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Penn Center For East Asian Studies Newsletter

2008 - 09: Issue no. 12, November 14, 2008
The CEAS Newsletter weekly notifies East Asianists in our region of events and opportunities of interest. Notices appear under six headings:
  1. University of Pennsylvania East Asia Events
  2. Regional East Asia Events
  3. Employment and Internship Opportunities
  4. Fellowship and Award Opportunities
  5. East Asia Study Opportunities and Queries
  6. Conferences and Workshops
If you have notices in these categories that you like posted here, please send them to nriley@sas.upenn.edu.

* Indicates notices appearing here for the first time.


Featured Event

Tuesday, December 2, 12:00PM, Cherpack Lounge (543 Williams), The Making of Myths: Legends of the Building of Old Peking

Hok-lam Chan, Department of Asian Languages & Literature, University of Washington

This talk is based on a review of my recent book, Legends of the Building of Old Peking , jointly published by the Chinese University Press in Hong Kong and the University of Washington Press in 2008. It examines a series of popular legends surrounding the building and rebuilding of imperial cities in modern Beijing --most commonly known as Peking in Western literature-- that served as the capital of a succession of dynasties. They included the Nazha ? ? or Nezha ? ? City of the “Great Capital” (Dadu) of the Mongol-Yuan dynasty (1272-1368) and the “Northern Capital”(Bei-jing) of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644);. and the Mongolian legend of “siting by bowshot to locate the capital city” and its Chinese adaptations. Within a historical context, these legends feature the miraculous deeds of supernatural beings such as the Tantric Buddhist child deity Nazha (Nezha), Heavenly King Vaisravana, the Daoist Dark God (Zhenwu), and the sea demon Dragon King, all of which are intertwined with the exploits of romanticized historical personages such as Liu Bingzhong, Liu Bowen (i.e. Liu Ji ), Yao Guangxiao, and Shen Wansan. Meticulous research in Chinese and Mongolian historical and folkloric materials reveal in these legends a rich tapestry of religious and cultural traditions surrounding the Chinese and non-Han perceptions of the origins of the capital cities and within these contexts the aspirations for an ideal habitat and cultural environment. The legends and their evolution over several centuries are quite distinct from imperial ideologies and dynastic designs as they are transformed under changing political and cultural circumstances through the skillful recycling of old traditions. They unveil a unique dimension of the historical origins of the building of old Peking as well as the genesis and efflorescence of related popular culture in the modern capital of China .

Humanities Colloquium



(I) University of Pennsylvania East Asia Events

“The Challenges of Legal Aid in Xinjiang”:

A Lecture in the Series “Human Rights in Post-Olympic China ”

Penn Law International Human Rights Advocates and the East Asian Law Review invite you to attend a lecture by Mr. Chen Dong, visiting scholar at Columbia Law School and founder of the Urumqi Legal Aid Center in Xinjiang Province , China . Xinjiang is the home of the ethnic Uighurs, a Muslim minority, and the government claims there is a strong "separatist" movement in the province. Mr. Chen's talk will provide an overview of the legal aid system in China and the challenges of providing pro bono law in Xinjiang.

November 17, 2008 at 12:00

University of Pennsylvania Law School , Silverman Hall Room 240A

Lunch will be served

__________

The International Relations Program

The Think Tanks and Civil Society Program

The Foreign Policy Research Institute

The Political Science Department

Present

Think Tanks, Civil Society and Policy Advice In China :
The Promise and Political Limitations

Tuesday, November 18 th , 6:00-7:30PM Annenberg 110 .

The program will feature :

Xufeng Zhu associate professor at Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University , China , and a Harvard Yenching Scholar visiting at Harvard Yenching Institute, Harvard University

James G. McGann assistant director, International Relations Program, University of Pennsylvania and Director of the Think Tanks and Civil Society Program

To RSVP or for more information contact : Dr. Frank. Plantan at fplantan@sas.upenn.edu or Dr. James McGann at jmcgann@sas.upenn.edu or call the IR Office at 215-898-0452.

__________

*Penn Du Re - Inaugural Performance "Choo Seok Festival"

Date   November 23, Sunday

Time   5-6 PM

Venue   Hall of Flags, Houston Hall

Free admission and light snack is served

Email  penndure@gmail.com

Phone 714-745-2482(Clara Lee) or 917-583-9916(Chan Yong Sim)

Join Penn Du Re, Penn's Korean traditional music team, for our second performance, "Choo Seok Festival"!

From the expanse of musical expression in samulnori to a festive singing, chang and minyo, Penn Du Re hopes to carry you through an array of feelings, emotions, and sensations that have developed through Korea 's cultural history and are manifest today in your own community.

This performance aims to introduce the Korean drumming music and culture to our friends and family in small scale. Therefore, the performance is informal and open to the public for experience of playing the music. A Korean traditional light snack will be served for the event.

Penn Du Re provides the performance of Korean traditional music for the community at the University of Pennsylvania .  In addition Penn Du Re educates and trains its members, who belong to the community at Penn, in the performance of Korean traditional music, in order that this aspect of Korean culture be preserved in the campus community and in the greater Philadelphia region.  Penn Du Re was founded in 2006, as an informal musical group, and organized its first official concert in April, 2008.

__________

Tuesday, December 2, 12:00PM, Cherpack Lounge (543 Williams), The Making of Myths: Legends of the Building of Old Peking

Hok-lam Chan, Department of Asian Languages & Literature, University of Washington

This talk is based on a review of my recent book, Legends of the Building of Old Peking , jointly published by the Chinese University Press in Hong Kong and the University of Washington Press in 2008. It examines a series of popular legends surrounding the building and rebuilding of imperial cities in modern Beijing --most commonly known as Peking in Western literature-- that served as the capital of a succession of dynasties. They included the Nazha ? ? or Nezha ? ? City of the “Great Capital” (Dadu) of the Mongol-Yuan dynasty (1272-1368) and the “Northern Capital”(Bei-jing) of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644);. and the Mongolian legend of “siting by bowshot to locate the capital city” and its Chinese adaptations. Within a historical context, these legends feature the miraculous deeds of supernatural beings such as the Tantric Buddhist child deity Nazha (Nezha), Heavenly King Vaisravana, the Daoist Dark God (Zhenwu), and the sea demon Dragon King, all of which are intertwined with the exploits of romanticized historical personages such as Liu Bingzhong, Liu Bowen (i.e. Liu Ji ), Yao Guangxiao, and Shen Wansan. Meticulous research in Chinese and Mongolian historical and folkloric materials reveal in these legends a rich tapestry of religious and cultural traditions surrounding the Chinese and non-Han perceptions of the origins of the capital cities and within these contexts the aspirations for an ideal habitat and cultural environment. The legends and their evolution over several centuries are quite distinct from imperial ideologies and dynastic designs as they are transformed under changing political and cultural circumstances through the skillful recycling of old traditions. They unveil a unique dimension of the historical origins of the building of old Peking as well as the genesis and efflorescence of related popular culture in the modern capital of China .

Humanities Colloquium

__________

Tuesday, December 2, 6:00PM, Annenberg School 111, Seeing and Believing: The Modernist Vision of Miyazawa Kenji

Dr. Gregory Golley

E. Dale Saunders Memorial Lecture on Buddhism in Japan



(II) Regional East Asia Events


FPRI Roundtable

The U.S. Elections and America's Role in East Asia: Views from the Region


Wednesday November 19, 2008

10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon

Place: FPRI Library, 1528 Walnut Street, Suite 610, Phila.

Participation by telephone is also available.


This roundtable discussion will feature these speakers:

Da Wei, Associate Research Professor and Deputy Director of the
Department of American Studies, and Washington representative, China
Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR)

Keiko IIzuka, Deputy Political Editor and former chief correspondent
covering Japan's prime minister's office and foreign ministry, Yomiyuri
Shimbun and visiting fellow, Brookings Institution

Lin Chong-pin, Professor of International Affairs and Strategic Studies,
Tamkang University and former Deputy Minister of National Defense and
Senior Advisor to the National Security Council of the Republic of China
(Taiwan)

Moderator:

Jacques deLisle, Stephen A. Cozen Professor of Law, University of
Pennsylvania and Director of the Asia Program, Foreign Policy Research
Institute

RSVP lux@fpri.org

For instructions on how to participate by telephone, contact: lux@fpri.org

__________

Buddhist Studies Workshop Princeton University 2008-2009

Daniel B. Stevenson , Kansas University “The Tiantai Four Books: Protocols of Buddhist Learning in Late-Song and Yuan Dynasty China.” November 21, 2008 (Friday), 4:30 pm, Room 137, 1879 Hall.

Tuesday, December 9, 4:30 pm, Room 137, 1879 Hall. Parimal Patil , Harvard University. “On Why There Is A History of Buddhist Philosophy in India.”

__________

The Columbia University Buddhist Studies Seminar cordially invites you to a public lecture on:

"The 'Tiantai Four Books': Protocols of Buddhist Learning in Late Song and Yuan China"

by DANIEL STEVENSON


WHEN:
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
6:00 - 7:30 pm


WHERE:
80 Claremont Ave., Room 101
Department of Religion, Columbia University
New York, NY

__________

UCLA Paul I. and Hisako Terasaki Center for Japanese StudiesCo-sponsored with: UCLA Center for Buddhist Studies
UCLA Center for Chinese Studies
UCLA Center for Korean Studies
UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies

Present:

Recent Developments in the Study of Buddhist Art Conference

Friday, Nov. 21
9 am - 5 pm
Faculty Center
Hacienda Room
No registration required

Saturday, Nov. 22
Seminar space limited
Reservations required
RSVP:
mccallum@humnet.ucla.edu

Participants
Cynthia Bogel (University of Washington)
Robert Brown (UCLA)
Sherry Fowler (University of Kansas)
Phyllis Granoff (Yale University)
Minku Kim (UCLA)
Sunkyung Kim (USC)
Sonya Lee (USC)
Donald F. McCallum (UCLA)
Chari Pradel (CSU Pomona)
Melody Rod-Ari (UCLA)
Akira Shimada (SUNY, New Paltz)
Koichi Shinohara (Yale University)
Yoko Shirai (USC)
Nancy Steinhardt (Univ. of Pennsylvania)
Maya Stiller (UCLA)
Yui Suzuki (University of Maryland)

Organized by
Donald F. McCallum
UCLA Art History



(III) Employment and Internship Opportunities

Director, Korean Language Summer Institute 2009, University of Pennsylvania

The College of Liberal and Professional Studies and the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania invite applications for Director of the Korean Language Institute for Summer 2009. The eight-week intensive summer language program for 25 students is offered in partnership with Kyung Hee University at their Suwon campus in South Korea. In its third of a four-year program, the Summer Institute is part of the Critical Languages Scholarship (CLS) Program sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The director supports and advances the Summer Institute's mandate to provide a specialized program of intensive Korean language study paired with educational and cultural enrichment activities. The director is responsible for curricular and programming decisions and collaborates with partner institutions to confirm program budgets, coordinate logistical arrangements, and provide student support during the program.

Qualifications: Ph.D. in any area of Korean Studies; fluency in Korean language and previous residency in Korea required. Experience in development and implementation of language training program and providing study abroad support to college students preferred. The position requires a full-time commitment in Suwon, South Korea during the program from June 12 – August 10, 2009 as well as availability for pre-program planning and post-program wrap-up.

To apply, submit resume, cover letter, and three references to wandak@sas.upenn.edu . Application review begins immediately and will continue until position is filled. The University of Pennsylvania is an equal opportunity affirmative action employer.

__________

*The Department of Modern Languages and Literature invites applications for a Visiting Assistant Professor of Japanese for the academic year of 2009-2010. Applicants with a Ph.D. in the field of Japanese popular culture, literature, film studies or gender studies are encouraged to apply. ABDs will be also considered. A successful candidate is expected to teach courses in Japanese language at all levels and their specialty. Proficiency in both English and Japanese is required. Lehigh University is a private, research-intensive institution in southeast Pennsylvania , and is committed to increasing the diversity of the college community and curriculum. Lehigh University is an Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer. Send CV, and three letters of reference to Chair of Japanese Search Committee, MLL Department, Lehigh University , 9 W. Packer Ave. , Bethlehem , PA 18015 . For first consideration, materials should be received by Dec. 31, 2008.

__________

*The Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) is currently soliciting resumes for spring internships (paid) in Washington D.C., working on Ch inese human rights and rule of law issues. Interns must be U.S. citizens.

Applications for spring internships must be received by December 1 .  Further details are available both in the enclosed attachment and on the Commission's Web sit e at www.cecc.gov

Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume to the CECC via e-mail to Judy Wright or via fax at (202) 226-3804, attention: Judy Wright, Director of Administration.

__________

*Peace Corps Announces a Special Opportunity to Teach at Universities in China; Apply Online by Dec. 1

NOVEMBER 11, 2008 -- Serve your country, promote international peace, globalize your teaching experience, and learn the most spoken language on the planet!

The U.S. Peace Corps is offering qualified educators a special opportunity to teach at the university level in China. Qualified applicants must submit an online Peace Corps application ( https://www.peacecorps.gov/apply/now/index.cfm?& ) by Dec. 1, 2008 to depart with the China program in June 2009.

Typically, Peace Corps applicants may preference a general region of the world for their service, but with an estimated demand of 500,000 additional English teachers in China, Peace Corps will accept a preference for China specifically by qualified applicants who submit an online application by Dec. 1, 2008.

As a Peace Corps/China Volunteer, you will teach English, literature, culture and history at the university level. Your students will be future middle-school English teachers. The positions carry a teaching load of approximately 16 hours per week with an expectation that you will design secondary and summer projects.

Peace Corps is a 27-month commitment. All assignments include full transportation and living expenses, medical and dental care, 24 days of vacation a year, student loan deferment, graduate school fellowship opportunities...and the most rewarding experience of a lifetime!

Peace Corps Volunteers must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old and in good health. There is no upper age limit. Qualified Peace Corps/China Volunteers will have a degree plus six months classroom teaching. A Master's degree is preferred, or a BA/BS in Secondary Education with a concentration in English or foreign language.

Serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in China is a unique opportunity to offer your skills to worthy communities and, at the same time, reap the rewards of living and working in a rapidly emerging world power with an ancient and fascinating culture! Apply today at http://www.peacecorps.gov/application .

__________

FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES (Japanese):  Tenure track position in Japanese, with expertise in Japanese language, modern Japanese literature, and Asian Studies, at the rank of assistant professor.  Effective August 2009.  Ph.D. required.  The successful candidate will offer courses in all levels of Japanese language instruction, from beginning to advanced, and courses for Asian and Environmental Studies including classes on nature and place in modern East Asia.  Whitman College wishes to reinforce its commitment to enhance diversity, broadly defined, recognizing that to provide a diverse learning environment is to prepare students for personal and professional success in an increasingly multicultural and global society.  In their application, candidates should address their interest in working with undergraduates as teachers and scholars in a liberal arts environment that emphasizes close student-faculty interaction; how their cultural, experiential, and/or academic background contributes to diversity; and their interest in participating in the College's general education offerings.  Materials should include a letter of application; curriculum vitae; three letters of reference; undergraduate and graduate transcripts; teaching evaluations or other evidence of demonstrated or potential excellence in undergraduate instruction.  Send materials to: Mary Anne O'Neil, Chair (Japanese Search), Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Whitman College, 345 Boyer Avenue, Walla Walla, WA 99362.  Deadline: November 3, 2008.  Preliminary interviews will be held at the meeting of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in Orlando, Florida, November 20-23, 2008.  No applicant shall be discriminated against on the basis of race, national or ethnic origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, creed, or disability.  Whitman College, located in the scenic Columbia Basin, is a small, selective, liberal arts college dedicated to providing excellent education opportunities for students.  The College has a generous sabbatical leave program and professional development support for both research and teaching.  For additional information about Whitman College and the Walla Walla area, see www.whitman.edu and www.wallawalla.org .

__________

Assistant Professor of Japanese Studies, Earlham College

Full-time, tenure-track beginning August 2009. Doctorate or ABD required. Responsibilities include full-time teaching load of 3 courses each semester. We are especially interested in adding courses in literature, culture, film/media studies, and other areas that complement our existing offerings. Courses may be comparative in nature, but each course should include at least 50% Japan content in the form of lectures, readings, and assignments. For more information, see www.earlham.edu/jobs . Application review begins December 1, 2008, and will continue until the position has been filled. Earlham eagerly solicits applications from African American and other ethnic minorities, women, and Quakers.



(IV) Fellowship and Award Opportunities

Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad (FRA) Fellowship Program

Purpose of Program: The Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad
Fellowship Program offers opportunities to faculty of Institutions
of Higher Education (IHEs) to engage in research abroad in modern
foreign languages and area studies.
    Applications Available: October 22, 2008.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: December 3, 2008.
    Eligible Applicants: IHEs.  As part of the application process,
faculty submit individual applications to the IHE.  The IHE then
officially submits all eligible individual faculty applications
with its grant application to the Department.
    Estimated Range of Fellowship Awards: $25,000-$115,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Fellowship Awards: $70,000.
    Estimated Number of Fellowship Awards: 23.
Additional information is available online at:
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/2008-4/102208c.html

__________

The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies announces its Walter H. Shorenstein Fellowship for the 2009–2010 academic year. Made possible through the generosity of Walter H. Shorenstein, awards will be made to two junior scholars (recent Ph.D.s must have degree conferral by August 30, 2009) for research and writing on Asia.

The primary focus of the program is contemporary political, economic, or social change in the Asia-Pacific region (including Northeast, Southeast, and South Asia), or topics in international relations and international political economy. Fellows are expected to be in residence for at least three academic quarters, beginning the fall quarter of the 2009 academic year. Fellows take part in center activities throughout the academic year, and are required to present their research findings in center seminars. Fellows also participate in the center's publication program. The fellowship carries a stipend of $42,000, plus $2,500 for research materials.

Applicants should submit: (1) a brief research statement (not to exceed five typed pages), which describes the research and writing to be undertaken during the fellowship period, as well as the proposed publishable product; (2) curriculum vitae; and (3) three letters of recommendation.

DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF ALL MATERIAL IS DECEMBER 19, 2008. Address all materials and queries to Ms. Sabrina Ishimatsu, Walter H. Shorenstein
Asia-Pacific Research Center, Encina Hall E301, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6055. tel 650-723-2408. fax 650-723-6530. email sishi@stanford.edu .

__________

Visiting Research Scholar

The International Research Center for Japanese Studies is one of the constituent institutions of the National Institutes for the Humanities, which was established as an Inter-University Research Institute Corporation under a law effective April 2004. Founded in May 1987 as an inter-university research institute of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, this Center seeks to promote comprehensive, international, and interdisciplinary research on Japanese culture, and to foster cooperation among researchers in Japanese studiesworldwide. In order to broaden and deepen research on Japanese culture and bring together researchers in a variety of specialized fields, the Center regularly appoints a number of scholars from around the world as Visiting Research Scholars.

The Center invites applications from scholars who wish to conduct research while in residence here. Visiting Research Scholars are expected to engage in collaborative activity with the Center's permanent faculty by, for example, participating in at least one of our team research projects ("ky&ocircdô kenkyû").

__________

The Language Flagship represents a major partnership between the National Security Education Program (NSEP) and selected U.S. colleges and universities to develop intensive, advanced level language curricula in a number of languages critical to U.S. national security.  At present, Language Flagship Programs have been established in Arabic, Central Asian Turkic languages, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Persian, and Russian. Each year, NSEP awards a limited number of Flagship Fellowships to American students from a diverse array of fields and disciplines, who demonstrate a strong commitment to language study, who have already achieved an advanced level of proficiency in the language, and who wish to reach professional working proficiency in that language (ILR Level 3 or ACTFL “Superior” level).  Administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE), Flagship Fellowships provide financial support for full- time study of the language for up to two years, depending upon the program.  In return, Flagship Fellows are expected to fulfill a requirement for service in a national security-related position in the U.S. federal government. The 2009 Flagship Fellowships application is available online at www.flagshipfellowships.org .  We ask that you please share this information with eligible students who may be interested in this opportunity. Thank you in advance for any assistance you may be able to provide.  Should you have further questions about the program , please visit our website at http://www.flagshipfellowships.org or contact us at flagship@iie.org .

__________

Edwin O. Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies, Harvard University

2009-2010

Postdoctoral Fellowships in Japanese Studies

Application Deadline: January 15, 2009

The Reischauer Institute at Harvard University will offer several postdoctoral fellowships in Japanese studies to recent PhDs of exceptional promise to provide an opportunity to turn their dissertation into publishable manuscripts.

For eligibility, full information and application details see:

 

www.fas.harvard.edu/~rijs/fellowships/postdoctoral.html

 

Direct all inquiries to:

Theodore Gilman, Associate Director at tgilman@fas.harvard.edu

__________

Blakemore Freeman Fellowships for Advanced Asian Language Study:

The Blakemore Foundation plans to make up to 24 grants for the advanced study of modern Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Southeast Asian languages during the 2009/2010 academic year.

Blakemore Freeman grants are intended for those pursuing professional, academic, or business careers that involve the regular use of an Asian language.  The grants fund a year of advanced language study at an institution in Asia (e.g. the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama, etc.)  Where there is no structured advanced-level language program at an educational institution in the country, the grant may provide for the financing of private tutorials under terms set forth in the application process.

Eligibility
An applicant should:
•    Have a college undergraduate degree
•    Be pursuing an academic, professional or business career that involves the regular use of a modern Asian language
•    Be at or near an advanced level in the language as defined in the Grant Guidelines
•    Be able to devote oneself exclusively to the language study during the term of the grant; grants are not intended for part-time study or research
•    Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States

Selection Criteria
Applicants will be judged on having:
•    A focused, well-defined career objective involving Asia in which use of the language is an important aspect
•    The potential to make a significant contribution to a field of study or area of professional or business activity in an Asian country
•    Prior experience in the country or participation in activities related to the country
•    Good academic, professional or business background, appropriate to the career program

Deadline for Applications: Postmarked by Dec. 30, 2008
Grants Awarded: Late March 2009

For application forms and further information, please see http://www.blakemorefoundation.org

__________

The Fulbright- Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research
Abroad (DDRA) Fellowship Program provides opportunities to doctoral
candidates to engage in full-time dissertation research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies. The program is designed to contribute to the development and improvement of the
study of modern foreign languages and area studies in the United States.

For more information visit:

http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&flag2006=false&oppId=42901



(V) East Asia Study Opportunities and Queries

Information on East Asian Study Abroad Opportunities can always be found at http://www.ceas.sas.upenn.edu/study.shtml.

__________

The Stanford Journal of East Asian Affairs is an internationally distributed
publication highlighting the research of undergraduate and graduate
students from universities across North America and East Asia.

Submit your work to a journal that brings research from across the world, to the world.

For more information and submission guidelines, please visit http://sjeaa.stanford.edu .

Read past issues online! - http://sjeaa.stanford.edu .



(VI) Conferences and Workshops

Dissertation Workshop on

SOCIAL CAPITAL AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN ASIA

May 3-6, 2009

WORKSHOP STATEMENT

This dissertation workshop seeks to engage scholars whose work explores the impacts of collective action and social capital, and its various component parts (trust, norms, networks and associations) in diverse parts of Asia , where the nature of state, civil society and alternate civilities is changing rapidly. Our premise is that the “productivity” of civic engagement in terms of enhancing the economic and political vitality of local communities depends, to a large extent, on the responsiveness of the local government and the nature of civil society/alternate civilities in the region under examination. As such, empirical research that seeks to discover and document how social capital and civic engagement interact with other aspects of social and political life to enhance, or perhaps diminish, well-being is important to both intellectual and policy debates taking place across a variety of academic disciplines. Further, researchers who focus on Asia are well positioned to contribute to theoretical debates about the relative usefulness of the concept of “social capital” and associated terms such as social cohesion, cooperation, public participation, empowerment, and community as ways of apprehending the complex dynamics of Asian settings. The workshop thus seeks to bring empirical research and re-theorizations from Asia into a productive dialogue.

ELIGIBILITY AND ARRANGEMENTS

The workshop is intended for doctoral students whose dissertation projects concern the role of civic engagement and social capital, in its many variations, in fostering dynamic change in any part of contemporary Asia . The purpose of the workshop is to encourage and assist doctoral students who are just beginning work on these issues, as well as those who are farther along in their projects. The workshop will involve intensive discussion of the individual projects and also the larger theoretical and methodological issues that they raise. Possibilities for continuing associations among interested students and faculty will be explored. Applicants must be enrolled in a full-time doctoral program. They must have drafted a dissertation research proposal, even though it may not yet be approved by their committees. They must be prepared to engage in some work prior to the meeting, namely reading and commenting on the proposals of other participants to establish a basis for productive exchange at the event.

The workshop will take place over three days on the campus of the University of Toronto . It will include twelve students and four faculty members from a variety of disciplines and interdisciplinary fields. The Asian Institute at the University of Toronto will cover the costs of work, meals, and accommodation. Travel will be subsidized up to a maximum of CDN$600 per participant.

APPLICATION DEADLINE is JANUARY 30, 2009

Applications consist of two items: 1) a current curriculum vitae and 2) an 8 to 10 page double spaced dissertation proposal. Alternatively, if the work is well underway, an 8 to 10 page double spaced description of the specific issues being addressed, the intellectual approach, and the materials being studied. Workshop participants will be selected on the content of the submitted projects, the potential for useful exchanges among them, and the benefits of including a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches and intellectual traditions. Applications should be sent in an email attachment to ai.soc@utoronto.ca . Applicants will be informed about whether or not they have been selected for the workshop by February 6 th 2009 . For further information about the workshop or eligibility, please contact the workshop assistant at ai.soc@utoronto.ca .

__________

*Colorado University East Asian Graduate Association (CUEAGA) is proud to announce its 2009 graduate conference, From the Grotesque to the Sublime: New Perspectives on East Asia.  The conference will take place on March 6th and 7th at University of Colorado: Boulder.  If you are a graduate student who does research in the areas of (pre-modern, modern, and contemporary) Asian culture, history, pedagogy, religion or literature, you are invited to present your work.  CUEAGA is accepting submissions from now until January 16th of 2009.  In addition to the conference, CUEAGA publishes all accepted papers in an annual journal.  Please send submissions and questions to cueaga@colorado.edu .

Even if you do not wish to present research, you are invited to attend our conference.

Our keynote speakers for the 2009 conference are Professor Donald Harper from University of Chicago and Elizabeth Oyler from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign


CUEAGA University of Colorado at Boulder
_________

*The 2009 symposium "Along the Great Wall: Architecture and Identity in China and Mongolia" aims to provide an interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of ideas between the diverse research fields in Architectural History on the one hand, and Asian Studies on the other hand. We thus welcome applicants engaged in the disciplines of Asian Architecture or Asian Studies in general, including history, political studies, religion, art history, literature, and anthropology.

Application:

Submissions from all disciplines are welcome.

Please return the forms that are included in the attachment:

•  1-page abstract (250-300 words, in German or English) and

•  Official application form (telephone, e-mail, mailing address, institution, major area of research, current CV, list of publications, and any audiovisual equipment needed for the presentation)

Furthermore, please send them by email to erich.lehner@tuwien.ac.at .

Application Deadline:

Incomplete or belated applications will not be taken into consideration after February 20 th 2009 .

Location: The conference will take place at the Vienna University of Technology, Austria, from 15 th to 17 th May 2009 .

Conference Language : German, English optional

Travel Expenses and Living Costs :

A limited amount of funding will be provided for travel expenses for participants from Asia . We are unable to provide housing and meals. For hotel recommendations and information about Vienna please refer to the symposiums homepage.

For further information, please contact :

Ao. Univ.Prof. Dr.techn. Dipl.-Ing. Erich LEHNER

Professor for Architecture of Asia, America, Africa, and Oceania
Dept for History of Architecture and Art, Building Research and Preservation
Technische Universität Wien, Karlsplatz 13 /251-1, A-1040 Wien /Österreich
E-Mail: erich.lehner@tuwien.ac.at

Dipl.-Ing. Alexandra HARRER, MA East Asian Art

Senior Research Scholar Southeast University

E-Mail: harrer.alexandra@gmx.net

Dr. techn. Dipl.-Ing. Hildegard SINT

Outer European Building Research under sociological and anthropological aspects
c/o Jeanne Stern, 20 Rue du Télégraphe , 75020 Paris
Tel. : (0033)148054303
E-Mail: Sint.Hildegard@gmx.at

__________

Asian Studies Development Program
Fifteenth Annual National Conference
March 5-7, 2009

CALL FOR PAPERS, PANELS, AND PRESENTATIONS:
Submission Deadline: November 15, 2008


Conference Location: Community College of Philadelphia , 1700 Spring Garden Street, Philadelphia.

Hosting Organizations: Community College of Philadelphia , the ASDP Association of Regional Centers (ARC), and the Asian Studies Development Program (ASDP). ASDP is a joint program of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and the East-West Center .

We are also grateful to the South Asia Center and the Center for East Asian Studies   of the University of Pennsylvania for their generous support of this conference.

Featured Speakers : Thursday evening at the Reception held in the Chinese Rotunda and adjoining Egyptian Collection, University of Pennsylvania Museum . Nancy Steinhardt, Professor of East Asian Art, University of Pennsylvania, & Roger Ames, Professor of Philosophy, University of Hawaii: The Meaning of Splendor in China and Egypt:  Views from Art History and Philosophy"

Friday: Victor Mair, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvania , “Storytelling with Pictures in the Tang Dynasty”

Saturday: Zia Mian, Princeton University : “Peace and Security Issues in Nuclear South Asia”.

On behalf of the ASDP 2009 Program Selection Committee, the Program Chair welcomes proposals for papers, panels, presentations on specific content and/or teaching topics related to scholarly research and teaching of Asian Studies to undergraduates.

The Registration Fee is $125 plus $20 to attend the Reception and Program at the University Museum Thursday evening March 5, 2009. Adjunct faculty: $75 plus $20.

The Conference Registration and Proposal forms are located on the ASDP website at < http://www.eastwestcenter.org/?id=1268 >.
Please download and fill in these forms and send completed proposals as anattachment in Microsoft Word by E-mail to:
George P. Brown, Department of Political Science, Slippery Rock University, 1 Morrow Way, Slippery Rock, PA  16057, Tel. 724-738-2435 or george.brown@sru.edu

For questions, contact Fay Beauchamp, Community College of Philadelphia , 215-751-8668 or fbeauchamp@ccp.edu .

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CALL FOR ABSTRACTS 12th Annual Harvard East Asia Society Graduate Student Conference
Bridges and Borders in East Asia Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA February 27 - March 1, 2009  * * * * * * * * * * * * The Harvard East Asia Society (HEAS) Graduate Student Conference invites graduate students from around the world, conducting research in all disciplines, to submit abstracts for our 2009 conference: 

Bridges and Borders in East Asia

The East Asian landscape is dominated by barriers that separate culture from culture and state from state, from the Korean Demilitarized Zone to the Great Wall to the Taiwan Strait. But borders are permeable and mutable, constantly shifting in position and meaning; frontiers connect the same spaces that they partition. The 2009 Harvard East Asian Society Conference Committee welcomes submissions addressing this theme of borders and border-crossings. We are looking for any work that bridges divides - between people, spaces, eras, ideas, cultures or disciplines. Often, the first bridges to be built are the first to be burned. Walls are enduring symbols of stasis; they are nonetheless sites of exchange. We look forward to exploring these paradoxes of social, cultural, physical and intellectual space.

The HEAS Graduate Student Conference is an annual conference which aims to provide an interdisciplinary forum for graduate students to exchange ideas and discuss current research on East Asia. The conference is an opportunity for young scholars to present their research to both their peers and eminent scholars in East Asian Studies. All panels will be moderated by Harvard University faculty. 
We welcome submissions from graduate students in all disciplines. Papers should be related to this year's theme and to East Asia, Inner Asia, Singapore, or Vietnam. We will consider submissions of individual papers and panel proposals.

Eligibility and Application Guidelines:
1.  Applicants must be currently enrolled in a program of graduate study ("postgraduate" in British degree classification systems)
2.  Papers must be related to the conference theme AND to one or more of the countries of East Asia that share the Chinese cultural tradition, including Japan, Korea, Inner Asia, Singapore and Vietnam
3.  Abstracts must be no longer than 250 words, submitted exactly as directed on the HEAS Conference website 4.  Deadline for abstract submission:  November 30, 2008 (Sunday)
5.  Detailed instructions and more information are available on our website:  http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~heas/conference/

Inquiries:
For general conference inquiries, please contact:  heasconference@gmail.com For abstract submission inquities, please contact:  heas.abstracts@gmail.com

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Japan Studies Association Fifteenth Annual Conference
January 8-10, 2009 Hotel Monteleone New Orleans, LA

The Fifteenth Annual Japan Studies Association Conference will be held January 8-10, 2009 at Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, LA. It will begin with a light reception on Thursday evening, January 8th at 5:30 pm and conclude with the conference banquet on Saturday night, January 10th, at 6:00pm. The Japan Studies Association is a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to the development of better understanding of Japan and Japanese Culture, to providing mutual assistance for the development and expansion of members' undergraduate curricula and local outreach programs, and to establishing a central network and resource center. It works in close cooperation with other Asian-studies organizations such as the Asian Studies Development Program of the East-West Center of the University of Hawaii. Individual and panel proposals are invited.
Printable proposal, registration and room accommodation forms are available at: www.japanstudies.org . They can be returned as attached Word documents by e-mail to Michael Steiner at msteine@nwmissouri.edu . They can also be printed and mailed to the JSA at this address: Michael Steiner Department of History, Humanities, Philosophy, and Political Science Northwest Missouri State University 800 University Drive Maryville, MO 64468 (660)562-1288 The deadline for Conference proposal submissions has been extended to October 17, 2008.
JSA also offers graduate student scholarships for selected students who have proposals accepted for presentation at the annual conference. For details see the JSA website. For hotel reservations contact: Hotel Monteleone 214 Rue Royale New Orleans, Louisiana 70130-2201 Phone: (504) 523-3341 Toll Free: (800) 535-9595. E-mail: reservations@hotelmonteleone.com Be sure to mention that you are attending the JSA conference. For information about the airport shuttle, contact the hotel or visit the JSA website. We’re looking forward to seeing you in New Orleans.



Center for East Asian Studies
University of Pennsylvania
642 Williams Hall
255 S. 36th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305
Tel: 215-573-4203; Fax: 215-573-2561
E-mail: ceas@ccat.sas.upenn.edu