inform, shape and formulate shifting narratives to test and incorporate new technologies, which may transform previously-held ideas of nutrition, well-being, and reproduction of individuals, families, and communities? Genomic and stem cell research, organ farming, new reproductive technologies and birth controls, genetically-modified food–how do these new technologies impact “Asian” identities and policies?

The three themes are not mutually exclusive, as common issues are intertwined through the broad topics of medicine, science, and health. They also point to the “Asian” historicity of knowledge, and the constantly shifting factors shaping them.

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

FYI: searchina.ne.jp posted an article on the volunteer information we posted via David Slater’s wonderful efforts to make sure everyone knows how they can help. Check it out!

http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2011&d=0603&f=national_0603_088.shtml

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Paula | Leave a comment

Fun Link Friday: Digital Gallery of World Picture Books

Posted on June 3, 2011 by tnguyen3729

Are you suffering from Peter Pan syndrome and have a love of picture books? Are you a parent burdened by the fact that your local library doesn’t have many children’s books in other languages? Do you just have a penchant for children’s stories and art work? Maybe you have an odd interest in exploring history and culture through children’s stories. If so, check out the Digital Gallery of World Picture Books (DGWPB).

The DGWPB allows people to see famous Japanese and Western picture books from the 18th century to the 1930s. Initially picture books started with illustrations meant as appendages to text. These images matured along with advances in print technology. With advances in printing arts around the 1920s, the picture book entered its “golden age.”

The DGWPB present 7 exhibits of many classics from the three eras of pictures books: “Era of Illustrated Books,” “Era of Picture Books,” and the “Golden Age of the Picture Book.” Three collections are of significance to Japan:

  1. “Edo Picture books and Japonisme” takes up picture books from the Edo period (1603-1867) like Momotoro and the Ogres’ Treasure House, Princess Hachikazuki, and Bunta the Salt Seller. Also introduced are picture books created in England that reveal Japonisme under the influence of ukiyo-e and other woodblock prints as part of the response of Western artists to Japanese art and culture.
  2. “Kodomo no Kuni: Artists and Children’s Books in 1920s Japan” introduces the picture book magazine Kodomo no kuni [Land of Children], publication of which began in 1920s Japan. It shows examples of the outstanding artwork, songs, and tales that flowered in this magazine under the influence of the Modernist movement.
  3. “Art and Daily Life: Modernism in the Picture Book” presents a selection of picture books made in the Soviet Union, the United States, Germany, and Japan from 1920 through the 1930s.

The Digital Gallery of World Picture Books provides great insight into resources that influenced children during different time periods in both art and culture. It’s not only a great exhibit for adults who may be doing research for academic or personal reasons, but those who simply want to explore their inner child. It would certainly be a fun resource to share with any child in your life too, whether they be your own children, niece or nephew, sibling or children of friends too!

Posted in culture, fun links | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Call for Applications: Translating Asia: Studying China in Imperial Japan, 1895-1936

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Paula

The Department of History at the Free University of Berlin (Prof. Sebastian Conrad) is inviting applications for a graduate student with the aim of pursuing a Ph.D. in the project Translating Asia: Studying China in Imperial Japan, 1895-1936. Positions will be for three years, starting from October 2011.

The project Translating Asia: Studying China in Imperial Japan, 1895-1936 aims to deal with the role of historical actors and institutions in Japan’s quest to come to terms with China in an age of imperialism. It seeks to address questions such as: What kind of knowledge about China was transmitted to Japan in the wake of the Sino-Japanese war? How closely linked was the production of China-related knowledge to the colonial project? What were the disciplinary logics of this scholarly engagement with China? How strong were the links to older kangaku traditions? Was China-related knowledge mobilized for alternative projects of building allegiance, such as Pan-Asianism? What were the links between knowledge production and the imperial and economic penetration of the continent? Possible points of departure include the chair in colonial studies at Tokyo University, Takushoku University, and the Toua doubun shoin in Shanghai.

The project is part of a larger collaborative project on Social Actors in the History of Globalization, 1890-1940 that aims to assess the place, role, and impact of social actors in the process of globalization in the early 20th century. The project (German language website: www.cultglobe.net ) is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

We welcome applications from researchers with a very good MA degree in History or in Japanese Studies. Japanese language proficiency is a requirement. We also ask for a good command of the English language. Familiarity with current debates in the field of global history is an advantage. Applications should include a CV, transcript of records, and a cover letter. Salaries will be calculated on the basis of BAT IIa, 65% of the German salary scheme.

Deadline for applications: 14 June, 2011. Please send application to:

heike.kubisch@fu-berlin.de

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