Current Projects
Writing a commissioned, peer-reviewed essay on “Modern Japan and the Global Fish Market” for Scott C. Levi, ed., Oxford Encyclopedia of Asian Commercial History and the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History (under contract for delivery in summer 2020).
Collaborating with Ian Miller (Harvard), Stefan Huebner (National University of Singapore), and Nadin Hee (Freie Universitat Berlin)
to organize a series of international conferences on the environmental history of Japan and its surrounding oceans,
with gatherings in Singapore (January 2019), Berlin (April 2019), and Cambridge (January 2020). This project will culminate in a
pathbreaking edited collection, tentatively scheduled for publication in 2021.
Collaborating with Ian Miller (Harvard), Stefan Huebner (National University of Singapore), and Nadin Hee (Freie Universitat Berlin)
to organize a series of international conferences on the environmental history of Japan and its surrounding oceans,
with gatherings in Singapore (January 2019), Berlin (April 2019), and Cambridge (January 2020). This project will culminate in a
pathbreaking edited collection, tentatively scheduled for publication in 2021.
Still Gestating
A revised and updated edition of the classroom text Japanese Popular Culture and Globalization (2010)
in the Key Issues in Asian Studies series published by the Association for Asian Studies.
An essay or short book on the history and changing meanings of the phrase "Made in Japan"
and how it reflects the shifting perceptions (and enduring stereotypes) of Japan in the United States.
Another short volume on Godzilla, building on the broad overview provided in Godzilla on My Mind (2004) and exploring a series of topics (Godzilla's size, the monster's transition to Hollywood, etc.) in greater depth, but with the same lighthearted tone and scholarly substance.
Further works (essays for sure, but perhaps a book as well) on the environmental history of Japan, especially the environmental impact
of World War II and the evolution of Japan's modern commercial fisheries.
Essays, media pieces, and perhaps a book reflecting on the history, current status, and future prospects of American higher education,
focusing especially on the lessons which American colleges and universities might learn from
the Japanese experience of economic and demographic crisis during the "lost decades."
in the Key Issues in Asian Studies series published by the Association for Asian Studies.
An essay or short book on the history and changing meanings of the phrase "Made in Japan"
and how it reflects the shifting perceptions (and enduring stereotypes) of Japan in the United States.
Another short volume on Godzilla, building on the broad overview provided in Godzilla on My Mind (2004) and exploring a series of topics (Godzilla's size, the monster's transition to Hollywood, etc.) in greater depth, but with the same lighthearted tone and scholarly substance.
Further works (essays for sure, but perhaps a book as well) on the environmental history of Japan, especially the environmental impact
of World War II and the evolution of Japan's modern commercial fisheries.
Essays, media pieces, and perhaps a book reflecting on the history, current status, and future prospects of American higher education,
focusing especially on the lessons which American colleges and universities might learn from
the Japanese experience of economic and demographic crisis during the "lost decades."