Host Institutions, 2014 OAH/JAAS Residencies

University of the Ryukyus (Okinawa, Japan): Short-term Lecture Residency

Ikue KINA, PhD, Professor
Affiliation: University of the Ryukyus (Okinawa, Japan)
Postal Address: International Institute for Okinawan Studies, University of the Ryukyus
1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213, Japan
Phone: +81-98-895-8291
Fax: +81-98-895-8291
E-Mail: ikuekina@LL.u-ryukyu.ac.jp

Hoping for a specialist in US History with one or more interdisciplinary areas of interest such as indigenous culture and language, border studies, transpacific diaspora, mixed-race issues, and/or gender issues. For two weeks: May 27-June 18, 2014. Residency recipient chooses the two weeks within this period, with the starting date no earlier than May 27, 2014 and the end date no later than June 15, 2014.

The University of the Ryukyus was established in 1950 on the remains of Shuri Castle, which was burnt to ashes in the Battle of Okinawa. Under the US administration governing Okinawa, the strong desire of Okinawans for postwar reconstruction and restoration of education moved the US Military Government to establish the first university in the Ryukyu Archipelago. In 1966, administration of the University was transferred to the Ryukyu Government, and with the reversion of Okinawa to Japan in 1972, the University became a national university. In 1977, the University was moved to a large new campus in the region where the three municipalities of Nishihara Town, Ginowan City, and Nakagusuku Village meet, and it became a national university corporation in 2004.

Today the University of the Ryukyus has an enrollment of about 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students and continues to fulfill its role as an educational and research institution dealing with the variety of issues that have arisen from the unique geological, historical, cultural, and political settings of Okinawa, where the University is situated. Okinawa's long and sometimes agonizing historical experience and geographical location make it a nexus for a plethora of fields. This has enabled the University to make great contributions to the development of human resources in the local community and to the production of new knowledge.

Professor Ikue Kina received her PhD in American Literature from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, specializing in US women's literature. As a recipient of a 2007 Fulbright visiting scholar grant, she conducted research at the Department of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley. Her articles have appeared in such journals as Tamkang Review (Taiwan), Nanzan Review of American Studies, and International Journal of Okinawan Studies. Her translations of a story and an essay written by Tami Sakiyama, a contemporary Okinawan woman writer, are included in My Postwar Life: New Writings from Japan and Okinawa, edited by Elizabeth McKenzie and published by Chicago Quarterly Review Books.

Tokyo Metropolitan University (Tokyo, Japan): Short-term Lecture Residency

Hideo TSUJI, PhD, Associate Professor
Affiliation: Tokyo Metropolitan University (Tokyo, Japan)
Postal Address: School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University
1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo, 192-0397 Japan
Phone: +81-42-677-1111
Fax: +81-42-677-2158
E-Mail: tjhideo@tmu.ac.jp

Hoping for a specialist in expressive culture in the United States with a focus on the intersection of (white) mainstream culture and African American culture. For two weeks: Starting date should be either June 5, 2014 or June 6, 2014; ending date should be either June 18, 2014 or June 19, 2014.

Tokyo Metropolitan University is the only public university in the city of Tokyo and one of the leading universities in the country. It was created through a merger in 2005 of four public universities to embrace four undergraduate faculties–the Faculty of Urban Liberal Arts (including the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Law and Politics, Business Administration, and Science and Engineering), System Design, Health Sciences, and Environmental Sciences–and Six Graduate Schools–the Graduate School of Humanities, Social Sciences, Science and Engineering, Urban Environmental Sciences, System Design, and Human Health Sciences. There are about 7,000 undergraduate students and 2,300 graduate students enrolled. About 700 faculty members teach and conduct researches there.

Its main campus is located in Minami-Osawa, Hachioji city, about 40 minutes from The Shinjuku downtown area by train. The Minami-Osawa Campus has the International House where visiting scholars can stay for low rates. Minami-Osawa, though a quiet suburban town, has commercial and entertainment attractions. There are restaurants, a movie theater, and a shopping mall very close to the train station. The TMU Minami-Osawa campus itself is about only a five-minute walk from the station; making it an enjoyable place to stay on its own as well as a convenient base to visit downtown Tokyo areas.

Professor Hideo Tsuji received his PhD in English from Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. His dissertation, "Hemingway, the Extraterritorial: Style of Relation and the Rise of Hardboiled Modernism" focuses on Ernest Hemingway's early works, but with extensive attention to the relationship between Hemingway and African American writers such as Ralph Ellison and Wallace Thurman. His research interests include tracing the (trans-)formation of the concept of style in expressive culture in the United States including the history of style or stylin' in African American culture.