Yet another academic term is winding down, and I hope that all ATJ members have had a successful year and can look forward to a short rest before the work of summer begins. Many of our members are recovering from the whirlwind of activity associated with their attendance at the AAS Annual Meeting in New York City and the ATJ Seminar held in conjunction on Thursday before the AAS panels began. This year’s program was exceptional once again. Every Seminar seems to set a new precedent for quality and quantity of papers and presentations. This year the ATJ kept four rooms busy with activity for the entire day. The hall outside the Seminar rooms was likewise humming with the happiness and excitement of planned reunions and chance meetings. The abstracts from the Seminar accompany this Newsletter and attest to the quality and variety of intellectual activity that our members engage in. We express our sincere appreciation to Suwako Watanabe and other members of the Seminar Committee for organizing this year’s program.
There was standing room only at the end of the day Thursday for those who were lucky enough to be able to attend Donald Keene’s informal lecture on his sixty-plus years of Japanese study and scholarship. Amy Heinrich, in her introduction, put it best in recognizing his "profound generosity of spirit," not only in sparing us the time for his remarks at our event but for a career marked by material and intellectual liberality.
As you all know, the ATJ held its annual election in March, so we have four new officers. We welcome Seiichi Makino as this year’s president-elect, along with new board members Hiroko Furuyama, Yasuko Ito Watt, and Keiko Schneider. The organization gratefully acknowledges all of those who stood for election. It is an energy- and time-consuming process to put one’s name forward for such responsibilities, and we are all inspired by their willingness to serve. We thank outgoing board members Carl Falsgraf, Ryuko Kubota, Naomi McGloin, Kazuko Nakajima, and Patricia Thornton for their service, with a special nod to the nominating committee chair, Ryuko Kubota. Finally, Laurel Rodd eases into the post of past president this year. She is most deserving of our recognition for seven remarkable years of service in the role of ATJ president. No president has served longer or likely seen as many changes in the organization. Thank you, Laurel.
As this Newsletter goes to press, Susan Schmidt, executive director of the Bridging Project, is organizing the evaluation and ranking of 350 Bridging Scholarship applications. ATJ can be proud of its role in facilitating the study of 74 to 100 students in Japan every year under the auspices of funding from the US-Japan Bridging Foundation. The brunt of the selection process is handled by a selection committee. This spring, the committee members are Mako Beecken, Joan Ericson, Pamela Fields, Kimberly Jones, Phyllis Larson, Seiichi Makino, Virginia Marcus, David Mills, Patricia Thornton, J. Paul Warnick, Suwako Watanabe, and Yasuko Ito Watt. Thank you all for your role in nurturing the next generation of Japanese language scholars!
Finally, I would like to announce the creation of a new Special Interest Group (SIG), this one on Study Abroad For Advanced Skills (SAFAS). The SAFAS SIG is described in more detail later in this Newsletter; it reflects current interest in what happens to students when they go abroad. Mari Noda of the Ohio State University has agreed to organize SAFAS; you will find her email address in the description on p. 4. If you are interested in study abroad or the activities of this SIG, please email her. There is no obligation and no penalty if you change your mind later!
And by the way, don’t forget the ATJ’s other SIGs, listed below with their contact members. SIG’s are an excellent way to get involved with the ATJ in a way that suits individual interests.
Patricia J. Wetzel
ATJ’s Special Interest Groups: Japanese as a Heritage Language SIG - Hiroko Kataoka (kataoka@csulb.edu) or Masako Douglas (masakoucla@earthlink.net). Professional Development SIG - Yasu-Hiko Tohsaku (ytohsaku@ucsd.edu). Teaching Classical Japanese SIG - Stephen Miller (stephen.miller@colorado.edu).