IAS Center at the University of Tokyo (TIAS)

Department of Islamic Area Studies, Center for Evolving Humanities, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo

Aims and Missions

The Center for Evolving Humanities has been dedicated to the education of graduate students specializing primarily in Asian cultures, including the study of Islamic thought and culture as well as West Asian and Central Asian history. Many scholars of Islamic studies now active in Japanese academia have studied here, and year by year, doctoral dissertations in the field are increasing steadily in both quantity and quality. In establishing this IAS Center, we have built on our years of experience in Islamic Area Studies with added emphasis on current relevance; in doing so, we aim to pioneer new areas of study as well as shed new light on the historic, ideological, and cultural research we have previously undertaken. For this purpose, the Department of Islamic Area Studies, as part of the Center for Evolving Humanities, will invite scholars in the field from both within and without the Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, undertake specific research projects, and foster young researchers. The results of the Center’s research will also contribute towards the curriculum of the Graduate School.

Core Members

Director:

KOMATSU Hisao

(Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo; Interinstitutional Professor, Center for Evolving Humanities (CEHU))

Members:

NAGASAWA Eiji

(Professor, The Institute of Oriental Culture; Interinstitutional Professor, CEHU)

OHTOSHI Tetsuya

(Associate Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo; Interinstitutional Professor, CEHU)

USUKI Akira

(Professor, Japan Women’s University, Faculty of Humanities; Visiting Professor, CEHU)

SHINMEN Yasushi

(Professor, Chuo University Faculty of Letters; Visiting Professor, CEHU)

Timur DADABAEV

(Associate Professor, University of Tsukuba Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences; Visiting Professor, CEHU)

Mami HAMAMOTO

(Researcher, National Institutes for the Humanities, NIHU Center for Area Studies; Researcher, Islamic Area Studies Department, CEHU)

Research Theme: Thought and Politics in Islamic Areas: Comparison and Relations

TIAS will undertake an empirical and comparative study of the dynamic relationship between modern thought and politics, with a focus on post-18th century Central Eurasia and the Middle East. This IAS Center will be comprised of two Research Groups, which will form a partnership in its comparative area studies projects for the five years of the Islamic Area Studies Program.