[Mar 7]Japan Specialist Seminar: A Study on the History of Invisible Light: Ultraviolet in Modern and Contemporary Japanese Society

Institute for Japanese Studies (IJS) has been hosting serieses of talks encompassing Japanese politics, economy, cultures and arts. With the experts from Europe, U.S. and Japan, we deliver the talks in multiple languages including Japanese, Korean and English.

We are pleased to host No.272  lecture as a part of Japan Specialist Seminars, titled “A Study on the History of Invisible Light: Ultraviolet in Modern and Contemporary Japanese Society”

* This seminar is held hybrid –both online and offline 

Date : March 7th (Tuesday) 2023 12:30 - 14:00

Venue : GSIS (Bldg 140)  GL Room / Zoom 

If you are participating online, please join via the link below on time  

 

ZOOM ID : 583 289 8745

Link : https://snu-ac-kr.zoom.us/j/5832898745

 

Lecturer : Kim, Boumsoung (金凡性), Professor, Institute of Arts and Sciences, Tokyo University of Science  

 

Title : A Study on the History of Invisible Light: Ultraviolet in Modern and Contemporary Japanese Society

 

Ultraviolet rays are invisible rays, but they reflect various aspects of society. Discussions on whether the Earth's atmosphere blocks/transmits ultraviolet rays can look into the changes in perception of environmental issues and observe the discourse on artificial modern civilization that blocks sunlight to see a change in attitude toward nature. And the skin where invisible ultraviolet rays leave traces becomes a space where these values become visible.  By introducing the book Social History of Ultraviolet Light (『紫外線の社会史－見えざる光が照らす日本』, 岩波新書, 2020) and through the prism of ultraviolet light, he would like to think about how nature, health, and beauty centers have changed in 20th century Japanese society, and furthermore, gender, class, and so-called "race" discourse.

 

Language : Korean 

Inquiry : SNU-IJS  (880-8503 / ijs@snu.ac.kr)