[Commlist] CFP: "Internationalisation Interrupted" workshop

*Call for Papers: Internationalisation Interrupted: Japan on the Global 
Stage, the Role of the 2020 Olympics, and the Impact of the Covid-19 
Pandemic*

*Research Workshop*

*Thursday 1^st – Friday 2^nd July*

*Venue: Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, 
Norwich, UK (hybrid in-person and online)*

A web version of this call is viewable here: 
https://japaninnorwich.org/2021/04/01/call-for-papers-internationalisation-interrupted/ 
<https://japaninnorwich.org/2021/04/01/call-for-papers-internationalisation-interrupted/> 


On behalf of the Centre for Japanese Studies at the University of East 
Anglia and the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and 
Cultures, we invite scholars to submit papers for a special two-day 
workshop event to discuss the global role of Japan in relation to the 
Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. The Olympics has historically 
provided an opportunity for hosting nations to showcase cultural and 
political strengths as well as their unity within the international 
community. However, Japan’s model of globalisation has been seen as more 
inward-looking and seeks to enhance a certain self-image rather than 
global ties (e.g. Iwabuchi 2015). Following this, Tokyo 2020 presents an 
ideal opportunity to discuss how Japan’s global role and ambitions have 
developed in the contemporary era.

International marketing campaigns, social media and global news 
reporting provide clues as to how particular images of Japan have been 
constructed and circulate worldwide in the lead up to Tokyo 2020. 
However, following the Covid-19 Pandemic and a yearlong postponement, 
the nation has come under new scrutiny over escalating costs, 
high-profile scandals and resignations, and the decision to stage the 
games without international spectators. For these and other reasons, 
Japan’s control over their international branding has weakened, and 
waning enthusiasm both internationally and domestically has meant Tokyo 
2020 may end up causing the nation more harm than good.

Inviting scholars from a range of disciplines across the humanities, we 
ask, how have the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics provided new 
contexts for discussing Japan’s international presence? Our aim is to 
spark discussion on the ways by which Japan has communicated itself 
internationally and domestically in the run up to the games, and how 
this enhances our understanding of the nation’s approaches to 
internationalisation and globalisation. We are interested in how social, 
political, media and other forms of communication have circulated 
particular images and discourses of Japan’s global role. Furthermore, we 
are interested in exploring both Japan’s marketed image of itself 
alongside the more negative discourses that have grown since the pandemic.

We invite presenters to send abstracts of no more than 250 words that 
consider the role of Tokyo 2020 in relation to topics including (but not 
limited to):

  * Domestic and international media coverage
  * Television, news, and social media
  * Local/national responses to the Olympics
  * The Covid-19 Pandemic and its effects
  * Tourism
  * Marketing
  * Transnationalism
  * Globalisation
  * Cultural diversity
  * Soft Power and ‘Cool Japan’
  * Race, gender, and sexuality
  * Disability and ableism
  * ‘Cuteness’ in Olympic branding
  * Comparisons with Tokyo 1964 or Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics
  * Trans-Asian comparisons with Beijing 2008 or PyeongChang 2018 Winter
    Olympics
  * Celebrities and Tokyo 2020

With restrictions in England due to end on 21^st June, we welcome 
scholars in the UK to join us in-person in Norwich. Applicants outside 
of the UK or otherwise unable to travel are welcome to participate 
online via video-conferencing.

*Please submit your paper title and 250 word (maximum), along with your 
name, position and institution to: *(Tokyo2020sisjac /at/ gmail.com) 
<mailto:(Tokyo2020sisjac /at/ gmail.com)>

*The deadline for abstracts is Friday 30^th April. Successful applicants 
will be notified of the outcome by Friday 14^th May. *

Workshop Organisers
Dr Christopher J. Hayes & Dr Duncan Breeze



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