[csaa-forum] Japanese Visual Culture & Manga symposium

[Craig Norris]

Sorry for the cross posting.

CALL FOR PAPERS

Japanese visual culture and the cultural flows of manga

Friday 13 August 2004, Melbourne 
hosted by the Japanese Studies Centre, Monash University
Deadline for submissions: 18 June 2004

This symposium explores the movement of images and commodities across
and between borders, particularly those of Japan and the Asia Pacific
region. It will continue the Cultural Flows conference (Monash
University 2002) exploration of how categories of the local, national,
and global are constructed, and the boundaries between them configured. 

This symposium will bring together scholars, fans, artists, and
professionals, adopting an interdisciplinary approach that welcomes
papers from a wide range of disciplines and experiences. 

As an outcome of this conference we hope to produce an innovative volume
of papers. We are inviting abstracts of no more than 250 words on the
following topics or related themes.

Manga and the arts: 
manga is a graphic medium that is exerting a significant influence on
artists and audiences; witness the popularity of drawing comics in a
'manga style', or the inspiration drawn from manga characters, stories,
and visual layout in cinema, television, computer games, and print. We
also invite artists and fans to talk about their work that draws upon a
manga style or has been influenced by Japanese visual culture.

Manga and education: 
anecdotal observations suggest that within education, particularly
Japanese language education, students at secondary and tertiary level
are being motivated to study Japanese through their interest in manga,
and the possibilities of using manga for teaching Japanese.

Manga and the construction of identity and culture: 
considers issues such as the social welfare of international students
and students from Asian backgrounds for whom manga can provide an
important sense of belonging to a cultural heritage outside of
Australia, which is yet a focus of local admiration and curiosity. 

Related topics include:
Globalisation/hybridity and culture
Representing and performing difference
Race and nationalism
Popular culture and consumerism

Send proposals to Craig.Norris at arts.monash.edu.au
or to Dr. Craig Norris, Japanese Studies Centre, Monash University, Vic
3800