Conference and seminar "Japan and Estonia: Contemporary Challenges in Humanities and Social Sciences"

On 27–28 September 2018, the University of Tartu Asian Centre and the Graduate Schools of Culture Studies and Arts (GSCSA) and Linguistics, Philosophy and Semiotics (GSLPS), School of Law, School of Economics and Business Administration cordially invite you to the international interdisciplinary conference and seminar "Japan and Estonia: Contemporary Challenges in Humanities and Social Sciences".

In today’s globalizing world, cultural differences are getting less distinct and the challenges faced by countries with very different histories, such as Japan and Estonia, are becoming more and more similar. The population is ageing, technology is developing at a rapid pace and the society itself is changing – in both Japan and Estonia. What does this mean to the people living in our societies? How does the fast technological advancement affect everyday work life? What kind of tensions and problems does the constant need for innovation create – and how does the society catch up? How does literature convey the changes in the society and how does it express them? What kind of opportunities does the world’s largest entertainment sector – digital games – offer and what kind of role could they play in the future?

These are the main questions we aim to answer at the conference. Participants will thus have the chance to look at the topics from several points of view and note the connections between different fields.

This event is part of the program of the graduate school, but the lectures are open for all interested.

This event is organized around lectures by different plenary speakers from Japan, Estonia.

• Prof. emer. Kazuto Matsumura (University of Tokyo)
• Prof. Hiromi Komori (Waseda University)
• Prof. Yoko Gotoh (University of Kanagawa)
• Prof. Kazunobu Oyama (University of Kanagawa)
• Prof. Urmas Varblane (University of Tartu)
• Prof.  Toshiko Ellis (University of Tokyo)
• Prof.  Akinori Nakamura, (Ritsumeikan University, Center for Game Studies)
• Prof. Merle Erikson (University of Tartu)
• Prof. Hiroya Nakakubo (Hitotsubashi University)
• Annika Rosin, PhD (University of Turku)
• Seili Suder (University of Tartu, PhD student)
• Indrek Ojam (University of Tartu, PhD student)
• Mikhail Fiadotau (Tallinn University, PhD student)
• Karl Jaagola (University of Tartu, PhD student)

The full programme can be found here. The plenary lectures and the conference sessions will be open to the public. A series of closed roundtable discussion sessions are organized to help participants to deepen and refine their understanding of these topics through concentrated discussions. The working language of the seminar is English. Venue: Ülikooli St 18, the main building of University of Tartu, Senate hall (on the second floor)

This event is financed by the University of Tartu ASTRA Project PER ASPERA (European Union, European Regional Development Fund).