Midwest Japan Seminar
The Midwest Japan Seminar is an association of scholars who devote a significant portion of their effort to Japan studies. The seminar meets five times a year at various host institutions throughout the Midwest, once in conjunction with the Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs.
It meets Saturday afternoons for four hours and for dinner in the evening. Typically, two scholars are invited to present the results of their current research. The papers are sent out prior to the seminar, providing the opportunity for in-depth discussion and feedback.
Graduate students with an interest in Japan are particularly welcome to attend.
MJS schedule 2022-2023
September 17 (MCAA) – University of Kansas
Stephen Filler, Literature, Oakland University, “Shindo Junjo’s Search for the Lost Hero in Treasure Island (Takarajima)”
Hiromi Mizuno, History, University of Minnesota, “Soil Goes Modern: Japanese Agriculture Meets Western Chemistry”
October 15 (1:00-2:30pm Central Time)- Virtual Meeting
Pedro Bassoe, Literature and Visual Culture, Purdue University, “Haunting Images: Illustration, Book Design, and Visuality in the Literature of Izumi Kyōka”
November 12 (1:00-2:30pm Central Time)-Virtual Meeting
Tanya Maus, History, Wilmington University, “The Repatriation of the “Atomic-bombed Cross”
January (5:00-6:30pm Central Time)- Virtual Meeting
Ethan Segal, History, Michigan State University, “History on Television: Depicting Japan’s Sixteenth Century in Netflix’s Age of Samurai and NHK’s Kirin Ga Kuru”
March 11 (1:00-2:30pm Central Time)
William Londo, History, Oakland University
April 22 (2:00-6:00pm) Western Michigan University (in-person Meeting)
Shuma Iwai, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, "Yamaji Aizan's Views from the Power and Money in Modern Japan"
Yuting Dong, University of Chicago, "Cementing Infra-technocracy"