Kyushu University Ito Campus Central Library and surroundings at night
David Weiss, Assistant Professor
PhD, University of Tübingen
Japanese Literature and Intellectual History
David Weiss’s research focuses on the history of ideas, especially the mythology of ancient Japan and its function in Japan’s cultural memory, including its utilization in modern nation-building and in justifying colonial rule. More broadly, he is interested in the intercultural transfer of ideas (especially within the Sinosphere) and questions of identity formation (perceptions of self and other). Weiss teaches courses in premodern Japanese literature, intellectual history, and cultural memory studies.
Yu Yang, Assistant Professor
PhD, Columbia University
Modern Japanese Art and Architecture, Spatial History and Urbanism in East Asia
Yang is an art historian specializing in modern Japan. Her research focuses on the circulation of people, artifacts, and ideas within the Japanese empire during the first half of the twentieth century. Her current manuscript examines architectural practices and urban spaces in colonial Manchuria (1905-1945). Her broader interests include urbanism, colonial modernity, photography, and the visual culture in modern East Asia. Yang teaches courses on modern Japanese art and architecture, the spatial history of modern East Asia, and colonial empire.
Ellen Van Goethem, Professor
PhD, Ghent University
History, archaeology, religious beliefs and practices of ancient Japan
Van Goethem’s research focuses on the Asuka, Nara, and Heian periods, particularly on the layout of Japan’s ancient capital cities, on religious and philosophical thought underpinning the construction of these cities, and on inscribed wooden tablets (mokkan). More recently, her research has centered on site divination in East Asia and the presence of Chinese cosmological symbolism and practices in Shinto shrines. She teaches courses in premodern Japanese history, archaeology, material culture, and beliefs; research methods; and East-West encounters.
Anton Schweizer, Professor
PhD, Heidelberg University
Japanese art and architectural history, cultures of spatial thinking
At the center of Schweizer’s research is the employment of art and artifacts in space—objects and their use in spatial contexts, architectural decoration and the exhibition of objects, and site planning in the widest sense. This also includes depictions of works of architecture in painting. Main foci of his work are transcultural exchanges during the First Global Age (1550-1800), issues of materiality, manufacturing technologies, and temporality. An additional area of interest comprises manifestations of otherness (depictions of Asian, African, and European foreigners; courtesans; and samurai), transcultural picture migration, diplomatic gifts, and political iconography.
Caleb Carter, Associate Professor
PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
Japanese religions and Buddhist studies
On research leave: 2024-25 AY
Carter specializes in Buddhist Studies and Japanese religions, with a focus on religions and religiosity in the mountains. He is an expert on the mountain-based tradition of Shugendō and has also published on early modern forms of religious place-making, ‘dark pilgrimage,’ and present-day ‘power spots’ in Japan. His teaching and research revolve around themes that include space and place, narrative and folklore, women and gender, and ecology.
