IAS Center at Kyoto University (KIAS)

Center for Islamic Area Studies, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University

Aims and Mission

Research and education at the Graduate School of Asian and African Studies has been devoted to the politics, economics, sociology, thought and culture of the “Islamic World” in West Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. Since 2004, our alumni have been active as part of the new generation of researchers, our research bearing fruit in the form of academic publications, doctoral dissertations, and articles in academic journals. Through our various research projects we have been particularly active in gathering source material since 1998, and we boast the nation’s largest collection of Arabic sources. Area studies at Kyoto University encompasses the IAS Center, the Center for Southeast Asian Area Studies, the Center for Integrated Area Studies and other divisions, employing over one hundred experts in these fields. Combining the sciences and humanities in an integrated approach to area studies, we have also been working towards the development of new methods of cross-regional comparison.

It is this experience and background we build upon in establishing the IAS Center at Kyoto University, for the development and enrichment of Islamic area studies based on integrated area studies theory and methodology. Incorporating theory, the study of original texts, as well as fieldwork, we hope to boost the progress of Islamic area studies by leaps and bounds, while contributing to the development of new methodology for area studies in general.

Although a fundamental goal of the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies is the education of young researchers, we also aim to foster accomplished scholars through the in-depth integration of research and education.

Core Members

Director:

KOSUGI Yasushi

(Professor, Graduate School of Asian and African Studies, Kyoto University)

Deputy Director:

TONAGA Yasushi

(Associate Professor, Graduate School of Asian and African Studies, Kyoto University)

Members:

ADACHI Akira

(Professor, Graduate School of Asian and African Studies, Kyoto University)

NIGO Toshiharu

(National Institutes for the Humanities; Kyoto University)

OBIYA Chika

(Associate Professor, Kyoto University, Center for Integrated Area Studies)

OKAMOTO Masaaki

(Kyoto University)

SAWAE Fumiko

(National Museum of Ethnology; Kyoto University)

SUECHIKA Kota

(Ritsumeikan University; Kyoto University)

YAMANE So

(Associate Professor, Osaka University of Foreign Studies; Part-time Lecturer, Kyoto University)

In addition, we will be joined by foreign researchers invited according to the Visiting Fellows Program of the Graduate School of Asian and African Studies, Kyoto University.

Research Theme: International Organizations/Institutions in the Islamic World

Research at KIAS is devoted to the study of the international organizations in the Middle East and South Asia. We focus on the historical development of institutions, inter-organizational relationships and networks, leaders, and trends in thought by combining fundamental research with demonstrative studies on trends. We also study ongoing developments and fundamental ideas behind these international institutions such as the concept of Umma, while undertaking comparative analyses across various Islamic regions in order to develop a deeper and integrated understanding of the contemporary Islamic world.