12th EAJS Workshop for Doctoral Students

The European Association for Japanese Studies (EAJS) invites doctoral students in all humanities and social sciences to apply for the 12th EAJS Workshop for Doctoral Students (4 -7 July 2016). The workshop will take place at the École des hautes études en sciences sociale (EHESS), Paris. EAJS will cover the costs of travel (up to EUR 400) and accommodation for the duration of the workshop for a group of 18-20 doctoral students.

Venue: EHESS (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales/School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences), Paris, France

Date: 4-7 July 2016

Project director: Dr. Sébastien Lechevalier (EHESS)

Language for applications and during the workshop: English

Application deadline: 31 March 2016

To apply please use the online application system

The EAJS Workshops for Doctoral Students aim to create a European multidisciplinary network of advanced graduate students and senior scholars in Japanese Studies. The informal environment of the workshop provides a unique opportunity for participants to work together intensively to enhance individual projects and engage in in-depth discussions of common themes and methods. Through presentations and focused sessions, students give and receive critical feedback on dissertation projects, fieldwork plans and preliminary results. Students will be asked to read the work of their peers and prepare for workshop presentations linking their own work to the broader international Japanese Studies field. Students will also get one-to-one supervision with a senior scholar in their respective field.

Eligibility
Graduate students working on a dissertation topic related to Japan, regardless of citizenship, who are enrolled at universities in Europe, and students of European nationality who are enrolled in graduate programmes outside Europe are eligible. Students travelling to the workshop from outside Europe should expect no more than EUR 400 to be paid towards their transportation costs. Doctoral Students from European universities that do not have major centres of Japanese Studies are especially encouraged to apply. Applications are particularly welcome from graduate students in the early fieldwork phase through the middle stages of dissertation writing. All applicants are expected to have studied the Japanese language and to use materials written in Japanese as sources for their dissertations. Applicants are expected to provide evidence of Japanese language ability in their applications.

Application and Selection Process
Please be aware that EAJS uses an online system to manage submissions for its workshop for doctoral students.
In the first instance your application should include:
1. A curriculum vitae
2. A short cover letter (maximum 250 words), indicating why you wish to attend the workshop as well as the current state of progress of the doctoral work
3. A summary of the dissertation project (maximum 500 words), explaining topic, relevance, research question, methodology, and current stage of dissertation project.

These documents must be submitted via the submission website by 31 March 2016. Selected candidates will be notified by 30 April 2016.

Short-listed candidates will then be required to send a project report (about 5000 words) to Sébastien Lechevalier (sebastien.lechevalier@ehess.fr) by 31 May 2016.
1. This project report should have the following structure:
2. title and author
3. abstract with keywords
4. current state of research (empirical findings and theories) and research gap(s)
5. research question of project and its relevance respectively own motivation
6. theoretical framework, methodology of project, and schedule
7. hypotheses and/or preliminary results
8. (possible) difficulties in realizing research project
9. quoted literature

It goes without saying that the project report should conform to best academic practice (language, referencing, etc.). It will be the basis for short presentations on the individual research projects, for group presentations and discussions, and for the individual supervision.

Note that the second application stage will not be competitive. Each applicant who receives a request to send in a full project report will be accepted. However, an extension of the deadline for the project report will not be possible since all project reports need to be sent to all participants. Shortlisted candidates who fail to submit their project report by the deadline will not be admitted to the workshop.

All selected candidates will furthermore be required to submit a short report (250-300 words) on their participation in the workshop until 31 August 2016.

Reports by participating scholars will appear on the EAJS website at www.eajs.eu as well as in the EAJS Bulletin.

Accepted candidates will also be required to join the European Association for Japanese Studies.

For all enquiries please feel free to contact the EAJS office via email at office[at]eajs.eu.