Professor Godzilla's conference

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Conference announcement: In Godzilla's Footsteps: Japanese Pop Culture Icons on the Global Stage, Lawrence, Kansas, October 28-30, 2004.

To commemorate the King of the Monsters' fiftieth birthday, the University of Kansas Center for East Asian Studies is hosting a conference in which scholars from around the world will consider the Godzilla films and their surprising impact on global culture. Find out what a man in a latex lizard suit can tell us about the making of media icons, the international appeal of Japanese pop culture (from AstroBoy and Hello Kitty! to anime and Yu-Gi-Oh!), and the enduring charm of creature features.

Invited presentations will be made by Susan Napier (University of Texas, Austin) and Ted Bestor (Harvard University). Conference speakers will include Anne Allison, Mark Anderson, Joanne Bernardi, Joyce Boss, Martin Boyden, Yoshikuni Igarashi, Hirofumi Katsuno, Barak Kushner, Yulia Mikhailova, Gregory Pflugfelder, Eric Rath, Sayuri Shimizu, Kevin Wetmore, and Christine Yano.

In addition to the academic conference, events will include a Godzilla film festival, a pre-conference presentation by manga expert Frederik Schodt on October 5, and an original theatrical performance. Special exhibitions will be held at KU's Spencer Museum of Art ("Pop Goes Godzilla: Japanese Pop Culture and Globalization"), Museum of Natural History ("The Godzilla Body Parts Tour"), and Watson Library.

Students, scholars, families, and fans young and old are invited to attend this monster extravaganza to be held in Lawrence, Kansas from October 28-30, 2004. A full schedule of events and online conference registration is available at http://www.g2004.ku.edu For more information email Bill Tsutsui at g2004@ku.edu

All events are free, because that's how Godzilla would want it.

"In Godzilla's Footsteps" is sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Kansas, with generous financial support from the Japan Foundation and the Toshiba International Foundation, as well as the University of Kansas College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Hall Center for the Humanities, Center for Research, the Kansas Asia Scholars, and the Kansas Consortium for Teaching About Asia.

Submitted by:
Michiko Ito
Japanese Studies Librarian
East Asian Library
University of Kansas Libraries
Watson Library
1425 Jayhawk Blvd.
Lawrence KS 60045-7544
TEL: (785) 864-4669
FAX: (785) 864-3850

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ViaNBR mail-list

Scholars Grapple With Godzilla LegacyAssociated Press / October 17, 2004, 3:48 PM EDT
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- He's attacked other monsters and terrorized Japan for decades. Now Godzilla is confronting academics who want to wrestle with his legacy.
The University of Kansas plans to pay homage to the giant lizard later this month, organizing a three-day scholarly conference for the 50th anniversary of his first film....
...Among the fans in attendance will be Andrew Kar, a technical writer from St. Joseph, Mo., who has been hooked on monster movies since childhood.
"When you're a 35-year-old man and you're still enjoying these films, you have to ask yourself why," he said. "For some of us, it translates. For others, it's gibberish."...
Two Japanese foundations provided $35,000 to help fund the conference.
Takao Shibata, the Japanese consul general in Kansas City, Mo., said the meeting will help educate people about his nation but acknowledged: "The idea of this kind of serious analysis of the evolution of Godzilla -- it never occurred to me."
On the Net:
Conference Web site: http://www.g2004.net/godzilla/