@UIUC: Patrick Drazen talk: "Gay, Kind-of Gay and Pseudo-Gay in Anime and Manga: What's the Point?" (22 Oct, 4-5:30pm; Noyes Lab 163)

"Gay, Kind-of Gay and Pseudo-Gay in Anime and Manga: What's the Point?"

a public lecture by Patrick Drazen

Thursday, 22 October 2009
4:00-5:30
Noyes Lab 163

From the cross-dressing of Osamu Tezuka's Princess Sapphire in Princess Knight (Ribon no kishi, orig. 1953-56) and Ryoko Ikeda's Oscar de Jarjayes in The Rose of Versailles (Berusaiyu no bara, 1972-73) to the fake twincest of the Ouran High School Host Club (Ouran Koukou hosuto-bu, 2003-), Japanese pop culture has not been shy about playing a variety of sexual games with its consumers. However, given the essential conservatism of pop culture's message despite cutting edge story-telling techniques, there is far more teasing going on than actual same-sex romance. In this presentation, using clips from various anime, Drazen will show that the point of most works is to nudge the consumer toward the conventional rather than away from it.



Patrick Drazen is the author of the Anime Explosion: The What? Why? and Wow! of Japanese Animation (2003). He has given presentations at the Cherry Blossom Festival Anime Marathon at the Freer Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution (2006), Schoolgirls and Mobilesuits (2004), Yaoi-Con (2002), and, for the past several years, Anime Central in his hometown of Chicago. He also participated in a panel discussion with Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino as part of the Chicago International Film Festival (2006). Drazen has written on anime and manga for the magazines Animation, SFX, and Time Out New York, and sits on the editorial board of and has contributed to the manga and anime studies journal Mechademia. He is currently working on his second book.

This talk is sponsored by the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies, the School for Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Resource Center, the Department of Comparative and World Literatures, and the Gender and Women's Studies Program.

CFP: JAPANESE TRANSNATIONAL FANDOMS AND FEMALE CONSUMERS (25 Oct; 3-4 July; Australia)

JAPANESE TRANSNATIONAL FANDOMS AND FEMALE CONSUMERS
University of Wollongong (near Sydney, Australia)
3-4 July 2008

This workshop investigates the different ways in which originally Japanese genres, aesthetics and styles have been taken up, deployed and transformed by female fans transnationally. The way in which Japanese products, styles and images are received in different cultures as well as the (sub)cultural ends to which they are deployed will be investigated, as will the impact of the fandom on the changing nature of consumerism, participatory fan culture and particularly gender in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. We invite papers that discuss female consumers’ uptake of originally Japanese popular cultural styles and artefacts across all regions and media.

Of particular interest in this workshop is the ‘yaoi’ or ‘boys’ love’ (BL) manga/animation fandom popular with girls and young women. Over the last decade there has been a massive boom in interest in this genre (including commercially translated and published volumes as well as amateur fan-authored productions) in Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. Papers focusing specifically on the yaoi/BL fandom are particularly welcome.

The workshop will result in a themed edition of the journal Intersections: http://wwwsshe.murdoch.edu.au/intersections/ due for release in April 2009.

Keynote speaker: Professor Christine Yano (University of Hawaii) speaking on the global Hello Kitty Fandom.

Other invited speakers include: Professor Chris Berry (Goldsmiths University) speaking on BL fan circles in Shanghai; Dr Kazumi Nagaike (Oita University) speaking on the history and cultural context of Japanese BL fandom; Dr Sharalyn Orbaugh (University of British Columbia) speaking on yaoi influence on the Harry Potter fandom; Dr Larissa Hjorth (RMIT) speaking on “cute customisation” across Japanese and Korean new media; Dr Fran Martin (University of Melbourne) speaking on the BL fandom in Taiwan.

Please send 250 word title and abstract and a short biography to Dr Mark McLelland (markmc@uow.edu.au) and Dr Fran Martin (f.martin@unimelb.edu.au) by 25 October 2007. A limited number of travel bursaries will be available.

This event is sponsored by the ARC’s Cultural Research Network and CAPSTRANS (Centre for Asia-Pacific Social Transformation Studies) at the University of Wollongong.

CFP: International Comic Arts Forum (15 Mar; 18-20 Oct; Washington, DC)

The International Comic Arts Forum (formerly International Comic Arts Festival) invites scholarly paper presentations for its twelfth annual meeting, to be held at the Madison Building of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., from Thursday, October 18, through Saturday, October 20, 2007. We welcome original proposals from a variety of disciplines and theoretical perspectives on any aspect of comics (including comic strips, comic books, albums, manga, graphic novels, political cartoons, other panel cartoons, caricature, or comics in electronic media), with a special interest in international comics. Proposals will be refereed via blind review.

PROPOSAL GUIDELINES
For its scholarly presentations, ICAF prefers argumentative, thesis-driven papers, clearly linked to larger critical, artistic, or cultural issues; we strive to avoid presentations that are merely summative or survey-like in character. We can only accept original papers that have not been presented or accepted for publication elsewhere. Presenters should assume an audience versed in comics and the fundamentals of comics studies. Where possible, papers should be illustrated by relevant images. In all cases, presentations should be timed to finish within the strict limit of TWENTY (20) MINUTES (roughly eight to nine typed, double-spaced pages).

Proposals should not exceed 300 WORDS. At the bottom of the proposal, the author should precisely state her/his audiovisual equipment needs.

AUDIOVISUAL EQUIPMENT: Our preferred format for the display of images is MS PowerPoint. Regretfully we cannot accommodate non-digital media such as transparencies, slides, or VHS tapes. Presenters should bring their PowerPoint or other electronic files on a CD or a USB key, not just on the hard drive of a portable computer. We cannot guarantee the compatibility of our equipment with presenters' individual laptops.

REVIEW PROCESS: All proposals will be subject to blind review by the ICAF Executive Committee, with preference given to proposals that observe the above standards. The final number of papers accepted will depend on the needs of the conference program. Due to increasing interest in the conference, in recent years ICAF has typically accepted only one third to one half of the proposals it has received.

SEND ABSTRACTS (with COMPLETE contact information) by March 15, 2007, to Prof. Cécile Danehy, ICAF Academic Coordinator, via email at cdanehy@wheatoncollege.edu.

Receipt of proposals is acknowledged immediately; if you do not receive acknowledgement within a few days of sending your proposal, please resubmit. Applicants should expect to receive confirmation of acceptance or rejection by May 15, 2007.

CFP: Scholarly Approaches to Japanese Popular Culture (31 Mar; 28 Sept; Mesa Arizona)

Otaku and Academia: Scholarly Approaches to Japanese Popular Culture

CALL FOR PAPERS

The Center for Asian Research at Arizona State University is
pleased to announce the research symposium Otaku and Academia: Scholarly
Approaches to Japanese Popular Culture, to be held on Friday, September
28, 2007 in conjunction with Otaku University: An Anime Conference.
Both events will be held at the Mesa Convention Center, 263 N. Center
Street, Mesa, AZ. This multi-disciplinary symposium will extend the
critical discussion of Japanese popular culture in its national and
transnational aspects, bringing together an international group of
scholars interested in exploring questions related to the creation,
circulation, and consumption of manga, anime and related cultural
products. The goal of this symposium is to communicate new ideas about
Japanese popular culture to a broader audience than is usually available
to scholars.

Otaku University is a new approach to how anime-based events cater
to fans. Industry and academic experts will no longer just talk about
their latest project; instead, they will share their experiences and
knowledge to help those interested in the industry hone their skills to
become successful professionals.

We welcome both proposals for panels and individual papers on a
wide range of topics including art, history, literature, film, music,
education, religion, linguistics, economics, gender studies and material
culture. We prefer submission of full panels, including discussants,
but will create additional panels as appropriate.

Individual papers: Typewritten abstracts of 200 words or less and a
c.v. should be submitted to the below listed address, postmarked no
later than March 31, 2007. Email submissions will not be accepted.

Panel proposals: Submit a typewritten package including title of
the panel and a brief paragraph describing its goal, participant names
and short c.v., the titles of their papers and a paragraph-long abstract
for each presentation. Each panel may name a chair and a discussant, if
so desired. Panel proposals are due to the below listed address,
postmarked no later than March 15, 2007. Email submissions will not be
accepted.

Time limitations: Presentations will be 20 minutes each.

Costs: The registration fee for the symposium will be $25, $60
for symposium attendees who wish to participate in Otaku University
conference events. Symposium participants are encouraged to attend a
variety of the Conference events which will be held that weekend.
Additional information about the Conference can be obtained at http://www.otakuuconf.org/ .

Send abstracts to:
Dr. Deborah A. Deacon
ASU Center for Asian Research
PO Box 871702
Tempe, AZ 85287-1702

For additional information about the symposium, contact Deb Deacon at
(480)965-0118 or via email at Deborah.Deacon@asu.edu.

CFP: MECHADEMIA: Limits of the Human (journal issue; 5 Jan.)

MECHADEMIA 3: Limits of the Human

Editor: Frenchy Lunning
Associate Editors: Thomas LaMarre, Michelle Ollie, Christopher Bolton

Mechademia is a new annual refereed journal from the University of Minnesota Press, a forum for critical work on anime, manga, and fan arts. We are seeking submissions on topics linked to Japanese manga or anime, as well as related material from fields like fashion, film studies, fine art, game design, and American or global fan culture, among others. Mechademia's goal is to promote critical thinking, writing, art, and creative activity that can bridge the current gap between professional, academic, and fan communities and discourses. To this end, we seek contributions in a variety of formats, by authors from a wide range of backgrounds and fields. Contributors should endeavor to write across disciplinary boundaries, presenting their unique knowledge in all its sophistication, but with a broad audience in mind. Each issue will have a theme that will focus the conversation and connect different pieces, but we encourage contributors to interpret these themes broadly in order to keep the way open for new and original kinds of work. Superior submissions that fall outside the theme may also be considered if space permits.

We are currently accepting submissions for Mechademia #3, the theme of which is "Limits of the Human." This issue will look at the way anime, manga, and related media have probed the contours human identity and activity-by imagining non-human others; by positing breakthroughs in human capability; or by showing us our own limitations as readers and viewers, among many other strategies.

Possible topics include
cyborg theory;
new fan species;
animalism and animalization;
undead and the occult;
speed and distance;
phenomenologies and ontologies, etc.
And this list is only a beginning: contributors are encouraged to interpret the theme broadly and contribute their own original perspective on the topic.

The submission deadline for issue #3 is January 5, 2007.

Submissions should be approximately 5000 words or less. Mechademia uses Chicago style documentation, though other formats are acceptable at the submission stage. Files may be sent as attachments to submissions at mechademia.org

Detailed information about the journal's mission and submission procedures is available on our web site at http://mechademia.org.