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.

Sunday, 14 November 2020 (available from 17:00 JST)

In this talk, Dr. Wesley ROBERTSON examines Japanese extreme metal bands’ exploration of Japan’s history and myth through lyrics. Analyzing how three lyricists respond to local and global discussions of "metalness", he shows that creating Japanese metal lyrics opens avenues for designing translocal identities, and reimagining the referents of local language forms.

Saturday, 13 November 2021 (available from 17:00 JST)

Media representations of queerqueen styles are configured as originating spontaneously from the authentically "queer male," and are then variously ventriloquised in production. In an analysis of published dialogues by twin brothers Osugi and Peeco, Dr. Claire MAREE illustrates the labour involved in (re)creating authenticity through which stereotypes of gender, sexuality, and desire are inscribed into contemporary media.

Friday, 12 November 2021 (available from 17:00 JST)

This presentation introduces a collaborative project to analyse the recently implemented MEXT policy reforms concerning English language education in Japanese schools. We will examine the stated aims of the reforms, their pedagogical soundness, implications for identity formation, as well as their likelihood of success.

Thursday, 11 November 2021 (available from 17:00 JST)

Much like our own lives, the lives of words reflect complex and dynamic trajectories. In this talk, Dr. Jieun KIAER draws on her book Translingual Words (2019) to reevaluate the lives of English words, where lexical innovation has become an increasingly dynamic and interactive process with ordinary people at the helm.

Wednesday, 10 November 2021 (available from 17:00 JST)

Featuring several distinct scripts, the Japanese writing system provides rich opportunities for the creation of meaning beyond the bare meaning of a text. In this talk, Prof. Sven OSTERKAMP evaluates how historically script choice once correlated with language choices, as well as with the intellectual context of both texts and authors.

Tuesday, 9 November 2021 (available from 17:00 JST)

This talk demonstrates how speakers linguistically enact innovative identities despite restrictions that may be imposed by linguistic form. Prof. NAKAMURA Momoko's analysis of Japanese gendered first-person pronouns shows that while they maintain can reinforce patriarchical and heteronormative standards, some Japanese girls also utilize masculine pronouns to perform novel identities.

Monday, 8 November 2021, Available from 3:00pm

What impact has the coronavirus crisis had on society and on universities, and where should we go from here? Researchers from Princeton University and the University of Tokyo, two important partners, discuss these issues.

Monday, 8 November 2021 (available from 17:00 JST)

This talk by Prof. SADANOBU Toshiyuki (Kyoto University) sheds light on a hidden connection between language and identity by focusing on “kyara,” an aspect of the self that changes according to the situation. He concludes that we should utilize “kyara” to go beyond the limitation of intention-based view of human social behaviors including language.

Monday, 1 November 2021, Available from 5:00pm

This panel discussion will examine the history of eugenics in modern Japan as well as its local and global legacies. The panel will feature presentations on topics such as reproductive rights, media discourse around violent acts, and forced sterilization, followed by a discussion about the future implications of eugenics in Japan’s past and present.

Monday, 25 October 2021, Available from 5:00pm

What impact has the coronavirus crisis had on society and on universities, and where should we go from here? Researchers from Princeton University and the University of Tokyo, two important partners, discuss these issues.

Available on October 20 2021 17:00

In this dialogue, two medical specialists from France and Japan will reflect on how the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the strengths and weaknesses of their respective medical systems and discuss how, from the institutional and personnel perspective, to be better prepared for the possible future health crisis.　

Monday, 18 October, 2021 14:00-15:30 (JST)

What new insights have been gained in Australian Indigenous research through the addition of female and Japanese perspectives? In this event three Japanese women researchers talk about their experiences in the field and discuss the influence of their positionality on their research and analysis.