This lecture was organized as the 7th public lecture in the seminar series “Humanities in the Anthropocene,” a research project of the Waseda Institute for Advanced Study. The lecture was attended by 36 participants from Japan and abroad, was followed by a lively discussion.
Christine Marran, a specialist in contemporary Japanese literature, discussed the concept of “Archipelagos” in the work of Michiko Ishimure. Using Michiko Ishimure’s Hana no Okudo e (Fujiwara Shoten, 2014) as a starting point, the lecture analyzed the concept of “Archipelagos” (chain of islands, archipelagos, and islets) developed in the book, and attempted to understand the Anthropocene through the painful history and narratives of disasters and pollution surrounding the Japanese archipelago.
Discussing the connection with poet and literary critic Édouard Glissant’s (1928-2011) work on “archipelagic thinking,” the lecture was a stimulating one, with the aim of establishing a new critical theory beyond ecocriticism.
The moderator was Dematagoda Udith (Assistant Professor, Waseda Institutes for Advanced Study), who specializes in aesthetic analysis in modern and contemporary literature. Participants also asked questions and engaged in lively discussion, with Professor Koji Toba (Japanese Modern Literature) of the Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University and Professor Kayoko Komatsu (Aesthetics) of Nagaoka University of Art and Design.
Event Details
- Moderator: DEMATAGODA, Udith (Assistant Professor, Waseda institute for advanced studies, Waseda University)
- Chair: YAMAMOTO, Satomi (Professor, Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Waseda University)
- Date/Time: November 5, 2022 (Sat.), 10:00-12:00 (JST)
- Location: Online meeting via Zoom
- Language: English
- Program
10:00-10:05 Opening Address: YAMAMOTO, Satomi
10:05-11:35 Analyzing Archipelagos in the Work of Ishimure Michiko: MARRAN, Christine
11:35-11:40 Break
11:40-12:00 Discussion between Speakers and Participants, Moderator: DEMATAGODA, Udith - Prospected Audience: Faculty members, Researchers, Graduate students
