courses taught at UK, Japan & US-China universities

 

Global Perspectives on Society (Recitation Instructor, Fall 2023), NYU Shanghai, China

Japan in Asian Context: Transnational Pop Cultural Flows in East Asia (Primary Instructor, Spring 2022), Rikkyo University

This module will examine the global spread of East Asian pop cultures from the Cool Japan and Korean Wave phenomena to emerging narratives of a China Dream. The course will look at the multiple iterations and multidimensional nature of these “waves” that span music, food, fashion, anime, video games, film, television dramas, contents tourism, language education, digital technologies and social media. As a key aspect of this course, students will critically consider who popular culture is important to and why. In other words, we will identify how governments seek to leverage pop culture as part of a creative industries and nation branding strategy for soft power influence and economic growth. Or who or what gets to represent a nation at a certain point in time and who/what is excluded from the story. Conversely, we will also employ a bottom-up approach to explore a much more organic transnational flow of pop cultural goods as they are consumed, interpreted and repurposed by various individuals and communities. In particular, we will reflect on the role of pop culture within East Asia from such perspectives as stimulating flows of people, a regional cultural convergence and reconciliation. For the final project, students will step out into the “world-classroom” in order to conduct fieldwork and interviews to investigate the spread of the Korean Wave in Japan.

Intellectual History of Japan: Cultures of Resistance (Primary Instructor, Fall 2021), Rikkyo University, Japan

Cultures of Resistance_Twitter.png

This module examines cultural and intellectual life on the edges of Japanese society. Challenging popular ideas and exoticized images of perpetual harmony and unity without conflict, this course will traverse the Edo period up until the twentieth century postwar years in order to reveal diverse expressions of protest and opposition. In particular, the course will consider theories that help uncover unconventional sources of resistance such as laughter, play, art, millenarianism and popular music. Through employing this approach of viewing Japanese history from the peripheries, students will be introduced to major themes in the historiography of modern Japan and identify alternative or competing narratives. For the final assignment, rooted in their explorations of oppositional cultures, students will attempt to marry theory and practice by developing their own creative project that conceptualizes a present-day countercultural resistance in Japan.

Literature & Society: Afro-Japanese Digital Visions (Primary Instructor, Fall 2020), Rikkyo University, Japan

Promotional video introducing student media projects showcased to the public through our class VR Gallery designed on artsteps.

「日本と黒人の出会い」というテーマで様々な視点から日本と黒人の関係を考察していきます。

这门课是关于日本和黑人在历史上以及现代的关系。

Afro-Japanese Digital Visions - Video Syllabus

For more details about this class see:

Introduction to Japanese Studies (Co-Instructor, Spring 2020), Oxford Brookes University, UK

Internships & Careers Writing (Primary Instructor, Spring 2019), Meiji Gakuin University, Japan

Globalism & Humanities: Research Methods in the Humanities (Primary Instructor, Spring 2019), Rikkyo University, Japan

Elementary Japanese (Primary Instructor, Spring 2019), Dulwich College, UK (Independent School in London)

Invited Guest Speakers from Industry and Academia:

Aisha Harumi Tochigi (Miss Universe Japan 2020)
Alice Baldock (DPhil. Candidate, Faculty of History, University of Oxford)
Amarachi Nwosu (Creative Consultant & Founder, Melanin Unscripted)
Arthell Isom (Co-Founder & CEO, D’ART Shtajio)
Dr. Chelsea Szendi Schieder (Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics, Aoyama Gakuin University)
Edo Oliver (Creative Planner, NEWPEACE/REING & Editor, IWAKAN Magazine)
Kay Kitazawa (Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific Initiative)
Legendary Mother Koppi Mizrahi (Vogue Dancer)
Lisa Wakabayashi (Newscaster, 日テレNEWS24)
Lu Zhao (MSc Student, Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies, University of Oxford)
MC Pakin (Japanese Grime MC)
Misato Nagakawa (Senior Associate, GLOBIS University Graduate School of Management & Executive Board Member, Wake Up Japan)
Dr. Nancy Snow (Professor Emeritus, California State University Fullerton & Pax Mundi Professor of Public Diplomacy, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies)
Rachael Si Wei Cheung (MSc Student, Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies, University of Oxford)
Seiko Mbako (Co-Founder and President, Awa’Tori)
Shang Cheng (DPhil. Candidate, Faculty of History, University of Oxford)
Tom Mayes (Head, Novartis Learning Institute)