Speaker: Ben Grafstrom

This presentation has two parts. In the first I share current trends that I have observed over the past year and a half in qualitative research, interdisciplinary research, research ethics, and the humanities in general from a Norwegian/ European perspective. I then shift to introducing my own current research project which examines the effects that depopulation is having on preserving cultural traditions in Japan’s rural areas. Specifically, I address the role of language in my research, particularly that of poetry. One of the methods I am using to produce data involves a type of document analysis of local poetry—poetry that encapsulates local memory and important descriptions of long-cherished local traditions. I provide some examples of the genres of poetry that I am finding in the field as well as some examples of how I am using poetry as a textual source for data.

Ben Grafstrom Bio:

Ben Grafstrom earned his MA in East Asian Languages and Civilizations (Japanese literature) from the University of Colorado, Boulder. From 2012 to 2022 he was a professor at Akita University, during which time he served as Membership Chair and later as President of JALT’s Akita Chapter. He is currently a PhD research fellow in the University of Oslo’s Department of Cultural Studies and Oriental Languages, where he is part of the “Religious Festivals in Asia: Power, Aspirations, and Play” research group. For his thesis research, he is examining the effects that mass depopulation in rural Japan (primarily Akita) is having on the ways in which community members interact with each other during festival times, as well as the efforts being made at the local level to remember and preserve cultural traditions as they become increasingly difficult to maintain and preserve.

The presentation will be March 16th 2024 from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm

This will be an online event (Zoom -Akita JALT members with be sent a Zoom link for the presentation)

All others who would like to join can Email Akita jalt at akita@jalt.org