UPDATE - Tokyo Humanities Cafe is back!
Our first cafe in more than three years will take place on Friday, June 9th (19:30 - 21:15) at our new venue - Ryozan Park Lounge, near Sugamo Station on the JR Yamanote line.
Our first cafe in more than three years will take place on Friday, June 9th (19:30 - 21:15) at our new venue - Ryozan Park Lounge, near Sugamo Station on the JR Yamanote line.
Bringing arts and humanities research to a broader audience.
Artists, authors, activists and academics giving free, lively, and accessible talks in English.
Artists, authors, activists and academics giving free, lively, and accessible talks in English.
Join our mailing list below for more details about future cafes!
What is a "humanities cafe"?
Each presenter gives a 10-15 minute talk in English about any aspect of their work. For example, they might explain an ongoing research project, talk about a book of poetry or a translation they're working on, or discuss their photography career...
The talks are all pitched (TED-style) at a general audience - so no specialist knowledge is required. There'll also be plenty of time to relax with a drink and exchange ideas with other attendees.
Events are organized by the Tokyo Humanities team (Alex Watson, Laurence Williams, Samantha Landau, and Koji Yamamoto). The evening is compèred by Alex Watson (Meiji University).
Events are organized by the Tokyo Humanities team (Alex Watson, Laurence Williams, Samantha Landau, and Koji Yamamoto). The evening is compèred by Alex Watson (Meiji University).
Speakers at THC 12
(Friday, June 9th, 2023)
Stephen Wittek
(Assistant Professor, Carnegie Mellon University)
"Shakespeare and Virtual Reality"
about STEPHEN
Dr. Stephen Wittek is Assistant Professor of early modern drama at Carnegie Mellon University. He is the author of Shakespeare and the Cultural Politics of Conversion (Palgrave McMillan, 2023) and The Media Players: Shakespeare, Middleton, Jonson, and the Idea of News (Michigan University Press, 2015). He is also co-editor of two recent collections of scholarly essays: Performing Conversion: Cities, Theatre and Early Modern Transformations (with José Jouve Martín, Edinburgh University Press, 2021) and Shakespeare and Virtual Reality (with David McInnis, Cambridge University Press, 2022). Since 2018, he been the director of Shakespeare-VR, an educational project that enables students to explore Shakespeare’s theater in virtual reality.
Karin Gunnarsson
(Photographer / Filmmaker / Storyteller)
"Turned Skyward: Musings on Flight"
about KARIN
Karin Gunnarsson graduated from the photography masters course at the Royal College of Art, London in 2009. In films, photographs and text works , Karin Gunnarsson creates visual narratives and formal constructions that explore symmetries between psychological processes and physical bodies, featuring mythical beings, fantasy creatures and other cultural artifacts.
Yutaka Kikugawa
(Founder and Executive Director, El Sistema Japan)
"Social Action Through Music"
about YUTAKA
Yutaka Kikugawa is Founder and Executive Director of El Sistema Japan. He was born in Kobe, Japan, but spent his early years in Helsinki, Finland. After finishing secondary education in Japan, he moved to the UK and took both bachelor’s (Geography) and master’s degrees (Policy Studies) from University College London. He joined a private think tank, then started his UN career at 3 different African countries with 2 different organisations: UNESCO and UNICEF. He returned home to engage in fundraising work at UNICEF National Committee. In 2011, he was assigned to its Tohoku emergency and reconstruction programme as chief coordinator. He founded El Sistema Japan in March 2012.
Eli K.P. Williams
(SF novelist and translator)
"Writing the Endgame of Capitalism: The Jubilee Cycle Trilogy"
about ELI
Eli K.P. William is a sci-fi novelist and Japanese literary translator. He is the author of the Jubilee Cycle trilogy, set in a future Tokyo gone hyper-financial dystopia, where every action—from blinking to sexual intercourse—is intellectual property owned by corporations that charge licensing fees. The series includes Cash Crash Jubilee, The Naked World, and A Diamond Dream. His translation of the novel, A Man by Keiichiro Hirano, is a bestseller. Born in Toronto, Canada, he has spent most of his adult life in Japan and is the only member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan (SFWJ) who writes fiction in English.
Location
RYOZAN PARK LOUNGE
〒170-0002 東京都豊島区巣鴨1-6-6 東邦ホワイトテラス1F
2 minutes' walk from JR Sugamo Station (Yamanote line)
5 minutes' walk from Komagome Metro (Namboku line)
〒170-0002 東京都豊島区巣鴨1-6-6 東邦ホワイトテラス1F
2 minutes' walk from JR Sugamo Station (Yamanote line)
5 minutes' walk from Komagome Metro (Namboku line)
Admission is free!
(However, the bar asks that you buy at least one drink, so please make sure to do that - and maybe more - to thank them for supporting our event)
Admission is free!
(However, the bar asks that you buy at least one drink, so please make sure to do that - and maybe more - to thank them for supporting our event)
Photos from previous events (at our old venue in Shimokitazawa)
Any other questions?
Contact the event host, Alex Watson
(Associate Professor, Department of Arts and Letters, Meiji University)
(Associate Professor, Department of Arts and Letters, Meiji University)
Leave your email address and first name (or alias) below and we'll add you to the THC mailing list. We send out reminders a few times a year to let people know about upcoming cafés.
Needless to say, we won't sell, divulge, or mishandle info in any way.
Needless to say, we won't sell, divulge, or mishandle info in any way.
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