“The 3.11 Disaster of
Japan: Vulnerability, Loss, and Social Transformation”
25 and 26 January 2013
We are pleased to announce the 13th
International Conference on Japanese Studies of the Ateneo de Manila University
in the Philippines, from 25 to 26 January 2013. The theme this
year is “The 3.11 Disaster of Japan: Vulnerability, Loss, and Social
Transformation.” The
conference aims to provide a lively forum for academics, scholars, educators,
and professionals who are interested on how Japan handles disaster and enable the
exchange of new and various approaches and perspectives in an informal
interdisciplinary setting. Furthermore, the conference wishes to highlight learnings which can be applicable within the Philippine context.
With climate change, the intensity and frequency
of natural disasters has been increasing in the world. Though its correlation
to change in the natural environment is not straightforwardly seen, the recent
3.11 disaster, the Tohoku Earthquake and earthquake-induced disasters, became
landmarks that show human beings are now facing the enormous power of environmental
change, highlighting the vulnerabilities of a first world country such as
Japan. Disasters occur at the interface of environment, society and
technology. They are not only biophysical events, but they are also inevitably
situated in particular social and cultural contexts. The important issues in
disasters are often the issues of societies, and the view that relocates
disasters from events to processes inexorably entails concerns about cultures.
This conference aims to approach the theme with the perspective of the
socio-cultural framework in order to understand not only the disaster itself but on how Japanese
society coped in where it occurred. It will be composed of three parts: 1)
Risk and Vulnerability which deals with pre-existing issues of Japanese
society, 2) Displacement and Loss which includes the problem of the loss of
connectedness and the consequent loss of self, and 3) Recovery and Resilience
which addresses post-disaster change and possible future of Japanese society.
We are now accepting abstracts (300-500 words)
for papers looking at multi-disciplinary approaches towards disaster
research in Japan. We particularly encourage critical studies in the
following areas:
Approaches in disaster
research
Disaster in Japanese
history
Risk and vulnerability
of Japanese society
Mitigation,
preparedness and responses
Post-disaster care
Media, education and
disaster
Disaster and
gender
Disaster and religions
Disaster in
globalization
Civil society and
"disaster volunteers"
Recovery and the
creation of post-disaster society
Other related topics are also welcome. Please
email abstracts to jspadmu@gmail.com on or before 19 October 2012. All submissions
will be refereed.
Venue: Ateneo de Manila University, Quezon
City, Philippines
Dates: 25 and 26 January 2013
Fees: waived
We very much hope to see you
there.
Conference Conveners:
Karl Ian Cheng Chua, Ph.D.
Hiroko Nagai, Ph.D.
Japanese Studies Program
Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines
Antonio G.M. La Vina, LLM, JSD
Antonio G.M. La Vina, LLM, JSD
Dean
Ateneo School of Government, Philippines
This conference is supported by the Japan
Foundation in cooperation with the Ateneo School of Government.
