2016 Annual Meeting:  Portland Oregon October 20 - October 22, 2016

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE 2016 ANNUAL MEETING

The 2016 meeting of the American Oriental Society, Western Branch will be co-hosted by Portland State University, Reed College, and Lewis and Clark College on October 20-22. All members of the AOS are cordially invited, and enthusiastically encouraged to attend, to organize panels, and to present papers.* Please send by July 11th a title and abstract for a proposed paper. Successful applicants to the conference will be notified by the end of July, at which point registration and payment must be sent in, no later than August 10th. If you don’t wish to present a paper, please send in your registration and payment by September 5th. Abstracts, registrations forms and payments may be sent to:

Membership information is available in all issues of the Journal of the American Oriental Society as well as at the American Oriental Society website:  http://www.americanorientalsociety.org .

Accepted papers will be given between 15-20 minutes for presentation. Final programs will be e-mailed to participants at the end of September. Sessions will be held beginning Thursday afternoon, October 20, and continue through Friday and Saturday, October 21-22.

(The program and abstracts are not yet available.)

GRADUATE STUDENT TRAVEL AWARD

In order to encourage graduate students to engage in the activities of the Western Branch, the society last year created the “Graduate Student Travel Award of the American Oriental Society, Western Branch.” This year, two awards will again be offered to subvent expenses to attend the Western Branch meeting up to a sum of $500. Awardees will also be honored by special recognition during the conference and on the society’s website. The number of awards in future years will depend on the amount of donations made for this purpose.

Graduate students who intend to apply for the award should indicate this when they send in theirabstract (no later than July 11th). All applications to the Graduate Student Award will be anonymously reviewed by members of the Executive Committee of the Western Branch.

MEETING VENUE
Sessions will be held at the Willamette, Astoria and Coos Bay conference rooms at University Place Hotel and Conference Center, 310 SW Lincoln Street Portland, Oregon 97201

CONFERENCE RECEPTION AND BANQUET
A reception will be held on Friday night from 7-9pm in the Willamette Room. The annual meeting banquet will be held on Saturday evening. Following the banquet we will be pleased to be addressed by Dr. Stephen Durrant, a former member of the society and an expert on early Chinese texts. All participants are invited to hear the address.

ACCOMMODATION
Arrangements have been made with the University Place Hotel(1-866-845-4647; 503-221-0140) for a special conference rate of $82/night for either a double or King sized single ‘comfort’ room (plus $14.5% city tax). Breakfast is included in the cost of the room. Please mention that you are coming for the American Oriental Society Western Branch meeting in order to obtain the conference rate. The special rate will be available until September 19th, after which reservations will be on a space and rate availability basis only.

TRAVEL
Out-of-town participants can fly to Portland International Airport. The hotel is easily reached by taking the MAX light rail from the airport. As you come out of the concourse take the stairs down to the baggage claim level and turn right. Follow the signs for MAX light rail to the Southwest corner of the terminal. Tickets can be purchased from machines just inside the door of the terminal or on the train platform. The cost is $2.50 for a two and one half hour ticket. Take the MAX (Red Line) from the airport to downtown Portland. Get off at the Fifth and Morrison stop, cross 5th Avenue, turn left and walk ½ block to transfer to the southbound Orange Line to Milwaukie. Get off at the SW 3rd and Lincoln stop. The hotel is on the south side of the street right across from the light rail stop. There are also several shuttle and taxi services from the airport at a cost of approx. $35-40. If you plan to drive to the conference you can get directions to the hotel on their website: http://www.uplacehotel.com. Click on the “find us” link. Be aware there is a $15 per day parking fee.

WEATHER
Late October is a transistion period in Portland from the relatively dry, warm summer and early autumn to the relatively wet and cool late autumn and winter. The weather may be warm and dry, or cool and wet, or some combination. I would suggest checking the weather forecast immediately prior to your arrival and be prepared for a variety of weather conditions. Highs this time of year average in the low 60s and lows in the mid 40s.