Deadline: October 1, 2024
Call for Applications
The Abe Fellows Network of the Social Science Research Council and the Japan Foundation New York announces the SSRC-JFNY Japan Global Workshop. The workshop supports research explicitly focused on policy-relevant and contemporary issues with a comparative or transnational perspective that can benefit from inquiry into Japan. PhD candidates and researchers and journalists based in North America within ten years of their last degree are eligible to apply.
Workshop participants will have the opportunity to explore their own research in dialogue with that of their peer participants and workshop facilitators as well as to discuss theoretical and/or methodological approaches. Although applicant projects do not need to be focused on Japan, applicants should be interested in exploring their research topic in conversation with Japan as a “a country on the frontlines” or “harbinger state” and as a comparative or alternate lens/platform. In addition, participants will learn about professional development opportunities and discuss project dissemination including best practices in social media and other approaches to engaging with public/policy audiences.
The workshop will be held from February 19-22, 2025 on the campus of Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California. The workshop will begin with the evening of Wednesday, February 19, with a welcome dinner, run for two full days, and end the morning of Saturday, February 22, 2025.
Workshop Focus
Why study Japan? Understanding and engaging with Japan remains as important as ever. Japan has been described as a kadai senshinkoku (an advanced country in problem-management), a “harbinger state,” and a “country on the frontlines.” Japan has often faced challenges one step ahead of other countries. Studying Japan can inform both scholars and policymakers about the social and political challenges other countries are likely to confront in the future. Scholarship on Japan offers a critical opportunity to develop theoretical insights, assess early empirical evidence, and offer policy lessons about emerging challenges and the political contestation surrounding them. From demographic challenges and their impacts on labor systems, healthcare, and social security to its economic transformation and its approach to international relations, the study of Japan and of Japan in comparative context can yield theoretical insights and early empirical evidence related to global issues of general interest.
Workshop Facilitators
Setsuya Fukuda, Senior Researcher, National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Japan (Areas of interest: Social Demography, Life Course Research, Gender, Intergenerational Relationship, Methods of Longitudinal Data Analysis, National Transfer Accounts / National Time Transfer Accounts, AI/Technological Development and Family Life)
Phillip Lipscy, Professor, University of Toronto, Canada (Areas of interest: international relations and political economy, international organizations, the politics of energy and the environment, and the politics of East Asia, particularly Japan)
Ulrike Schaede, Professor, University of California, San Diego, United States (Areas of interest: Japanese business, society and culture; business organization, strategy and management; supply chain politics, cultural shifts, digital transformation)
Eligible applicants will be:
• based in North America,
• within ten years of their last degree or PhD candidates
• and conducting active research (in academia or another sector) or reporting (on staff or freelance) in their career.
Applications must be submitted online and include the following sections:
• Application form
• Short statement of interest in the workshop
• Five-page project proposal or synopsis and a one-page bibliography
• CV
The SSRC will cover the cost of airfare, three nights’ accommodation, and all meals during the workshop. Meals in transit and airport transportation will be reimbursed based on receipts.
Any questions regarding the workshop should be directed to japan@ssrc.org.