Beyond the West?

Due to the rapid Westernization since the late-19th century following the long period of seclusion policy, Japanese political thought has been marked by a key debate: how to theorize a systematic thought amidst competing and fused Japanese, Chinese and Western traditions. These debates anticipated debates in comparative political theory today over how to identify cultural traditions and navigate between them as well as in the methods of political theory about how to develop theoretical exchange among radically different systems of thought. The speakers will examine trajectories and debates in 20th century and contemporary Japanese political thought, with a particular view to work done within comparative political theory today as well as current work on the methods of political theory.

Speakers:
Prof Tomohito Baji (University of Tokyo/University of Cambridge)
Dr Karin Narita (University of Sheffield)
Prof Nobutaka Otobe (University of Osaka)

Sponsors:
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Kakenhi 24K04716）
Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IHSS), Queen Mary University of London