Let's Manga

 Proposed Panel for SCMS Conference, Los Angeles, March 17-21  The Artificial Life of Film: Dolls, Puppets, Automata, and Cyborgs in Cinema  Organizer Names:  Deborah Levitt, Assistant Professor, Culture and Media Studies,  Eugene Lang College, The New School  Allison de Fren, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow,  Ammerman Center for  Arts & Technology, Connecticut College  Summary: From the early films of Georges Méliès, Fritz Lang, and the  Surrealist movement to Blade Runner, Being John Malkovich, Ghost in  the Shell, and Lars and the Real Girl, the cinema has had an enduring  fascination with artificial humans due to their unique ability to  picture the tensions between motion and stasis, animation and  inanimation, humanity and artificiality, the real and the virtual,  and the vital and the mechanical. Artificial bodies have also made  diverse appearances in film theory, from the "spiritual automaton"of  Gilles Deleuze to Roland Barthes' meditations on a cinematic  automaton in Camera Lucida to the broad field of reflections on  cyborgs and/in cinema. This panel seeks to interrogate any or all of  these conjugations of cinema and artificial lives — material and  philosophical, live action or animated, in fiction or documentary. We  are interested in the kinds of performativities engendered by these  ambivalent bodies: their uncanniness, their ontological  destabilizations, their epistemological games of masking and  unmasking. Papers might also consider how artificiality is mobilized  within particular genres or what kinds of meanings accumulate around  artificial bodies in relation to gender or race. We are interested in  how these figures help to construct a new genealogy of audiovisual  culture, one that could illuminate cinema's digital or animatic  present and future, as well as connections to various moments in the  historical long durée of dolls, puppets, and automata.  Please send an abstract of up to 300 words, five key references, and  a brief bio to levittd@newschool.edu and adefren@conncoll.edu by  August 10th.

IBBY UK/NCRCL MA CONFERENCE, 14 NOVEMBER 2009 Roehampton University, London - Call for Papers The theme this year is Comics and Graphic Novels. Graphic novels are becoming increasingly popular and diverse in the UK and have been highly valued in many countries, notably France, Belgium and Japan, for many years. The 2009 IBBY UK/NCRCL MA conference will explore the developing interest in this medium from a variety of perspectives, in addition to considering developments in the range and content of comics available to children and young people. The conference will include keynote presentations by well-known writers, publishers and academics. Proposals are welcomed for workshop sessions (lasting about 20 minutes) on the following or other relevant issues: International perspectives – comics and graphic novels in a particular culture and/or across cultures Comics from a contemporary or historical perspective. Has the number and range of comics declined and, if so, why? Manga - its origins in Japan and developments and adaptations in other cultures New literacies – the changing interface between visual images and text Links between media – computer games, films, internet comics, character toys Animations and cartoons The work of individual and collective creators of comics and graphic novels. What collaborations are involved in the production of a graphic novel? Is the author a major or minor player in the design of a graphic novel? Use of artistic styles – colour/black and white artwork/photography/fonts and typography. What are the technical complexities of producing comics and graphic novels? Engagement of children and young people with/through this medium. Is there a particular appeal to the `reluctant' reader? Gendered reading. Do comics and graphic novels have more appeal to male readers? Controversial issues/taboo subjects – the notion of `appropriate' material for What is the appeal of a graphic novel as against an illustrated book? How do picture books compare in popularity with graphic novels for a younger age group? We welcome contributions from interested academics and others. of these areas. Brief accounts of the papers that are presented at the conference will be published in the Spring 2010 issue of IBBYLink, the journal of British IBBY. Also we hope that the proceedings of the conference will be published later that year in full in book form. The deadline for proposals is 20 July 2009. Please email a 200-word abstract (for a 20-minute paper) as an attached Word document to Pat Pinsent and also contact her if your require any further information on this call for papers. Please also include a short biography and affiliation. Pat Pinsent, 23 Burcott Road, Purley, CR8 4AD. Tel: (020) 8668 4093. Email: patpinsent@aol.com The IBBY has just opened the CFP for its September 2010 conference in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The theme is "The Strength of Minorities". Details here: http://www.ibbycompostela2010.org/ Topics Children's and young people's literature: a minority area within the literature arena Despite the high quality and notable presence of children's book editions and the general growth of literature, they still hold a minority status in the eyes of editors, writers and the media, generally. Why are we writing or illustrating for children in these conditions? Children's and young people's literature in minority languages: from difference to survival Literature written in minority languages invariably face a wide set of challenges. Its survival is dependent on factors such as socio-political context, the extent of the official status bestowed on them and the general public response to cultural and linguistic diversity. Children's books can contribute towards the standardization of the edition in minority languages. However, publishers targeting a reduced market undoubtedly encounter many difficulties. Readers in a minority situation Children and young people with disabilities or special needs usually encounter many obstacles with regards to access to books or the pleasure of reading. We must find solutions to help combat these difficulties. A readership bereft of childhood Books and reading matter are generally considered staples for intellectual and cultural development and the growth of the youngest members of society. However, not all children have easy access to books. How do we broach the subject of books and reading material with those readers who missed out on their childhood: exploited children and those without even enough to eat? I am a reading girl, you are a reading boy... Do we still need children's literature which takes into account the gender issue? How do we tackle questions relating to sexual orientation and the rights of sexual minorities within children's books? Globalizing diversity and tolerance through children's books The 21st century must ensure the survival of minorities on the road to a better future. Diversity and tolerance - which are vital for a fairer world - must respectively make inroads in relation to minority groups.

Open Call for Applications for Full-time Position: Comparative Culture Institution: Saitama University Institution URL: http://www.saitama-u.ac.jp/ Department: Faculty of Liberal Arts Institution type: National University Content of Work: The successful applicant will teach four 90-minute undergraduate classes per week and one 90-minute graduate seminar per week, and perform the administrative duties required of full-time faculty. Classes will deal with comparative culture (Japanese and a second culture). The primary language of instruction will be English. Research field: Human Science and Comparative Culture               Japanese Culture with a focus on Visual Studies, Film Studies, or Media Studies. Job type: Assistant Professor (Lecturer) or Associate Professor Rank: Full-time tenured position with mandatory retirement at age 65; Assistant Professor: Full-time tenure-track position with 5-year term limit (one renewal possible; tenure comes with promotion to associate professor). Work area: Kanto district ? Saitama Address:  Saitama University, Faculty of Liberal Arts 255 Shimo-okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama-ken, 338-8570 Japan Number of positions: 1 Qualifications:  1. Native or near-native level of fluency in English.  2. Ph.D. in the relevant field (advanced Ph.D. Candidates also may apply).  3. Japanese language reading and speaking skills.  4. Experience teaching in English to Japanese college-level students is preferable. Salary & Benefits: This position carries the standard benefits package, including salary, research funds, and pension available to regular faculty at a national university. Deadline for applications: 2009 / 7 /10 - 2009 / 9 /25 Starting date: 2010/04/01 Application materials: mail the following to the Faculty of Liberal Arts: 1. Detailed CV including research publications, research presentations, and teaching experience. 2. Two letters of recommendation. 3. Copy of Ph.D. diploma (if applicable). 4. Three representative publications (in either English or Japanese) 5. Outline of future research plans (around 1000 words). 6. Statement of your views on education (around 1000 words). Contact: Selection Committee for the HSCC Professor (sc-hscc@gr.saitama-u.ac.jp) Additional information: Personal Information accompanying submitted application materials will be used only for selection and employment purposes. Materials submitted with application will not be returned. Saitama University is an equal opportunity employer.

"Our old enemy 'poverty' somehow disappeared, and we can no longer find an enemy to fight against" (Miyazaki, 1988). In other words, after Japan's industrial success since the Meiji restoration in 1890s and recovery from WWII cast out poverty from the nation, people still remain possessed by an illusion of gaining a wealthy everyday life and continue living with a gap between their ideal and real life. As a result, an endless and unsatisfying cycle of production and consumption has begun destroying harmony among family and community (Harootunian, 2000).

Zizek (1989) points out that people of late capitalism are well aware that money is not magical. To obtain it, it has to be replaced through labor, and after you use it, it will just disappear, as will as any other material. Allison (1996) adds to this point: "They know money is no more than an image and yet engage in its economy where use-value has been increasingly replaced and displaced by images (one of the primary definitions of post-modernism) all the same” (p. xvi).

Related to its presentation of the loss of spiritual values, the film elaborates an extensive critique of another contemporary global issue: identity confusion. A symptom of identity loss is seen in the way that cultures today encourage people to constantly refashion their self-image, so that individuals construct their identity based on ideals presented in popular media.