Symposium: “Japan” in Communist Europe (March 1&2, 2025 @Tokyo University of Foreign Studies& online)
The political separation imposed by the Soviet occupation of Eastern and Central Europe after World War II was not sufficient to contain the fascination for and keen interest in Japan and its literature and arts that were already present during the prewar period. In fact, the “Iron Curtain” either initiated new engagements or further enhanced existing ones. Moreover, despite a decade of diminished interactions until the end of the Stalinist period in the mid 1950s, Japan, its culture, arts, and literature came to represent in that geopolitical space artificially defined by the “Iron Curtain” not only an “exotic other”—the prevalent prewar perception—but also, paradoxically, a symbol of freedom, a societal model, and, as such, an aspiration.
The current symposium is a continuation of the two-day workshop “Japan: Literary and Cultural Representations in Communist Europe,” held online in October 2022; a selection of the papers presented in 2022 are included in the forthcoming volume Japan behind the Iron Curtain.
We hereby invite further contributions about the public perception and scholarly reception of Japan through translations of its literature, interpretations of its culture, and artistic endeavors engaging with “Japan” within the temporal frame and geopolitical confines of the countries that were either occupied by or left under the influence of the Soviet Union after World War II. Based on the contributions presented at the symposium we plan to put together a second Japan behind the Iron Curtain volume.
Those interested are invited to send their proposals to irinaholca@tufs.ac.jp by December 7, 2024. Selection results will be announced on January 7, 2025. Proposals can be in English (300 words) or Japanese (600 characters). Please include a short bio (50-75 words in English or 100-150 characters in Japanese).
Keynote: George T. Sipos (West University of Timisoara/ Gannon University): Japan and the Iron Curtain: Between Exoticism and Imaginary Land of Freedom.
For any inquiries, please contact me at irinaholca@tufs.ac.jp.
Best,
Irina Holca (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)
ASCJ 2025 (Sophia U)
The Executive Committee of the Asian Studies Conference Japan (ASCJ) invites proposals for panels, roundtables, and individual papers to be presented at the 2025 Asian Studies Conference Japan. Next year’s conference will be held on the Yotsuya Campus of Sophia University in late June/early July. Please check the website regularly for an announcement of the conference dates.
As in past years, all presentations are to be delivered in English. Proposals may be submitted online between September 25 and October 31. Results will be announced by late December.
Each participant is allowed to present only one panel or individual paper during the conference. (This restriction applies to co-authored and co-presented papers.) Furthermore, during the conference, presenters may also be the chair of their own panel or of another one, but no presenter should be the discussant for their own panel. Presenters may be the discussant for a different panel.
The forms and further information are available at:
https://ascjapan.org/conference/call-for-papers/
Submission Categories
Panels are proposed by individual scholars around a common subject. A complete panel includes up to five participants (three or four paper presenters and one or more chair/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.
Roundtable Sessions are a discussion format centered around a particular topic. This is not a formal paper presentation session. The roundtable should aim at stimulating interaction, debate, and discussion among its participants and those in attendance. 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. Please note, however, that only 8-10 Individual Paper sessions are created each year, hence the acceptance rate is very low. Senior scholars should consider organizing or joining an organized panel proposal. PhD students and early career scholars are encouraged to consider organizing or joining a panel proposal to increase the odds of acceptance on the program. Papers may be co-authored, but only the names of registered participants will appear on the program.
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 strongly encourages graduate student participation and it will give favorable consideration to panels that embed students alongside more seasoned scholars.
Since 2014 the ASCJ has awarded the L.B. Grove Graduate Student Paper Prize. For details on this competition please see the “Conference” section of the ASCJ website. To be considered for this prize the student must be enrolled in a degree program at a Japanese university and be accepted as a presenter at the ASCJ 2025 Conference. The deadline for submission of the completed paper is June 15, 2025. The winner will be announced at the time of the keynote lecture.
I and my colleagues on the Executive Committee look forward to seeing you in Tokyo in 2025.
Christian Hess
ASCJ President
CFP for Journal of World Buddhist Cultures (JWBC), Vol. 8
The Journal of World Buddhist Cultures (JWBC) is a peer-reviewed journal aimed at developing and disseminating broad knowledge related to Buddhism. It also attempts to encourage international intellectual exchange seeking solutions to the various problems of people living in the unpredictable and uncertain modern world by actively engaging with Buddhist studies.
The JWBC defines Buddhist studies broadly, also including philosophy, literature, history, politics, economics, anthropology, sociology, criminology, and area studies related to Buddhism one way or another.
You might also want to have a look at the latest issue having three excellent articles from the following links.
Vol. 7. https://rcwbc.ryukoku.ac.jp/cms/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Journal-of-World-Buddhist-Cultures-Vol.-7.pdf
Submission Deadline
September 27, 2024 (Fri)
For more information, please see this website or please feel free to contact the JWBC editorial team for any queries (rcwbc-ejournal@ad.ryukoku.ac.jp).
Call for Papers: Fourth Conference European Association for Asian Art and Archaeology (EAAA)
8–13 September 2025
University of Lisbon, Portugal
Deadline for submissions: 15 October 2024
Notification of acceptance: 31 January 2025
The Board of the European Association for Asian Art and Archaeology (EAAA) is pleased to announce a call for papers for the 4th EAAA Conference to be held at the School of Arts and Humanities – University of Lisbon (Portugal) between 8 and 13 September 2025. The 4th Conference is jointly organised by the European Association for Asian Art and Archaeology (EAAA), the UNIARQ – Centre for Archaeology (School of Arts and Humanities), the CH-ULisboa – Centre for History of the University of Lisbon, ARTIS-Institute of Art History and ACN-Asia Collections Network.
The School of Arts and Humanities – University of Lisbon is the largest scientific school of Arts and Humanities in the country and has the only existing first cycle programme in Portugal dedicated to the study of Asia as a whole.
Main aims of the 4th EAAA Conference:
• To open a dialogue between scholars of Asian art and archaeology and to offer a platform for the presentation and discussion of recent research.
• To highlight the significance of Asian art and archaeology research.
• To focus research on the many collections of Asian art in Europe.
• To revise the historical approach that has been prevalent in the study and research of Asian art and archaeology.
• To critically engage and elaborate on existing art theories and methodology.
• To formulate new research vistas, approaches and methods in Asian art and archaeology.
Conference participation
Scholars of Asian art (visual and performing) and archaeology from Europe and beyond are invited to submit their proposals dealing with the art and archaeology of the whole area of Asia from the Asia Pacific to the East Mediterranean (e.g. East Asia, Northeast Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and West Asia) as well as transregional, transmedial and transnational studies. The proposals can also focus on performing arts, critical theory and methodology in the above-mentioned areas. Advanced graduate students are encouraged to submit their proposals. The language of the conference is English.
Please note that the 4th EAAA Conference will be held in person. All speakers are expected to give a paper on site. Non-presenting participants to the conference are encouraged to take part either on site or online.
The EAAA board accepts the following formats of participation:
Individual paper:
Paper proposal (max. 250 words), including the title of the paper and the name of the speaker. Each paper
presentation should last 20 minutes, allocating 10 minutes at the end for questions for discussions. Individual paper proposals will be grouped by the Selection Committee into 3–4 paper panels on a unifying theme.
Panel proposal:
Panel proposal (max. 250 words), including the title of the panel, panel organiser(s), panellists and chair/discussant; 3–4 paper abstracts (max. 250 words each, individually saved in WORD). The Selection Committee reserves the right to modify the panel structure.
Performing arts:
We welcome papers that include the demonstration of the performing arts (for example, dance, music, and theater): please send abstract (max. 250 words), title of the lecture demonstration, name and affiliation of the speaker, and short sample of demonstration of up to three minutes, in form of a mp4 video (via WeTransfer) or a video link (none will be published). As with all papers, the presentation will be max. 20 minutes in length followed by 10 minutes of discussion.
Poster presentation:
Poster proposal (max. 250 words), including the title of the poster and the name of the presenter. Each poster must fit within a 122 cm × 122 cm area; 71.1 cm × 55.9 cm landscape orientation, with main points visible from ca. 2 m away. The poster needs to be printed in full colour in advance.
All applicants are asked to add a short CV of about 100 words, their status and affiliation (e.g. PhD candidate, University of Leeds) as well as contact information (postal address, telephone number, e-mail address) to their proposal application.
Please also note the following participation role limits:
• Panel organisers can serve as chair/discussants or panellists in their pre-organised panel.
• Panellists are discouraged to serve as chair/discussants in the same panel in which they are speaking.
• Panellists may participate in a panel as chair/discussant in which they are not speaking.
• Each participant can give only one paper presentation
All proposals saved in WORD format (not PDF) should be sent to conference@ea-aaa.eu by 15 October 2024. All submitted proposals will be anonymised and reviewed by the Selection Committee. The notification of acceptance will be made by 31 January 2025. The preliminary conference programme will be published by 31 May 2025.
The final conference programme will be published by 15 August 2025.
EAAA membership fees:
A two-year membership (2025–2026) of EAAA (regular 60.- €, students 20.- €) is a prerequisite for all participants. Become an EAAA member here.
Conference registration fees:
The conference registration fee covers coffee breaks, refreshments and the opening reception.
Early bird registration before 30 April 2025
Regular EAAA members 75.- €
Student EAAA members 40.- €
Registration (in-person participation for giving papers and/or attending all the sessions on site) before 15 July 2025
Regular EAAA members 85.- €
Student EAAA members 45.- €
For those who will not attend the conference in person but wish to attend the sessions virtually, we are pleased to offer the following option:
Online participation for attending all the sessions (registration before 31 August 2025)
Regular EAAA members 45.- €
Student EAAA members 25.- €
Further information
For more information on the EAAA and its conference, please visit EAAA website: http://www.ea-aaa.eu
Later, suggestions for accommodations in Lisbon and all other information will be posted on the website.
For questions related to the conference, please email: conference@ea-aaa.eu
For questions related to the EAAA, please email: info@ea-aaa.eu
Organisational committee:
Mariana Diniz – (UNIARQ)
Luís Urbano Afonso – (Artis; ACN-Europe)
Elisabetta Colla – (CH-ULisboa – UNIARQ – ACN and ACN-Europe and EAAA)
Iside Carbone – (RAI-UK, ACN, ACN- Europe, CH-Ulisboa & EAAA)
António Barrento (CH-Ulisboa)
Diana Nukushina (UNIARQ & Embassy of Japan in Portugal)
Collaborators:
Carine Silva de Souza (UNIARQ)
Rafael Lima (UNIARQ)
