First Call for Papers

2021 Japan Studies Association of Canada Annual Conference

 

“The Impacts of Japan and Canada Hosting the World: Catalyzing Change through Cultural, Economic, Political, and Sporting Events”

 

The Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, and the Modern Languages program at Thompson Rivers University (https://www.tru.ca/) are pleased to host the 2021 Japan Studies of Canada (JSAC) Annual Conference, from Thursday, September 30 to Sunday, October 3, 2021, with a Saturday night banquet, and an optional post-conference field trip on Sunday, October 3 to Lillooet. Scholars, students, and all interested parties are welcome.  Students are encouraged to enter two competitions for cash awards:  the Princess Takamado Essay Award competition (for graduate students, organized by the Prince Takamado Japan Centre for Teaching and Research at the University of Alberta), and the Klaus Pringsheim presentation competition for undergraduate and graduate students.  Note: this conference was originally scheduled for July 2020 but was postponed due to Covid-19.

 

TRU (https://www.tru.ca/) just finished celebrating its 50th year as an evolving centre of higher learning, with its main campus located in Kamloops (https://www.kamloops.ca/) at the confluence of the North and South Thompson Rivers. It is located approximately 350km northeast of Vancouver in an area called Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc within the unceded region known as Secwépemc'ulucw, of the Secwépemc people.  

 

Our theme will be “The Impacts of Japan and Canada Hosting the World: Catalyzing Change through Cultural, Economic, Political, and Sporting Events.”  Japan has hosted World Expos, the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 2019 G20 Summit, and it will tentatively host the postponed 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo in July 2021.  Canada has also hosted similar mega events.  These events have led to major infrastructure projects, captured national and international social and culture moments of change, and highlighted the role of technology and economics during such events.  How has hosting or cancelling these large events changed Japan and Canada in a regional, national, and international context?  What have been the impacts of other events, small or large, planned or spontaneous, such as festivals, at the local, regional, and national level?

 

The 2021 JSAC conference will explore these questions above but will also engage other topics related to the following themes:

 

Japanese Language; Popular Culture & Mass Media; Literature, Visual, and Performing Arts; Economic Development & Sustainability; Politics, Security & Safety; Religion, Philosophy, History, and Culture; Architecture and Aesthetics; Regional Planning & Community Development; Technology & Science; Education; Food & Agriculture; Consumption

 

If you are interested in organizing a panel, roundtable, or workshop, please send a title and abstract (maximum 250 words as a Word document) to Cara Cadre (ccadre@tru.ca) by May 31, 2021.

1. In the email subject line please type “JSAC PANEL…” and your name

2. Add names and affiliations of participants if known.

 

 

For individual or co-authored papers, please send Cara Cadre (ccadre@tru.ca) the following by June 30, 2021:

1. In the email subject line please type “JSAC ABSTRACT” and your name

2. Full name(s) (including co-presenters) as you would like it (them) to appear in the program

3. Affiliation (including those of co-presenters)

4. Your email address

5. Your abstract (as an attachment in Word, maximum 250 words)

Please send your abstract and the above information to ccadre@tru.ca

The deadline for abstracts is June 30, 2021

 

Note: This conference will be offered online if we cannot safely meet due to Covid-19.

 

We look forward to seeing you in person this fall in Kamloops!

 

Sincerely,

Tom Waldichuk & Cara Cadre (Conference Organizers)