PUBLIC EVENTS 2025 ~ 2026
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Grassroots international collaboration for exploring the ocean:
what oral histories reveal
Beatriz Martinez-Rius, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC, Japan)
November 25, 2025, 18:00-19:00
Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only
No registration required
ソフィア・シンポジウム Exploring a Japanese Fishing Village through Art
音楽と踊りで贈るファンタジー人形劇
2025年11月15日
18:30 〜 19:30 （開場18:00）
上智大学クルトゥルハイム
使用言語：日本語
対面のみ
要登録：https://forms.office.com/r/aS7Sc7CkLd
最大60名
Sophia Symposium "Exploring a Japanese Fishing Village through Art” Part One
A screening of a documentary film
2024/86 min./Japan/Bilingual version (Japanese dialogue with English subtitles, English Narration with Japanese subtitles)
Produced, Directed and Written by John Williams
Co-Producer and Co-Director: Yu Iwasaki
November 12, 2025
18:30 to 20:30 (Doors Open at 18:00，Screening from 18:30）
Room L-821, 8F, Library building, Sophia University
No registration necessary / Free of charge
Sophia Symposium 2025
Exploring a Japanese Fishing Village through Art
Dr. Christine Greine, Catholic University of Sao Paolo
Dr. Elisabeth Brun, Kristiania College, Oslo
Dr. Becca Voelcker, Goldsmith’s University of London
Poetry by Yasuhiro Yotsumoto
Artist Talks by Mike Collier, Hazel Baron-Cooper, Atsuko Nakamura and Ana Genioli
November16, 2025, 10:00 – 18:40
Room L-921, 9F, Library Building, Sophia University
No registration required
In Person only
A full program of Sophia Symposium "Exploring a Japanese Fishing Village through Art” is now available from HERE.
Sophia Open Research Week Symposium
Visuals, Digital research, and Life Narratives in Urban and Rural Japan
Speakers
Megha Wadhwa, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Sophia University
Julia Gerster, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Tohoku University
Dukin Lim, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Nanzan University
Ruth Achenbach, Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Goethe University
Discussant
David H. Slater, Ph.D., Professor, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Sophia University
November 15, 2025, 13:30-16:00
Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only
No registration required
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Literary Censorship and Cultural Policy in Today's China
Michel Hockx, Professor of Chinese Literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and the Director of the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies in the Keough School of Global Affairs.
October 22, 2025, 18:30-20:00
Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only
No registration required
Sophia University Department of English Studies and the Institute of Comparative Culture presents a portrait photography workshop
Critical Encounters with Laura Liverani
Laura Liverani, Documentary Photographer, Filmmaker, and University Lecturer
December 6, 2025, 10:00 – 16:00 (with breaks for lunch and coffee)
L-911, 9F, Sophia Library
In person only
Register from here: https://forms.gle/8GoGzmgPFv1YcjUV8
Registration deadline: November 15
Eligibility: Students, faculty, and staff of Sophia University.
Participants must watch the documentary film "Ainu Neno An Ainu," which will be screened on December 5th.
ICC Collaborative Research Unit “Sophia Food Studies” Lecture Series
Xiaohongshu as an Infrastructure of a Globalising China:
Wanghong, Food, and Displacement
Prof. Carwyn Morris, Senior Lecturer in Digital Society and Geography in the Department of Media Studies, SOAS
November 13, 2025, 18:00-19:30
Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University
Hybrid / No registration required
ZOOM: https://sophia-ac-jp.zoom.us/j/93121547473
Meeting ID: 931 2154 7473
Passcode: ICCfood
ICC Collaborative Research Unit “Sophia Food Studies” Lecture Series
Responsible Citizens and Managing Decline:
The Role of Food Governance in Japan
Stephanie Assmann, Professor, University of Hyogo
November 19, 2025 (Wed)
18:00-19:30（JST）
VENUE: Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University
ZOOM: https://sophia-ac-jp.zoom.us/j/98703568592
Meeting ID: 987 0356 8592
Passcode: iccfood
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
In the Shadow of Empire: Art in Occupied Japan
Alicia VOLK, Professor of Japanese Art at the University of Maryland
October 17, 2025, 18:30-20:00
Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only / No registration necessary
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture presents a screening of
(JAPAN, 2019/72 min./in Japanese with English subtitles)
Directed by Neo Sora and Laura Liverani
December 5th, 2025, 18:00-20:30
-
Introduction (18:00 – 18:10)
-
Screening of Ainu Neno An Ainu (18:10 – 19:30)
-
Discussion with Laura Liverani (19:30 - 20:30)
Room 911, 9F, Sophia Library
In person only
No registration necessary
ICC Collaborative Research Unit “Sophia Food Studies” Lecture Series
Imperialism, Nostalgia and Cultural Heritage
Kazuhiro Iwama, Professor of Asian History, Keio University
October 23, 2025, 18:0-19:30
Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University
In person and on ZOOM
Registration required:
https://forms.office.com/r/GBeabYMUnf
ICC Collaborative Research Unit "Exploring a Japanese Fishing Village through Art" presents
The Second Tanuki Matsuri（第二回タヌキ祭り）
November 1-3, 2025
In Kitaushima and Masaragawa, Sado
A variety of art events for young and old over three days, including music, movies, dance, modern Noh Theatre and Dyeing events with natural dyes.
The venues and times will be announced closer to the date and are subject to change depending on the weather.
Please see the updates on the home page for details.
日本語はこちら：第二回 タヌキ祭り
The event is organised by John Williams, in collaboration with the Sado Galaxy Art Festival and residents of Kitaushima and Masaragawa.
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Instagramming the Countryside:
Social media and demographic change in rural Japan
Cornelia Reiher, Professor of Japanese Studies at Freie Universität Berlin and PI of the Research Project “Urban-Rural Migration and Rural Revitalization in Japan”
October 16, 2025, 17:30-19:00
Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only / No registration necessary
CC and GPGS supported event by KASA Sustainability presents
KASA Sustainability’s 2025 Summer Environmental Change Workshop
Environmental Indigeneity, Recognition, and the Politics of Land Returns
Prof. Micah Fishe, University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
July 28, 2025, 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM (JST)
Venue: Zoom Online
Registration link: https://www.kasasustainability.org/event-details/summer-2025-environmental-change-workshop
Sophia Institute of Comparative Culture Collaborative Research Unit Water and Society in Japan presents
Solid Spaces and Flexible Times amid Environmental Catastrophe:
Popular Media and Climate Change
Amanda Kennell, Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Notre Dam
July 23, 2025, 18:00-19:30
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only
Sophia Institute of International Relations (SIIR) and the Institute of Comparative Culture (ICC) jointly presents
From 'Great Expectations' to 'Cold War Redux'? :
Russia and the West - En Route to the Ukraine War
Rudra Sil, Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania
July 9, 2025, 17:30-19:00
SIIR Conference Room, 1F, Building #13, Sophia University
In person only
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Foreign Policy Between Diplomacy and Reconciliation:
The German-Greek Paradigm 2014–2024
Dr. Charalampos (Babis) Karpouchtsis, Director of the Civic Education division at the Democratic Resilience Center (DRC) of HSU
July 14, 2025, 17:30-19:00
Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
The Invention of the Kamikaze:
Dissent and Resistance in the Japanese Military
Nick Kapur, Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University’s Camden Campus
July 9, 2025, 17:30-19:00
Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only
Sophia University ICC Collaborative Research Unit "Refugees and Migrants in Tokyo" unit and Chiba University Research on Migration and Refugee Studies presents a special seminar on
Refugee resettlement in England and Japan:
Outcomes and experiences
Date: July 2, 2025
Time: 5:30 pm -7:30 pm (JST)
Format: Hybrid
In-person: Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
Online: ZOOM: Please register from here: https://forms.office.com/r/ap2qXTLzA8
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Precarious Worlds in China’s Creative Industries:
‘Underground’ drag, clubbing and indie in Shanghai
Mick Vierbergen, PhD candidate at the Department of Humanities and Creative Writing of the Hong Kong Baptist University
July 1, 2025, 18:00-19:30
Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only
The Department of English Studies and the Institute of Comparative Culture Sophia University present
July 10, 2025, 18:00-20:30
Sophia University Yotsuya Campus, Bldg. 2, Room 401
Free admission.
Registration is NOT required.
日本語はこちらから
For more details click here.
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture presents a screening of a documentary film
In Search of Native Language Spaces
(はざま-母語のための場所を探して)
July 16, 2025, 18:00-20:00
Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University
Please register from HERE: https://forms.office.com/r/zYXAyeFkdc
上智大学比較文化研究所/フォーダム大学/ 安倍フェローシップ・米国社会科学研究評議会（SSRC）プロジェクト “Consent” in Sexual Violence: Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Japan and the US 主催 共同研究発表シンポジウム
国内大規模調査の分析結果
July 6, 2025, 13:00-16:30
オンライン（要事前登録）
事前登録はこちらから: https://fhttps://forms.office.comorms.office.com/r/
本イベントは 2 日間にわたって開催されます。7 月 5 日（初日）は対面で行われ、発表は英語で実施されます（事前登録不要）。7 月 6 日（2 日目）はオンラインで行われ、発表は日本語で実施されます（事前登録が必要です）。
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture, Fordham University, Abe/SSRC project “Consent in Sexual Violence: Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Japan and the US presents a symposium:
Analyses from the Nationwide Survey on Sexual Violence
July 5, 2025, 13:00-16:30
Room 301, 3F, Building 10, Sophia University
In person / No registration required
This is a two-day event. The first day, July 5th, will be in-person, with presentations conduct-ed in English (no registration required). The second day, July 6th, will be held online (regis-tration required), with presentations conducted in Japanese.
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
The Politics of Generational Divides in Ageing Societies:
A Comparison of Japan and Germany
Steffen Heinrich, Political Scientist
June 26, 2025 / 17:30-19:00
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In person / No registration required
Sophia Institute of International Relations and the Institute of Comparative Culture, Sophia University present:
Stepping Stones in Japan-Bulgaria Relations
Evgeniy Kandilarov, Associate Professor of East Asian Studies at the Japanese Studies Department of Sofia University (Bulgaria)
May 23, 2025 / 17:30~19:00
SIIR Conference Room (1F, Building 13, Sophia University)
Hy-flex Format (No Pre-Registration Required)
Access to the venue：https://dept.sophia.ac.jp/is/ir/access/
Zoom information for online participants:
Meeting ID: 918 7904 0046
Pass Code: 656726
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
The Making of Contemporary Japan in the Hispanic Imaginaries
Javier Pérez-Jara, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and East Asian Studies at the University of Seville and Faculty Fellow at Yale’s Center for Cultural Sociology
June 18, 2025 / 18:30-20:00
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In Person
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Busarin Lertchavalitsakul, Lecturer in the Development Studies Program, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences at Naresuan University, Thailand
June 6, 2025 / 15:30-19:00
Room L-821, 8F, Sophia Library
In Person only
No registration required
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Low-wage Labour Migration Regimes in Asia:
Lessons from across the governance spectrum
Arwen Joyce, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Law at the University of Leicester, UK
June 17, 2025 / 15:30-19:00
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In Person only
No registration required
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Caring for the Dead Otherwise
Anne Allison, Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University
May 23 2025 / 18:00-19:30
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In Person only
No registration required
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
‘Multi-’ Singapore, Racial-Singaporeans, and Trouble at the Hyphen
Joshua Babcock, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Brown University and a Faculty Affiliate in the Programs in Linguistics, STS, and the Southeast Asian Studies Initiative
June 6 2025 / 17:30-19:00
Format: Hybrid Online only
Venue: Room 301, 3F, Building 10,
Sophia University
ZOOM: https://sophia-ac-jp.zoom.us/j/99851934434
Meeting ID: 998 5193 4434
Passcode: singapore
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
The Rise of Japanese Cuisine in Iceland:
From Asian to New Nordic Influences?
Kristín Ingvarsdóttir, Assistant Professor of Contemporary Japanese Studies, University of Iceland
June 5 2025 / 17:30-19:30
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In Person only
No registration required
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
The Legacy of the Japanese Peace Preservation Law at its Centennial
Organizers:
Mahon MURPHY, Kyoto University
Max WARD, Middlebury College
Participants:
Ariel ACOSTA, Waseda University
MORI Yasuo, Doshisha University
John PERSON, State University of New York, Albany
Sven SAALER, Sophia University
May 29 2025 / 17:30-19:00
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In Person
No registration required
上智大学ヨーロッパ研究所主催（共催：上智大学比較文化研究所）講演会
for a New Approach to the Italian Filoni
Prof. Stefano Baschiera, Professor in Film and Screen Industries at Queen’s University Belfast
June 2 2025 / 18:00-19:30
Venue: L-821(上智大学中央図書館/Central Library, Sophia University)
Registration：不要
Admission free.
No registration required.
A Screening and a discussion session hosted by Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture
A film by Megha Wadhwa based on a research project led by five women exploring skilled migration in Asia.
May 17, 2025 / 16:00-17:30
Room 309, 3F, Building 2, Sophia University
In person only
Please register from here: https://forms.office.com/r/zB6azZLs4G
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Hiroshima: The Last Witnesses
A Writer’s Journey
M. G. Sheftall, Professor of Modern Japanese Cultural History and Communication at Shizuoka University
May 12, 2025 / 17:30-19:00
Format: Hybrid
Venue: Room 301 (Subject to change)
Zoom: https://sophia-ac-jp.zoom.us/j/98529658944
Meeting-ID: 985 2965 8944
Passcode: bucky
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Ecological Imaginaries in Civil Data in Post-Nuclear Japan
Ina Kim, Environmental and Medical Anthropologist
May 9, 2025 / 17:30-19:00
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In Person only
No registration necessary
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Indian Immigrants in Tokyo, 1976-2010
Bakirathi Mani, Presidential Penn Compact Professor of English, University of Pennsylvania
May 14, 2025 / 18:30-20:00
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In Person only
No registration necessary
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Global Migration, Transnationalism, and the Quest for Home
Hasan Mahmud, Assistant Professor in Residence at Northwestern University in Qatar
April 30, 2025 / 17:30-19:00
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
No registration necessary
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Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Understanding and Explaining Bad Leadership:
The Strange Case of Prime Minister Liz Truss
Dr Mark Bennister, Academic Researcher
April 29, 2025 / 17:30-19:00
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only
No registration necessary
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
From Taiwan Subjects to Overseas Taiwanese to Taiwan Provincials:
Being Taiwanese in Early Post-war Japan
Evan Dawley, Associate Professor of History at Goucher College
April 28, 2025 / 17:30-19:00 (JST) Hybrid (In person and on Zoom) Venue: Room 301, 3F, building 10, Sophia University
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://sophia-ac-jp.zoom.us/j/97766723579
Meeting ID: 977 6672 3579 Passcode: 927760
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
The Role of Students, Academics, and Universities in the Struggle Against Authoritarianism
Licia Proserpio, Research Fellow at the Department of History and Culture – University of Bologna (Italy) and Adjunct Professor at the School of Liberal Studies at UPES (India)
April 23, 2025, 19:00~20:30
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only
No registration required
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture and the European Institute present a talk and a film Screening with Dr. Elisabeth Brun
NYKSUND RELOADED and BIG TECH BLUES
Reactivating a 1980´s Ecotopia through Archive & Media Art”
Followed by a film screening of Big Tech Blues (2025)
Elizabeth Brun, Filmmaker, Visual Artist, and Researcher working at the intersection of Media theory, artistic research, and public space
April 21, 2025, 18:00~20:00
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only
No registration required
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Anna Greenspan, Associate Professor of Global Contemporary Media, NYU Shanghai
April 24, 2025, 19:00~20:30
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only
No registration required
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Religious Change in Post-Mao China
Yanfei Sun, Associate Professor of Sociology at Zhejiang University
April 17, 2025, 18:30~20:00
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only
No registration required
Sophia University Institute of Comparative Culture Lecture Series 2025
Art of Questioning in Analytic Qualitative Sociology
Dingxin Zhao, Director of the Center for Advanced Studies in Human-ities at Zhejiang University and Max Palevsky Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Chicago
April 16, 2025, 18:00~19:30
Room 301, Building 10, Sophia University
In person only
No registration required