The CSEAS Reading Group provides a forum to facilitate conversations which can build innovatively upon the strong trans-disciplinary foundations of the Center and serve as an incubator for innovative new research. With a reading list and active discussions in English — as well as an eye toward developing discussions of English-language translations of scholarship originally published in Japanese — this can further enhance the unique potential of CSEAS as a leader in Kyoto University’s initiatives toward greater internationalization. The reading group sessions foster broader engagement with diverse currents in thought across multiple disciplines that prepares CSEAS Faculty, Visitors, and ASAFAS graduate students to engage with emerging global conversations and to consider how they might be transformed in light of the unique perspective of our home here in Kyoto.
The reading group meets two-hour sessions every other month to discuss carefully selected titles that have both made a significant contribution to their respective fields, and which have the potential to stimulate productive conversations of broader interest. Each session is led by a faculty volunteer with an introduction that contextualizes the book and presents some broad questions to open up the general discussion.
Organizer: Julie de los Reyes, Chika Yamada, Noboru Ishikawa, and R. Michael Feener

CSEAS Journal Reading Session
Date & Time: Postponed: April 21 February 10, 2025 (Monday), 4–6 PM
Venue: Tonantei (Inamori 201)
Next Session:
April 21 2025
Journal Reading Session


Science Advances, 9(29): eadh5517. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adh5517.
Science of The Total Environment, 791: 148373. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148373
(Presenter: Chika Yamada)
Previous Sessions:
Nov 2024 Sep 2024 May 2024 Apr 2024
Nov 2023 Sep 2023 May 2023 Mar 2023 Jan 2023
Nov 2022 Sep 2022 Jul 2022 May 2022 Mar 2022 Jan 2022
Nov 2021 Sep 2021 Jul 2021 May 2021
22 Nov 2024
Roundtable Session
Soseki Natsume. Botchan.
Soseki Natsume. My Individualism and the Philosophical Foundations of Literature.
Penguin Books, 2023. 176 p. ISBN: 9780241675281
Tuttle Publishing, 2005. 142 p. ISBN: 9784805307670
“Unmistakably, the life quest of the well-known Japanese novelist Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) is the conflict between belonging and isolation. Left alone shortly after his birth, adopted by a servant couple, and later returned to his unwilling family, the author developed in solitude. The struggle of Botchan (1906), the young teacher in a rural school, can be read as the personal narrative of Natsume, but it is as well a reflection of the drastic changes of the Meiji Restoration (from 1868 on) in which traditionalism collided with modernization. The book is about finding one’s own path and staying true to oneself, in a social environment full of conservatism, hypocrisy, and strategic maneuvering. The same holds for My Individualism (1911), a lecture written in a compelling, conversational style. Open-heartedly, Natsume talks about his personal struggles with the manipulative, social dynamics of a traditionalistic society. Passionately, he encourages his student audience to strengthen their individuality and self-consciousness, despite any social pressure to conform. Botchan owes its popularity to its straightforward, witty, smooth writing style; but foremost, many readers will identify with the challenges of the protagonist in a society that favors harmony over individualism. The novel truly is a modern classic because Natsume has succeeded in beautifully expressing a personal, time-bound theme into the universal human question of balancing belonging and individual freedom.” (Presenter: Jeanine Schreurs)
Benjamin Hegarty. The Made-Up State: Technology, Trans Femininity, and Citizenship in Indonesia.
Cornell University Press, 2022. 198 p. ISBN: 9781501766657
“The book examines how gender has shaped citizenship in modern Indonesia, focusing on the experiences of waria—trans-feminine individuals—through oral histories and archival research. The book explores waria participation in visual and bodily technologies, including psychiatry, medical transsexuality, and beauty practices, highlighting their strategic navigation of local power dynamics. Hegarty challenges views that Indonesia’s trans communities are merely part of a global trans rights movement, emphasizing their unique engagement with local aesthetics and colonial legacies. The analysis delves into the New Order’s paternalistic integration of waria through vocational training and spatial regulation, revealing how these policies offered conditional recognition while enforcing control. Situating these dynamics within Indonesia’s historical and cultural contexts, Hegarty provides a nuanced contribution to Southeast Asian studies, gender theory, and postcolonial anthropology.” (Presenter: Chika Yamada)
Columbia University Press, 2018. 424 p. ISBN: 9780231182973
“Juxtaposing the Holocaust and the Nakba using the coordinating conjunction “and” represents a strikingly novel approach. In doing so, this anthology, authored collaboratively by 19 Jewish, Palestinian, and Arab scholars and writers, challenges the dominant narrative upheld by “the international community,” which frames the Holocaust as an unparalleled and sacrosanct tragedy in human history suffered exclusively by the Jewish people. The book seeks to foster recognition of the continuity between the Holocaust and the Nakba and to explore new frameworks and manners for historical interpretation and forms of tolerance.” (Presenter: Chika Obiya)
Sophie Chao. In the Shadow of the Palms: More-Than-Human Becomings in West Papua.
Duke University Press, 2022. 336 p. ISBN: 9781478018247
“The book explores the existential crisis of the Marinds in South Papua as they confront the invasion of oil palm plantations. Through a more-than-human lens, Chao examines how the neophyte transforms the Marind’s lifeworld, symbolized by the staple sago palm. Instead of antagonizing the state and corporations, however, the Marind recognize the agentive consciousness of the oil palm as a time-changing totem that has dramatically altered their environment: vibrant forests became monocultures, plastic drones replaced birds, the land’s wetness diminished, their dreams disrupted. Chao delves into these ontological ruptures within the realm of “abu-abu”—the ambiguity between the Marind’s cosmology and the forces of industrial capitalism and settler-colonialism—using material-discursive analysis of the palms to highlight the profound socio-environmental impacts. Chao depicts the stark dialectics between “dark anthropology” and “anthropology of the good”—oil versus sago palm, Javanese settlers versus endemic cassowaries, corporate growth versus pristine well-being. Such polarities, however, may overlook the nuanced, ambiguous spaces she initially aimed to explore. Chao may have ended up more pessimistic than Anna Tsing—whom she referenced rhythmically—in Mushrooms at the End of the World, where multispecies are said to thrive in capitalist ruins. Even Chao’s first three words express her absolute disgust toward the situation around the Bian River. Ultimately, In the Shadow… provides timely and valuable insights, especially in light of the ongoing desecrations in the land of Papua. I implore Indonesians to read this book, as the Papuan discourse may become more “abu-abu” under the shadow of the newly elected regime.” (Presenter: Youdiil Ophinni)
Grazia Ting Deng. Chinese Espresso: Contested Race and Convivial Space in Contemporary Italy.
Princeton University Press, 2024. 288 p. ISBN: 9780691245799
“Through ethnographic research in Bologna, Deng examines the prevalence of Chinese-owned cafes in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and how Chinese immigrants have become central to the reproduction of Italy’s coffee culture. The book focuses on the social life within the coffee bar, contrasting the familiarity of espresso, an iconic symbol of Italian identity, with the multicultural realities of a contemporary Italian bar and its increasingly diverse clientele. It examines how ‘conviviality’—the art of living together—is produced through the practice of espresso-making, as these cafes become sites of social interaction, community formation, and sometimes conflict, highlighting the complex ways in which race, identity, and migration intersect and are negotiated in everyday social spaces.” (Presenter: Julie de los Reyes)
Hannah Arendt. The Origins of Totalitarianism.
Penguin Books, 2017. 752 p. ISBN: 9780241316757
“In sharp contrast to the current state of much IR theory, Arendt’s The Origins of Totalitarianism is a work of bold theorizing, postulating multiple hypotheses as her analysis develops, each supported by dense footnotes on nearly every pages that reveals the depth of reading and research underpinning her observations and conclusions. Arendt locates the sources of political movements deep within societies, in the domain of social intercourse, as well as in the effects of class and economic factors. In a sense her work can be seen as anticipating later feminist scholars who proclaimed that the personal is political. At the same time, Arendt also resembles her forbear, Norbert Elias, another German Jew and profoundly insightful sociologist who studied matters of etiquette and manners for what they said about relations between different groups. Arendt is ultimately able to bring these perpsectives into conversation at multiple scales to address issues including the rise of political movements within states, the advent of imperialism, and the history of political anti-Semitism. For contemporary readers, Arendt offers sharp insights into the reasons for the retreat of democracy globally, and thus her work remains an important point of discussion both within and beyond the academy today.” (Presenter: Gregory Raymond)
Princeton University Press, 2018. 528 p. ISBN: 9780691183251
“In The Great Leveler (2017), Walter Scheidel provides a detailed historical analysis spanning from the Stone Age to current times, arguing that four major types of violent shocks—wars, revolutions, state collapses, and pandemics—have been the primary forces driving economic equality within societies/countries. In contrast, peaceful reforms have rarely achieved significant or lasting leveling effects.” (Presenter: Antonio Postigo)
Profile Books, 2013. 560 p. ISBN: 9781846684302
“Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson is an essential read for anyone interested in understanding the deep-rooted causes of global inequality and the dynamics of economic and political development. The book masterfully argues that inclusive institutions—those that promote broad participation and equitable access to opportunities—are the cornerstone of a nation’s success, while extractive institutions—designed to benefit a narrow elite—lead to stagnation and failure.
What makes this book particularly compelling is its interdisciplinary approach, drawing on economics, political science, and history to support its arguments. From the divergent paths of North and South Korea to the colonial legacies of Latin America, the authors use a wealth of historical examples to illustrate how institutional differences drive economic outcomes. Their argument challenges deterministic explanations based on geography, culture, or even historical luck, making a strong case for the pivotal role of institutions in shaping the destiny of nations.
Acemoglu and Robinson’s contribution to understanding the roots of prosperity and failure earned them the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, solidifying the significance of their work. The book not only offers a framework for analyzing global inequalities but also serves as a call to action for fostering institutional change. It’s a thought-provoking, accessible, and transformative read for policymakers, scholars, and anyone curious about the forces that shape our world.” (Presenter: Mostafa Khalili)
Brill, 2023. 201 p. ISBN: 9783506790200
“The book discusses peace, reconciliation, and engagement processes between Muslims and Christians in Maluku, eastern Indonesia, during and after the communal interreligious violence from 1999 to 2005 as well as analyzes centuries-old indigenous practices of constructive interreligious engagements between the two religious groups grounded in pela-gandong (i.e. the orality-based practices of a cultural network of relationships) arguing that this symbolic-imagined local tradition of Christian-Muslim brotherhood is useful for establishing productive interreligious engagement, conciliation, and harmony in post-violence Maluku.” (Presenter: Sumanto Al Qurtuby)
Philippe Beaujard. The Worlds of the Indian Ocean: A Global History.
Cambridge University Press, 2019.
2 vols., 946 & 952 p. Online ISBN: 9781108341004 & 9781108341219
“This monumental work covers more than three millennia over the course of two massive volumes. Beaujard posits a long view of global history taking shape across a plurality of interconnected zones linked through dynamic engagements with the Indian Ocean. His coverage of each period then has significant sections on an expansive range of geographic areas that he presents as integrated within his capacious conceptualization of the ‘worlds’ of the Indian Ocean: Egypt, the Near East, Persia, India, Southeast Asia, China, Arabia, East Africa, and Madagascar. Not only is the geographic scope immense, but the work covers a truly longue durée history ranging from the sixth millennium BCE to the 15th century of the Common Era.
Along this expansive chronology, Beaujard links early state formation in Iraq, Mesopotamia, India, China to the emergence of long-distance exchange routes which. In the process, we can track what he refers to as the “pulsations” of a world system, dynamics of co-evolution as well as of domination, and insights into what he characterizes as the “co-evolution” of both imperial centers and “semi-peripheries.” At the same time, he periodically draws upon his own specialized work in Madagascar to call attention to the dynamics of so-called “fringe cultures” to highlight the ways in which considerations of these components shed new light into processes of “changing cultural blending” (II: 649).” (Presenter: R. Michael Feener)
27 Sep 2024
Jason De Leon. The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail. Photographed by Michael Wells.
University of California Press, 2015. 384 p. ISBN: 9780520282759
“De Leon’s anthropological investigation into the necroviolence that irregular migrants experience by attempting to cross the US-Mexico border through the Sonoran Desert has led the reading group to discuss how to research and document migration and violence from multiple angles, critically reflecting on (their own) disciplinary, ethical, and personal boundaries and limitations. The key question the book inspired in the discussion was how to write about (and with) those marginalized and subjected to violence to make policy makers face up to marginalized peoples’ suffering (humanise them), and to push for solutions to their conundrums?” (Presenter: Miriam Jaehn)
24 May 2024
Kathryn Paige Harden. The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality.
Princeton University Press, 2021. 312 p. ISBN: 9780691190808
“Approximately 99.6% of the three billion bases in our genome are identical among humans. The remaining 0.4%, however, has sparked fierce debates over the past two centuries: does genetic variance influence societal outcomes? From Francis Galton to the authors of The Bell Curve, eugenicists have argued that superior traits, e.g., intelligence, are inherited and affect societal performance, e.g., socioeconomic status. Even Francis Crick, renowned for the double helix, lamented how eugenics has been “badly named” since the Third Reich. In The Genetic Lottery, Harden counters these views by likening genetic variance to a “lottery” that may reward or disadvantage individuals. Genetics does not justify the hierarchical taxonomization of humans and, instead, emphasizes our responsibility to transform systems that reward inequality of traits toward inclusivity, regardless of the lottery’s outcome.
As an accomplished geneticist, Harden intuitively explained genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and the polygenic index—the cumulative effect of genetic variants that may predict societal outcomes. She then navigates the ethical and political issues surrounding genetic studies before concluding with a utopian vision of how science should embrace genetics while promoting anti-eugenics perspectives. Some may find the heavy-handed “Americanized” political correctness amusing or perceive the book as a plea for moral and financial justification for her field. It may also be less than convincing for skeptics regarding the egalitarian impact of genetic studies. Nevertheless, The Genetic Lottery is passionate about the future of genetics and earnest in its message of fostering a fair and just society.” (Presenter: Youdiil Ophinni)
5 Apr 2024
Webb Keane. Ethical Life: Its Natural and Social Histories.
Princeton University Press, 2015. 304 p. ISBN: 9780691167732
“This anthropological exploration of ethical life as formulated across a diverse range of perspectives from the natural and social sciences pushes beyond relativism to engage with imaginations of ethical relationships as a crucial dimension of what makes us human. It prompts us to ask how we understand calls for ethical commitment as they may be framed in a wide range of contexts.” (Presenter: R. Michael Feener)
22 Nov 2023
Roundtable Session
Ned Blackhawk. The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History.
Yale University Press, 2023. 616 p. ISBN: 9780300276671
(Presenter: R. Michael Feener)
Mie Nakachi. Replacing the Dead: The Politics of Reproduction in the Postwar Soviet Union.
Oxford University Press, 2021. 352 p. ISBN: 9780190635138
“Based on a vast number of hidden and previously unused documents and materials, Nakachi examines how the Soviet Union became an “Abortion Empire” under its post-WWII pronatalist policies, implemented to address the catastrophic population decline caused by the war. The author highlights the efforts of a small but determined group of women, doctors, scholars, and medical officials who advocated for women’s reproductive rights. They sought to protect women’s health by opposing illegal, dangerous, and expensive abortions, while championing the right to make independent family planning decisions. Their struggle led to the re-legalization of abortion in the USSR in 1955. However, abortion became virtually the sole method of birth control, while the language of women’s reproductive rights was absent from public discourse under socialism. This book is widely regarded as a seminal work in Soviet gender studies.” (Presenter: Chika Obiya)
Kathryn Paige Harden. The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality.
Princeton University Press, 2021. 312 p. ISBN: 9780691190808
“Approximately 99.6% of the three billion bases in our genome are identical among humans. The remaining 0.4%, however, has sparked fierce debates over the past two centuries: does genetic variance influence societal outcomes? From Francis Galton to the authors of The Bell Curve, eugenicists have argued that superior traits, e.g., intelligence, are inherited and affect societal performance, e.g., socioeconomic status. Even Francis Crick, renowned for the double helix, lamented how eugenics has been “badly named” since the Third Reich. In The Genetic Lottery, Harden counters these views by likening genetic variance to a “lottery” that may reward or disadvantage individuals. Genetics does not justify the hierarchical taxonomization of humans and, instead, emphasizes our responsibility to transform systems that reward inequality of traits toward inclusivity, regardless of the lottery’s outcome.
As an accomplished geneticist, Harden intuitively explained genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and the polygenic index—the cumulative effect of genetic variants that may predict societal outcomes. She then navigates the ethical and political issues surrounding genetic studies before concluding with a utopian vision of how science should embrace genetics while promoting anti-eugenics perspectives. Some may find the heavy-handed “Americanized” political correctness amusing or perceive the book as a plea for moral and financial justification for her field. It may also be less than convincing for skeptics regarding the egalitarian impact of genetic studies. Nevertheless, The Genetic Lottery is passionate about the future of genetics and earnest in its message of fostering a fair and just society.” (Presenter: Youdiil Ophinni)
Adom Getachew. Worldmaking after Empire: The Rise and Fall of Self-Determination.
Princeton University Press, 2019. 288 p. ISBN: 9780691179155
“Adom Getachew explores what she calls the ‘failure of African regionalism,’ drawing on a myriad of voices to illustrate the tension between state formation and the drive for regionalism. This insightful work in the history of political thought sparked a discussion about archival research and its connection to colonialism at our session.” (Presenter: Tomoko Takahashi)
Seni Saowaphong. The Ghost (ปีศาจ).
Matichon Publishing House, 1957, 368 p. ISBN: 9789740218548
“The novel Pisat by Seni Saowaphong (the pen name of the diplomat Sakchai Bumrungpong, 1918–2014) is a moving story of love that transgresses class boundaries. The key protagonist of the novel, Sai Sima, is a lawyer from a humble rural background who falls in love with Rachani, a lawyer from a privileged class background. Their idealism unites them and both seek to free themselves from the bondage of the sakdina system, using their education to bring justice to the rural poor. In clear and beautifully written prose, Seni paints a vivid picture of an embattled sakdina class haunted by the ghosts of the future, the promises of modernity that to this day remain unfulfilled not only in Thailand but around the world. Hiramatsu Hideki has written a very thoughtful piece on the book in the Kyoto Review of Southeast Asia .” (Presenter: Lawrence Chua)
Metropolitan Books, 2020. 336 p. ISBN: 9781627798556
“The crux of this book is that Palestinians are not recognized as an independent people in the past, not only by the west (UK, US), but also not supported by the powers in the Middle East. Basically Palestinian sovereignty was not on the table when they decided to give the land to Israel.” (Presenter: Angie Kwan)
Chris Miller. Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology.
Scribner, 2022. 464 p. ISBN: 9781982172008
(Presenter: Tomohiro Machikita)
29 Sep 2023
Vaclav Smil. Energy and Civilization: A History.
The MIT Press, 2018. 568 p. ISBN: 9780262536165
(Presenter: Julie Ann de los Reyes)
26 May 2023
Princeton University Press, 2018. 464 p. ISBN: 9780691178431
“This book rethinks the relationship between genetic and cultural evolution, proposing that culture, not genes, drives human development. Through insights from history, primatology, anthropology, and neuroscience, it shows how collective learning and sociality shape our minds, bodies, and societies, producing increasingly complex technologies, languages, and institutions across generations. This perspective invites us to see cultural evolution as central to our genetic evolution, prompting questions about how future innovations, like AI, might transform human cognition and social structures.” (Presenter: Chika Yamada)
24 Mar 2023
Roundtable Session
Routledge, 1977. 276 p. ISBN: 9780714630502
(Presenter: Tania Li)
Jason De Leon. The Land of Open Graves: Living and Dying on the Migrant Trail.
Photographed by Michael Wells.
University of California Press, 2015. 384 p. ISBN: 9780520282759
“De Leon’s anthropological investigation into the necroviolence that irregular migrants experience by attempting to cross the US-Mexico border through the Sonoran Desert has led the reading group to discuss how to research and document migration and violence from multiple angles, critically reflecting on (their own) disciplinary, ethical, and personal boundaries and limitations. The key question the book inspired in the discussion was how to write about (and with) those marginalized and subjected to violence to make policy makers face up to marginalized peoples’ suffering (humanise them), and to push for solutions to their conundrums?” (Presenter: Miriam Jaehn)
Albert Glinsky. Switched On: Bob Moog and the Synthesizer Revolution.
Oxford University Press, 2022. 456 p. ISBN: 9780197642078
(Presenter: Mario Ivan Lopez)
Neferti X.M. Tadiar. Remaindered Life.
Duke University Press, 2022. 456 p. ISBN: 9781478017769
(Presenter: Walden Bello)
Elizabeth Lambourn. Abraham’s Luggage: A Social Life of Things in the Medieval Indian Ocean World.
Cambridge University Press, 2019. 317 p. ISBN: 9781316626276
(Presenter: R. Michael Feener)
Oded Galor. The Journey of Humanity: The Origins of Wealth and Inequality.
Dutton, 2022. 304 p. ISBN: 9780593185995
(Presenter: Tomohiro Machikita)
27 Jan 2023
Princeton University Press, 2021. 904 p. ISBN: 9780691179544
(Presenter: R. Michael Feener)
25 Nov 2022
David Graeber. Debt: The First 5,000 Years.
Melville House, 2021. 560 p. ISBN: 9781612194196
(Presenter: Yoko Hayami)
30 Sep 2022
Roundtable Session
Princeton University Press, 2018. 368 p. ISBN: 9780691177502
(Presenter: Tomohiro Machikita)
Julie Michelle Klinger. Rare Earth Frontiers: From Terrestrial Subsoils to Lunar Landscapes.
Cornell University Press, 2018. 340 p. ISBN: 9781501714597
“In Rare Earth Frontiers, Julie Klinger explores the crucial role of rare earth elements (REEs) in contemporary life, particularly in energy production and the transition to low-carbon systems. The book opens with a spoiler: despite their name, rare earths are not rare, but they are vital for manufacturing everything from electric vehicle batteries to solar panels. With the global supply of these elements overwhelmingly controlled by China, the book raises questions on the sustainability and equity of this system. It highlights the environmental and human costs of rare earth mining, particularly in regions where local populations bear the brunt of ecological destruction, and the uneven sharing of costs and benefits that result from the global demand for these resources.” (Presenter: Julie Ann de los Reyes)
Princeton University Press, 2017. 512 p. ISBN: 9780691174365
“This is one of two major books by John Tutino that challenges well-established ideas about the birth of capitalism in England. Tutino argues that the foundations of capitalism were laid in the Bajio and Spanish North America. His thesis is that the collapse of “silver capitalism” in New Spain allowed the development of capitalism in England and Western Europe. Particularly in this book, Tutino explains that the collapse of silver capitalism was largely a consequence of the rebellion and insurgency of the indigenous peoples, and from this point of view, we can identify Tutino’s work as a complement to the ideas initially marked by the works of James Scott in Southeast Asia and Kenneth Pomeranz in China. Tutino prompts us to ask how local communities simultaneously resisted, sustained and transformed capitalism in all its historical, industrial and regional variants.” (Presenter: Heriberto Ruiz Tafoya)
Charles Taylor. Modern Social Imaginaries.
Duke University Press, 2003. 232 p. ISBN: 9780822332930
“In this book, Taylor argues that a new conception of the moral order of society was central to Western modernity. After the long march, this shift shaped the social imaginary of large groups, and then, entire societies, giving rise to defining features of Western modernity such as the market economy, the public sphere, and self-governing people. Furthermore, the author contends that there are “multiple modernities,” reflecting the fact that non-Western cultures have modernized in distinct ways. He emphasizes the need to “localize” the Western experience of modernization to account for these diverse trajectories.” (Presenter: Chika Obiya)
Anne Fadiman. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down.
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997. 352 p. ISBN: 9780374267810
(Presenter: Nurul Huda Mohd. Razif)
Yale University Press, 1996. ISBN: 9780300060171
(Presenter: R. Michael Feener)
22 Jul 2022
James C. Scott. The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia.
Yale University Press, 2009. 464 p. ISBN: 9780300169171
(Presenter: Noboru Ishikawa)
27 May 2022
Adam B. Seligman and Robert P. Weller. How Things Count as the Same: Memory, Mimesis, and Metaphor.
Oxford University Press, 2018. 240 p. ISBN: 9780190888718
(Presenter: R. Michael Feener)
25 Mar 2022
Michael B. A. Oldstone. Viruses, Plagues, and History: Past, Present, and Future.
Oxford University Press, 2020. 512 p. ISBN: 9780190056780
“This historical exploration of viruses and plagues traces how epidemics have shaped global power structures and social hierarchies, from smallpox’s role in Latin America’s colonial conquests to yellow fever’s impact on African slavery. While the book overall emphasises prioritising health and natural science perspectives over cultural and economic dimensions, our discussions challenge this hierarchy, seeking instead a perspective that fully integrates socio-cultural and historical contexts—particularly relevant amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.” (Presenter: Chika Yamada)
28 Jan 2022
Roundtable Session
Princeton University Press, 2018. 464 p. ISBN: 9780691178431
“This book rethinks the relationship between genetic and cultural evolution, proposing that culture, not genes, drives human development. Through insights from history, primatology, anthropology, and neuroscience, it shows how collective learning and sociality shape our minds, bodies, and societies, producing increasingly complex technologies, languages, and institutions across generations. This perspective invites us to see cultural evolution as central to our genetic evolution, prompting questions about how future innovations, like AI, might transform human cognition and social structures.” (Presenter: Chika Yamada)
Thongchai Winichakul. Siam Mapped: A History of the Geo-Body of a Nation.
University of Hawai’i Press, 1997. 280 p. ISBN: 9780824819743
”The book tells an insightful story of Siam/Thailand’s transformation from a premodern state into a modern nation state with a significantly enhanced and expanded collective concept of nationhood. Siam Mapped challenges the prevailing modern historiography that portrays Thailand solely as a victim of Western colonial expansion. With a well-defined national boundary and a robust nationalist ideology, depicted as ‘geo-body,’ Thailand in fact exhibited several similarities to colonial powers.” (Presenter: Theara Thun)
Timothy Mitchell. Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil.
Verso, 2011. 304 p. ISBN: 9781804292495
“In Carbon Democracy: Political Power in the Age of Oil, Timothy Mitchell examines the profound impact of oil on political power and wealth, exploring for instance how the ambiguity surrounding oil reserves has been strategically used for political ends. Mitchell also takes a broader historical view, linking the rise of coal and oil to the development of democracy, industrialization, and colonialism, illustrating how fossil fuels shaped both agrarian transformations and the geopolitical landscape. The book provides a critical perspective on the era of limitless oil-driven growth, and invites us to imagine how the ongoing energy transition away from fossil fuels may shift global power dynamics and redefine political structures in the coming decades.” (Presenter: Julie Ann de los Reyes)
Duke University Press, 2018. 392 p. ISBN: 9781478000150
“This book integrates arguments about knowledge creation (epistemology), methodologies and pedagogies in the South, which is not a geographical location but an ethical-political category. In fact, it is a claim for the democratization of knowledge (cognitive democracy), which includes peoples’ knowledge, such as myths, folklore, rituals and other cultural practices ignored by the dominant norms and standards of scientific methods. This leads us to ask how knowledge institutions, such as disciplinary academies, journals, universities, etc., can be reformed to include as knowledge the wisdom that is transmitted orally, artistically, pictorially, aesthetically or spiritually.” (Presenter: Heriberto Ruiz Tafoya)
James C. Scott. The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia.
Yale University Press, 2009. 464 p. ISBN: 9780300169171
(Presenter: Noboru Ishikawa)
Michael Lewis. The Premonition: A Pandemic Story.
W. W. Norton, 2021. 320 p. ISBN: 9781324035534
“This book is about people working in the field of health administration struggling to combat pandemics. The book reminds us of the importance of each individual’s perception and action, which is often forgotten in the flow of major forces in health administration, which involves various stakeholders.” (Presenter: Ryota Sakamoto)
VU University Press, 1995. 295 p. ISBN: 9053833978
(Presenter: Cypri Dale)
Thomas Piketty. Capital and Ideology.
Translated by Arthur Goldhammer
Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2020. 1104 p. ISBN: 9780674980822
(Presenter: Tomohiro Machikita)
David Graeber. Debt: The First 5,000 Years.
Melville House, 2021. 560 p. ISBN: 9781612194196
(Presenter: Yoko Hayami)
Masuda Hajimu. Cold War Crucible: The Korean Conflict and the Postwar World.
Harvard University Press, 2015. 400 p. ISBN: 9780674598478
“This is probably the first book that seriously questioned, “What exactly was the Cold War for the ordinary people who had just survived WWII?” The book attempts to answer the question by incorporating various previously-unused sources from over 50 archives and libraries around the world. The resulting narrative of the early Cold War period is something that we have never heard of.” (Presenter: Kisho Tsuchiya)
Miguel Leon-Portilla, ed. The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico.
Beacon Press, 2006. 264 p. ISBN: 9780807055007
(Presenter: Mario Ivan Lopez)
Shahab Ahmed. What Is Islam?: The Importance of Being Islamic.
Princeton University Press, 2016. 624 p. ISBN: 9780691164182
(Presenter: R. Michael Feener)
Nov 2021
Richard Fox. More Than Words: Transforming Script, Agency, and Collective Life in Bali.
Cornell University Press, 2018. 264 p. ISBN: 9781501725357
“Through a critical and careful analysis of Balinese script, the book reveals the underlying motivations expressed through the production of palm-leaf manuscripts, amulets, and other inscribed artifacts. Its findings help expand our understanding of the complex interplay between the ‘living letter’ and the local community beyond our previous knowledge.” (Presenter: Theara Thun)
Sep 2021
Eyal Weizman. Forensic Architecture: Violence at the Threshold of Detectability.
ZoneBooks, 2017. 368 p. ISBN: 9781935408871
(Presenter: Tomohiro Machikita)
Jul 2021
Tung-Hui Hu. A Prehistory of the Cloud.
MIT Press, 2016. 240 p. ISBN: 9780262529969
(Presenter: R. Michael Feener)
May 2021
Hendrik Spruyt. The World Imagined.
Cambridge University Press, 2020. 410 p. ISBN: 9781108811743
(Presenter: R. Michael Feener)