Call for Applications for an International Workshop on the History of Christianity in East Asia at Sophia University, Japan
The Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural History at the University of San Francisco in collaboration with the Kirishitan Bunko Library at Sophia University will hold a three-day international workshop and one-day conference in Tokyo from October 2-5, 2019. Preceding the activities at Sophia University, the Ricci Institute will also organize a three-day historical study tour in the city of Nagasaki from
September 27-30, 2019.
September 27-30, 2019.
Please note that all successful candidates will be expected to arrive no later than Tuesday, September 26 in Nagasaki and no later than October 1, 2019 in Tokyo—the day preceding the beginning of each respective program. They will also be required to depart no earlier than Sunday, October 6, 2019.
They are required to attend all workshop-related activities and sessions.
They are required to attend all workshop-related activities and sessions.
We are inviting post-doctoral level scholars and junior faculty members with their research focus on Christianity in East Asia who are currently preparing a book manuscript for publication to apply. This workshop is part of a four-year project supported by the Henry Luce Foundation in New York City. The project is entitled,
Historical Legacies of Christianity in East Asia: Bridging a New Generation of Scholars and Scholarship and is administered by the Ricci Institute.
Historical Legacies of Christianity in East Asia: Bridging a New Generation of Scholars and Scholarship and is administered by the Ricci Institute.
Study Tour (September 27-30, 2019)
This year the workshop will be preceded by a unique opportunity to visit the city of Nagasaki—an important historical hub for Christianity in Japan, with its cultural links to Korea and China. It was the most important place of encounter with Europe in the sixteenth century and maintained trade relations as well as religious exchange with the city of Macau. The tour will be guided by experts and will give participants the opportunity to familiarize themselves with a unique city that reflects the history that is the object of this grant project.
Workshop & Conference (October 2-5, 2019)
The workshop has three primary components.
First, through a series of lectures and seminars by senior scholars at the University of Oxford, participants will have the opportunity to confer with specialists from around the world with regard to the interpretation of complex primary source materials, including manuscripts and early printed books from different historical periods composed in a variety of East Asian and Western languages (e.g. classical Chinese, classical Japanese, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, etc… ).
Another primary focus will be reflecting on research methodologies and historiographies, as they developed and were expressed through different scholarly rhetorical traditions. The training will be further enhanced by discussions with librarians and curators of the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean special collections at the Bodleian Library.
Secondly, participants will have the opportunity to interact with a Senior Acquisitions Editor from Brill Academic Publishers in Leiden and with other scholars with regard to the entire editorial and publication process.
Thirdly, participants will be mentored by invited senior scholars who are well known internationally for their contributions to the study of Christianity in East Asia. These scholars will critique and discuss the participants’ draft manuscripts in view of their preparation for publication. This will take place in an open forum together with fellow participants.
At the end of the workshop, there will be a one-day conference, at which senior scholars and some participants will be invited to speak about their research in the field of the history of Christianity in East Asia.