The International Academic Forum in conjunction with its global university partners is proud to announce the Fourth Asian Literature and Librarianship, to be held from April 3-6 2014 at the Rihga Royal Hotel and The Osaka International Conference Center, Osaka, Japan.

LibrAsia 2014

As the country that gave the world the novel one thousand years ago, and subsequently haiku and manga, Japan’s long and rich literary history make it an ideal place to bring together academics, writers, and librarians to celebrate, debate, and explore their common passion. The aim of this International Conference is to encourage academics, scholars and practitioners representing an exciting diversity of countries, cultures, and religions to meet and exchange ideas and views in a forum encouraging respectful dialogue.

LibrAsia 2014 is not only an academic conference, but will again this year offer a number of talks, workshops, and readings of original works, in the context of an exciting long weekend of interdisciplinary and intercultural discussion.

LibrAsia Conference Theme 2014:
Individual, Community & Society: Conflict, Resolution & Synergy

Conflict is an integral part of the human condition. The universal struggle between our personal selves – who we are as unique, separate and different from others, with our specific blend of experiences, abilities, attitudes, aspirations, needs and wants – and our social selves, intricately connected to, and interdependent on, others and our loved ones, our friends and favored groups, our communities and cultures – leads inevitably to internal as well as interpersonal conflict.

Conflict among our communities and societies is also natural, given that these groups are founded on commonality of geography, values, attitudes, beliefs, aspirations and differentiated from others based on these. Diversity, however, though it may lead to conflict, plays an important role in the flourishing of communities and societies. One of the challenges of modern society is harnessing the synergy that emerges from the interaction of these differences.

Literature, and the Arts and Humanities have long fed off these differences and frictions to try and make sense of conflicts through exploration of ideas, words, and artistic expression. With the introduction of the wide-ranging 2014 conference theme, the organizers hope to encourage and inspire exciting new research avenues, as well as foster academic and personal encounters, exchanges and synergies across national, religious, cultural and disciplinarydivides.

Professor Stuart D. B Picken
LibrAsia/ACAH 2014 Conference Chair
Chairman, Japan Society of Scotland,
Chairman of the IAFOR International Advisory Board

Professor Akiyoshi Suzuki
Professor of American and World Literature
Konan Women’s University, Japan
LibrAsia 2014 Local Conference Chair