On October 1, 2009, two new research areas were introduced as new core research projects: “Anthropological Studies of Inclusion and Autonomy in the Human World” and “Anthropological Studies of Materiality.” Research in these two areas will be conducted over a six-year period in the of the National Museum of Ethnology’s second phase, following its incorporation as a National Institute for the Humanities.
Core Project Coordinator: NISHIO Tetsuo
Research in this area aims to re-examine the person-to-person
relationships against the backdrop of the advance of globalization through an
anthropology centered interdisciplinary approach with the ultimate aim of contributing
to building a new society. Today’s society requires conceptual frameworks
and policies that can help us maintain the autonomy of minorities and achieve
social justice. Specifically, the main research themes in this area include the
public domain, citizen movements, networks, trans-nationality, statelessness,
multi-nationality, welfare, and aid.
The following project has been underway since October 1, 2009.
- Project name: “The Anthropology of Supporting: Constructing Global Reciprocity”
(Project leader: SUZUKI Motoi; Project period: October 2009 to March 2013) - Project name: “The Anthropology of Care and Education for Life”
(Project leader: SUZUKI Nanami; Project period: April 2011 to March 2014) - Project name: “State, Community and Identity in the Modern Hispanic World: A Study of Resettlement Policy in Spanish America”
(Project leader: SAITO Akira; Project period: April 2011 to March 2014)
Research in this area aims to re-examine the relationship between the material and the human against the backdrop of the advance of globalization through an anthropology centered interdisciplinary approach with the aim of a developing a new view on human nature. More specifically, the research is designed to shed new light on the relationship between the material world and people in the contexts of industrialization, urbanization, and borderlessness, and identify the nature of this relationship from a long-term, historical perspective. The main research themes include: fetishism; collection and possession of materials and material objects; and the relationship between people and the products of leading-edge science and technology, such as artificial intelligence and information technology. The project has been underway since October 1, 2009.
- Project name: “The Cult of Things: Possession, Collection and Representation”
(Project leader: TAKEZAWA Shoichiro; Project period: October 2009 to March 2013) - Project name: “The Anthropological Study of Humans and Textiles”
Project leader: SEKIMOTO Teruo; Project period: January 2011 to March 2013)