CGS Members
The College of Liberal Arts and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of International Christian University (ICU) form a united department system in both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Students are able to study and research freely without being constrained by their own departments. Similarly, CGS brings together professors from a diverse range of fields, who share an interest in gender and/or sexuality. Below you will find a list of the CGS members and their 1) majors & research areas, as well as their 2) current interests & a short message about their research and its relation to gender studies.
In addition, we will introduce the research institute assistants who are involved in the management of CGS, as well as the researchers associated to the center.
(Last updated: April 10, 2024)
AMMOUR-MAYEUR, Olivier (Director, Steering Member, Editorial Board Member, GSS Major Coordinator)
1. French Literature, Comparative Literature, Film Studies and Popular Culture (Francophone, Anglophone and Japanese cultures)
2. My research interests are focused on the representations of genders in Literature, Films and Popular Culture (Manga, TV dramas). Working at the intersection of Aesthetics, Philosophy and Social Theories of representation (Sociology and Anthropology), my research focuses on the political aspects of the representations of genders and sexualities in Arts (Literature, Cinema, Painting, Photography).
IKOMA, Natsumi (Steering Member, Editorial Board Member)
1. Contemporary English Literature, Literary Theory, Feminist Theory, especially, the representation of the body and structure of terror.
2. All forms of knowledge and study have been expressed by humans as “texts,” which reflect the subjectivity of the writer and the ideologies and biases of their society and age. As the prejudices and ideas of the reader intervene to create an act of interpretation, and through this twist, I think it is possible to see—not an "objective" or "scientific" "truth" (which does not even exist in the first place)—but a possibility for tolerance and open-mindedness. The perspective of gender is a must when it comes to taking this sort of approach. Will you join us in the search for new possibilities for literature?
TAKAMATSU, Kana (Steering Member, Editorial Board Member)
1. International Relations, Gender and Development
2. My research examines how gender influences post-conflict reconstruction assistance by focusing on social reintegration of female ex-combatants. Also, I research gender issues and politics in Myanmar.
CURRAN, Beverley F. M. (Steering Member, Chair of the Editorial Board)
1. Inter-lingual translation, cultural translation, media translation, translation studies
2. The impact of feminism and gender studies on translation theorization and practice, and translation as trope, theory and practice that has affected gender studies continue to be research interests.
KATO, Etsuko (Vice-director, Steering Member, Editorial Board Member)
1. Cultural Anthropology: Cultural nationalism and gender; migration and gender; critique of the representations of Japanese sexuality in English ethnography.
2. One cannot observe and write sociocultural phenomena without considering gender and sexuality. As a fieldworker of globally mobile Japanese workers, I keep analyzing how their perception of easiness and uneasiness of everyday life relates to gender and sexuality.
MINEJIMA, Chika (Steering Member)
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SONOYAMA, Senri (Steering Member)
1. Classical Japanese Literature, Inspirations of classical literature in the writings of Meiji writers (1868-1912), Japanese studies in Poland and other European countries
2. The Heian period (794-1185) was the time in which many female writers were active, thanks to the possibility to use the Kana syllabary. The stories, essays, diaries, and waka poems written in Kana often make us think not only about the glamorous aspects of court life but also about human life in general. I keep analyzing such literary works from the ritual, religious and cultural perspective. My research interests include the history of the reception of Japanese essays, letter theory, and the relationship between Meiji-era writers and the classics.
HAMASAKI, Fumina (CGS Assistant Professor, Steering Member, Editorial Board Member)
1. Feminist Theory, Feminist Philosophy, Feminist Art, Literature
2. My research is interdisciplinary and looks into the politics of representations by using feminist and queer theories. I especially focus on the representations of "animals" and "food", and critically analyse how "human" subject is sustained by making “others” invisible.
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1. Modern Japanese History and Japan Studies: Japanese imperialism; the intersection of foreign relations and culture
2. I just finished a project on the early history of Japanese imperialism, and now am turning my attention to the history of Yokohama. I deal with gender-related questions more in the courses I teach, especially History of Contemporary Japan, but occasionally I take them up in my research. For example, in a recent paper I looked at how the mixed-race children of soldiers were treated differently in Japan depending on whether the fathers were Japanese or American, a difference that was driven mostly by Japanese women’s participation in media and politics in the 1950s.
1. Musicology
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1. History of Italian Art, History of Costume in Italy
2. The “ideal dress” of the 16th century Italy. From costume depictions in a variety of writings on women, and from costume print collections from the 16th century Italy, we can think of the ideal “good dress” of that time. Recently, I am interested in the first European female professional author, Christine de Pisan and her clothing.
1. History: Chinese History
2. I am exploring research beyond fixed frameworks in Chinese women’s history. I personally want to revise or rethink women’s history of modern China.
1. Sociology, Asian American Studies, men in families, men's movements, race and ethnicity, life course and aging.
2. I examine the changing culture and conduct of fatherhood through the prism of a non-Western men's movement. I am interested in the intersection of masculinity, race and ethnicity, religion and immigration.
1. International Comparative Education: Biliteracy Acquisition and Education for Sustainable Development
2. I come from a family of seven children, which was a lot of fun, but I see overpopulation as one of the most serious problems facing the world. In addressing this and other global problems, many solutions are rooted in the policy of including women at the decision making table, and that will only be possible through access to education.
1. Mathematics: Geometry, Algebra, Combinatorics
2. What's interesting in my research field lies in between the mathematical activities: one is to investigate the higher dimensional ``shapes'' that can't be seen and the other is to count certain objects in a smart way. As a math teacher/researcher, I would like to promote equal opportunity and the equal treatment of students of all gender in mathematical science and also encourage them to have active careers in mathematical science.
1. Cultural Anthropology and Demography: Non-marriage, low fertility, representations of intimacy.
2. My research examines sexuality and reproduction issues from both cultural anthropology and demographic perspectives. I am interested in people’s values including the concept of gender as a cultural construction, and its effect on population structures.
1. Sociology: survey methodology, youth (education, labor, gender)
2. I research computer-assisted interviewing (CAI) methods, as well as youth education, labor, and gender. Recently, I am investigating gender consciousness of college students using quantitative survey methods, particularly consciousness of love and marriage, gender division of labor, separate surnames for married couples, "joshiryoku" (femininity), abortion, and sexual minorities.
1. History: Religion in England during the 16th and 17th centuries
2. I would like to contribute to gender studies through the analysis of different societies and cultures, and their various patterns in the past of a foreign country.
1. Sociology of Education, International Educational Development
2. Gender cuts across the forms, processes, and outcomes of education and yet the international goals often simplify the gender issue to be measured by quantitative indicators such as enrollment and literacy rates. I have discussed such contradiction in a recent book entitled Gender and International Educational Development: Problems and Challenges.
1. International Politics and Economics, Public Policy
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1. My research is in the field of English Literature, particularly Shakespeare, English Renaissance literature (poetry and drama), English Romanticism (eighteenth and nineteenth centuries), and modern and contemporary British and Irish poetry.
2. My current research includes work on William and Dorothy Wordsworth, W. B. Yeats (and Irish folklore and mythology), and the uses of mythology and symbolism in contemporary British and Irish poetry. I am interested in the relationship between authorial and social power in women writers, particularly in medieval female poets, Romantic women writers, and contemporary women poets. I am also interested in the evolution of feminism in literature in the works of writers such as Henrik Ibsen and Sylvia Plath.
1. Early Modern Japanese History
2. In studies of early modern Japanese history, the positioning of women has been considered more and more important recently. Various aspects, such as the life cycle of the people, the reproduction of family, the class system, and so on have increasingly come into the limelight. I have been planning and examining a formative process to give people a better picture of an ideal woman in the Edo era and how it was transformed in modern Japan. I contribute to gender studies by doing that.
1.European History (French History, Early Modern France, Social History, Urban History, Christianity)
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1. Social, Cultural, Evolutionary, and Peace Psychology
2. My research examines the evolutionary roots of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) while exploring social problems such as sexism, relationship (commitment) issues, and prejudice against LGBTQIA+ individuals. I also enjoy researching more light-hearted topics related to SOGI, including the "frogging phenomena," dating/mating psychology, and changes in fashion related to coming out.
Advisor
TANAKA, Kazuko（Former professor of International Christian University, Founder of Center for Gender Studies at International Christian University）
Researchers
BURITICA ALZATE, Juliana
MIYAZAKI, Ayumi
YU, Ning
WUERRER, Stefan
HANYU, Yuki
HUNG, Yuh-Chain
GUARINI, Letizia
Research Institute Assistants
OKA, Shunichiro (languages: English and Japanese) Ph.D. student at the University of Tokyo
I am a Ph.D. candidate of Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at The University of Tokyo. My research focus is on contemporary art history. My dissertation project investigates postwar Japanese art in the context of the cultural exchange between Japan and the United States. I am also interested in the way how gender and sexuality were represented through visual cultures, especially through postwar visual arts, and how such representations relate to other ideas, including nation and space.
Wen, Chloe (languages: Mandarin, English, and Japanese) Ph.D. candidate of Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at The University of Tokyo
1.Feminism/Queer studies, Chinese studies, and Social Movements
2.My research focuses on the feminist movement in post-socialist China, exploring the mechanism of difference-making in feminist politics and intersections between the politics of gender and other social differences across various streams of the movement. In particular, I am interested in how struggles or negotiations over differences based on "national borders" such as nationalism, colonialism and the ideology of west/east binarism are intertwined with the recognition of other social differences.
KONISHI, Yuumi(she/her) (languages: English and Japanese) Ph.D. candidate of Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at The University of Tokyo
I specialize in the sociology of health and illness, with a focus on transgender studies. In my doctoral thesis research project, I aim to elucidate the medical landscape surrounding gender dysphoria and gender transition in contemporary Japan, along with the societal structures underpinning it, which I refer to as the 'sociology of trans medicine.' Specific research topics include the analysis of medical discourses in an era marked by depathologisation, an exploration of the perspectives of both parties and medical practitioners regarding diagnostic models, and an examination of the relationship between 'authentic' trans medicine and other medical access.