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.

Wednesday, 16 October 2024 15:00-16:30 JST

There are some feminist issues which are appropriately addressed to the government of one nation-state, while others necessarily cross borders: such as issues to do with migration, imperialism, multinational capitalism. Wherever feminists have attempted to deal with such issues with their sisters in other countries they have been engaged in ‘transnational feminism’, or ‘feminism beyond the nation-state’. This talk will survey some examples of ‘feminism(s) beyond the nation-state’ from the late twentieth century to the present.

Friday, 6 September 2024, 9:00-10:30 JST

In this lecture, Howard CHIANG proposes a new paradigm for doing transgender history in which geopolitics assumes central importance. Defined as the antidote to transphobia, transtopia challenges a minoritarian view of transgender experience and makes room for the variability of transness on a historical continuum.

Saturday, 24 August, 2024, 10:00 - 13:30 (Doors open: 9:45)

This workshop will deal with three case studies: (1) AI for generating text and images, (2) facial recognition technology, and (3) child abuse response systems, providing participants with an opportunity to gain more in-depth knowledge and information about the use and impact of AI. At the same time, participants will share their perspectives on their expectations and concerns about AI.

Friday, 23 August 2024, 16:00-17:30 JST

This panel discussion will feature two distinguished Japanese economists from overseas. They will discuss the current situation of the Japanese economy and the challenges it faces. This discussion will provide new insights into the Japanese economy from an international perspective.

Thursday, 25 July 2024 15:00-16:30 (Doors open: 14:30)

Why is the gender ratio at UTokyo so unbalanced? What can we do to solve this problem? This event will explore these questions through an interactive roundtable that will feature UTokyo professors, researchers, and students. The panelists will share their different perspectives on this pressing disparity, followed by open discussion with the audience. We welcome students and community members with diverse perspectives and backgrounds.

Monday, 22 July 2024, 14:30-16:00 JST

Dr. Neville Bolt discusses two important concepts that governments around the world have embraced with enthusiasm in the early 21st century. These concepts are related but distinct. Yet all too often they are misunderstood and assumed to mean the same.

Friday, 12 July 2024, 14:00-15:00

This lecture will delve into the inherent risks that AI systems pose across the broader security domain, which are mentioned above, and will conclude with some insights on proposed governance models to prevent and mitigate the risks associated with these technologies. The afore include the need to elaborate binding norms, standards, and guidelines, as well as oversight, monitoring, validation and verification functions through a centralised authority with the appropriate mechanisms to enforce these regulations and ensure compliance through accountability, remedies for harm and emergency responses.

Friday, 28 June 2024, 15:30-16:30

On July 25, 2023, Chuo Koron Shinsha published Dr. Komenko's book, 'The Faraway Sky of Kyiv. Ukrainians in the War', offering a unique perspective on the war in Ukraine.
This book originated from her experience of the war in Ukraine and stories from family members, friends, and former students. Her motivation to write this book came from being interviewed by Japanese media in early 2022. The questions she was asked lacked general knowledge of Ukrainian history and culture; therefore, she decided not to give any further interviews and to focus on writing in Japanese to provide a voice for Ukrainians instead.

Monday, 24 June 2024, 15:00-15:45

The traditional historical narrative locates the birth of hacker culture in US universities in the 1960s. This talk will look at hackers as part of a longer chronology, beginning with science fiction novels at the end of the 19th century, continuing with radio hams in the 1910s and "phone phreaks" in the 1970s, and ending with computer hackers in the late 20th century. It will examine both what hackers and proto-hackers wrote about themselves and how they were perceived by the print media. It will show not only that hacker culture existed before computers, but also that it is an integral part of modern Western technoculture, influencing its ideas about innovation and positive human-machine relationships, as well as media coverage of technology and online communication strategies.

Every Friday from June 7, 2024 (Available from 17:00 JST)

“The Salon” is a dialogue series featuring distinguished scholars in the humanities at the University of Tokyo that aims to transcend disciplinary boundaries. It is hosted by Professor Naoko Shimazu of Tokyo College.The conversations occur over a cup of coffee. We invite you to listen to an informal discussion between experts in different fields, as if you are sitting next to them.This is a chance to see a new side of our guests that you have never seen before.

Tuesday, 4 June 2024, 16:00-17:30 JST

We are in an era in which globalization -- the connection of countries through trade, finance and ideas -- appears to be in retreat, as geopolitical tensions force governments to prioritize economic security and to try to "de-risk". Yet this is not the first time when globalization has been said to be reversing. By looking into history, we can understand what factors will truly determine the future course of globalization.

Thursday, 30 May 2024, 14:00-15:30 JST

Around 80% of all hospitals and around 90% of clinics in Japan are private. Of these private institutions in total, up to 75% are family-run. This lecture sets out to fill a puzzling gap in the literature by describing the development and significance of dōzoku keiei iryō hōjin in the context of how the health system as a whole operates in Japan.