PhD Studentship in East Asian Cinema and Media

The National Institute for Excellence in the Creative Industries at Bangor University is offering a part-funded PhD position in the area of East Asian cinema and media. This PhD programme will allow students to conduct in-depth research focusing on a broad range of topics. Applications are welcome in any field of East Asian cinema and media, though the School has particular strengths in:

* gender in East Asian media, cinema and culture
* early and contemporary Japanese cinema
* post-war and contemporary South Korean film
* questions of politics and nationhood in Chinese, South Korean and Japanese film
* cinema and media of the Japanese colonial period
* globalisation and East Asian film and media industries

Students should hold, or expect to obtain, either a Master’s level qualification or at least an upper second class degree (or equivalent). Additionally, students who do not have English as their first language must have attained a score of at least 6.5 in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

Application forms can be downloaded here:
http://www.bangor.ac.uk/courses/postgrad/apply.php.en?catid=&subid=1838
In addition, applicants are asked to provide a 500 word synopsis of their proposed PhD topic. Informal enquiries should be directed to Dr. Kate Taylor,
k.taylor@bangor.ac.uk; +44 (0) 1248 383656.

Dr. Kate Taylor
Lecturer in Media Studies
National Institute for Excellence in the Creative Industries
Bangor University
Bangor, LL57 2DG, UK.
Tel: +44 (0) 1248 383656
Email: k.taylor@bangor.ac.uk
Visit the website at http://www.bangor.ac.uk/creative_industries/kate_taylor.php.en

CFP: Modern Architecture in East Asia

Modern Architecture in East Asia: Regionalism/Transnationalism (Los Angeles, February 25-28, CAA 2009)

Chairs: Ken Tadashi Oshima, University of Washington, and Vimalin Rujivacharakul, University of Delaware

Send abstracts to koshima@u.washington.edu and vimalin@udel.edu.

Abstracts Due: May 9, 2008. For abstract submission guideline and CAA form, visit http://www.collegeart.org/pdf/CallforParticipation2009.pdf

OMA/Rem Koolhaas’s CCTV Headquarters (2002-8) is rising triumphantly against the backdrop of Beijing’s rapidly transforming skyline. Joining it on the other side of the city is the much-famed Olympic Stadium “Bird’s Nest” (2002-8) of Herzog and de Meuron. At the same time, Zaha Hadid’s design project for the Guangzhou Opera House (2003- ) is the architectural world’s “talk of the town” for its aesthetics and structural challenge. In Japan, Herzog and de Meuron’s Prada Building (2003), Jean Nouvel’s Dentsu Headquarters (1998-2002), and Renzo Piano’s Hermes Building (1998-2002) have all pushed the possibilities of glass to new heights, and Steven Holl’s Nexus World Housing in Fukuoka, Japan, transformed the trajectory of his own career. Meanwhile, architects such as Yung Ho Chang/Atelier FCJZ, Qingyun Ma/MADA s.p.a.m., and Hitoshi Abe/A-Slash are questioning the transformation of Asia through both their own designs and architectural education in the United States (MIT, USC, UCLA). The architectural boom in the past decade has inevitably shifted the field’s geographical concentration from Europe and North America to the Asian Pacific Rim.

This geo-architectural shift simultaneously raises significant theoretical questions about positioning East Asia in the global discourse of modern architecture. Is prospering East Asia the future, the other modern, or simply the land where famous architects deploy their most recent innovations? In a world of increasingly global practice, is architecture defined by the building location or designer’s identity? Should the new architecture in East Asia be identified as modern East Asian architecture, or the tag of regionalism be replaced with contemporary architecture in the age of transnationalism? Proposals on interdisciplinary, comparative aspects, either between geographical regions or between time-periods, are particularly welcome.

Vimalin Rujivacharakul, Ph.D.
Department of Art History
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716
(during 2008: 8 Sylvester Road, Cambridge, CB3 9AF, England)
Email: vimalin@udel.edu

Ph.D. Scholarship Program

The ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius is calling for applications for “Settling Into Motion” – The Bucerius Ph.D. Scholarships in Migration Studies. The scholarship program seeks to address the ongoing transformations in societies where migration is just one factor among others generating change. For 2008 applications relating to migration and urban transformations are especially welcome.

Within this international program, the ZEIT-Stiftung grants six to eight pre-doctoral scholarships per year. Applicants must be Ph.D. students of – in a broad sense – social sciences. The scholarships involve a monthly stipend of 1.200 Euros as well as yearly conferences and workshops. The deadline for applications is 31 March 2008. Scholarships are granted for up to 36 months. They can be used for research and writing periods but not for course work.

The world is in motion: people and ideas, products, technologies as well as diseases are travelling between regions and continents. Cities and cultures as well as family and labour market relations are changing in these processes of globalization. Regulatory competencies of nation states are also in question. The movement of people is only one factor among others generating change, but one whose importance will rise over the next years.

Migrants are settling into societies that are themselves transforming. Thus the meaning of integration is increasingly hard to pinpoint. Everyone needs to be prepared to embrace change. Some migrants will also keep multi-stranded relations with their countries of origin, thereby building transnational spaces; others will after little time move on to third countries. All of them settle into motion.

How can migrants and their receiving and sending countries reap the benefits of this movement of people? Which structural and procedural conditions have to be in place to take advantage of diversity? And what are the challenges for the individual, the migrant family, the regions and countries migrants come from as well as the places of reception? The Bucerius Ph.D. Scholarship Program “Settling Into Motion” seeks to address these questions, each year focusing on a different topic.

For 2008, applications to study “Migration and Urban Transformations” are especially welcome. The majority of migrants live in urban areas. For a long time, cities were regarded as “integration machines” because of their capacity to incorporate people of different backgrounds in a functionally differentiated system. At the same time, cities are themselves focal points of economic, social and cultural transformations. Applications for scholarships under this topic could study the following questions of (but are not limited to):

Super-diversity and the effects of rapid diversification on neighbourhoods

Housing careers of migrants

Policing and anti-discrimination policies

(Informal) economy and development of innovation

Governance issues at local level (including provision of welfare services)

Urban sprawl

Social and political participation at local level and the role of religious communities

Local school choice and the school-neighborhood nexus

Innovative approaches both in methodology and in research questions are highly encouraged.

The ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius is one of the major private foundations in Germany sponsoring academic research. Among other things, it founded and continues to financially support the Bucerius Law School, a Hamburg-based private law school that combines innovation in teaching with renowned research.

Please find further information as well as the online application at www.settling-into-motion.de

Gunilla Fincke

Project Director Science and Research
ZEIT-Stiftung Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius
Feldbrunnenstrasse 56
20148 Hamburg
Germany
Tel.: 0049-40-41336-771
Fax: 0049-40-41336-777
E-Mail: fincke@zeit-stiftung.de
Web: http://www.zeit-stiftung.de

A World of Labour: Transnational and Comparative Histories

CALL FOR PAPERS – A World of Labour: Transnational and Comparative Histories

An International Conference of the Society for the Study of Labour History – University of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK, 1-3 Sept 2008

Recent years have seen historians moving beyond the nation-state as the principal unit of historical analysis. Contemporary globalisation has helped shape a growing interest in the history of world-wide networks of power, communication and social and economic formation. Within an English-speaking world, the repackaging of aspects of imperial history under the heading of the ‘British World’ has added further pressure for global, transnational and comparative histories. This conference aims to explore these issues, with a particular emphasis upon labour and working-class histories. The society wishes to encourage the widest possible definition of labour history and to embrace social, cultural, economic and political approaches to the past. Themes for consideration could include:

Transnational and global institutions
Internationalism in labour history
Formal and informal labour networks
Global examples of associational culture
Activities or campaigners operating in more than one national context
Social and culture rituals across territories
Strikes, violence, and resistance in comparative perspective
International markets and their effect on labour migration
Class, race, ethnicity and gender in transnational or comparative perspective
Transnationalism, globalisation and Diaspora as conceptual issues or problems
The strengths and weakness of comparative labour history

Confirmed keynotes:
Professor John Belchem (Liverpool)
Professor Stefan Berger (Manchester)
Professor Marcel van der Linden (Amsterdam)
Professor Melanie Nolan (Wellington, NZ)

We welcome proposals for individual papers of 20 minutes, or for panels of up to four papers of that length. Some financial assistance may be available to postgraduates travelling from other parts of the UK or Ireland. A selection of the papers may be published in the Society’s journal, Labour History Review.

Please email proposals (300 words maximum per paper) and brief CV (one page
maximum) to Professor Donald MacRaild d.macraild@ulster.ac.uk or Dr Charlotte Alston c.alston@ulster.ac.uk by 1 May 2008.

Transformations: Researching Asia

Call for Papers: TRANSFORMATIONS: RESEARCHING ASIA

York Centre for Asian Research Graduate Student Conference – York University, Toronto, Canada September 26 to 28, 2008

Call for Papers deadline: April 1, 2008

What does it mean to “research Asia”? Asian Studies is a growing field within and, we hope, beyond Area Studies.
Recent developments in Asian research reflect modern and contemporary events across a wide range of disciplines. As the body of research on Asia grows, questions concerning the production and mediation of ?Asia? become more pressing. The critical and fundamental questions ?What is Asia?? and “How to study Asia“? remain unresolved and contested. As a field, moreover, Asian Studies remains driven by disciplinary divides; interdisciplinary intersections remain disappointingly rare. With this conference we seek to address the epistemology and methodology of
researching Asia within and beyond the geographical and disciplinary constraints traditionally associated with Area Studies. We invite papers from graduate students engaged in interdisciplinary research in Asian Studies focusing on the modern and contemporary periods.

Possible paper topics could address (but are not limited to) these sub-themes:
Epistemology of Asian Studies
Methodology and Practices in Asian Studies
Orientalism & Re-Orientalism Knowledge/Power
Time and Temporality Modernity
North/South Divide Globalization
Race and Ethnicity Migration and Diaspora Race,
Gender, and Class Positioning and Subjectivity Body and Representation Sexuality
Media and Technology Environmental Challenges Art
Visual Culture Music and Performing Arts

Interested participants should submit a paper title, abstract (250 words maximum) and brief biographical information by April 1, 2008. Selected participants must submit completed papers by August 1, 2008. Inquiries and
email submissions can be sent to the conference organizers at: transformationsasiaconference@gmail.com. More information about the conference can be found on the conference website:
www.yorku.ca/ycar/Events/graduate_conference.html.

This Conference is hosted by the York Centre for Asian Research at York University. York University has a proud history as a leader in innovative and creative learning approaches with an emphasis on multidisciplinary research that covers wide geographical areas. This Conference reflects the strengths of York faculty and students in interdisciplinary approaches to research and learning. For more information about the Centre: please
visit: www.yorku.ca/ycar.

CFP: Global Encounters: Legacies of Exchange and Conflict

Call for papers: “Global Encounters: Legacies of Exchange and Conflict (1000-1700)”, Conference of Program in Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS)University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, November 14-15, 2008

CALL FOR PAPERS for a Conference organized by the Program in Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Conference dates: 14-15 November 2008. The new Program in MEMS at UNC, Chapel Hill, seeks papers from scholars in a wide variety of disciplines. Papers dealing with topics of cultural mediation, interchange, and conflict are especially welcome. Possible areas of geographical concentration include Europe, the Atlantic world, the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
Key-note addresses will be offered by Professor Karen Ordahl Kupperman (Silver Professor of History at New York University), and by Professor Alfred J. Andrea (Professor Emeritus of History, University of Vermont).The deadline for paper proposals is 1 April 2008. Proposals should include a title, a 250 word abstract, a brief (two-page maximum) C.V., and full contact information. Proposals should be submitted to the MEMS Organizing Committee, c/o Professor Brett Whalen, chair (bwhalen@email.unc.edu).

This Conference is supported by: the College of Arts and Sciences, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and MEMS, the Medieval and Early Modern Studies Program at UNC.

Brett Edward Whalen
Assistant Professor
Department of History
CB# 3195 (Hamilton Hall)
UNC-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
W: 919.962.2383
Email: bwhalen@email.unc.edu
Website: http://mems.unc.edu/

Morris K. Udall Environmental Ph.D. Fellowship

Morris K. Udall Foundation Environmental Public Policy & Conflict Resolution Ph.D. Fellowship

The Udall Foundation awards two one-year fellowships of up to $24,000 to doctoral candidates whose research concerns U.S. environmental public policy and/or environmental conflict resolution and who are entering their final year of writing the dissertation. Dissertation Fellowships are
intended to cover both academic and living expenses from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009.

Who can Apply?
Dissertation fellowships are open to scholars in all fields of study whose dissertation topic has significant relevance to U.S. environmental public policy and/or environmental conflict resolution.  Previous fellows’ fields of study include political science; economics; government; anthropology; environmental science, policy and management; ecology; environmental justice; regional planning; geography; natural resource policy; and
environmental analysis and design.

Each applicant must:
Have completed all Ph.D. coursework and passed all preliminary exams; Have approval for the dissertation research proposal by February 21, 2008; Be entering the final year of writing the dissertation; Be a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, or U.S. national.

Furthermore:

Applicants must be enrolled at a U.S. institution of higher education; U.S. citizens attending universities outside the U.S. are not eligible.

The primary focus of dissertation research should be U.S. environmental policy or environmental conflict resolution.

It is the Foundation’s intent that work conducted during the fellowship year be done in the U.S.

Ph.D. candidates who hold a fellowship for the purpose of writing the dissertation during the year preceding or coinciding with the Udall
Fellowship are not eligible.

Dates to Watch

February 21, 2008:  Receipt deadline for complete application packet

April:  Selection Committee meets to review applications

May:  Notification of awards sent to all applicants

July 1, 2008:  Beginning of the fellowship year

June 30, 2009:  Completion of fellowship year
(dissertation due to the Foundation)

For application materials and further information please visit www.udall.gov.

CFP: Human Rights, Individualism and Globalization

International and Interdisciplinary Conference
Human Rights, Individualism and Globalization
April 10-12, 2008
Sponsored by the Center for Spirituality, Ethics and Global Awareness and the Bethany College School of Arts and Sciences
Bethany College, Bethany, WV, USA

Call for Papers
Some Suggested Topics: Cultural Narcissism; The Lonely
Planet-Literature; Film and Art; Alienable Vs Inalienable Human Rights; Documenting Human Rights Abuse; Film; Art; Literature; Imagining a Human(e) Community; Common sense and Common Selves; Self Reflection and the Reflected Self; Global Orders Private Lives; The Law and Practice of Human Rights; Abolition of Slave Trade; Refugees and Forced Migration; Nationalism and Ethnicity; Diplomacy and Human Rights; Human Rights and Religious Expression ;Trafficking in Persons and Drugs; Human Rights and Globalization; Democracy; Political Rights and Human Rights; Democracy and Political Activism; NGOS and Human Rights; Rights of Women; Rights of Children; Human Rights and Diversity in the Workplace; Preventing Harassment and Discrimination in the Workplace; Human Rights and Labor Exploitation; Human Rights and the Environment; War Crimes and Terror; Transnational Politics and Globalization; Gandhi’s view on Globalization; Poverty and Globalization; Globalization as a Sophisticated Form of Colonization; Outsourcing; Capitalism and Worker’s Union; Anti-terrorist Measures and International Human Rights; Gangs; Violent Crime and Security; Racism and the Multicultural Self; Social Responsibility and Labor Rights;
Objectivist Framework of Individualism; Privacy Rights and
Communications Technology; Genetic Engineering and Human Rights.

Selected papers from the conference will be published (subject to editorial review).

We will also have a session for undergraduate research paper
competition. Please encourage your students to join the competition. There will be an award for the best undergraduate paper.

Deadline for submission of 150 words abstract:   January 31, 2008, Email to: mailto: cchakrabarti@bethanywv.edu

Please contact: Dr.  Chandana Chakrabarti, Professor of
Philosophy, Director Center for Spirituality, Ethics and Global
Awareness, Phone: 304-829-7525

3rd Annual Scholars in Critical Race Studies Conference

Call for Papers – 3rd Annual Scholars in Critical Race Studies Conference 2008 Theme: “Global Civil Rights”
March 27-28, 2008 – University of Memphis

The Scholars in Critical Race Studies (SCRS) at University of Memphis seek submissions for their third annual colloquium. In commemoration of the fortieth anniversary of Martin Luther King’s murder in Memphis, the topic this year is on “Global Civil Rights.” The keynote speaker this year is internationally renowned critical race theorist David Theo Goldberg. Please send all inquiries or proposals to: jgorman@memphis.edu. The deadline for 250-500 word abstracts of 30-minute papers is 13 January 2008. Selected papers will be published in the journal Patterns of Prejudice.

Scholars affiliated with the SCRS examine the historical evolution and contemporary expression of race as a social category for discriminating, organizing, regulating and maintaining social differences. By revealing that racial categories emerge in specific contexts that are connected to power, politics, economics and culture, these scholars destabilize those categories as natural or transhistorical. The point is to disclose how race operates in differing situations and texts, in order to undermine the force of racism. The SCRS is an interdisciplinary forum that seeks to facilitate a conversation by scholars across the humanities and social sciences, including Philosophy, Literature, History, Foreign Languages, Political Science, Sociology, Anthropology, and Jewish Studies.

This colloquium was made possible by the generosity of the Marcus Orr Center for the Humanities, the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change, Bornblum Judaic Studies, and the College of Arts and Sciences at The University of Memphis.

Submissions are welcome in the following categories, however the suggested topics below are by no means exclusive. We particularly welcome contributors from the Mid-South region (Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Arkansas).

• The global community and the beloved community
• Jewish responses to apartheid and to civil rights
• Expressions of and responses to racism within material and intangible heritage
• Politics and ideation of a post-racial state
• What are the influences of national struggles for civil rights on global claims to civil rights?
• The influence southern U.S. Civil Rights Movement on activist groups in other locales
• The influence of other activist movements on the southern U.S. Civil Rights Movement, the role of race in contemporary civil rights struggles globally
• Defining or narrating “civil rights” in other national contexts
• Transnational dialogue or collaboration among activist movements

Joshua Gorman
The University of Memphis
Department of History
Email: jgorman@memphis.edu

Waseda University Doctoral Student Network Website

The WUDSN seeks to provide opportunities for PhD candidates from Waseda University to present their work alongside other scholars within Waseda University as well as outside Waseda University.

The WUDSN also strives to create a stimulating environment in which participants can engage in horizontal and vertical exchanges with professors, experienced researchers, young scholars, activists, government officials, and business leaders.

From December 2007 the Global Institute for Asian Regional Integration (GIARI), located at the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies at Waseda University, has agreed to support and work with the WUDSN. Specifically, as part of this collaboration, the WUDSN will focus its lecture series on themes related to Asian integration including but not limited to politics, security, economics, society, and culture.

Email: s.nagy@aoni.waseda.jp
Website: http://www.waseda.jp/gsaps/WUDSN/2index.htm