The Japan Residencies Program

The deadline has passed. Information on the 2024 program will be available summer 2023.

DEADLINE: Applications must be submitted by October 1, 2022

In cooperation with and support from the Japan-United States Friendship Commission, the OAH and the Japanese Association for American Studies (JAAS) plan to send two American scholars to Japanese universities for two-week residencies in the summer of 2023 (pending funding).

The committee seeks applications from OAH members who are established American scholars affiliated with an American or Canadian university interested in teaching advanced undergraduates and graduate students in seminars and courses focusing on the U.S. History topics requested by the host institutions.

During their residencies, the American historians give at least six lectures and/or seminars in English in their specialty. They also meet individually and in groups with Japanese scholars, graduate students, and undergraduate students studying American history and culture, and participate in the collegial life of their host institutions. The purpose of this exchange program is to facilitate scholarly dialogue and contribute to the expansion of scholarly networks among students and professors of American history in both countries. We are pleased to announce the twenty-third year of the competition.

Round-trip airfare to Japan, housing, and modest daily expenses are covered by the award (note: if the host university is unable to provide housing, award recipients are expected to use the daily stipend to pay hotel expenses). Award winners are also encouraged to explore Japan before or after their two-week residency at their own expense.

Host Universities

Aichi Prefectural University (Aichi, Japan)
University Website: https://www.aichi-pu.ac.jp/eng/

Host: Yukako Hisada, Professor
E-mail: yukahis@for.aichi-pu.ac.jp
Research and Teaching Interests: The Early National and Antebellum Periods; gender and labor history; household economy, the transition to capitalism, and the market revolution; cotton industry and slavery; anti-slavery and anti-abolition movements; women’s political involvement without their voting rights in early nineteenth century America

Hoping for a specialist in the early national and antebellum periods, preferably with an interest in history of capitalism, antislavery politics, and/or labor reform.

The residency will be for two weeks: From June 1 to June 14, 2023 (negotiable).

Aichi Prefectural University is a public university located in Aichi, Japan.
The predecessor of the school was Aichi Prefectural Women’s Special College founded in 1947.  
Aichi Prefectural University was established as a co-educational institution in 1966.  In 1998, the campus was relocated from Nagoya to the hilly eastern district of Nagakute. Today, approximately 3,500 students are enrolled in its five undergraduate and four graduate schools, and more than 1,600 students are enrolled in the School of Foreign Studies.

The School of Foreign Studies is divided into four departments: British and American Studies, European Studies, Chinese Studies, and International and Cultural Studies. Students in each department are required to gain a high practical level of proficiency in a foreign language, through the study of regional communities and their cultures.

The city of Nagakute borders on the metropolis of Nagoya to the west.  It is famous for its battle of 1584, in the period of near-constant civil war and social upheaval between 1467 and 1615, and the World Exposition of 2005.

Meiji University (Tokyo, Japan)
University Website: https://www.meiji.ac.jp/cip/english/

Host: Shuichi Wanibuchi, Assistant Professor, School of Arts and Letters
E-mail: shoes728@gmail.com
Research and Teaching Interests: Early America and the Atlantic World; colonization, political economy, and the environment; knowledge and the natural world; early Quakers and slavery in the Atlantic world; slavery and the American Revolution

Host: Ayumu Kaneko, Associate Professor, School of Political Science and Economics
E-mail: ayumuk@meiji.ac.jp
Research and Teaching Interests: gender/masculinity, sexuality, race, and class; race, class, and masculinity in the history of homophobia and gay activism from the early to the mid-20th Century United States; feminism, anti-feminism, men’s pro-feminism and intersectionality in U.S. History.

Looking for a specialist in the history of slavery and/or race in North America and the United States from the colonial to the Reconstruction era, preferably from a transatlantic/transnational perspective. If an applicant’s research interest also includes gender and sexuality, and/or contemporary debates on slavery, reparation, and racism, she/he/they will be doubly welcomed. We may ask that one of the required lectures be given to Meiji University’s undergrad and grad students.

The residency will be for two weeks: From June 1 to June 14, 2023 (negotiable, but must include June 3-4)

Founded in 1881 as Meiji Law School to modernize Japan’s civil society and promote the spirit of “rights, liberty, independence, and self-rule,” Meiji University is one of Japan’s leading private universities with 10 undergraduate and 12 graduate schools and enrollment of approximately 30,000 undergrad and 1,800 undergrad students. Its flagship campus is located in Jinbōchō, Tokyo, a district famous for one of the world’s largest used and vintage book town, vibrant student culture, and numerous bars, diners, and restaurants.

How to Apply

Applicants must be members of the OAH, have a PhD, and be scholars of American history. Applicants from previous competitions are welcome to apply again. Award winners are expected to attend the OAH Conference on American History so that they can meet with visiting Japanese scholars and graduate students and with members of the OAH/JAAS Japan Historians' Collaborative Committee before their trips to Japan.

Applications must include the items below.

Please send all materials (in one PDF labeled with your name) by midnight PST on October 1, 2022 to japanresidency@oah.org and indicate "Japan Residencies Program-[UNIVERSITY NAME]" in the subject line. If you would like to apply for both residencies, please send a separate application for each.
 

• A two-page curriculum vitae emphasizing teaching experience and publications.
• The institution for which you would like to be considered.
• A personal statement, no longer than two pages, describing your interest in this program and the issues that your own scholarship and teaching have addressed. Please devote one or two paragraphs to why you understand this residency to be central to your development as a scholar in the world community. You may include comments on any previous collaboration or work with non-U.S. academics or students. If you wish, you may comment on your particular interest in Japan.
• A letter of recommendation, to be solicited by the applicant and sent directly by the recommender to OAH (japanresidency@oah.org), which should also address the applicant’s teaching skill. The subject line of the e-mail should say “Recommendation for [NAME OF APPLICANT]."

By applying for this program, you are agreeing to OAH’s use of your data however it is needed in the normal course of business if selected as a Japan residency recipient. Read our privacy policy here.
 

Deadline: Applications must be submitted by October 1, 2022.