Anthropology of Japan in Japan (AJJ)
2018 Spring Meeting
Inside and Outside Communities in Japan: Re-assessing Changing Places and Shifting Boundaries
April 28-29, 2018
Meiji University, Surugadai Campus, Tokyo
The organizing committee of the Anthropology of Japan in Japan welcomes panel and paper proposals for the 2018 Spring Meeting, which will be held at the Meiji University, Tokyo. The meeting theme is ‘Inside and Outside Communities in Japan: Re-assessing Changing Places and Shifting Boundaries’ although other topics related to Japan and anthropology and Japanese Studies are welcome. Cross-disciplinary approaches are also encouraged. Students and doctoral candidates are welcome to participate. The AJJ dealt with similar themes in the past on inside and outside communities in Japan. We, however, are interested in exploring and furthering the theme again particularly because the nature of “community” in Japan has been constantly changing under accelerating globalization.
“Community” could be broadly interpreted here, for instance, immigrant communities in Japan, urban youth subculture, communities in agricultural hinterland, “hisaichi”(areas of disaster) as communities, homeless communities, neighborhood associations (chonaikai and Jichikai) as communities, “virtual” communities in the internet, and even business corporations as communities. Whether one feels being inside or outside a community depends on one’s positionality and identity in a society, which influence one’s sense of “places” or “boundaries.”
“Places” are not only limited to the physical places but include social (or cultural) places, such as, for example, “ibasho” in a community.
Beyond this general theme of the conference, papers and panels on other themes concerning Japanese society and culture are also highly welcome. Those who are interested in participating in the conference, please send a 250-word abstract in English or an 800-letter abstract in Japanese with the title of the presentation to ajj.meiji@gmail.com. Even though the abstract is in English, the presentation may be either in English or Japanese.
As to eligibility for participation, those who come to the meeting are automatically members of AJJ with no annual fees for membership. Please see the Homepage of AJJ (HERE) for details.
Registration fee: 2000 JPY (On Site)
Optional reception: 2000 JPY (Faculty), 500 JPY (Graduate), Free (Undergraduate Student)
Important Dates
Abstract submission due: March 31, 2018
Paper/ panel acceptance notification: April 7, 2018
How to Submit Abstract
Please include the following information on your proposal:
Organized Panels
Panel Title
Panel Abstract (250 words English or 800 letters in Japanese)
Abstracts of individual papers in the panel (250 words each in English or 800 letters in Japanese)
Name of panel chair, institutional affiliation and contact details (email address)
Individual Papers
Paper Title
Paper Abstracts (250 words English or 800 letters in Japanese)
Name of presenter, institutional affiliation and contact details (address and email)
Please indicate if you are undergraduate, graduate student or faculty.
Please send all proposals and enquiries to ajj.meiji[*]gmail.com (preferred formats: Word or PDF).
Please Kindly Note
AJJ encourages English-Japanese bilingualism. Applicants are first asked to submit an abstract in English OR Japanese, then accepted applicants are to submit the abstract in the OTHER LANGUAGE as well. Presenters are encouraged to mix English and Japanese in slides or handouts as much as possible. Thank you very much for your understanding and cooperation!
Meeting Committee
Dr. Atsushi Sumi (Meiji University)
Dr. Sachiko Horiguchi (Temple University Japan)
Dr. John Mock (Temple University Japan)
Dr. Yi Zhu (Tsukuba University)
Dr. Mitsuhiro Nakahata (Meiji University)