Japan

Darwin Commemorations and Three Generations of Historians of Biology

In this article, Akihisa Setoguchi discusses the history of biology in Japan in terms of three generations of historians defined by their relationship to Darwinism from 1909 to 2009. Specifically, he focuses on their respective assessments of the influence of Edward Sylvester Morse, who...Read more

Introduction (2): Japanese STS in Global, East Asian, and Local Contexts

This article introduces the second set of papers on the state of the social studies of science in Japan that emerged from a March 2009 workshop on Asian STS held at the National University of Singapore. Read more

The Butterfly and the Frigate: Social Studies of Science in Japan

In this 1989 "Country Report," Low argues that "despite some exceptions, much of the stimulating work on Japanese science has come from outside the country."  (313) Low explains that literature in Japan on Japanese science serves to mystify science and perpetuate stereotypical banaries such as "...Read more

Fostering a More-than-human World View

Hansen describes his process of encountering more-than-human becomings through Star Trek, and through the study of Eastern religions and their conceptualizations of the world. He offers examples from his fieldwork and lived experience in one of Hokkaido's dairy farming regions to emphasize the...Read more

Introduction (1): Japanese STS in Global, East Asian, and Local Contexts

This article by Togo Tsukahara introduces a set of articles published in East Asian Science, Technology and Society in 2009, and asks what constitutes "Asian STS" broadly and Japanese STS specifically. These articles are products of the workshop "Toward a Trans-Asian...Read more

Theoretical Challenges for the Current Sociology of Science and Technology: A Prospect for its Future Development

Resisting the conventional framing of "Western" versus "non-Western" frameworks, Matsumoto discusses challenges facing the sociology of science and technology, with a special emphasis on "theoretical challenges from the viewpoint of a scholar who is embedded in the East Asian locality." (130) ...Read more

“JAPAN”/JAPAN ONLINE: NATURECULTURE

In the slow turn away from speculative philosophy to grounded ethnography, from the “ontological” turn to the ecological turn, from presentism to future scenario-and-design thinking, and from...Read more

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