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NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FROM GRADUATE STUDENTS (Deadline: March 9)
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University of California at Santa Barbara - Japan Foundation Summer Institute, June 20-24, 2012 “Modes of Japanese Multiculturalism: Coexistence and Marginality”

We are now accepting graduate student applications for participation in the 2012 UCSB East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies - Japan Foundation Summer Institute to be held June 20-24 on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara. This year's theme is “Modes of Japanese Multiculturalism: Coexistence and Marginality."

Please see the CFA below for further information.

Nathaniel M. Smith ann-elise lewallen Co-coordinators of the 2012 EALCS-Japan Foundation Summer Institute: Modes of Japanese Multiculturalism: Coexistence and Marginality

Summer Institute: http://www.j-culturalstudies.ucsb.edu/year2.htm
CFA for Graduate Students: http://www.j-culturalstudies.ucsb.edu/2012JFSummerInstituteCFA.pdf

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University of California at Santa Barbara, East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies - Japan Foundation Summer Institute

“Modes of Japanese Multiculturalism: Coexistence and Marginality” June 20-24, 2012
Building upon the theme “The Return of the Political to Cultural Studies,” the 2012 UCSB EALCS - Japan Foundation Summer Institute will focus on the figure of minority communities in Japan––the social and political relationships within and among minority groups, and their engagement with Japanese society more broadly. After Japan was stripped of its multi-ethnic colonial holdings following defeat in WWII, the ascendant narrative of the postwar Japanese nation became one of ethnic homogeneity. In recent decades, this narrative has been challenged by the inflow of new immigrant workers to meet Japan’s labor needs and the demographic crisis they portend. Such social change notwithstanding, communities such as indigenous Okinawans and Ainu, and the occupationally marginalized Buraku attest to an unbroken history of ethnic diversity and multiculturalism, tracing their roots far beyond the emergence of the modern Japanese nation-state. Against this backdrop, the Summer Institute will provide a critical opportunity to generate a deeper understanding of how difference has been imagined, perceived, and managed by the nation- state, varying political factions, and those who are labeled or self-identify as “minority” communities. In particular, we look forward to taking up questions of ethnic identity, marginality, and multiculturalism; immigration, citizenship, and indigenous issues; and the historical, social, and political relations with which they intersect in contemporary Japan.
The Institute aims to bring a range of interdisciplinary perspectives into conversation and will feature the 2012 Japan Foundation Visiting Professor, Dr. Yeonghae Jung (Ōtsuma Women’s University) and leading scholars of Japanese multiculturalism, including Dr. Kelly Dietz (Ithaca College), Dr. Tessa Morris-Suzuki (Australian National University), and Dr. Jennifer Robertson (University of Michigan). For graduate student participants, the Summer Institute presents a unique opportunity for extensive dialogue with peers from universities across the U.S. and participation in professionalization workshops, and a chance to build linkages with some of the leading thinkers in Japan Studies today.

Application: To be considered for participation, please submit the following materials to UCSB EALCS - Japan Foundation Summer Institute Co-coordinators Dr. ann-elise lewallen (lewallen@eastasian.ucsb.edu) and Dr. Nathaniel Smith (nsmith@eastasian.ucsb.edu) by Friday, March 9:

1) A cover letter introducing the student’s academic background and highlighting the linkage between the Summer Institute themes and the student’s own research

2) A summary of the PhD thesis prospectus

Criteria for selection: Students whose research overlaps most productively with the 2012 Summer Institute themes will be given preference. While all interested students are encouraged to participate, those who have advanced to PhD candidacy will be given priority. Limited financial support may be available.

Further information on the UCSB EALCS - Japan Foundation Summer Institute may be found here:
http://www.j-culturalstudies.ucsb.edu/year2.htm

Nathaniel M. Smith
Japan Foundation Faculty Fellow
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-7075
Office: HSSB 2229 Mobile: 909-435-1292
www.eastasian.ucsb.edu/faculty/smith.htm