Portrayals of Women in Anime and Manga
Presented by Japan-America Society of Tennessee
The November 5th Women’s Leadership Forum session features anime and manga lecturers Christopher Born, Ph.D. (Belmont University), Jennifer Prough, Ph.D. (Valparaiso University) and Lauren Salazar-Wright (Middle Tennessee Anime Convention) in conversation about iconic female characters in Japanese animation and comics. Longtime fans and newcomers alike will enjoy this session about Japanese pop culture storytelling that inspires and entertains fans of all ages worldwide.
Space is limited so make sure to register today! This event is FREE. Also, if you attend this event on November 5th you will have the chance to win a $50 gift card.
JAST's Women's Leadership Forum brings into focus the critical need to invest in the advancement of women everywhere, but specifically in the U.S. and Japan. By advancing social and economic equality, women from all walks of life stand to benefit from participating in societies free from gender bias. In turn, both the U.S. and Japan stand to reap rewards aplenty in the form of future jobs growth, economic and political stability, and inclusive prosperity.
Speakers
Christopher Born, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Asian Studies-Japanese
Belmont University
As a graduate student, Dr. Born received a Japan Foundation Dissertation Fellowship to conduct research from 2015-2016 at the University of Tokyo and the University of Hokkaido, culminating in his dissertation “Native Roots and Foreign Grafts: The Spiritual Quest of Uchimura Kanzō.” This study examines the literary worldview of the Christian intellectual Uchimura Kanzō, the nature of his autobiographical writings, and the influence he exerted upon a generation of important authors and thinkers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Prior to joining the faculty at Belmont, Dr. Born was a lecturer at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Missouri–St. Louis. From 2017-2018, he served as a Visiting Professor of Asian Studies at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. In addition to teaching courses on Japanese language and literature, Dr. Born received grants from Japan Foundation and the Mellon Foundation to host a symposium at Bowdoin entitled “Godzilla as Harrier and Harbinger: Rethinking the Post-Atomic in the Pacific.”
At Belmont, Dr. Born is an Assistant Professor and teaches courses in Asian Studies and Japanese language. Dr. Born’s research interests include subjectivity and the autobiographical mode in modern Japanese literature, the Christian heritage in Japan, the global influence of early modern Japanese woodblock prints, and the philosophical underpinnings of anime and manga. He is the author of “In the Footsteps of the Master: Confucian Values in Anime and Manga” (AsiaNetwork Exchange, Vol. XVII, No. 1, Fall 2009) wherein he examines how traditional values are re-envisioned in recent shōnen anime and manga.
Jennifer Prough, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Humanities and East Asian Studies
Valparaiso University
Jennifer Prough is Associate Professor of Humanities and East Asian Studies in Christ College, the interdisciplinary honors college, of Valparaiso University. She received her BA from Valparaiso University, an MA in Feminist Theory from the New School for Social Research and her PhD in cultural anthropology from Duke University in 2006. Her teaching and research interests include Japanese studies, gender studies, the anthropology of media, the anthropology of tourism, and globalization. At the heart of Prough’s research and teaching interests are issues of representation and the ways that cultural meanings are produced and managed, experienced and interpreted through mass culture. Her book entitled, Straight from the Heart: Gender, intimacy, and the Cultural Production of Shōjo Manga (University of Hawai’i Press, 2011) examines the production of Girls’ comics in Japan through ethnographic analysis. Her current book Revisiting Kyoto: Heritage Tourism in Contemporary Kyoto (forthcoming, University of Hawai'i Press) seeks to understand the ways that tradition, history, and culture are produced, packaged, promoted, and consumed in the Kyoto tourist industry. Through ethnographic analysis, Prough analyzes the ways that history and culture are deployed to create an atmosphere both ancient and modern, marketing Kyoto as a quintessential Japanese destination for both national and international tourists.
Lauren Salazar-Wright
Director of Talent Relations and Governing Board Member
Middle Tennessee Anime Convention (MTAC)
Lauren Salazar-Wright has worked with anime conventions for over 10 years. What started off as a search for generic volunteer opportunities in college has turned into a decade of serving in various support roles for conventions across the United States. Lauren has worked as a director for some of the largest anime conventions in the United States and is the current Director of Talent Relations for Middle Tennessee Anime Convention (MTAC), Tennessee’s largest and oldest anime convention, She also sits on the MTAC board. When Lauren is not working for conventions, her day job is in communications for a telecommunication (so much communication) company. She currently resides in Nashville with her husband, her daughter, her dog and her cat.
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