Endlessly curious about Godzilla, environmental history, and the Japanese economy.
Passionate about diversity, program-building in higher education,
and BBQ (among many other things).
|
Bill Tsutsui is an award-winning scholar and teacher, an experienced academic leader,
and an outspoken supporter of the public humanities, international education, and more inclusive, accessible colleges and universities. He researches, writes, and speaks widely on Japanese economic and environmental history, Japanese popular culture (especially the Godzilla movies), Japanese-American identity, and issues in higher education. He is highly opinionated about BBQ, proud to have once driven the Zamboni at an NHL game, and slightly embarrassed to be Level 40 in Pokemon Go. |
News, Media, and Upcoming Events
"In Memoriam: Paul E. Dunscomb, 1963-2025"
Association for Asian Studies #AsiaNow Blog
March 10, 2025
Read it here.
Named a "2025 Icon of Education" in Ingram's, Kansas City's Business Magazine
February 2025
Read about it here.
Media Source: "What a 70-Year-Old Firebreathing Lizard Reveals About Humanity"
The Economist
December 19, 2024
Read it here.
Publication: Oceanic Japan: The Archipelago in Pacific and Global History
Edited by Stefan Huebner, Nadin Hee, Ian J. Miller, and William M. Tsutsui
Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2024.
Order the book here.
Publication: "Is Your War over Now?
Nationalism, Nostalgia, and Japan’s Long Postwar from Gojira (1954) to Godzilla Minus One (2023)"
Humanities 13: 158.
Read the open-access article here.
Moderator: "Advancing Mutual Understanding Through the Creative Industries: Is Godzilla a Cultural Ambassador?"
with Commissioner Tokura Shunichi, Agency for Cultural Affairs, and President Matsuoka Hiroyasu, Toho Co., Ltd.
CULCON Symposium, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art
February 18, 2025
Invited Lecture: "Godzilla vs the Bubble: Consumption, Conceit, and Compulsion in Late-Capitalist Japan"
Center for Japanese Studies, Portland State University
5:30pm PT, May 6, 2025
More information here.
Invited Workshop: "Japanese History and Society through Godzilla"
National Faculty Development Institute, “Incorporating Japanese Studies into the Undergraduate Curriculum”
American Association of State Colleges & Universities and San Diego State University
June 2, 2025
Recipient: Lisa Minghetto Award for Distinguished Service,
American Society for Environmental History
April 6, 2024
Appointment: Vice Chair, Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission and CULCON U.S. Panel
More information here.
Media Source: "The Godzilla Story: How a Child of Hiroshima Charmed the World"
The Times (London)
December 16, 2023
Read it here.
Podcast: "Thoughts on Godzilla Minus One"
Krewe of Japan Podcast (Japan Society of New Orleans)
December 15, 2023
Listen here.
Radio Interview: "Oppenheimer, Godzilla Minus One and the Birth of the Atomic Bomb Onscreen"
"Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud," CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio One,
December 12, 2023
Listen here.
Read about it here.
Media Source: "Godzilla Minus One: How a 70-Year-Old Monster Stays Evergreen"
The Christian Science Monitor, December 12, 2023
Read it here.
Podcast: "Godzilla Minus One with Bill Tsutsui and Akiko Takenaka"
Historians at the Movies, Episode 54
December 10, 2023
Listen here.
"Godzilla is coming back! Here's how the monster became a symbol for real life crises"
Interview on NPR All Things Considered
September 9, 2023
Listen here.
All Hail the King of Monsters - An Interview with Godzilla Expert and Author Bill Tsutsui
The Snags & Silky Podcast
Listen here.
Media Source: CNBC feature on Godzilla's Enduring Popularity
November 3, 2022
Read it here.
Radio Interview: KUER (Salt Lake City NPR) "RadioWest"
"Through the Lens: Godzilla"
November 3, 2022
Listen here.
Podcast: "Humility and the Academic Administrator"
How to Be Wrong Podcast on the New Books Network
hosted by Dr. John Traphagan
Listen here.
Feature Blog: "Imagining Japanese Monsters with Dr. Bill Tsutsui"
Humanities in American Life blog, Federation of State Humanities Councils
May 19, 2021
Read it here.
Interview on Toho Kingdom
July 22, 2021
Read it here.
Feature Article: "A Godzilla Crash Course"
The Harvard Crimson, April 15, 2021
Read it here.
Radio Interview: Sirius XM BYUradio "Top of Mind"
April 7, 2021
Media Source: Robert Ito, "When King Kong Accidentally Met Godzilla"
The New York Times, March 30, 2021
Read it here.
Feature Article: "Round 2: 'Godzilla vs. Kong'"
The Harvard Gazette, March 29, 2021
Read it here.
Publication: "Ordinary Happiness in Extraordinary Times"
Connect Magazine (Arkansas Humanities Council), Fall 2020
Read it here.
Podcast Interview: "Japan's Premier Prime Ministers,
Growing Up with Godzilla, and the Challenges for Higher Education"
Asia Global Podcasts with Alejandro Reyes, October 7, 2020
Listen here.
Publication: "From Abe to Suga: Japan's Quest for Inspiring Leadership"
AsiaGlobal Online, Hong Kong University, September 30, 2020
Read it here.
Profile Article: "Arkansas' King of the Monsters"
AY Magazine, October 2020
Read the piece by Dustin Jayroe here.
Media Source: NBC News Asian America feature on Godzilla and the Atomic Bombs
Read it here.
Association for Asian Studies #AsiaNow Blog
March 10, 2025
Read it here.
Named a "2025 Icon of Education" in Ingram's, Kansas City's Business Magazine
February 2025
Read about it here.
Media Source: "What a 70-Year-Old Firebreathing Lizard Reveals About Humanity"
The Economist
December 19, 2024
Read it here.
Publication: Oceanic Japan: The Archipelago in Pacific and Global History
Edited by Stefan Huebner, Nadin Hee, Ian J. Miller, and William M. Tsutsui
Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2024.
Order the book here.
Publication: "Is Your War over Now?
Nationalism, Nostalgia, and Japan’s Long Postwar from Gojira (1954) to Godzilla Minus One (2023)"
Humanities 13: 158.
Read the open-access article here.
Moderator: "Advancing Mutual Understanding Through the Creative Industries: Is Godzilla a Cultural Ambassador?"
with Commissioner Tokura Shunichi, Agency for Cultural Affairs, and President Matsuoka Hiroyasu, Toho Co., Ltd.
CULCON Symposium, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art
February 18, 2025
Invited Lecture: "Godzilla vs the Bubble: Consumption, Conceit, and Compulsion in Late-Capitalist Japan"
Center for Japanese Studies, Portland State University
5:30pm PT, May 6, 2025
More information here.
Invited Workshop: "Japanese History and Society through Godzilla"
National Faculty Development Institute, “Incorporating Japanese Studies into the Undergraduate Curriculum”
American Association of State Colleges & Universities and San Diego State University
June 2, 2025
Recipient: Lisa Minghetto Award for Distinguished Service,
American Society for Environmental History
April 6, 2024
Appointment: Vice Chair, Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission and CULCON U.S. Panel
More information here.
Media Source: "The Godzilla Story: How a Child of Hiroshima Charmed the World"
The Times (London)
December 16, 2023
Read it here.
Podcast: "Thoughts on Godzilla Minus One"
Krewe of Japan Podcast (Japan Society of New Orleans)
December 15, 2023
Listen here.
Radio Interview: "Oppenheimer, Godzilla Minus One and the Birth of the Atomic Bomb Onscreen"
"Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud," CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio One,
December 12, 2023
Listen here.
Read about it here.
Media Source: "Godzilla Minus One: How a 70-Year-Old Monster Stays Evergreen"
The Christian Science Monitor, December 12, 2023
Read it here.
Podcast: "Godzilla Minus One with Bill Tsutsui and Akiko Takenaka"
Historians at the Movies, Episode 54
December 10, 2023
Listen here.
"Godzilla is coming back! Here's how the monster became a symbol for real life crises"
Interview on NPR All Things Considered
September 9, 2023
Listen here.
All Hail the King of Monsters - An Interview with Godzilla Expert and Author Bill Tsutsui
The Snags & Silky Podcast
Listen here.
Media Source: CNBC feature on Godzilla's Enduring Popularity
November 3, 2022
Read it here.
Radio Interview: KUER (Salt Lake City NPR) "RadioWest"
"Through the Lens: Godzilla"
November 3, 2022
Listen here.
Podcast: "Humility and the Academic Administrator"
How to Be Wrong Podcast on the New Books Network
hosted by Dr. John Traphagan
Listen here.
Feature Blog: "Imagining Japanese Monsters with Dr. Bill Tsutsui"
Humanities in American Life blog, Federation of State Humanities Councils
May 19, 2021
Read it here.
Interview on Toho Kingdom
July 22, 2021
Read it here.
Feature Article: "A Godzilla Crash Course"
The Harvard Crimson, April 15, 2021
Read it here.
Radio Interview: Sirius XM BYUradio "Top of Mind"
April 7, 2021
Media Source: Robert Ito, "When King Kong Accidentally Met Godzilla"
The New York Times, March 30, 2021
Read it here.
Feature Article: "Round 2: 'Godzilla vs. Kong'"
The Harvard Gazette, March 29, 2021
Read it here.
Publication: "Ordinary Happiness in Extraordinary Times"
Connect Magazine (Arkansas Humanities Council), Fall 2020
Read it here.
Podcast Interview: "Japan's Premier Prime Ministers,
Growing Up with Godzilla, and the Challenges for Higher Education"
Asia Global Podcasts with Alejandro Reyes, October 7, 2020
Listen here.
Publication: "From Abe to Suga: Japan's Quest for Inspiring Leadership"
AsiaGlobal Online, Hong Kong University, September 30, 2020
Read it here.
Profile Article: "Arkansas' King of the Monsters"
AY Magazine, October 2020
Read the piece by Dustin Jayroe here.
Media Source: NBC News Asian America feature on Godzilla and the Atomic Bombs
Read it here.
Recent Events and Publications
Conference Panel: "Let’s Get the Word Out:
Collaborative Pathways for Disseminating Asian Studies Research for the Classroom"
AAS Conference 2025, Columbus, Ohio
March 13-16, 2025
Conference Panel: "CTA Roundtable:
Manga's Soft Power in the 21st Century -
Engaging the Next Generation of East Asian Studies Scholars"
AAS Conference 2025, Columbus, Ohio
March 13-16, 2025
Media Source: "Historians and Fans Celebrate Godzilla Turning 70"
CBS Boston, November 9, 2024
Watch the segment here.
Online Lecture: "Godzilla and Generational Trauma in Postwar Japan: From Hiroshima to Fukushima"
Hofstra University
November 18, 2024
Workshop: "Pop Culture and Asian American Identity: Finding Meaning and Fighting Stereotypes"
Midwest Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Students Union (MAASUx) Conference
University of Kansas
November 9, 2024
Introduction and Discussion of Gojira (1954)
Tulsa Global Alliance and Tulsa's historic Circle Cinema
2:00pm CT, Saturday, November 16, 2024
Webinar: "Japan’s Commercial Monsters:
Kaiju, Character Goods, and Pokémon in the World of Yokai"
Young Professionals Committee of the Japan America Society of Chicago
6:00pm CT, October 23, 2024
Keynote Address: "Godzilla and Generational Trauma in Postwar Japan: From Hiroshima to Fukushima"
Arizona Psychological Association 2024 Annual Convention
Tucson, Arizona
September 14, 2024
Introductions to and Discussion of Three Classic Godzilla Films:
Gojira (1954), Godzilla vs Mothra (1964), Godzilla (2014)
Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kansas
September 13, 20, and 27, 2024
"Japan’s Commercial Monsters:
Kaiju, Character Goods, and Pokémon in the World of Yokai"
Greater Kansas City Japan Festival
Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kansas
October 5, 2024
"Mascots, Cryptids, and UFOs: Civic Monsters in Contemporary Japan"
Grant Goodman Distinguished Lecture in Japanese Studies
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
Kansas Union, Malott Room
7:30pm CT, October 10, 2024
Webinar: "Book Discussion on Oceanic Japan: The Archipelago in Pacific and Global History"
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
8:00pm SGT, October 15, 2024
My List of "The Best Books on Why We Love Monsters"
Shepherd for Authors
July 22, 2024
Read the feature here.
Introduction to Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
Kaiju Go!
Texas Theater, Dallas
August 17, 2024
"The Machine in the Ocean: Japanese Fisheries and the Industrialization of the Pacific"
Marius B. Jansen Memorial Lecture
East Asian Studies Program, Princeton University
April 10, 2024
Recipient: Award for Distinguished Service to the Association for Asian Studies
March 18, 2023
Appointment: Chancellor and Professor of History, Ottawa University
Effective July 1, 2022
Appointment: President and CEO, Professor of History, Ottawa University
Effective July 1, 2021
Read the announcement here.
Publication: "Modern Japanese Fisheries and the Global Seafood Market"
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asia History, Oxford University Press, September 2023 (peer reviewed)
For more information, click here.
Publication: "The Prehistory of Soft Power" in Alisa Freedman, ed., Introducing Japanese Popular Culture, second edition
For more information and to order, click here.
Presidential Session: "Fundraising for Environmental Historians:
A Practical Introduction to Tapping Philanthropic Support and Overcoming Your Fears of Asking for Money"
American Society for Environmental History annual conference 2024, Denver, CO
Saturday, April 6, 2024, 1:30-3:00pm MT
Online Roundtable: "Godzilla Plus: Nostalgia, History, and Culture in the Latest Giant from Japan"
2024 Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference Virtual Day Late-Breaking Session
Friday, March 1, 2024, 6:00–7:30pm ET
NCTA Workshop (online): "Japanese Popular Culture and Globalization"
Center for East Asian Studies, Ohio State University
Tuesday, February 20, 2024, 7–8:30pm ET
More information here.
Panel Commentator, "Environmental History and Power Politics in Modern Japan"
Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
September 29-October 1, 2023
Panelist, "Empowering Enrollment Growth"
P3•EDU
Denver, Colorado
September 28, 2023
Virtual Colloquium Speaker, "Career Paths into Administration for Historians"
History Graduate Student Association
Washington State University, Pullman
September 13, 2023
Moderator, "Scholarly Publishing in Asian Studies since COVID-19"
Association for Asian Studies Conference
Boston, Mass.
March 17, 2023
Roundtable Panelist, "Spectacle and Speculation:
Teaching East Asian Pasts, Presents, and Futures through Science Fiction"
Association for Asian Studies Conference
Boston, Mass.
March 18, 2023
Moderator, "Japan, Hawai’i, and the World
A Conversation with Christine Yano and Paul Yonamine"
Japan Studies Association Conference
Honolulu, Hawai'i
January 5, 2023
More information here.
Panelist, "For Further Mutual Understanding Between the U.S. and Japan"
CULCON Symposium
Fukuoka, Japan
October 24, 2022
Lecture: "Beyond the Man in the Rubber Suit: Godzilla, Postwar Japan, and the Global Imagination"
Japan Society of New Orleans
October 12, 2022
More details here.
Lecture: "Godzilla and Japan's Nuclear Imaginary, from Hiroshima to Fukushima"
Remembering Hiroshima: City, Art, Environment, and Lived Experience
University of Idaho, Moscow
September 13, 2022
Lecture: "Yokai and Japanese Monster Culture"
USJC Midwest Region Bento Talk
Japan Information Center, Chicago
May 24, 2022
Keynote Address, USJETAA (US Japan Exchange & Teaching Program Alumni Association)
JET35 Alumni Reunion, Seattle
May 20, 2022
More information here.
Webinar: "Godzilla over the Years: The Changing Landscape of the Godzilla Movies"
Japan Society of Boston
7:00pm EDT, April 28, 2022
More information here.
Panel Commentator: "Pop Culture Samurai: Representations of Pre-modern Japan in New Media"
Association for Asian Studies Conference
Honolulu, Hawai'i
March 25, 2022
Film Screening, Introduction and Discussion: Screen/Society - Mothra (1961)
Rubenstein Arts Center, Duke University
7:00pm, March 19, 2022
More information here.
Webinar Moderator: "Paul Dunscomb on Squeeze Play:
The Crisis in Japanese Professional Baseball of 2004 and the Resilience of Heisei Japan"
Japan Studies Association
February 24, 2022
More information here.
Moderator: "The Future of Japan Studies"
Plenary Roundtable, Japan Studies Association Annual Conference
Honolulu, Hawai'i and Online
January 7, 2022.
More information here.
Webinar Moderator: "Living Traditions: Anime and Manga"
Japan Society and Portland Japanese Garden
February 15, 2022
Recording available here.
Appointment: Edwin O. Reischauer Distinguished Professor
Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies and Department of East Asian Languages & Civilizations
Harvard University
July 2020-June 2021
Read more about my appointment here.
Invited Lecture: "Godzilla and the Imagination of Anxiety, from Hiroshima to COVID-19"
Chapman University
December 2, 2021
Conference: "The United States, War, and the Environment in the Twentieth-Century Pacific World"
University of Kansas, Lawrence
October 15-16, 2021
Moderator: "Godzilla: A Pioneer of Global Popular Culture"
Sponsored by Japan Foundation, New York
August 31, 2021
Watch the video here.
Webinar: "Godzilla and the Imagination of Anxiety, from Hiroshima to COVID-19"
Connected Conversations Webinar
Idaho Humanities Council
May 18, 2021, 6-7pm Mountain
Keynote Address: "Simple Pleasures, Powerful Insights: The Arts and Humanities in a Troubled World"
Arts and Humanities Symposium
Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts
Hot Springs, Arkansas
May 7, 2021
Webinar: "The Hot Dog of the Sea? Surimi and Kamaboko in Historical and Environmental Perspective"
Japan America Society of Greater Austin
May 4, 2021, 6-7pm Central. More information and sign-up here.
K-12 Teacher Workshop:
"Godzilla in the Classroom"
NCTA/Program for Teaching East Asia
University of Colorado, Boulder
April 10, 2021
Details here.
Webinar: "Understanding Godzilla, from Hiroshima to COVID-19"
Tulsa Global Alliance
March 29, 2021, 5:30pm Central
Lecture: "Making American Cheese:
Editing, Dubbing, and Difference in the Globalization of Godzilla"
Mahindra Humanities Center New Faculty Lunch
Harvard University
April 1, 2021
Keynote, "Virtual Career Panel for Students Studying Japanese"
Kizuna Across Cultures, Global Classmates Community
March 6, 2021
Webinar Moderator:
"Japanese Pop Culture's Response to COVID-19"
Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth
March 18, 2021, 7pm Central
Details here.
Webinar: "The Velveeta of the Sea? Surimi and Kamaboko in Historical and Environmental Perspective"
Japan Studies Association
January 27, 2021
Webinar Speaker: "Godzilla's Enduring Popularity"
Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth
December 2, 2020
More information here.
K-12 Teacher Workshops (Japan Society, New York City)
November 7, 2020
Houston, Texas
December 5, 2020
New York, New York
Session Introduction: "Cultural and Education Exchange"
2020 US-Japan Council Public Symposium
November 19, 2020
More information here.
Lecture: "Surimi, Japanese Fisheries, and Global Markets:
Environment, Technology, and Politics in the Making of Engineered Seafood"
Reischauer Institute Japan Forum, Harvard University
October 30, 2020, 4-5:00pm ET
More information here.
Discussion Leader: NCTA Summer Movie Nights
Program for Teaching East Asia, University of Colorado Boulder
June 24 Gojira, July 14 Your Name
More information here.
Media Source: TAB (Universo Online, Brazil) feature on UFOs, Natural Disasters, and the Apocalyptic Imagination in Japan
Read it here (if you know Brazilian Portuguese).
Appointed as Member of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission (JUSFC)
and a Panelist of the United States-Japan Conference on Cultural & Educational Interchange (CULCON)
May 1, 2020
Read more about the JUSFC, an independent U.S. federal agency, here. And about my appointment here.
Publication: “The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat – and the Yawn of Postponement?”
AsiaGlobal Online, Hong Kong University, April 2, 2020
Read it here.
Interview and Book Discussion: Godzilla Mon Amour
"Arts and Letters," KUAR (NPR 89.1 Little Rock, Arkansas)
Listen here.
Publication: “History of Japanese Labor and Production Management”
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management, Oxford University Press, May 2019 (peer reviewed)
Publication: (with Kimmo Ahonen and Simo Laakkonen) “Apocalyptic Urban Future: Atomic Cities and Cinema”
in Simo Laakkonen, J.R. McNeill, Richard P. Tucker, and Timo Vuorisalo, eds.,
The Resilient City in World War II: Urban Environmental Histories, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019
Collaborative Pathways for Disseminating Asian Studies Research for the Classroom"
AAS Conference 2025, Columbus, Ohio
March 13-16, 2025
Conference Panel: "CTA Roundtable:
Manga's Soft Power in the 21st Century -
Engaging the Next Generation of East Asian Studies Scholars"
AAS Conference 2025, Columbus, Ohio
March 13-16, 2025
Media Source: "Historians and Fans Celebrate Godzilla Turning 70"
CBS Boston, November 9, 2024
Watch the segment here.
Online Lecture: "Godzilla and Generational Trauma in Postwar Japan: From Hiroshima to Fukushima"
Hofstra University
November 18, 2024
Workshop: "Pop Culture and Asian American Identity: Finding Meaning and Fighting Stereotypes"
Midwest Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Students Union (MAASUx) Conference
University of Kansas
November 9, 2024
Introduction and Discussion of Gojira (1954)
Tulsa Global Alliance and Tulsa's historic Circle Cinema
2:00pm CT, Saturday, November 16, 2024
Webinar: "Japan’s Commercial Monsters:
Kaiju, Character Goods, and Pokémon in the World of Yokai"
Young Professionals Committee of the Japan America Society of Chicago
6:00pm CT, October 23, 2024
Keynote Address: "Godzilla and Generational Trauma in Postwar Japan: From Hiroshima to Fukushima"
Arizona Psychological Association 2024 Annual Convention
Tucson, Arizona
September 14, 2024
Introductions to and Discussion of Three Classic Godzilla Films:
Gojira (1954), Godzilla vs Mothra (1964), Godzilla (2014)
Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kansas
September 13, 20, and 27, 2024
"Japan’s Commercial Monsters:
Kaiju, Character Goods, and Pokémon in the World of Yokai"
Greater Kansas City Japan Festival
Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, Kansas
October 5, 2024
"Mascots, Cryptids, and UFOs: Civic Monsters in Contemporary Japan"
Grant Goodman Distinguished Lecture in Japanese Studies
Center for East Asian Studies, University of Kansas
Kansas Union, Malott Room
7:30pm CT, October 10, 2024
Webinar: "Book Discussion on Oceanic Japan: The Archipelago in Pacific and Global History"
Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore
8:00pm SGT, October 15, 2024
My List of "The Best Books on Why We Love Monsters"
Shepherd for Authors
July 22, 2024
Read the feature here.
Introduction to Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
Kaiju Go!
Texas Theater, Dallas
August 17, 2024
"The Machine in the Ocean: Japanese Fisheries and the Industrialization of the Pacific"
Marius B. Jansen Memorial Lecture
East Asian Studies Program, Princeton University
April 10, 2024
Recipient: Award for Distinguished Service to the Association for Asian Studies
March 18, 2023
Appointment: Chancellor and Professor of History, Ottawa University
Effective July 1, 2022
Appointment: President and CEO, Professor of History, Ottawa University
Effective July 1, 2021
Read the announcement here.
Publication: "Modern Japanese Fisheries and the Global Seafood Market"
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asia History, Oxford University Press, September 2023 (peer reviewed)
For more information, click here.
Publication: "The Prehistory of Soft Power" in Alisa Freedman, ed., Introducing Japanese Popular Culture, second edition
For more information and to order, click here.
Presidential Session: "Fundraising for Environmental Historians:
A Practical Introduction to Tapping Philanthropic Support and Overcoming Your Fears of Asking for Money"
American Society for Environmental History annual conference 2024, Denver, CO
Saturday, April 6, 2024, 1:30-3:00pm MT
Online Roundtable: "Godzilla Plus: Nostalgia, History, and Culture in the Latest Giant from Japan"
2024 Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference Virtual Day Late-Breaking Session
Friday, March 1, 2024, 6:00–7:30pm ET
NCTA Workshop (online): "Japanese Popular Culture and Globalization"
Center for East Asian Studies, Ohio State University
Tuesday, February 20, 2024, 7–8:30pm ET
More information here.
Panel Commentator, "Environmental History and Power Politics in Modern Japan"
Midwest Conference on Asian Affairs (MCAA)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
September 29-October 1, 2023
Panelist, "Empowering Enrollment Growth"
P3•EDU
Denver, Colorado
September 28, 2023
Virtual Colloquium Speaker, "Career Paths into Administration for Historians"
History Graduate Student Association
Washington State University, Pullman
September 13, 2023
Moderator, "Scholarly Publishing in Asian Studies since COVID-19"
Association for Asian Studies Conference
Boston, Mass.
March 17, 2023
Roundtable Panelist, "Spectacle and Speculation:
Teaching East Asian Pasts, Presents, and Futures through Science Fiction"
Association for Asian Studies Conference
Boston, Mass.
March 18, 2023
Moderator, "Japan, Hawai’i, and the World
A Conversation with Christine Yano and Paul Yonamine"
Japan Studies Association Conference
Honolulu, Hawai'i
January 5, 2023
More information here.
Panelist, "For Further Mutual Understanding Between the U.S. and Japan"
CULCON Symposium
Fukuoka, Japan
October 24, 2022
Lecture: "Beyond the Man in the Rubber Suit: Godzilla, Postwar Japan, and the Global Imagination"
Japan Society of New Orleans
October 12, 2022
More details here.
Lecture: "Godzilla and Japan's Nuclear Imaginary, from Hiroshima to Fukushima"
Remembering Hiroshima: City, Art, Environment, and Lived Experience
University of Idaho, Moscow
September 13, 2022
Lecture: "Yokai and Japanese Monster Culture"
USJC Midwest Region Bento Talk
Japan Information Center, Chicago
May 24, 2022
Keynote Address, USJETAA (US Japan Exchange & Teaching Program Alumni Association)
JET35 Alumni Reunion, Seattle
May 20, 2022
More information here.
Webinar: "Godzilla over the Years: The Changing Landscape of the Godzilla Movies"
Japan Society of Boston
7:00pm EDT, April 28, 2022
More information here.
Panel Commentator: "Pop Culture Samurai: Representations of Pre-modern Japan in New Media"
Association for Asian Studies Conference
Honolulu, Hawai'i
March 25, 2022
Film Screening, Introduction and Discussion: Screen/Society - Mothra (1961)
Rubenstein Arts Center, Duke University
7:00pm, March 19, 2022
More information here.
Webinar Moderator: "Paul Dunscomb on Squeeze Play:
The Crisis in Japanese Professional Baseball of 2004 and the Resilience of Heisei Japan"
Japan Studies Association
February 24, 2022
More information here.
Moderator: "The Future of Japan Studies"
Plenary Roundtable, Japan Studies Association Annual Conference
Honolulu, Hawai'i and Online
January 7, 2022.
More information here.
Webinar Moderator: "Living Traditions: Anime and Manga"
Japan Society and Portland Japanese Garden
February 15, 2022
Recording available here.
Appointment: Edwin O. Reischauer Distinguished Professor
Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies and Department of East Asian Languages & Civilizations
Harvard University
July 2020-June 2021
Read more about my appointment here.
Invited Lecture: "Godzilla and the Imagination of Anxiety, from Hiroshima to COVID-19"
Chapman University
December 2, 2021
Conference: "The United States, War, and the Environment in the Twentieth-Century Pacific World"
University of Kansas, Lawrence
October 15-16, 2021
Moderator: "Godzilla: A Pioneer of Global Popular Culture"
Sponsored by Japan Foundation, New York
August 31, 2021
Watch the video here.
Webinar: "Godzilla and the Imagination of Anxiety, from Hiroshima to COVID-19"
Connected Conversations Webinar
Idaho Humanities Council
May 18, 2021, 6-7pm Mountain
Keynote Address: "Simple Pleasures, Powerful Insights: The Arts and Humanities in a Troubled World"
Arts and Humanities Symposium
Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts
Hot Springs, Arkansas
May 7, 2021
Webinar: "The Hot Dog of the Sea? Surimi and Kamaboko in Historical and Environmental Perspective"
Japan America Society of Greater Austin
May 4, 2021, 6-7pm Central. More information and sign-up here.
K-12 Teacher Workshop:
"Godzilla in the Classroom"
NCTA/Program for Teaching East Asia
University of Colorado, Boulder
April 10, 2021
Details here.
Webinar: "Understanding Godzilla, from Hiroshima to COVID-19"
Tulsa Global Alliance
March 29, 2021, 5:30pm Central
Lecture: "Making American Cheese:
Editing, Dubbing, and Difference in the Globalization of Godzilla"
Mahindra Humanities Center New Faculty Lunch
Harvard University
April 1, 2021
Keynote, "Virtual Career Panel for Students Studying Japanese"
Kizuna Across Cultures, Global Classmates Community
March 6, 2021
Webinar Moderator:
"Japanese Pop Culture's Response to COVID-19"
Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth
March 18, 2021, 7pm Central
Details here.
Webinar: "The Velveeta of the Sea? Surimi and Kamaboko in Historical and Environmental Perspective"
Japan Studies Association
January 27, 2021
Webinar Speaker: "Godzilla's Enduring Popularity"
Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth
December 2, 2020
More information here.
K-12 Teacher Workshops (Japan Society, New York City)
November 7, 2020
Houston, Texas
December 5, 2020
New York, New York
Session Introduction: "Cultural and Education Exchange"
2020 US-Japan Council Public Symposium
November 19, 2020
More information here.
Lecture: "Surimi, Japanese Fisheries, and Global Markets:
Environment, Technology, and Politics in the Making of Engineered Seafood"
Reischauer Institute Japan Forum, Harvard University
October 30, 2020, 4-5:00pm ET
More information here.
Discussion Leader: NCTA Summer Movie Nights
Program for Teaching East Asia, University of Colorado Boulder
June 24 Gojira, July 14 Your Name
More information here.
Media Source: TAB (Universo Online, Brazil) feature on UFOs, Natural Disasters, and the Apocalyptic Imagination in Japan
Read it here (if you know Brazilian Portuguese).
Appointed as Member of the Japan-United States Friendship Commission (JUSFC)
and a Panelist of the United States-Japan Conference on Cultural & Educational Interchange (CULCON)
May 1, 2020
Read more about the JUSFC, an independent U.S. federal agency, here. And about my appointment here.
Publication: “The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Defeat – and the Yawn of Postponement?”
AsiaGlobal Online, Hong Kong University, April 2, 2020
Read it here.
Interview and Book Discussion: Godzilla Mon Amour
"Arts and Letters," KUAR (NPR 89.1 Little Rock, Arkansas)
Listen here.
Publication: “History of Japanese Labor and Production Management”
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Business and Management, Oxford University Press, May 2019 (peer reviewed)
Publication: (with Kimmo Ahonen and Simo Laakkonen) “Apocalyptic Urban Future: Atomic Cities and Cinema”
in Simo Laakkonen, J.R. McNeill, Richard P. Tucker, and Timo Vuorisalo, eds.,
The Resilient City in World War II: Urban Environmental Histories, Palgrave Macmillan, 2019