Purpose of the Division
One of the characteristics of the fields of humanities and social sciences at Kumamoto University is diversity. The quality of research of the individual fields is high, and they have a high reputation, both in Japan and abroad. Uniting these individual research abilities with the distinctiveness and creativity of the Kumamoto region, there is a growing need to develop interdisciplinary research that is disseminated internationally and new academic fields that return the results to the local community.
In this division, we attempt to explore extremely public and social issues through the construction of the “Minamata Disease” Cases Research Resource Archive.
Purpose of research
“Establishing a “Minamata Disease” cases archive and critical theory on the pain of others”
Members of the Division
KEIDA, Katsuhiko.
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Professor (director of the division)
- Areas of Specialization
- Cultural Anthropology: Cultural Heritage Studies
- Research Interests
- While managing the construction of the "Minamata Disease" Cases Research Resource Archive, I explore regional archive research in order to critically examine archive construction itself. I also concentrate on the enchantment of "Minamata Disease" cases, starting from the pain caused by these cases. Considering enchantment is an inseparable phenomenon from the pursuit of modern rationality itself (i.e. disenchantment), I develop research utilizing the anthropological theory of magic and the critical theory of the Frankfurt School (Adorno and Benjamin).
MAKINO, Atsushi.
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Professor
- Areas of Specialization
- Sociology: Environmental Sociology and Regional and Community Studies
- Research Interests
- The pain of people triggered by natural disasters is an important starting point for environmental sociology. Especially in the present time, when the importance of environmental issues is generally acknowledged, there is increasing interest in the way of lifeworld, which enables the subjects to exercise resilience. Based on that tendency, I further research on the regeneration of agricultural and fishing communities in Japan and East Asia as a social system that potentially subsumes those who suffer from pain.
SUZUKI, Hirotaka.
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Associate Professor
- Areas of Specialization
- History: Modern Japanese Intellectual History
- Research Interests
- My specialty is modern Japanese nationalism since the Meiji period. In particular, I take a historical consideration of the events and phenomena that crystallize the divergence between the political principle of national integration and regional and class ruptures. One of my major publications is Hara Takashi and Kuga Katsunan: Thought Formation of Meiji Youth and Japanese Nationalism (Tohoku University Press, 2015). In this division, I am engaged in collaborative research with the Korean researchers who work on the theme of "Minamata Disease" cases and its relationship with colonial Korea and the Korean community in Japan.
SHIMODA, Kentaro.
The International Research Center for Humanities and Social Sciences, Tenure Track Associate Professor
- Areas of Specialization
- Cultural Anthropology: Historical Anthropology, Material Culture Studies, Disaster Studies
- Research Interests
- With the city of Minamata and Ishigaki Island as my research sites, I have been concerned with how the people embroiled in environmental issues, technological disasters, and violations of human life recall their experiences, cope with their situations, and recount their memories. I have especially focused in particular on the dynamic interactions between material things and narratives. In recent years, I have also examined the topic of how such people's experiences and memories can contribute to creating a new social order.