Chair 2025–2026

FUJII Shintaro

Shintaro FUJII is Professor of Theatre Studies at Waseda University. His research focuses primarily on contemporary French-speaking and Japanese theatre, with particular attention to stage aesthetics and cultural policies. He has published numerous articles in Japanese, French, and English, and has notably edited La maladie et ses représentations (Pôle Global Japanese Studies, Waseda University, 2024); the special issue of Alternatives théâtrales, “Scène contemporaine japonaise” (with Christophe Triau, 2018); and Théâtre/Public, no. 198, “Scènes japonaises, scènes françaises, aller / retour” (with Christophe Triau).

Shintaro FUJII will be hosted by EASt from 26 February to 23 March 2026 through an ULB IN Chair awarded upon the initiative of Karel Vanhaesebrouck and Vanessa Frangville.

You can find more information here: https://msh.ulb.ac.be/fr/agenda/cours-conference-theatre-et-rituel-dans-un-japon-d-aujourd-hui

Chair 2018–2019

Andrew K. Whitehead

Andrew K. Whitehead is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Kennesaw State University (USA). He is President of the Philosophy Association of the Académie du Midi, Associate Editor of the journal Comparative and Continental Philosophy (Taylor & Francis), and a member of the leadership team of the Comparative and Continental Philosophy Circle. During the 2017–2018 academic year, he was a Visiting Professor at the Institute of Philosophy of KU Leuven.

His research specializes in comparative East–West philosophy, with a particular focus on Japanese Buddhist philosophy, the Kyoto School, Chinese Taoism, and the German and French traditions of phenomenology and existentialism.

His current research projects include a philosophical interpretation of the works of the medieval Zen poet Ikkyū Sōjun (1394–1481), as well as a reinterpretation of subjective integration that examines the existential tension arising at the intersection of complex social systems and phenomenology.

His recent publications include Imagination: Cross-Cultural Philosophical Analyses (2018), Wisdom and Philosophy: Contemporary and Comparative Approaches (2016), and Landscape and Travelling East and West: A Philosophical Journey (2014), all published by Bloomsbury.

Chair 2017–2018

Erica Baffelli

Erica Baffelli is Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Japanese Studies at the University of Manchester (UK). Before joining Manchester in 2013, she was a Visiting Researcher at Hosei University (Tokyo), a Postdoctoral Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (2005–2007), and Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Asian Religions at the University of Otago (New Zealand) from 2007 to 2013.

She also serves as Director of the North West Consortium Doctoral Training Partnership, a consortium of seven universities and higher education institutions funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Her research focuses on religion in contemporary Japan, particularly religious groups established from the 1970s onwards.

Her recent publications include Media and New Religions in Japan (Routledge, 2016); Aftermath: The Impact and Ramifications of the Aum Affair (co-edited with Ian Reader), a special issue of the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies (39(1), 2012); and Japanese Religions on the Internet: Innovation, Representation and Authority (co-edited with Ian Reader and Birgit Staemmler, Routledge, 2011).

TATSUYA ITO

Tatsuya ITO, born in Aichi, Japon, studied French literature and linguistics at the University of Keio (Tokyo) and at the Université Paris VII and Université Paris X. He defended his thesis on Lexical Polysemy at the Université Paris X (Nanterre) in 2003, within the framework of the theory of predictive and enunciative theories.

MONIQUE ARNAUD

IUAV University of Venice, Italy – Course on « Performing Arts in East Asia » (Faculty of Letters, Translation and Communication, ULB) Monique Arnaud has been studying Noh with Udaka Michishige since 1984.

She received the Kongō-ryū shihan (certified instructor) license in 1991. She has taken the shite role in several full Noh plays: in 2010 she performed Makiginu, while in 2013 she took the tsure role in Kiyotsune.

In 1998 she has opened the Italian Branch of the INI in Milan, teaching Noh chant and dance following the Kongō School tradition. Monique is associate professor at IUAV University of Venice, where she directs student productions under the influence of Noh principles since 2008. She also continues her work as opera director in Italy, Japan and Spain.

Monique is the only licensed Noh instructor resident in Europe, and teaches Noh chant and dance in Milan. Monique Arnaud will be at the ULB in February 2018.

Chairs for 2016-2017:

KYOSUKE KURITA

KURITA Kyosuke is Associate Professor of School of Economics at Kwansei Gakuin University. He received his Ph.D. from Hitotsubashi University, in Tokyo.

He has held a previous visiting position at UNU-WIDER (United Nations University, Helsinki, Finland). He is also visiting research fellow at DG-REGIO (Directorate General Regional Policy), European Commission; and at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies), University of London.

His main research interests are new technology adoption in agriculture, improvement of productivity of Small and Medium enterprises in Asian countries, poverty reduction in Africa, migration and happiness in Cambodia and applied micro econometrics.