C ent r e N ews
Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies
North American Studies Programme
Professor Sho Konishi, Associate Professor in Modern Japanese History
Dr Halbert Jones, Director of the St Antony’s College North American Studies Programme, Senior Research Fellow in North American Studies
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The speakers attended High Table after the ‘Slow Cities’ event. From Left to Right, Professor Sho Konishi, Mr Pier Giorgio Oliveti, Mrs Hirai, Dr Peter Matanle, Professor Taro Hirai, Professor Hirokazu Sakuno, Miss Heuishilja Chang
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e held the workshop ‘Slow Cities? The Revitalisation of Shrinking Communities in Japan’ to discuss shrinking Japanese communities and the idea of the Slow City at large. The term ‘slow city’ may have originated in Europe as a sustainable rural development movement in the 1990’s, but it could be argued that the phenomenon was always a part of the Japanese experience of modernity. This was not a phenomenon that was postmodern or anti-modern, but rather a modern notion of progress that incorporated the idea of ‘slowness’. Here at Oxford, the temporality of slowness drew together participants from multiple disciplines, including environmental studies, economics, geography, history, politics and sociology. Scholars came from Japan, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK. The roundtable talk ended the workshop by revealing the multidimensionality and complex nature of shrinkage and modernity itself. The event was funded by the Japanese Embassy/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan in collaboration with the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies.
Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies Podcasts https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/units/nissan-institute-japanese-studies
n Trinity Term 2016, the North A merican Studies Programme celebrated the publication of Governing the North American Arctic: Sovereignty, Security, and Institutions, a n ed ited volu me resulting from a highly successful international conference convened jointly by the Programme and by Oxford’s Rothermere A merican Institute. With issues arising from climate change drawing increased at tent ion to t he cha l lenge s of governance in the Arctic, this book This volume emerged out of a makes an original contribution highly successful conference by examining the experience of convened jointly by the North American Studies Programme and the Canadian Far North, Alaska, the Rothermere a nd Green la nd – d istinctively American Institute. ‘North American’ Arctic regions bound together by a common Inuit cultural heritage and by their position within national political systems that are both federal and democratic. The volume places contemporary developments into historical context, and it brings together the perspectives of leading scholars, government officials, and the inhabitants of the North American Arctic. The Programme’s termly seminar series on North American regional issues has also continued, covering such topics as USLatin American relations, decolonisation in the Caribbean, and the foreign policy implications of the US presidential elections.
North American Studies Podcasts http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/keywords/north-american-studies
Russian and Eurasian Studies Centre Professor Roy Allison, Director of the Russian and Eurasian Studies Centre, Professor of Russian and Eurasian International Relations
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Svetlana Alexievich, Nobel Prize-winning writer and journalist, addressed the Russian and Eurasian Centre on the ‘The History of the Russian-Soviet soul’. For the podcast of the talk see: http://www.politics.ox.ac.uk/ podcast-series/elliot-lecture-the-history-of-the-russiansoviet-soul.html. © Chris Boland - www.chrisboland.com
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he Elliott Lecture by the Belarusian Svetlana Alexievich, winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature, was a clear Centre highlight. Alexievich’s books depict life during and after the Soviet Union through the experience of individuals, using interviews to create a collage of a wide range of voices, in what has sometimes been referred to as ‘documentary novels’, moving in the boundary between reporting and fiction. Her presentation, The History of the Russian-Soviet Soul, insightfully introduced by Oliver Ready, drew on her writings but intermingled literature with history, philosophy, society and politics. It gripped a packed Nissan Lecture Theatre. Another special event was a fascinating
Russian and Eurasian Studies Podcasts https://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/keywords/russia
autobiographica l ta lk by St A ntony’s alumna Professor Sheila Fitzpatrick, A Spy in the Archives (a metaphorical spy!). At a time when many find research in Russia more challenging Fitzpatrick reminded us how, even in the years of deep Soviet rule, with perseverance it was possible to carry out original research. As usual the Monday Seminars spanned diverse topics in history, politics, culture and society, beyond the USSR and Russia to other Eurasian states. Professor Archie Brown received in Philadelphia a 2015 Distinguished Contribution to Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies Award from the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies; Professor Robert Service provided extensive expert witness testimony to the Litvinenko Inquiry. Dr Leila Aliyeva’s continued attachment to the Centre also brought valuable expertise on Azerbaijan and the wider South Caucasus region.