Asian Studies on the Pacific Coast 2020 Conference

Dear ASPAC Members,

Like all of you, the ASPAC Board has been carefully monitoring the situation of the global COVID-19 outbreak. We have now decided not to hold the ASPAC 2020 annual conference.

The 2020 graduate student prizes--Mori-ASPAC Prize and Barlow Prize--will be preserved. We are extending the 2020 prize application deadline until June 15, 2020. Once the prizes are awarded, the ASPAC Board will nominate one of the prize winners to present the prize-winning paper at the graduate student panel sponsored by the Council of Conferences at the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) Annual Convention in Seattle in 2021.

We are delighted to inform you that the University of Hawaii at Hilo has generously agreed to host ASPAC 2021 on June 11-12, 2021. The 2020 conference theme will be maintained and the deadlines for the Call for Papers and for the registration will be extended to future dates. The papers and panels that have been accepted for ASPAC 2020 will be placed on the ASPAC 2021 program if the presenters notify us by a future date (TBA) of their intent to present their paper/panel at ASPAC 2021. (We can accept minor changes to your 2020 proposals, so please notify us of such changes as well. If you wish to make substantial changes, please submit your revised proposals as if you are submitting new ones. More details will be provided later.)

We will provide more information about the 2021 conference as well as the refund policy for the 2020 conference registration and housing fees in the coming weeks. So, please check this site again in a few weeks. In the meantime, if you have any urgent questions or concerns, please contact the conference organizing committee at 2020aspac@gmail.com.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. We hope you are all staying safe and well, and we look forward to your participation in ASPAC 2021.

Aloha,

ASPAC Board

Aloha kakou!

Due to COVID-19, ASPAC 2020 is hereby postponed.

We are moving towards ASPAC 2021. The University of Hawaii at Hilo will be hosting this conference on June 11-12, 2021. We are extending the deadline for the Call for Papers and for the registration.

Stay safe everyone.

Conference Details

Call for Papers

The Organizing Committee of Asian Studies on the Pacific Coast (ASPAC) 2020 at University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo invites college and university faculty, K-12 schoolteachers, independent scholars and graduate and undergraduate students with an interest in Asian or Asian diaspora studies to submit proposals for organized panels, roundtable discussions, individual papers or poster presentations on historical or contemporary topics in the humanities, arts, social sciences, education, health, law, business, environmental sciences or other disciplines related to Asia and the Asian diasporas.

We especially welcome proposals that connect theory, method, or practice to contemporary or historical questions of urbanization, migration, exchange and sustainability within, across, or alongside Asia. We look forward to wide-ranging discussions of diverse subjects such as administrative, economic, and cultural clustering; sprawl, green space, gentrification, and deurbanization; borders and borderlands, glass ceilings, and other conduits and barriers to social, economic, or geographic mobility; group identity, assimilation and multiculturalism; diverse forms—technological, political, economic, cultural, educational—of communication, exchange, and cross-fertilization; and diverse responses—political, social, literary, artistic—to demographic, environmental, political, and technological change.

Abstract Guidelines

Single Papers

Please send your 200-word abstract as a Word or PDF attachment to this email address: 2020aspac@gmail.com. In the subject line, kindly write "Single Paper Abstract ASPAC 2020". Abstracts should be no longer than one page in 12-point font, Arial, with an optional second page for examples, figures, tables, or references. Kindly provide the following information in the abstract:

• Title of Paper
• Author's Name(s) and Affiliations(s)
• Email Address, Mailing Address
• 5 keywords

Panel Presentations

Panel presentations are also welcome. Please send your 200-word abstract as a Word or PDF attachment to this email address: 2020aspac@gmail.com. In the subject line, kindly write "Panel Abstract ASPAC 2020”. Abstracts should be no longer than one page in 12-point font, Arial, with an optional second page for examples, figures, tables, or references. Kindly provide the following information in the abstract:

• Panel Title
• Name of Corresponding Panel Head
• Email Address of Corresponding Panel Head, Mailing Address
• 5 keywords

Early submission and notification.

The early submission deadline is on December 31, 2020. Early submission is intended mainly for international applicants who need a letter of invitation for visa purposes. Notification of acceptance will be sent by January 31, 2021.

Regular submission and notification.

Regular submission deadline is on February 28, 2021. Notification of acceptance will be sent by March 31, 2021.

Please send submissions and queries to 2020aspac@gmail.com

Graduate Students Prizes

2020 Mori-ASPAC Prize for Graduate Students

In honor of long-time ASPAC member, Professor Mori, this prize recognizes extraordinary graduate student scholarship in any area of Asian Studies. It is open to all students pursuing graduate studies in any discipline and in any area of research pertaining to Asian Studies.

2020 Barlow Prize Graduate Student Prize in Chinese Studies

In honor of the late Jeffrey G. Barlow, (Pacific University), longtime ASPAC advocate and publisher of E-ASPAC, the ASPAC board has instituted a new prize for the best student paper in any area of Chinese studies.

Deadline to submit your paper is on May 1, 2020.

Graduate students wishing to apply for the Mori-ASPAC Prize or the Barlow Prize should provide the complete conference paper and their faculty supervisor’s cover letter of support. The faculty support letter should explain contributions of the paper to the field and highlight other merits of the paper. Both prizes come with a monetary award. The graduate student author does not have to attend a university in the ASPAC area to be eligible but must attend the annual ASPAC conference and present the paper there to receive the award.

How to Submit your Paper for a Prize

Send an e-mail to the chair of the Graduate Student Prize Selection Committee, Professor Elena Songster at ees4@stmarys-ca.edu) with the subject line “ASPAC Graduate Paper Prize Submission”, indicate which prize(s) you are applying for, and attach both the paper and the letter of support from your professor in the e-mail. Papers are only accepted as a Microsoft Word document or PDF files, should be about 17-25 pages, and should follow disciplinary formatting and citation style. PowerPoint, slide, and other formats are not accepted. If a paper qualifies for both prizes, it is allowable to submit the single paper for both prizes; simply indicate that in your e-mail.

Housing

Possible accommodations for the conference include hotel and on campus housing. Please note that if you choose hotel accommodations, you will be responsible for making your own arrangements.

Mahalo!