Research Topics

• Ethnography of Africa and the anthropological examination of conflict
• Ethnographic study of East Indonesia and theoretical anthropological inquiry
• The examination of the ethnography of North Asia and historical anthropology of Southeast Asian peoples
• Anthropological study of artistic expression, body representation, and identity, and the examination of performance art in Southeast Asian (music, dance, play, stories, and gender)

Anthropology is a field of study that seeks to comprehensively understand the state of human society and culture through field research. The four faculty members have conducted field research for a long period of time in their respective sites including Southeast Asia, Africa, North Asia, and Japan. In addition, the graduate students who are affiliated with this research area are also conducting research work in various parts of the world including Japan.

Faculty members of the research field of anthropology conduct the following research:

1. Examination of the relationship between local issues and changes such as the penetration of the national administration, and humanitarian/development assistance and peace building mainly in the fields in Sudan and Ethiopia (Professor Kurimoto).
2. Examination of the exchanges and social relations from the perspective of a language-game primarily on the Island of Flores in Indonesia (Professor Nakagawa).
3. Anthropological research of a material culture and examination of the preservation of native cultures in North Asia and Southeast Asia (Professor ZGUSTA).
4. Anthropological examination of characteristics of performance art and the relationship between artistic expression/representation of body and identity primarily in Southeast Asia (Professor Fukuoka).

Note that the research track in Anthropology works with the “Science, Technology and Culture” in research and education. Our track also played a central role in the Global COE Program “A Global Research Hub for Conflict Studies in the Humanities,” which was implemented in the Academic Years 2007 through 2011 and has subsequently been making use of the project’s output in research and education.