CFP: 16th Annual Meeting of the Association for Japanese Literary Studies (15 May; 2-4 Nov; Princeton)

This is a reminder that the deadline for submission of abstracts for the
16th Annual Meeting of the Association for Japanese Literary Studies to
be held at at Princeton University is *May 15, 2007. *

The 16th Annual Meeting of the Association for Japanese Literary Studies

Princeton University, November 2-4, 2007

"Literature and Literary Theory"

What is literature? What is literary theory? What are the boundaries of
/Japanese/ literature? /Japanese/ literary theory? Discussions on
these questions are inexhaustible yet unavoidable in our study. These
basic questions govern our practices because they define our discipline
as well as our approaches to our objects of inquiry. In Japan and
elsewhere, historical contingencies have defined and redefined*
*"literature" and "literary theory"; numerous theoretical trends have
further configured and reconfigured the contours of "literature." The
categories "Japan" and "Japanese" too have gone through much
transformation, further complicating this line of inquiry. This
three-day conference will revisit these basic questions and attempt to
rigorously explore the foundation of our study.

As Michel Foucault has shown, literature as we know it now is a 19^th
Century invention. But works we categorize under the rubric
"literature" have existed since time immemorial and across the globe.
Various approaches have been taken to theorize literary works: in
premodern Japan, we have, for example, a variety of /karon/ (poetic
theories)* *such as the famous "Preface"* *to the /Kokinshu-/ by Ki no
Tsurayuki and other genre-specific treatises such as those on /renga/
(linked verse) and /haiku/. Discussions of prose narratives have also*
*appeared* *throughout history. Western literature, aesthetics, and
philosophy entered Japan of the modern period, and literature took a
dramatic turn: the discipline of "literature" was produced, along with a
new sense of aesthetics and new attitudes toward expression and form.
Whether in the premodern or modern era, theories thus not only offered
paradigms* *by which to compose and interpret their putative* *literary
objects, but they often arose out of complex negotiations* *with the*
*varying forces of history.

The above questions* *cannot be divorced from the more recent
theoretical trends, evidenced in the surge of theories* *that we often
categorize under the blanket term "postmodernism" that have further
reconfigured our literary practices: these include post-structuralism,
postcolonialism, feminism, queer theory,* *and other* *theories of
gender and sexuality to name a few. Many such movements have questioned
the basic tenets of our past and present literary studies and hence the
boundaries of "literature." How do these theoretical perspectives*
*define Japanese literature? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
What are the main theoretical issues governing our study for literature
today? This conference hopes to address such issues and more.

The scope of inquiry will range from ancient writings to contemporary
texts. We hope the participants will explore a variety of issues,
including but not limited to:

* Recent theoretical trends: their possibilities and limits
* Historical changes in how we perceive literature and literary
theory in Japan
* The transformation of the role of the author and his/her relation
to the literary production in the history of Japanese literature
* Historical development of literary theory from the premodern to
modern times.
* Shifting boundaries of "Japan" and "Japanese-ness"
* The mutual relationship between theory and practice and how they
have evolved in the history of Japanese literature
* The relationship between a chosen mode of discourse and its "object"
* How theories of translation, cultural studies, and nationalism
engage with the production of Japanese cultural and literary
boundaries
* Relationship between history, memory, and literature in Japan
* Relationship between politics and literature in Japan
* "Anti-theory" and "pro-theory" in the study of Japanese literature


Deadline for receipt of abstracts of no more than 250 words is *May 15,
2007*. We welcome individual submissions as well as 3 or 4 person panel
proposals. To facilitate maximal audience participation, there will be
no formal discussants. Conference languages are English and Japanese.

Proposals should be submitted electronically to the conference website:
http://www.princeton.edu/ajls/

All other correspondence may be directed to the organizers Richard H.
Okada and Atsuko Ueda via the contact information listed below:

AJLS 2007
Department of East Asian Studies
211 Jones Hall
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08544
ajls2007@princeton.edu