The Social Science Research Council Japan Program invites applications from advanced graduate students in all humanities and social science disciplines for the eighth annual Japan Studies Dissertation Workshop. The workshop will be held at the Asilomar Conference Center in Monterey, California, from January 8-12, 2003. In most cases, the SSRC will bear the costs of participants’ travel, lodging and meals for the duration of the workshop. Funds for the workshop are provided by the Japan Foundation.

The workshop series aims to create a sustained, multidisciplinary network of advanced graduate students and faculty in Japan studies. The informal and collegial environment of the workshop provides a unique opportunity for participants to work together intensively to enhance individual projects and engage in concentrated discussions of common themes and methods. Through presentations and focused sessions, students give and receive critical feedback on dissertation proposals, fieldwork plans and results and contribute to group discussions. Proposals are welcome from students in literature, art history, and other humanities disciplines, as well as from Social Sciences.

Students are selected for participation based on proposals submitted as part of the application, with special attention given to those who are not from universities housing major Japan Studies centers and those whose projects would benefit most from multi-disciplinary discussion with others in related fields. Wherever possible, specific session groups will be organized around theme, method, stage of dissertation or other shared attributes among participants. Prior to the workshop, students will be asked to prepare a 10-page essay based on selected proposals and their own work, analyzing and linking the projects together and across disciplines to the broader Japan Studies field.

Eligibility and Application:

Full-time advanced graduate students, regardless of citizenship, who are enrolled at U.S. institutions and have an approved dissertation prospectus, are eligible. Although applications are welcome from students in any stage of the dissertation process, the committee will give priority to those in the early-fieldwork through the middle stages of dissertation writing. The application packet consists of a summary of the dissertation proposal (or an update if research is well advanced), a letter of reference from the student’s advisor and a brief application form which can be downloaded from the SSRC website (http://www.ssrc.org). Applicants will be notified of selection results in mid November.

It is the policy of the SSRC to provide equal opportunities to all persons without regard to race, color, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, religion, disability, marital or family status. All awards contingent on the availability of funds.