ATJ's annual Thursday Seminar provides a chance for all ATJ members to gather, meet and talk with colleagues, participate in the business of the Association, and hear the latest research on language, linguistics, pedagogy, and literature. This year's Seminar will be held March 22 in Chicago, in conjunction with the annual conference of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS), at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers. The Seminar schedule is printed in full on in the centerfold.
The Seminar is open to all ATJ members and their guests: advance registration is not required. However, a fee of $35 will be payable on-site by non-members of ATJ or NCJLT. (Non-members will of course have the option of joining ATJ at the Seminar.)
If you wish to also attend sessions of the AAS conference, which will be held at the same venue March 23-25, it is necessary to register either in advance or on-site. On-line early registration can be conducted at the AAS web site: www.aasianst.org.
We cordially invite all ATJ members to attend the annual General Membership meeting, which will be held Saturday, March 24, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. The membership meeting is your chance to meet ATJ's officers and Board members and to participate in making decisions that affect the Association. As usual, there will be door prizes donated by publishers who specialize in books on Japanese language pedagogy and Japanese studies.
The larger AAS conference is an opportunity to attend panel sessions on a variety of subjects, find out what is happening in the fields of Japan and Asia Studies, see the latest books and instructional materials in the exhibit hall, and meet colleages and friends. Of particular interest to ATJ members at this year's conference will be the ATJ-sponsored Roundtable "An Integrated Curriculum for the Foreign Language Classoom." This special session will feature a presentation by Prof. Heidi Byrnes of Georgetown University on the integration of language, literature, and culture in the German language field and responses from representatives of Chinese and Japanese. The Roundtable will take place on Saturday, March 24, at 10:45 a.m. Other sessions at the AAS conference will focus on a variety of aspects of Japanese literature, history, and culture. As always, the exhbit hall will feature the latest publications in Asian studies from a large number of university presses and other publishers.
Information on registering and attending the AAS conference is available from the AAS office (1021 East Huron St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104); by email at annmtg@aasianst.org or on the Web at www.aasianst.org. The ATJ office can also supply information on conference registration. All of the conference events will take place at the Chicago Sheraton and Towers Hotel, 301 E. North Water Street, Chicago, IL.
If you wish to stay at the Sheraton in order to attend either the ATJ Seminar or the AAS conference, please phone the hotel at 800-325-3535 or fax 312-329-6929; when registering, mention the AAS conference to receive a special discounted room rate.