2020 Activity Report

March Activity Report

31 March 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin

‘Weathering’ times

We’ve been ‘weathering’ a lot here in Australia… while we think of our friends on the east coast of NSW enduring harsh flooding, I also think of how things are cooling down in Melbourne – literally, and metaphorically. We’re seeing shorter and fewer warm days as Autumn ‘falls’ upon us. It’s also been about a year since we went into hard lockdown and the whirlwind changes over the last 12 months has seen us more resilient and adaptive, and at this point now, there’s more of a sense of calm and ‘normalcy’ as university operations commence in person and on campus again (though at a reduced capacity). This month in the Japanese Studies department, we’ve been continuing with our Inagaki seminars. We hosted the wonderful Dr. Kyoko Sato from Stanford University on March 11, who gave a brilliant and timely seminar on negotiating the challenges and legacies from the Fukushima nuclear disaster; and shared their ideas for pathways moving forth at its ten year anniversary mark. Thank you Sato-sensei (先生) for your knowledge and insight! It is the hard work and research of academics that enable us to produce knowledges that help solve complex problems.

For Inagaki 16 coming up in April, we have Dr. Jonathan Glade, based here at the University of Melbourne’s Asia Institute, presenting ‘Franternization: Censorship and Expression in US-Occupied Japan’ on April 15, 12:30-13:30 AEST. All are welcome to attend (online), however registration is essential as places are limited! We hope you’ll join us to hear Dr. Glade’s thoughts on this interesting part of Japanese history.

Until next month!

February Activity Report

28 February 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin

Gatherings in person and online

Semester one of the new year has well and truly started; we’re so pleased to see university operations commence in person and on campus yet again, even if we know that this might not occur on a consistent basis in the event we’re called back in to a work-from-home scenario. For me personally, it was great to enter the iconic Asia Institute building for the first time in over a year! Wow. The energy of students gathering in courtyards, walking from building to building, meeting each other face-to-face – seemed like a welcome relief to a year of learning mediated by screens and inevitable Zoom-glitches.

Here at the Japanese Studies department, we’ve been continuing with our Inagaki seminars. As per our post last month, our next seminar is with Dr. Kyoko Sato (Stanford University). Her seminar, ‘Reflections on Fukushima: A Science and Technology Studies Perspective’, will discuss the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster: the challenges it brought, and proposes directions forward for navigating its aftermath from a science and technology studies perspective. Since the webinar will take place online, you’re more than welcome to tune from anywhere around the world! If you register (at the link above), you will be sent a ZOOM link a day before the webinar begins (March 11, 12:30-13:30 AEST). Planning is also underway for our Inagaki 16 seminar with a lecturer from within our own program, Dr Jon Glade, who will present on censorship and expression in US-Occupied Japan. Stay tuned for more details on Inagaki 16, but we hope to see you on March 11! Until next month.

January Activity Report

31 January 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin

Reflections in science and technology

As we ease into a new year, the uncertainty and turbulence from 2020 prevails. University operations are no different. Here at UniMelb, we are far more equipped to deal with pivoting to sudden changes as required; the oscillation between being in and out of lockdown feels more ‘normal’ than what normal meant previously. We hope that this doesn’t have to be the case for much longer as word of vaccines arriving on Australian shores in the near future means safeguard from the virus, and hopefully, more seamless modes of mobility.

Here at the Japanese Studies department, we’ve been continuing with our Inagaki seminars. We’re excited to announce our next upcoming seminar with Dr. Kyoko Sato (Stanford University), ‘Reflections on Fukushima: A Science and Technology Studies Perspective’. Dr Sato will discuss the legacies of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, and aptly mentions that disasters of such a scale – with their immense economic and environmental impacts – bring a lot of challenges when it comes to decision-making. Dr Sato proposes generative directions forward for navigating its legacies from a science and technology perspective. Since the webinar will take place online, you’re more than welcome to tune from anywhere around the world! If you register (at the link above), you will be sent a ZOOM link shortly before the webinar begins (March 11, 12:30-13:30 AEST).

We hope to see you there! Until next month.

December Activity Report

31 December 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin

New Year, New Normal

Happy New Year, friends! I hope people are feeling a bit more rested or have had some form of respite over the Christmas and New Year period (whether or not you celebrate it, of course). I think it’s safe to say that many of us are glad to have left 2020 – and all that it symbolised – behind. Although, even as we cross over into a new year, many of the global challenges that arose last year are still ongoing issues that we need to address and adapt to into the new year and decade ahead; cultivating a ‘new normal’.

The State of Victoria (of which Melbourne is the capital city of) endured one of the longest lockdowns in the world; however we finally managed to enjoy the fruits of our labour as we saw very few numbers of cases, enabling at least some of us to spend the holiday period with our loved ones.

The University of Melbourne remains conducting its operations off-site and online for the most part, and January is usually a quiet(er) time while administrative and academic staff prepare for the semester ahead. Here at the Japanese department, we’ll be going forth with our Inagaki seminars for 2021. As I mentioned last month, we already have three speakers confirmed. For March, we look forward to hosting (albeit online, still), Dr Kyoko Sato (Stanford University) whose work spans the fields of the politics and culture of food, environmental politics, nuclear history, and globalisation – and while Dr Sato’s seminar topic hasn’t been announced yet – we know that it’ll be very interesting and insightful! While universities in Australia have had to endure major cuts due to lost revenue from international students, the production and dissemination of research and knowledge remains more important than ever. Until next month!

November Activity Report

30 November 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin

Planning for 2021

It’s safe to say that it’s been an extraordinarily turbulent year for everybody, worldwide. With mass restructuring of organisations and workplaces, universities have had to be quick to adapt to working online. From professional staff undertaking administrative tasks (me!), to academics teaching, researching, and writing, and students adapting to online learning; we’ve all worked very hard to keep the engines of knowledge production and dissemination going. In the midst of a global crisis, we’ve come to see how investment in research and education is more paramount than ever, as researchers from various disciplines all over the world converge to come up with solutions to complex global, health, and economic problems.

Here at the Japanese department, we’ve continued with the delivery of online teaching, and have also been planning and organising Inagaki seminars for 2021. We’re so excited to have the following confirmed speakers for next year: Dr Kyoko Sato (Stanford University), Dr Jon Glade (University of Melbourne), and Professor Miho Aoi (Gakushuin University). Watch this space for more details in the coming months! While we may remain online and apart for quite a while into the foreseeable future, we do hope that we’ll be able to have some of these seminars face-to-face again.

Things are looking brighter (quite literally) as we’ve just entered the days of summer here in Australia, and figuratively, in relation to 0 cases of ‘that’ virus in Victoria for well over a month. I did already say this last month, but it’s worth saying again; a huge thanks and congratulations to the collective effort that everyone’s been putting in to keep each other safe, while staying apart.

October Activity Report

30 October 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin

Endings and openings…

As you would’ve read from the past few updates on what’s been happening here at the GJO office in Melbourne, it’s been an extraordinarily challenging time for not only the University of Melbourne, but Melburnians generally, with the state of Victoria under one of the world’s longest COVID19 lockdowns. However, at the end of October, we started to see (for the first time since June), 0 new cases in the state! Hooray! We applaud all Melburnians for their resilience and contribution to containing the virus that’s turned the world over on its head. Here at UoM, staff and students have worked tirelessly to continue university operations going; a huge well done to everyone who’s gotten through another semester). At the Japanese department, we’ve kept up our Inagaki seminar series (online, of course) with Associate Professor Claire Maree launching her book queerqueen: Linguistic Excess in Japanese Media in a Zoom webinar. The book explores the figure of the Japanese ‘queerqueen’, and traces the archetype’s role in shaping gender identifications and sexual orientations in the context of the “LGBT boom” in Japan. The launch also included comments from Professor Akihiro Ogawa and Cindi SturtzSreetharam – many thanks to them for their organisation and participation! As the academic year wraps up, it’s so nice to see some ‘blooming’ on the horizon – restrictions easing, the warm Spring weather and summer on the horizon, 0 cases, planning for 2021 (it’s going to be a new year already…?) and hopefully for many, some respite with being able to see friends or family again. Until next month!

September Activity Report

30 September 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin

Semester continues online…

September has been a busy month at the University of Melbourne, though we are just about to enter the non-teaching week (also known as mid-semester break) which gives students, teachers, and staff the chance to either pause or take some time to catch up on assignments and various other academic projects before returning for the second half of semester. Most operations continue online (if possible) since Melbourne is still under lockdown restrictions due to the pandemic. Here at the Japanese program, we’ve continued with organising our Inagaki seminar series (though it’s a shame we can’t be together in person to experience them), and Inagaki 14 will serve as the online book launch for queerqueen: Linguistic Excess in Japanese Media by Associate Professor Claire Maree, whose book explores the figure of the Japanese ‘queerqueen’, tracing this archetype’s role in shaping gender identifications and sexual orientations in the context of the “LGBT boom” in Japan. The launch will also include comments from Professor Akihiro Ogawa (University of Melbourne) and Cindi SturtzSreetharam. We think it’ll be an insightful and interesting lecture!

More information on this next month! Stay safe everyone!

August Activity Report

31 August 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin

Riding unknown waves…

The University of Melbourne is continuing to conduct its operations (mostly) online wherever it’s possible. At present, Victoria is the only state in Australia still in a State of Emergency and in lockdown due to – well, the obvious reason – COVID19. Here at the Japanese program, we have been continuing with organising our Inagaki seminar series (though it’s a shame we can’t be together in person to experience them), and Inagaki 13 will serve as the online book launch for New Frontiers in Japanese Studies – an important new anthology co-edited by Akihiro Ogawa (Professor of Japanese Studies here at UoM), and Phillip Seaton (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies). The launch will feature appearances by scholars and contributors to the volume – including Stacey Steele (University of Melbourne), Simon Avenell (Australian National University), Jun Ohashi (University of Melbourne), as well as the anthology editors (Akihiro and Philip) themselves. Topics covered include exporting and movement of theory and how it relates to tourism; intercultural learning not just in a university context but in a legal one too; and environmental activism.

More information on this next month! Stay safe everyone!

July Activity Report

5 August 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin

Semester begins…

Semester 2 started at the University of Melbourne this week with most operations continuing online wherever possible. Unfortunately with the surge of COVID19 cases in Victoria, a state of disaster has been declared in Victoria which also moved into stage 4 lockdown right before the semester began; placing more restrictions on movement than ever before as the state aims to contain the virus.

The university sector in Australia (and worldwide, too) has been going through some major changes in the pivot to online learning. The change in content delivery has huge ramifications for teaching and learning processes and outcomes; however this isn’t to say there hasn’t been a lot of resilience, creativity, and adaptability – with some changes that have been implemented sure to last into the future even as we (eventually…) move back into face-to-face mode.

The Japanese program at UoM is continuing its Inagaki seminar series; and preparation is underway for Inagaki 13 which will be an online book launch for New Frontiers in Japanese Studies – an important new anthology co-edited by Akihiro Ogawa (Professor of Japanese Studies here at UoM), and Phillip Seaton (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) – and will feature appearances by scholars/contributors to the volume.

Take care, stay safe, and until next month!

June Activity Report

30 June 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin

Semester ends but the tide continues…

Semester has ended at the university with exams taking place over a two-week period from mid-June until early July. We congratulate our hardworking students – not just here at the University of Melbourne – but other TUFS students studying in other parts of Australia for making it to the end of a very bizarre (mostly online) semester! While many are taking a much needed mid-semester break, the state of Victoria is heading into another lockdown as spikes in COVID19 arise yet again, and a lot of work is still being done behind closed doors to keep the university going, even amid enormous changes in the tertiary education sector in Australia.

Here at the Japanese Studies department, we have two upcoming book launches: one is for the recently published New Frontiers in Japanese Studies book co-edited by Akihiro Ogawa, Professor of Japanese Studies here at UoM, and Phillip Seaton (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies). The launch (which will happen over Zoom – as many things are for the time being…) will feature appearances by other contributors to the new anthology. We will also have another upcoming book launch with Claire Maree for her new book, queerqueen, which will happen in October.

Take care, stay safe, and until next month (and next semester)!

May Activity Report

31 May 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin

End of a strange but adaptive semester!

The university’s campuses remain shut as we are still in a Stage 3 State of Emergency; however, we are seeing some gradual changes as restrictions began to ease around mid-May. People have been allowed to have a small number of visitors over to their home, and restaurants and cafes were allowed to open earlier this week (still, with restrictions in numbers). The University of Melbourne has begun a roadmap to re-opening their campuses. However, people are still encouraged to work from home if they can, socially distance, and remain cautious as the virus remains out in the world. In spite of all this, it remains a busy time at the university not only with the rapid transition everyone has had to make to deliver online teaching and learning, but also with the end of the semester looming as students enter the SWOTVAC period. SWOTVAC, if you don’t know, in an Australian university context, stands for “Study Without Teaching Vacation” and is basically a week prior to final exams for revision and studying. We wish our students the best of luck in completing what has been a completely bizarre semester. Well done to everyone — not just in Melbourne — but universities worldwide, for being so adaptive!

Take care, and catch up next month, when we may or may not be back on campus…

April Activity Report

5 May 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
Lu Lin

New forms (and frontiers) of transmission

The University of Melbourne’s campuses remain shut down as we are still in Stage 3 State of Emergency in Victoria until mid-May. It’s not difficult to know what I’m referring to! However, thanks to everyone’s collective efforts in remaining isolated and apart since the imposed lockdown in March — Australia’s been lucky in ‘flattening the curve’ (slowing down the growth of new COVID-19 cases) and easing pressure on our healthcare system. My sincerest thanks to everybody (especially essential workers putting themselves on the frontline) who are working to take care of each other.

In saying that, this also goes for educators (of all kinds) — ensuring the transmission of knowledge continues to flow (good communication is more important than ever) — even while we are attempting to slow the transmission of illness.

The University of Melbourne has been very adaptive in this regard; students, academics, and professional staff coordinating together in the delivery (and intake!) of high quality teaching material. Here at the Japanese studies program, Professor Akihiro Ogawa and Philip Season (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) have co-edited a brilliant new anthology titled, New Frontiers in Japanese Studies, which was released 5 April, 2020.

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