Josai University Educational Corporation

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International Symposium Held on “Creating an East Asian Network for the Research of Central European Studies”

The Josai University Educational Corporation's 50th Anniversary International Symposium was held in the 3rd Building International Conference Room at the Tokyo Kioicho Campus on Saturday, November 7, 2015.

Researchers of Central European Studies in Slovenia and East Asia gathered for the symposium, which focused on the topic of “Creating an East Asian Network for the Research of Central European Studies.” In a 3-part program, participants reviewed the concept of the Central European region and aimed to form a network for East Asian researchers of Central European Studies.
  The symposium’s first part was a lively debate around the question of “What is Central Europe?” The three presentations during this part were “Central Europe: Political Idea and Historical Reality” by Dr. Peter Vodopivec (Institute for Modern History, Slovenia), “The Possibilities of Central Europe” by Dr. Atsushi Otsuru (Kobe University), and “Central Europe or Eastern Europe: Regarding their Multilingualism” by Dr. Masahiko Nishi (Ritsumeikan University).
  The second part consisted of four different reports along the topic of “Varied Types of Central European Studies.” The reports were “Problematizing the Eastern-Central Europe in the Postcolonial Perspective” by Dr. Lim Jie-Hyun (Sogang University, South Korea), “Hairnet Manufacturing in Vysocina” by Dr. Lee Chinyun (National Chi Nan University, Taiwan), “What do Refugee/Emigrant Flows Mean for Central Eastern European Countries?” by Dr. Lin Wenshuang (Beijing Foreign Studies University, China) and Dr. Ljuba Atanasova (South-West University, Bulgaria), and “Exploring the Origins of Japanese-Yugoslav Relations during World War I through the Case of Yugoslav POWs in Japan” by Dr. Boštjan Bertalanič (Josai University). It was an in-depth, diverse study of Central Europe.
  The third part, “Central European Studies in East Asia,” looked toward the future with speeches by Dr. Lim Jie-Hyun (Sogang University, South Korea), Dr. Lee Chinyun (National Chi Nan University, Taiwan), Dr. Lin Wenshuang (Beijing Foreign Studies University, China), and Professor Tadaki Iio (Josai University). The four speakers explained the current situation of research on Central Europe in each of their own countries and discussed the possibilities for a network to facilitate such research.

Part 1

Part 1

Part 2

Part 2

Part 3

Part 3

Many researchers of Central European Studies from Japan and abroad attended the symposium. Georgi Vassilev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to Japan was also present. It was obvious that all the participants felt a strong interest in creating a network for researchers of Central European Studies in East Asia.

Georgi Vassilev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to Japan, gives a few remarks

Georgi Vassilev, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to Japan,
gives a few remarks


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