EVENT

Friday, 11 July, 10:30–12:00 JST

Achieving planetary health requires not only scientific solutions but also fundamental cultural and behavioral transformations. This lecture will present a comprehensive approach that addresses both individual values and social systems. Through examples from Japan and Scandinavia, it emphasizes the importance of integrating eco-sophy—ecological philosophy—into policy and societal frameworks. Furthermore, it highlights the crucial roles of non-state actors, including NGOs and academic institutions involved in the water and energy sectors, alongside governments, in addressing climate change challenges.

Wednesday, 16 July, 15:00–16:30 JST

Since the Edo period, intellectual exchange between Japan and Korea has continued in a　sustained　manner. Despite the colonial rule in the 20th century, intellectual interactions became even more active. This lecture revisits several cases of such exchange between Japanese and Korean intellectuals, such as Fujiwara Seika and Gang Hang, Yamazaki Ansai and Yi Hwang, the Kogaku school and Jeong Yakyong, and Fukuzawa Yukichi and Yu Giljun, to explore the potential for a future Japan-Korea intellectual community. While past attempts to make an East Asian community have often faced the “East Asian paradox”, namely, the reinforcement of nationalism, this lecture is also an attempt to seek clues for overcoming such challenges.

Wednesday, 23 July, 15:00–16:30 JST

Human senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch—shape how we perceive and interact with the world, influencing environmental experiences and cultural practices. Yet sensory politics—the social organization of touch, smell, and taste—often reinforces hierarchies, marginalizing certain groups as environmental ‘others.’ This lecture examines the ‘environmentality’ of the senses, focusing on their role in perpetuating inequalities within discriminatory social structures. By interrogating how sensory norms sustain injustice, I argue for a new environmental justice vocabulary—one that integrates sensory and social dimensions to address the entangled relationships between environment, power, and lived experience in caste-based societies.

Wednesday, 30 July, 15:00–16:30 JST

Coffee is one of the world’s most popular beverages, associated with sociality, alertness, and productivity. Over time, coffee production has contributed to environmental degradation, rural poverty, and societal inequities. Currently, its production is threatened by climate change, market volatility and economic uncertainties. Drawing on longitudinal research with coffee producers in Central America, this talk will examine coffee producers’ efforts to improve their coffee quality, socioeconomic well-being, and environmental sustainability in contexts of extreme weather events and myriad insecurities. The discussion also will consider consumer roles, the impacts of certifications, and approaches for supporting climate resilient coffee production.

【Cancel】Wednesday, 9 November 2022, 6:30-8:00 pm (Doors open: 6:00 pm)

Ms. Mona Chollet is a journalist and essayist who has had an immense influence on feminist debates in Europe. At the invitation of the Embassy of France in Tokyo, she is in Japan to celebrate the translated edition of her bestseller Sorcières: La puissance invaincue des femmes (English title: In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial). In this work, she uncovers the history of the witch-hunts that swept through Europe in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period and discusses it in connection with the modern social calamity known as “misogyny.” Professor UENO Chizuko, pioneer of women’s studies in Japan and longtime feminist leader, will engage in an in-depth discussion with Ms. Chollet on women today and where to go from here.

Wednesday, 9 November 2022, 9:30-11:00 am

This event explores the cultural and medical context behind cleanliness and hygiene. The second analyzes “how do we face the contemporary and future challenge of hygiene?” contributing to a better public health system.

Friday, 4 November 2022, 5:00-6:30 pm

In 1970 the physicist Hannes Alfvén was awarded the Nobel Prize. This recognition by the international scientific community strengthened his national status and critique of the Swedish nuclear policy. His resignation in 1980 from the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences illustrates conflicting views on nuclear politics which still haunts us today.

Wednesday, 2 November 2022, 4:00-5:30 pm

This event explores the cultural and medical context behind cleanliness and hygiene. The first symposium investigates “where do our idea of cleanliness come from?” across time and space.

Available Monday, 24 October 2022

By 2050, two-thirds of the global population will live in urban areas, which is posing a tremendous challenge for cities to accommodate a wide spectrum of human needs while meeting the challenges of sustainability. This dialogue between the University of Tokyo and academic and research institutions in Sweden, KTH Royal Institute of Technology (representing Stockholm Trio) and Vinnova, aims to discuss different concepts of urbanisation in Europe and Asia and to envision future smart cities that can sustainably increase human wellbeing. This discourse will foster future collaboration between Japan and Sweden in research.

Tuesday, 11th October 2022, 3:00-6:00 pm

Thursday, 6 October 2022 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm JST

Ancient Jewish and Indian ritual texts may serve as models for environmental dilemmas, bridging ancient and modern worlds. Sacrificial rituals create waste and sanctuaries become filled with residues of materia sacra. Three distinct attitudes towards such leftovers are indicative of three ritual-environmental conceptions: reuse, exclusion, and neutralization.

Saturday 1 & Sunday 2, October 2022

“Who are we on social media” – Tokyo College partnered with The German culture center Goethe Institut Tokyo to explore this question in a hybrid festival that will take place on October 1&2 at the art space BUoY in Tokyo’s Kitasenju district. It will bring together academic and artistic positions.

Friday, 30 September 2022, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

The talk will look at key themes to understand our daily relationship with technology and more broadly the role of technology in society, emphasizing both changes and historical continuity. The following topics will be addressed, challenging widespread stereotypes in contemporary public discourse about technology: "How technology changes us," "Why technology is not neutral," "The reason not only digital technology matters," and "Why society and politics are often displaced by technology."

Tuesday, 13 September 2022, 5:00-6:30pm

How relevant are theoretical frameworks developed in the U.S. and Europe for understanding patterns of family change and socioeconomic inequality in Japan? I begin to address this question by synthesizing the results of several recent papers on socioeconomic differences in family demographic behavior and children’s well-being in Japan.

Wednesday, 24 August 2022 3:00pm-4:30pm JST

In this webinar, Prof. Kiyotaki discusses how production and income distribution interact with accumulation of intangible capital over time and across individuals. He constructs an economic model in which the younger generation acquires and accumulates intangible capital through the on-the-job training. He shows that, although the development of mid-career labor markets improves the match between firms and workers, such development may increase inequality and lead to long-term stagnation. In response, he will examine the effects of policies that promote basic education and the acquisition of skills outside of firms.

Friday, 29 July 2022, 3:00-5:00 pm (Doors open: 2:30 pm)

The Russo-Ukrainian War is changing the structure of international order and security in Western Europe. Did it mend the EU's diplomatic and security divisions in Western Europe, or did it reaffirm them?
How is Japan's response to the war in Russia and Ukraine perceived in the West, and how will it affect Japan's future relations with Western nations?