“Education is like a double-edged sword. It may be turned to dangerous uses if it is not properly handled,” (Wu Ting-Fang: The Quotations Page).

The Division of Preservation and Access of the National Endowment for the Humanities will be accepting applications for grants in Humanities Collections and Resources. These grants support projects to preserve and create intellectual access to such collections as books, journals, manuscript and archival materials, maps, still and moving images, sound recordings, art, and objects of material culture. Awards also support the creation of reference materials, online resources, and research tools of major importance to the humanities. Please note the following changes:

–The application receipt deadline this year is July 31, 2008.

–Research and Development applications are being accepted and should be identified as such and submitted to the July 31 deadline for Humanities Collections and Resources.

–Projects proposing to unify, integrate, or aggregate humanities collections and resources are strongly encouraged.

–Long-term projects without a plan to sustain the resources created by the project may allocate up to $50,000 of their request for consultants’ fees or other costs associated with developing a sustainability plan.

The new guidelines, which include sample proposal narratives, can be found at http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/Collections_and_Resources.html.

The application receipt deadline of July 31 is for projects beginning May 2009. All applications to NEH must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov; see guidelines for details.

Prospective applicants seeking further information are encouraged to contact the Division at 202-606-8570 or preservation@neh.gov. Program staff will read draft proposals submitted six weeks before the deadline. A list of the 2007 awards is available at http://www.neh.gov/news/awards/preservationFebruary2007.html.

Joel Wurl
Senior Program Officer
Division of Preservation and Access
National Endowment for the Humanities
1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20506

phone: (202) 606-8252 fax: (202) 606-8639
e-mail: jwurl@neh.gov

Email: preservation@neh.gov
Visit the website at http://www.neh.gov

“And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh,” (Friedrich Nietzsche: Wisdom Quotes).

23nd Annual MELUS Conference, April 2-5, 2009
Red Lion Hotel at the Park, Spokane, WA
Washington State University, Pullman, WA

MELUS: The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the US: www.melus.org

Conference Theme:
“Poetic Justice: Imagination, Empowerment, and Identity in Multi-Ethnic Literatures of the US”

Multi Ethnic Literatures in the United States narrate the stories not only of an individual or of a people, but also of the flaws and potentials of societies, nations, laws, ideologies, and of ideals like equality and freedom. These creative works of art are also profound efforts in identity formation, most often in the contexts of hostile locations: geographic, social, or ideological. Taken together, these literatures have historically served, and continue to serve, to inspire and empower marginalized populations in the United States to resist oppression, to make their voices heard, and to imagine for themselves things like home, freedom, and justice differently than those versions that, for so long, have been imagined for them. This deep synergy between artistry, identity, empowerment, and social justice that defines multi-ethnic literatures in the United States provides a rich theme for the conference with abundant potential for the critical examination of varied facets.

We invite paper abstracts and complete panels, workshops, and roundtable proposals on all aspects of the multi-ethnic literatures of the United States. We are particularly interested in proposals for papers that engage with and build bridges between the very real intersections of the creative arts (writing, painting, sculpture, film, comic books, puppetry, etc.) with theory.

Submissions should detail requests for specific audiovisual equipment, if needed. We also ask that a proposal for a complete panel, roundtable, or workshop include a brief description of the central topic, supplemented by brief abstracts of individual speakers’ contributions.

Abstracts and proposals (250 words) are invited by the deadline of 15 December 2008.

Please email abstracts to:
Dr. Lisa Guerrero: laguerre@wsu.edu.

All presenters, chairs, and respondents must be members of MELUS. Membership information can be found on the MELUS website. All membership dues payments must be mailed directly to MELUS, not to the conference organizers. Hotel rooms have been set aside at the: Red Lion Hotel at the Park 303 W. North River Drive, Spokane, WA 99201,
Direct: 509/328-7361,
Toll Free: 1-800-Red-Lion (800-733-5466),
http://redlion.com/park.

Hotel rates are $99 for single/double occupancy and $109 for triple/quad. Applicable taxes are currently 10.6% in Spokane and the County Tourism Promotion Assessment is $1.50 per guest room night.

Please be sure to mention the MELUS conference to get the conference rate for your room when you make your reservation. RESERVATION CUT OFF DATE IS MARCH 12, 2009.

Hotel Amenities: Free parking. Complimentary Shuttle Service to and from the Spokane Airport and all other locations within 2 miles of hotel. Complimentary High Speed Wireless Internet in all guest rooms and all public spaces. Each guest room is equipped with a hairdryer, iron, full-size ironing board, and in-room coffee maker.

Spokane is a walking city! Within walking distance of the Red Lion Hotel you will find:
• Shopping: RiverPark Square and a number of unique downtown shops
• Dining: over 50 restaurants
• Entertainment
• Riverfront Park: home of the 1974 World’s Fair
• Spokane Falls: right outside your hotel
• Spokane River Walk

Other unique northwest experiences you may want to look into while you enjoy our Pacific Northwest hospitality:
• Winery Tours
• Museums
• Biking
• Boating
• Climbing
• Fishing

Spokane International Airport (GEG) is served by a number of major airlines, including Alaska, America West, Delta, Express Jet, Frontier, Horizon, Northwest, Sky West, Southwest, US Airways, and United.

Russia Encounters Asia: Interests and Identitites
ISA Annual Convention in New York, February 2009

Panel organizers: Dr. Alexander Bukh, Tsukuba University, Japan, and
Dr. Mikhail A. Molchanov, St. Thomas University, Canada

Russia’s identity as not only European, but also a Eurasian nation has always been subject to a debate. With the center of global politics and finance now moving to Asia, this debate acquires new significance from the perspective of changing regional and global orders. The panel aims to explore the relationship between Russia and Asia, broadly defined. Methodology, temporal span as well as the choice of empirical cases are open.

One set of research questions deals with Russia’s evolving engagement with select Asian countries, such as China, India, or Japan, and regional organizations, such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the APEC. The overall strategic direction of Russia’s foreign policy in North-East Asia or the lack thereof remains an underexplored issue which the panelists are invited to consider.

Another group of questions concerns the link between the state and national identities and interests, as reflected in these states’ foreign policies. The discursive construction of the states’ identities vis-à-vis regional “others” influences policy formulation and understanding of national priorities. We will therefore invite contributions that consider domestic sources of foreign policy in Russia and Eurasia, as well as the role of Russia-related imagery in foreign policies of such countries as Japan, China, India, Iran, or Kazakhstan.

Please submit your abstract proposals (around 200 words), together with the name, institutional affiliation, present position and contact details to abukh70@gmail.com and mailto:molchan@stu.ca by the 23rd of May 2008.

–
Dr Alexander Bukh
Graduate School of Humanities and Social Science,
Tsukuba University
abukh70@gmail.com
080-56597249

Deadline for paper proposals: May 9, 2008

Clothing, Flesh, Bone: Visual Culture above and below the Skin

Chairs: Victoria L. Rovine, University of Florida, Box 115801, Gainesville, FL 32611-5801; and

Sarah Adams, University of Michigan, 3502 Barton Farm Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105

This panel broadly explores new approaches to the study of visual culture that depicts or adorns the human body. We seek papers that address representations of the body in all media, from sculpture, dress, and performance to medical methodologies and mortuary practices. While papers may examine artistic representations of the body and the use of the body itself as artistic medium, they also may push beyond humanities models to consider the body as it exists below the skin—as flesh, blood, and viscera. Papers might explore the body in visual culture from medical, physiological, or biological perspectives. How is the body depicted across cultures, and what do those depictions reveal about shifting concepts of the medical body? How is the biological body reflected in diverse media? How does the history of medicine and science itself influence representations of the human body? Does adornment that conceals, reveals, or enhances the body reflect histories and beliefs about the biological body?

Please send paper proposals to the panel chairs by MAY 9, 2008

Victoria L. Rovine, Assistant Professor - School of Art and Art History, Center for African Studies, University of Florida - P.O. Box 115801 Gainesville, Florida 32611-5801. (352) 273-3069 fax: (352) 392-8453

e-mail: vrovine@africa.ufl.edu

New Europe College - Institute for Advanced Study in Bucharest, Romania -, announces the EUROPA FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAM, supported by the VolkswagenStiftung (Hanover, Germany).

The program targets researchers and academics from South-Eastern Europe (including Romania), as well as young Western scholars working on South-Eastern Europe. Applicants must be doctoral students, or hold a Ph.D. title. Duration of the Fellowship: a) a full academic year (10 months, October through July) or b) a one-term fellowship (October through February, or March through July). Location: New Europe College in Bucharest, Romania.

The Fellowship consists of a monthly stipend of 650 Euro (tax free), accommodation, international transportation to and from the home country of the Fellows at the beginning and the end of the Fellowship, as well as for season holidays. The Fellows who stay for the whole academic year are offered a one-month research trip abroad to an institution of their choice (2,600 Euro for transportation, accommodation, and per diem).

The Fellows will be invited to work as members of a team in the framework of a general research topic entitled Traditions of the New Europe. A Pre-history of the European Integration in South-Eastern Europe. (Please see the appended document for the description of the general research topic!). Each Fellow will contribute with his/her own research, and will take part in scientific events organized by the New Europe College. At the end of their Fellowship, each Fellow is expected to hand in a research paper comprising the results of his/her work over the duration of the Fellowship. The papers will be included in a NEC publication. Working languages: English, French, and German. A good command of English is desirable.

The deadline for submitting the application both by regular mail and e-mail is June 17, 2008. The applications will be evaluated by the Scientific Board of the NEC. Subsequently, the applicants will be notified by e-mail and regular mail on the results of the evaluation process.

The application form and additional information regarding the Program and the New Europe College can be downloaded from: www.nec.ro

Irina Vainovski-Mihai, Program Coordinator
Tel. (+40-21) 307 9910, Fax: (+40-21) 327 0774
Mailing address: str. Plantelor 21, 023971 Bucharest, Romania
Email: imihai@nec.ro
Visit the website at http://www.nec.ro

The Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies at Lund University hereby invites applications for two postdoctoral fellowships. The duration of each fellowship is two years, commencing 1 September 2008 and ending on 31 August 2010. In this call for applications, one of the two positions will be awarded for research focusing on contemporary Japan, and the other position for research focusing on contemporary China. The deadline for applications is 23 May 2008.

Lund University
Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies
Scheelevägen 15
223 70 Lund
Sweden

phone: + 46 (0)46 222 30 42
Email: roger.greatrex@ace.lu.se
Visit the website at http://www.ace.lu.se/research/postdoctoral-fellowships

Each year the Friends of the German Historical Institute award the Fritz Stern Dissertation Prize for the two best doctoral dissertations submitted in German history, German-American relations, or the history of Germans in North America. The winners are invited to the GHI to present their research at the annual symposium of the Friends in November. The prize winners receive an award of $2,000 and reimbursement for travel to Washington, D.C.

Candidates are nominated by their dissertation advisers. Their dissertations must have been completed, defended, and authenticated between January 1 and December 31, 2007. The prize committee will accept nominations through May 2, 2008, and announce the prize winners at the end of the summer.

Dissertation advisers should submit a letter of nomination along with an abstract (1-3 pages) of the dissertation to:

German Historical Institute
Fritz Stern Dissertation Prize
c/o Christa Brown
1607 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20009-2562
fax: 202-387-6437
Email: c.brown@ghi-dc.org
Visit the website at http://www.ghi-dc.org/scholarship/prizes/stern.html

Today, April 22, is Earth Day.  The focus of activities mirrors the different challenges we are facing right now.  Millions of people around the world are rallying behind a Call for Climate, the global warming action theme.  The planet is heating up and with the rising temperature comes the problems associated with global warming (food crisis, rice shortage, changing weather patterns, etc.).  What started 38 years ago in San Francisco, USA, has now spread to all corners of the globe.  In the Philippines, the theme is “Tubig Buhay Natin, Ating Pagyamanin.”  Let us do our part in preserving the Integrity of Creation.  Make every day, Earth Day.