November 19 -21, 2004

at the Japanese-German Center Berlin (JDZB).

This year's topic will be

Gender Dynamics and Globalization: Comparative Perspectives on Japan and Asia.

The conference is organized by VSJF board members Susanne Kreitz-Sandberg and Claudia Derichs, in cooperation with the association's "Gender Workshop on Japan". Funding was provided by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the Heinrich Boell Foundation, and the Association for the Promotion of Japanese-German Cultural Relations (JaDe).

The conference addresses the state of gender in Japan, a trans- disciplinary field of research that draws contributions from all social science disciplines. The perspective is further widened by the inclusion of comparative aspects of gender in various Asian countries. Speakers from Korea and Southeast Asia will join Japanese and European presenters in discussing questions such as the gender dimension in social policy, the so-called glass ceiling effect in Asian politics, "Asia" in Japanese feminist discourse, the engendering of the military, or gender perspectives on changing welfare state and employment concepts.

Please register with Joerg Reinowski (jreinowski@jdzb.de or jreinowski@freenet.de).

More information about registration can be found on the Japan-German Center's website at the web address shown below.

Conference Program:

Friday, November 19, 2004

Opening remarks
(Klaus Vollmer, President, VSJF)

Introduction
Susanne Kreitz-Sandberg (Duesseldorf University), Claudia Derichs
(University of Duisburg-Essen)

Session I: Gender as Theoretical and Empirical Challenge for Cultural
Studies and Social Science Research
Chair: Harald Fuess (Sophia University, Tokyo)

Gender at the Crossroads: The Potential of Gender for Understanding
Social Change in Japan
Ilse Lenz (Bochum University)

From Culturality to Transculturality - A Paradigm Change in Gender Studies
Michiko Mae (Duesseldorf University)

Dynamics of Masculinities in Japan - Comparative Perspectives on Men’s Studies
Annette Schad-Seifert (Leipzig University)

Discussant: Michael Meuser (University of Duisburg-Essen)

Keynote Speech
The Gender Dimension in Social Policy Discussions in Japan and South East Asia
Mari Osawa (University of Tokyo)
Chair: Ilse Lenz (Bochum University)

Saturday, November 20, 2004

Session II: Gender in Japan and (South-)East Asia

Panel 1: Breaking through the Glass Ceiling
Chair: Claudia Derichs (University of Duisburg-Essen)

Martyrs' Wives and Dynasties' Daughters: Female Leaders in Asia
Mark Thompson (University of Erlangen-Nuernberg)

Fe-MALE and Wo-MAN: The Cultural Production of the Philippines’ Women Presidents
Lorna Israel (Miriam College, The Philippines)

Panel 2: Japan Within Asia - Asia Within Japan: Women's Strategies and Discourses
Chair: Sebastian Conrad (Free University Berlin)

Sexuality and Nation: Asia in Japanese Feminist Historiography
Andrea Germer (German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo)

Japanese Feminists between Accepting War Responsibility and Reconstructing Victimhood
Ulrike Woehr (Hiroshima City University)

Invisible Women Who Come and Go: Survival Strategies of East Asian Immigrant Women in Japan
Jung Yeong-hae (Otsuma Women's University, Tokyo)

Parallel Working Group Sessions
(1) Gender and Media. Representations of Korea in Japan
Chair: Ina Hein (Duesseldorf University)

Gender Construction in the Japanese Media Coverage of the Korean "Comfort Women" Issue
Daniela Rechenberger (Trier University)

Korean Women as Role Models? Gender and Ethnicity in Japanese Television Dramas
Hilaria Goessmann (Trier University)

(2) Globalization of Gender Politics in East Asia
Convenor: Hiromi Tanaka (Bochum)

Dynamics of Gender Politics: Implementation of CEDAW in Japan and in South Korea
Hiromi Tanaka (Bochum University),Mihee Hong (Bochum University)

(3) Formation of Gender in Education and Sport
Chair: Susanne Kreitz-Sandberg (Duesseldorf University)

Gender and Education: Comparative Perspectives of Japan and Its Neighbors
Susanne Kreitz-Sandberg (Duesseldorf University)

Physical Education and Gender Socialization in Japan
Wolfram Manzenreiter (University of Vienna)

Body Culture and Gender Identities in China of the Late Qing and Early Republican Period
Denise Gimpel (Institute for Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, Copenhagen)

(4) Working Women’s Networks in Times of Globalization
Chair: Maria Sachiko Baier (University of Vienna)

Women's Labor Activism in the Context of Globalization: The Working Women's (International) Network in Osaka
Maria Sachiko Baier (University of Vienna)

Responding to Globalization: Working Women's Networks in the Philippines and Japan
Rosalinda Ofreneo (University of the Philippines, Diliman)

Sunday, November 21, 2004

Session III: Gender and Organization in Transition
Chair: Hartwig Hummel (University of Duesseldorf)

Panel 1: Military and Gender
Engendering the Military - Militarizing Japan
Sabine Fruehstueck (University of California, Santa Barbara)

Masculinity and Military Service: The Case of the UN Peacekeeping Forces
Eyal Ben-Ari (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

Panel discussion: Gender Perspectives on the Welfare State and Employment in Change
Mari Osawa (University of Tokyo)
Karin Gottschall (Bremen University)
Harald Conrad (German Institute for Japanese Studies, Tokyo)
Rosalinda Ofreneo (University of the Philippines, Diliman)
Chair: Karen Shire (University of Duisburg-Essen)

Closing remarks
Claudia Derichs (University of Duisburg-Essen), Susanne Kreitz-Sandberg (Duesseldorf University)