Assistant Professor of Japanese Studies Michael Wood delivered a presentation of his research on the cultural facets of ecological change and globalized neo-liberal capital to the monthly interdisciplinary forum of the Asian Studies Seminar at Kyushu University this past June.

His talk was well attended by representatives from a diversity of fields including history, cultural studies, economics, critical pedagogies, biology, political science, and literary studies. Dr. Wood noted that the format of the Japanese kenkyûkai or research seminar is ideal because unlike conference presentations, in Japanese university settings of this nature the speaker has ample time to present her/his research and engage in an intensive question and answer session that extends to the obligatory meal and drinks afterward. It is generally a five to six-hour marathon completely focused on one person’s research.

Furthermore, due the highly interdisciplinary nature of his more recent research, Professor Wood benefited greatly from the diverse audience in attendance. With interdisciplinary research, it is important to have one’s work vetted from many different angles, and the Asian Studies Seminar was ideal in that regard.

“The warm response and curiosity of those in attendance made me feel vindicated or validated in my efforts to cross over that persistent disciplinary divide between the natural/environmental sciences on the one hand and humanities and cultural studies on the other. Furthermore, to make these international connections in terms of interdisciplinary is really important precisely because you can’t find concentrations of scholars working on such topics and with creative methodologies at any one institution,” said Dr. Wood.

Following his talk, Dr. Wood spent two days meeting with several researchers based at Kyushu University’s Institute of Future Pacific Studies to discuss an upcoming international conference panel (scheduled for next June in Seoul South Korea) on identities, ontologies, borders, and boundaries of islands. While in Kyushu, he also carried out archival research at the Fukuoka Municipal Historical Museum and the Kyushu University, Hakozaki Campus, while also managing to squeeze in a few hours of wonderful surfing at Mitoma Beach on his last day there.