by Team
Press release on the workshop "Genealogy of the Subject" (01-03 December 2015):
How people in Europe and Japan see themselves
Expert workshop at the university - Changing Japanese self-image after Fukushima is also a topic
Oldenburg. How do people see themselves, how do they see themselves in relation to the world - and what are the differences between the European and Japanese perspectives in this regard? German and Japanese experts from the fields of philosophy, sociology, history and cultural studies will address these questions in a joint workshop at the University of Oldenburg from 1 to 3 December. The workshop is being organised by the university's "Genealogy of the Present" research centre and the Oldenburg Research Training Group "Self-Formations", which is funded by the German Research Foundation. The aim is to look at subjectivity from a genealogical perspective, i.e. to analyse the emergence of self-images and world views from social, intellectual-historical and cultural constellations.
The workshop participants - a six-person delegation from three Japanese universities as well as around 30 Oldenburg professors, post-docs and doctoral students - will discuss differences in the understanding of culture and the body, for example. For example, there is no autonomous "I" in Japanese; the language itself always makes a reference to others clear. The European tradition of the Enlightenment, on the other hand, ascribes greater autonomy to the subject, a freedom of will and action. With this in mind, the workshop "Genealogy of the subject" sheds light on the power of the individual to act, their embedding in political hierarchies or social conventions as well as the ability to criticise and transcend these. The changed Japanese self-image following the nuclear disaster in Fukushima in 2011 will also be a topic.
The co-operation between the universities of Oldenburg and Sendai (Japan) has existed since 2010, initiated by Oldenburg sociologist and sports sociologist Prof. Dr Thomas Alkemeyer and the Japanese delegation leader Prof. Keiichi Komatsu, philosopher and Kant expert at Sendai University. Oldenburg University President Prof Dr Dr Hans Michael Piper will welcome the Japanese guests at the start of the workshop. In addition to the academic exchange between the two universities, there is also a student exchange programme.
Contact:
Dr Nikolaus Buschmann, Tel.: 0441/798-4690, Email:
Rea Kodalle, Tel.: 0441/798-5481, Email: