Self-Introduction
Greetings to you all. My name is Belén García-Noblejas, professor at SILS, Waseda University. I am specialized in International Relations.
Due to inherited and personal inclination, I have always been curious about unfamiliar ways of looking at reality and, as a consequence, my academic career has followed that path. I enjoy researching and fomenting knowledge between cultures and societies in order to promote more efficient and safe international relations in the long term.
The discipline of international relations comprises a diverse set of subjects from sociology to history, to political science, to international law. However, I believe the study of international relations requires an essential ambition and curiosity to understand different ways of interpreting and interacting with the world.
Knowledge and critical thinking expand our boundaries, making us humbler and more empathetic. These are indispensable values to contribute to a more sustainable international system. For this reason, I enjoy encouraging my students to question their presumptions and explore other points of view.
Recent Research Interests
Every mean of expression entails a discourse. A piece of art, a traditional dish, a political speech…all contain information about its creator and its context. Also, it may influence (intentionally or unintentionally) its audience. Discourse is, thus, both a reflection of reality and reality shaper.
I am therefore interested in discourse analysis as a source of knowledge regarding societies, political systems, and international interactions. Through both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, I explore a given discourse in order to better understand its underlying priorities. It is an exercise of “profound listening” to optimize the chances of effective communication and, consequently, fair and transparent interaction. This is especially crucial in international communication.
At the moment I am developing my research in the analysis of counterterrorism discourse by state actors.
Profile
I got my Diploma in English Language and Literature in Universidad Autónoma de Madrid in 2011. In September 2011 I moved to Beijing, where I entered Jiaotong University to improve my Chinese language skills. In 2013, I was granted the Chinese Government Scholarship to study a Masters´ Degree in International Relations at Shanghai International Studies University (2013-2016). This period not only allowed me to improve my knowledge of Chinese language, culture and society, but also led me to an internship in the Cultural Section of UNESCO Beijing Office and, afterwards, a position as the Manager of the Cultural Department of Instituto Cervantes in Beijing. In 2018 I returned to Madrid, where I continued my PhD (2017-2022) while I worked as a professor of International Relations in Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (2019-2023) and Universidad Pontificia de Comillas (2022-2023). It is now my honor to be part of Waseda team as an assistant professor.
