2016 OAH-JAAS Japan Residencies Program

Kara Hamm Announcement
Location
Japan
Subject Fields
American History / Studies

Deadline: Applications must be submitted by October 1, 2015.

In cooperation with and support from the Japan-United States Friendship Commission, the OAH and the Japanese Association for American Studies (JAAS) plan to send two American scholars to Japanese universities for two-week residencies in the summer of 2016, pending funding. During their residencies, the American historians give at least six lectures and/or seminars in English in their specialty. They also meet individually and in groups with Japanese scholars, graduate students, and undergraduate students studying American history and culture, and participate in the collegial life of their host institutions. The purpose of this exchange program is to facilitate scholarly dialogue and contribute to the expansion of scholarly networks among students and professors of American history in both countries. We are pleased to announce the twentieth year of the competition pending funding.

Round-trip airfare to Japan, housing, and modest daily expenses are covered by the award (note: if the host university is unable to provide housing, award recipients are expected to use the daily stipend to pay hotel expenses). Award winners are also encouraged to explore Japan before or after their two-week residency at their own expense.
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HOST INSTITUTIONS FOR 2016

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (Tokyo, Japan)

Hoping for a specialist in Race/Ethnic Relations in the Twentieth-Century United States.

For two weeks: June 3 through June 16, 2016.

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, whose origin can be traced back to Banshoshirabesho established under the Tokugawa regime in 1857, is one of the oldest national educational and research institutions in Japan. At present, the university has the enrollment of about 3,500 undergraduate and 500 graduate students. Despite this modest size, the university is the leading research institution solely dedicated for the study and teaching of languages, cultures and histories of the globalizing world. To attain its research and educational goals, the university has established partnership relations with more than 140 institutions from 55 countries and one region throughout the world. Active personnel and student exchange between us and these affiliated research institutions in lesser-known countries of the world is another important characteristic of this university.

The campus is located in the city of Fuchu, about 15 miles west of downtown Tokyo, or about a 30-minute train ride from the Shinjuku station, one of the main downtown terminals. Tokyo undoubtedly is one of the largest, most exciting metropolitan areas in this globalizing world, with the rich cultural resources of its own.

Host: Professor Takahiro Sasaki
Graduate School of Global Studies, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Tokyo, Japan
taksas@tufs.ac.jp

Professor Takahiro Sasaki teaches American history to undergraduate and graduate students in the School of International and Area Studies. His main scholarly interest is in gender and race in the history of the American South. In the past, he published his work on such subjects and topics as divorce in North Carolina, desertions from the North Carolina troops during the Civil War, and the African-American community in the city of Durham, NC. He is now conducting research on African-American domestic servants in slavery and freedom.

Ritsumeikan University (Kyoto, Japan)

Hoping for a specialist in transpacific history with special interest in transnational circulations of persons, commodities, capital, and information. A specialist of Asian American history and/or U.S.-Japan relations is also welcomed.

For two weeks: June 1 through June 14, 2016.

The history of Ritsumeikan dates back to 1869 when Prince Kinmochi Saionji, an eminent international statesman of modern Japan, founded "Ritsumeikan" as a private academy on the site of the Kyoto Imperial Palace. The school spirit of liberalism and internationalism advocated by Prince Saionji was combined with the ideals of academic freedom and vivacity pursued by Kojuro Nakagawa, former secretary of Prince Saionji, and became a tradition of the university. After World War II, Ritsumeikan adopted the educational philosophy of peace and democracy, faithful to the spirit of the Japanese Constitution and the Education Fundamental Law. In 1948, Ritsumeikan became one of the first Japanese universities to be reorganized under the new education system.

Today, Ritsumeikan University offers a wide range of courses in advanced studies at its Kinugasa Campus in Kyoto, Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC) in Shiga and Osaka-Ibaraki Campus (OIC) in Osaka. Over the century, the Ritsumeikan Trust has evolved into a comprehensive educational institution consisting of two universities, four senior high schools, four junior high schools and one primary school. Ritsumeikan has become an integrated academy with a rich culture of individuality and international awareness accommodating a total of 49,000 students.

Host: Professor Manako Ogawa
College of Letters, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan
m-ogawa@fc.ritsumei.ac.jp

Professor Manako Ogawa received her PhD in American Studies from the University of Hawaii. While publishing articles on topics related to the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in the Journal of World History, Diplomatic History, and various other academic journals in both English and Japanese, her academic interests have gradually shifted to the sea and fishing communities. Her more recent publications on fishermen who traveled to Hawaii and other parts of the Pacific include Sea of Opportunity: The Japanese Pioneers of the Fishing Industry in Hawaii (2015).

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How to Apply

Applicants must be members of the OAH, have a PhD, and be scholars of American history. Applicants from previous competitions are welcome to apply again. Award winners are expected to attend the 2016 OAH Annual Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, so that they can meet with visiting Japanese scholars and graduate students and with members of the OAH/JAAS Japan Historians' Collaborative Committee before their trips to Japan.

Applications must include the items below. Please send all materials as PDF files by midnight PST on October 1, 2015 to japanresidency@oah.org and indicate "2016 Japan Residencies Program" in the subject line.

■ A two-page curriculum vitae emphasizing teaching experience and publications. Also include the names and contact information of three references.

■ The institution(s) for which you would like to be considered.

■ A personal statement, no longer than two pages, describing your interest in this program and the issues that your own scholarship and teaching have addressed. Please devote one or two paragraphs to why you understand this residency to be central to your development as a scholar in the world community. You may include comments on any previous collaboration or work with non-U.S. academics or students. If you wish, you may comment on your particular interest in Japan.

Deadline: Applications must be submitted by October 1, 2015.

Contact Information

Committee Coordinator
Organization of American Historians
112 North Bryan Avenue
Bloomington IN 47408-4141
812-855-7311
www.oah.org

Contact Email
oah@oah.org