CALL FOR PAPERS

COMPETING MODERNITIES IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY JAPAN (II):
EMPIRES, CULTURES, IDENTITIES, 1930-1960

Continuing the work initiated under the sponsorship of the NorthEast Asia Council (NEAC) of the Association for Asian Studies, the Planning Committee of the "Competing Modernities Conference Series" is pleased to announce that the second Conference in the Series will be convened in San Diego, CA February 12-16, 1998. The Planning Committee for this conference consists of:

          Germaine A. Hoston, Chair          Richard P. Madsen
          Peter Duus                         Chunghee Sarah Soh
          Thomas R. H. Havens                John Treat
          Ellis Krauss                       Meredith Woo-Cumings
          John W. Dower, Consultant          J. Thomas Rimer, Consultant

It will be recalled that the goal of the project, entitled "Competing Modernities in Twentieth-Century Japan," is to produce a series of interdisciplinary volumes that offer fresh perspectives on the basis of original research and analysis. To date, the series has convened the first conference on "Taisho Demokurashii, 1900-1930." The Planning Committee now invites proposals for the second conference in the series, entitled "Empires, Cultures, Identities, 1930-1960." Like the first conference, the San Diego conference, jointly sponsored by the Japan Foundation, the University of California San Diego, and the U.S. Department of Education, is designed in a workshop format to promote the cross-fertilization of ideas.

The Planning Committee invites paper proposals for the second conference (treating the period 1930 to 1960) on topics related to one or more of the following themes:

The Committee encourages submissions that examine the balance of continuities and change over this period. While the Japanese and Korean experiences are at the core of the project, the Planning Committee also believes that Japan's interaction with neighboring peoples in the Pacific Islands, Taiwan, China, and other peoples in the region are vital to an understanding of the dynamics of this entire period. The committee is especially interested in the colonial experiences in Korea, Taiwan, and the Pacific Islands; in the Japanese expansion into China, and into North and Southeast Asia; and in Japan and its former empire under U.S. hegemony through the 1950s.

Working drafts of approximately twenty (20) pages (excluding notes and bibliography) are due on December 15, 1997 for distribution to all participants in the workshop. To assure the integrity of the workshop and a consistently high level of participation, all invitees are expected to be committed to stay for the entire duration of the conference, from its opening on the evening of February 12th to its conclusion at 12 noon Monday, February 16th. Hotel and meal expenses and round-trip air fare to San Diego at the lowest applicable discounted rate will be provided to the invitees.

The Planning Committee will make its final selection of invitees to the San Diego Conference by the end of May 1997. If interested, complete the form at this site, and submit it by May 10, 1997. If you do not have the capability to do this, you can obtain a text version of this form by e-mail or request it by telephone, fax, or snail-mail by contacting the Planning Committee Chair.