Welcome to our seminar’s website!
Our graduate seminar focuses on the intellectual and religious history of modern Japan, and we are affiliated with the Department of Global Japanese Studies at Tohoku University. We meet at least once a week in order to read both primary and secondary sources from the modern period of Japanese history (1868-1945), while also learning about theory and methodology.
Our seminar is coordinated by Associate Professors Clinton Godart (B.A. Leuven, Ph.D. Chicago) and Orion Klautau (B.A. São Paulo, Ph.D. Tohoku), who both focus, from different perspectives, on the role of Buddhism in the formation of modern Japan. Besides their shared interest in religion and modernity, Professors Godart and Klautau also work on issues related to scientific thought, Pan-Asianism, historiography, and modern Japan-Portugal relations.
We are an English-friendly seminar, with students from many different nationalities. In case you are interested in aspects of modern Japanese religion and thought, and are thinking about pursuing a graduate education in Japan, you can contact us here.
Tohoku University
Grad. School of Intl. Cultural Studies
Department of Global Japanese Studies
Modern Japan Seminar (Godart & Klautau)