Information, Technology, and Society in Asia 139

This graduate course is the third series of lectures that examine and critically evaluate the history of major intellectuals and scholars of or associated with the University of Tokyo in the modern period. By examining various intellectual legacies of one of the most important research and education institutions in Japan and the world, this course aims to generate critical understanding of modern knowledge production and circulation in relation to social change and cultural formation in Japan. By so doing, potential contribution of Japanese scholarship to the understanding of contemporary (global) issues will be explored.

Every year, a specific theme or period or prominent intellectual figures will be identified for focused study and discussion, and scholars working on that specific topic are invited from within or out of UTokyo to the lecture and generate classroom discussions. For 2020, the lectures will focus on histories and legacies of China studies and address the issue of how Japanese intellectuals have tried to understand China from different disciplines and perspectives. We arranged four lectures by an economist, a sociologist, a jurist, and a historian.

This lecture series is the result of collaboration among Global Japan Studies Research Network in IASA, Contemporary China Research Base in ISS, and Toyota Foundation’s Initiative Program “Recreation of Chinese Studies” in GSAS in the University of Tokyo.