Faculty

My research is broadly drawn around two topics. First, since 2005 I have pursued a project on the historical and ethnographic study of contemporary far-right political activism and new expressions of nationalism in the digital age. More recently I am working on an urban studies project centered on the post-WWII history and contemporary redevelopment of entertainment districts in Japan, primarily centered on Tokyo’s Kabukicho. I also maintain interests in sound and visual studies as well as popular culture.

Even as technology fuels greater interconnectedness, forms of conflict and difference still drive social friction in within societies, across regions, and around the world. I’m fascinated by how individuals navigate these complicated questions, how layers of history inform cultural change, how Japan consumes information from around the world and in turn inspires new visions, and how individuals navigate complicated questions about identity, inter-connectedness, and difference.