IAS Center at Sophia University (SIAS)

Section for Islamic Area Studies, Institute of Asian Cultures, Sophia University

Aims and Mission

Situated at the Institute of Asian Cultures of Sophia University, the Islamic Area Studies Center was established as a faculty for joint research. SIAS projects in research and education are led in coordination with the Department of Asian Studies of the Faculty of Foreign Studies and the Graduate School of Global Studies Area Studies Program (until 2005 known as Faculty of Foreign Studies Area Studies Program), which are involved in both undergraduate and graduate level education. Previously, the Institute of Asian Cultures Angkor Research Center had developed and become reorganized as part of the Sophia University Center for Human Development in Asia to undertake its projects in close coordination with the Institute of Asian Cultures while maintaining its independent status. In a similar way, we plan in future to reestablish this IAS Center as the Islamic Area Studies Research Faculty of the Sophia University Research Institutes. For this, we have in mind the occasion of Sophia University’s 100th anniversary in the year 2013, when the research institutes will undergo refurbishment as part of a large-scale renovation of the University’s educational, research, and campus facilities.

Core Members

Director:

KISAICHI Masatoshi

Professor, Sophia University Faculty of Foreign Studies

Members:

KAWASHIMA Midori

Professor, Sophia University Faculty of Foreign Studies

AKAHORI Masayuki

Professor, Sophia University Faculty of Foreign Studies

TAKAHASHI Kei

Postdoctoral Researcher, National Institutes for the Humanities,

Center for Area Studies; Visiting Researcher, Sophia University Institute of Asian Cultures

Research Theme: Societies and Cultures in the Islamic World

The basic framework of our research is to apply and expand upon the methodology and product of our previous work in area studies on the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and South Asia, to our current project focused on Islamic area studies. Our intentions are first and foremost to shift the focus from the recent interest in the political aspect of contemporary Islam, towards the more multidimentional aspects of society and culture underlying these political movements. Secondly, we will place emphasis on the study of democracy in Islam from a historical perspective while also promoting cooperation and comparative research among multiple disciplines and regions. Third, we will newly create a network of researchers from the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, as well as Europe, the Americas and Africa in order to enrich our research on the relationship between Islamic area studies and globalization. We will be organizing both workshops and symposia at the national and international level as part of the IAS program, and individual topics of interest will be addressed by the three main Research Groups comprising this IAS Center.