@paulakolata
Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University, US. Research on religion in Japan, Buddhism, rurality, depopulation, religious economies, heritage and materiality, food.
With Japanโs Lower House election underway, LDP is set for a historic win. It looks like Japanese politics is going to become even more interesting for religion scholars, especially if (as seems likely) the LDP achieves so high a majority that PM Takaichi moves forward on constitutional revision. ๐
On March 6, weโre delighted to be hosting @levimclaughlin.bsky.social at Harvard for his Japan Forum talk, sharing his expertise and insights as Japanโs political landscape rearranges post-elections. If youโre in the area, please join us!
More info in the link
rijs.fas.harvard.edu/events/relig...
Job Opportunity: Harvard Art Musuems are hiring for a position of Associate Curator for Asian Art, specialising in Japan. Please help us circulate widely!
careers.harvard.edu/job/abby-ald...
Thanks, Christian. I donโt think the ad assume that history and sociology are the same thing. It just gives an option between modern history OR sociology. We welcome applications from scholars with either of these two areas of expertise to support teaching in EALC.
My department is hiring a College Fellow in modern Japanese history or sociology.
Deadline, including reference letters: March 23.
facultyresources.fas.harvard.edu/college-fell...
Post-Doc Opportunity: Together with Asian Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, the World History Center is seeking a two-year postdoctoral fellow in Japan in World History. Please share widely and feel free to reach out with questions. www.worldhistory.pitt.edu/news/call-ap...
I learned a great deal from reading Timothy O. Benedictโs 'Spiritual Ends' and from writing a review of this thoughtful and compelling account of end-of-life care in contemporary Japan. I also look forward to the accompanying special issue on embodied worlds and the body in Japanese religions.
Deadline this coming Monday, January 26 ๐ฌ
nomadit.co.uk/conference/e...
@easainfo.bsky.social
You can check out their collab version of ๆญฃไฟกๅ Shลshinge here: oiranmusic.bandcamp.com/album/shoshi...
Cyber NamuNamu is set to perform at Hyper geek #14 TUNNEL TOKYO on February 1. If you're in town, I'd go and check it out: bring your glow sticks & your top namu-amida-beat energy. Purely for research purposes, of course.
Cyber NamuNamu is a live techno performance that blends Buddhist chanting (the โnamuโ recitation/sutra-style vocals) with club beats & immersive digital visuals (mandalas, floating golden Buddha statues). Ritual-meets-rave meant to make Buddhist practice feel contemporary & meditative in new ways.
Calling all the ravers: Cyber NamuNamu! ใตใคใใผๅ็กๅ็ก If youโve ever thought: 'You know what this Buddhist temple service needs? A DROP!' Look no further ๐ชฉ Madoka Kohno, Hourin, and Mikou
Thank you so much for making this possible! Very much looking forward to connecting with UPenn colleagues and students.
And excited to share my research on unwanted gifts, ambiguous generosity, and refusal of ritual and other forms of care in Japanโs regional temples.
Thank you for your generous invitation @feelingtheory.bsky.social & @jolyonbt.bsky.social looking forward to seeing you next week!
First Philly adventure soon! Big thanks to @jolyonbt.bsky.social & @feelingtheory.bsky.social for the kind invite. Looking forward to sharing my work on Buddhist gifts, material excess and religious economies in contemporary Japan with @upennrels.bsky.social.
rels.sas.upenn.edu/events/2026/...
Our panel *Everyday violence and the moral economies of care* has been accepted for EASA2026 in Poznaล!
Looking for contributors exploring how care and violence are intertwined in daily life. If this resonates with your research, weโd love you to get in touch and consider submitting an abstract.
I would love that if your schedule permits!
Warmest welcome! Feels strange to be saying this as a newbie in town but still!
2026-27 REISCHAUER INSTITUTE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS IN JAPANESE
๐จ***Applicant Deadline: December 19, 2025 (Friday), 5:00pm EST***
๐จ***Recommender Deadline: January 9, 2026 (Friday), 5:00pm EST***
rijs.fas.harvard.edu/postdoctoral...
DNA evidence of Tang dynasty cats www.livescience.com/animals/dome...
Today's #ManuscriptMonday shows "tendoku," a way of "reading" a Buddhist sutra by rapidly fanning it out and then letting it cascade while chanting the title or a small section. In this case, the priest touches the book to the body as a ritual empowerment for protection.
youtu.be/CsN-9xc9hlY?...
Over the weekend, @jjrs-nirc.bsky.social hosted a book talk on "The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions" (2025) with editor Matthew D. McMullen & OG Nanzan Guide editor Paul Swanson.
The event was held in Japanese. The recording is now available on the NIRC YouTube channel!
youtu.be/Q0r7ZgensPo
A great blog project on the topic of urban to rural migration and rural revitalisation ran by Cornelia Reiher at the Freie Universitรคt Berlin:
userblogs.fu-berlin.de/urban-rural-...
Including a recent gust contribution by Julia Olsson on her fieldwork on Akiya in Kochi Prefecture. Check it out.
The Tokyo District Court strips the Unification Church (or Family Federation for World Peace and Unification) of its religious corporation status. A new financial reality for the group and a germane development for the religious freedom legal landscape in Japan.
www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20...
Our next Fear Research Network (FeRN) seminar will be on April 2, 2025. Valentina Zagaria will present on โThe harga is the womenโs faultโ โ Fearing migrationโs revolutionary potential in a Tunisian border town" events.manchester.ac.uk/event/event:.... @uomsalc.bsky.social @uomsoss.bsky.social
@uomsalc.bsky.social will be holding an online information session for potential applicants to the following schemes:
Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships,
British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships,
Marie Skลodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships.
Link here: shorturl.at/opLFB
Looking forward to visiting University of Toronto & McMaster University in a couple of weeks. I appreciate the opportunity to share my work through the Yehan Numata Program in Buddhist Studies 2024-2025. My first time in Toronto & Hamilton. Iโve been assured Spring is the time to visit. ๐ฑ
Call for 12 Bicentenary Postdoc Research Fellowships (3-years) at UoM. Fellows will need a mentor and address the Faculty of Humanities priority research themes of Digital Futures; Sustainable Futures; Creativity; Global Inequalities; and Adaptive Societies. www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Sheffield is an important centre of expertise on East Asia, both within the UK and internatiinally! Please share and sign to support our colleagues!
Looking forward to the Food System Temporalities conference with a great programme of papers: from the Red Palm Weevil infestations, to fishy futures, slow food movements & technological interventions in contemporary foodscapes. Excited to throw my two โBuddhist food wasteโ cents into the mix.