Japan Foundation Special Roundtable: Bridging Japanese Studies between the U.S. and Asia

Session Submission Type: Roundtable Proposal Application

Abstract

As regional studies are becoming borderless and interdisciplinary, we recognize the growing demand to connect Japan scholars from the U.S., Southeast Asia, and Japan. In order to enhance collective scholarship through collaborative projects and exchanges, as well as to advance Japanese Studies in these three regions, the Japan Foundation has initiated several new projects. In the summer of 2015, the Trilateral (Japan-U.S.-Southeast Asia) Summer Institute in Japanese Studies was held for the first time, and a new grant program, U.S.-Southeast Asia-Japan Collaboration and Exchange Initiative, has been launched to support collaborative scholarship. The Japan Foundation hopes that Japan scholars and students from all three regions and across various disciplines will benefit from the creation of scholarly networks and the sharing of Japanese Studies resources, research methodology, and practical collaborative work.

This roundtable brings together five scholars from the U.S. and Southeast Asia who participated in the Summer Institute in 2015. They will examine the current state of academic exchange and collaboration among scholars of Japanese Studies in the U.S., Japan and Southeast Asia, and discuss ways to further develop collaboration that is mutually beneficial for all regions. This discussion will address the following questions: What are the mutual interests of scholars in the US and Southeast Asia? What are the different needs and priorities within the field of Japanese Studies in these regions, and within each individual country? What are the potential topics and fields for collaboration? How can scholars from the three regions efficiently collaborate? How can they work together to identify the challenges and priorities that lie ahead for Japanese Studies?

Area of Study

• Interarea-Border Crossing-Diaspora

Session Organizer

• Noriko Yamamoto, The Japan Foundation

Chair

• Junichi Chano, The Japan Foundation

Discussants

• Bodiford M. William, University of California, Los Angeles

• Keller Kimbrough, University of Colorado, Boulder

• Susy Ong, University of Indonesia

• Hai Linh Phan, VNU University of Social Sciences and Humanities USSH