The department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Colorado at Boulder will host the first public conference on canon formation in Japanese literary studies Nov. 12-14 at the Broker Inn in Boulder.
According to Stephen Miller, assistant professor of Japanese language and literature and conference chair, the topic of canon formation has become an increasingly important one in the Western literary tradition, but has remained relatively undiscussed in Japan.
"It promises to be an exciting conference," Miller said. "American, Korean, Australian and European scholars will have the opportunity to engage in dialogue with recognized Japanese scholars about the Japanese literary tradition and how its tradition of 'great books' came about.
"The conference will address how literary texts became a part of the canon and how views of the canon have been influenced by literary trends from the West. This is an important step in bringing together the Japanese and American literary academies," he said.
The conference, "Issues of Canonicity and Canon in Formation in Japanese Literary Studies," will be held in conjunction with the Southwest Rocky Mountain Japan Seminar.
In addition to the language department, the conference is supported by the Japan Foundation, the Northeast Area Council of the Association of Asian Studies, and CU-Boulder's Center for Asian Studies, the Center for Humanities and the Arts, and the Council on Research and Creative Work.
This conference is the eighth annual meeting of the Association for Japanese Literary Studies, the largest gathering of Japanese literary scholars in the country.
Previous themes have concerned new historicism, the poetics of Japanese literature and revisionism in Japanese literary studies.
Keynote speakers include Kubota Jun, professor emeritus at Tokyo University and Japan's leading scholar on medieval waka, a poetic form; Takahashi Mutsuo, a leading gay novelist, poet and author; and Suzuki Sadami, professor at the International Research Center in Kyoto.
Approximately 45 papers and panels will be given by scholars from around the world. The registration fee is $20 for students and $30 for non-students. One-day tickets may be purchased for $10.
For more information contact Stephen Miller at (303) 492-7545 or David Boyd at (303) 492-6639. E-mail messages can be sent to smiller@spot.colorado.edu or dboyd@stripe.colorado.edu.
CU-Boulder's Japanese language and literature program, part of the department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, offers undergraduate and graduate programs in Japanese and doctoral programs in conjunction with Comparative Literature.
Its programs are one-of-a-kind in Colorado and its mission is central to the internationalizing of the university and to promoting multiculturalism, diversity and interdisciplinary studies.
For more information call (303) 492-6639 or visit the Web site at .