Call for Doctoral Candidate Papers
The Institute of East Asian Studies is accepting applications for participation in a week-long, intensive dissertation writing workshop for doctoral candidates in the Social Sciences and the Humanities, entitled “New Approaches and Perspectives in East Asian Studies.” The purpose of the workshop is to advance dissertation drafts and allow participants to receive feedback from faculty and fellow students, laying the foundation for future collaborative exchanges between promising young scholars from Taiwan and the United States. The workshop will provide opportunity for sharing and discussing experiences and strategies for paper writing and publication.
Projects should concern one of the following regions: East Asia, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, or the Asia Pacific. Workshop themes include, but are not limited to:
- Histories, Changes, Challenges
- Development, Neo-liberalism
- Environment and Sustainability
- Inequality
- Human Rights and Democratization
- Mobility and Urbanization
- Identity and Nationalism
- Art
- Religion
- Technology and Media
Topics can be addressed from any of a number of disciplinary perspectives, including, but not limited, to political science, history, economics, geography, sociology, anthropology, religion, architecture, literature, urban studies, or international relations. Ideally paper topics would provide clear focus while encouraging broad exchange.
Successful applicants will receive a $300 honorarium for their participation and attendance. Attendance at meals and excursions (including an excursion day on January 23) is welcomed, but is optional.
Framework:
The workshop will take place at the Institute of East Asian Studies, 1995 University Avenue, Suite 510, Berkeley CA. Students from the University of California, Berkeley, and doctoral students from 12 Taiwanese research universities will be invited to participate. Professors from Taiwanese and American universities are invited. English will be the official language of the conference.
The workshop will consist of three parts. The main part will be presentations on working drafts of dissertations. Participants will present a chapter of their dissertation to the entire group and they will discuss the theoretical and/or conceptual foundations of their work. The second part of the workshop, in between the presentations, will be lectures by academics from the US and Taiwan on their latest research or ideas about the direction of East Asian studies. The third part of the workshop involves group discussion on research methods, writing skills, and publication strategies. Participants will be organized into small groups, depending on the applicant pool, to intensively exchange ideas and experiences about writing and publication. This aims to further academic professionalization for young scholars engaged in cross-cultural research and communication. There will also be optional opportunities for participants to engage in guided visits on campus and around the San Francisco Bay area.
Eligibility and Application Guidelines:
Applicants must be doctoral candidates with at least one chapter of their dissertation completed and ready for credible presentation and constructive feedback.
Required Application Materials:
- A cover sheet that includes the applicant's name, department, email address, phone number, dissertation title, and major professor;
- Curriculum Vitae;
- A one page proposal, single spaced, that clearly addresses the state of the dissertation;
- A letter of support from one's major professor is optional but will help in the event that there are more applicants than spaces in the workshop.
Procedures:
Application materials are due via email to at the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley, by 5 pm on October 5, 2015. Applications should be emailed with the Subject Line 2016 Winter Institute Application to Caverlee Cary, IEAS Associate Director for Program Planning, at ccary@berkeley.edu(link sends e-mail). Questions about the program may also be addressed to her by email or phone (510‑643‑6492). Applications should be submitted in a single PDF file in the order listed above. Invited participants will be asked to submit papers and selected primary sources no later than December 1, 2015. Materials will then be circulated to discussants. The Institute expects to nominate 10-12 Berkeley students in total.