Kyudai News No27 page 22/28

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Kyudai News No27

Researchers from Throughout the World 21 IOd like to start by asking about your background, andyour current responsibilities.I have been working in academia since 1999 when I was hiredby the department at Ghent University from which I had justgraduated. When my contract there ended in 2006, I moved toJapan and spent two years as a visiting scholar at RitsumeikanUniversity, supported by grants from the Canon Foundation inEurope and the Japan Foundation. In 2008, I took up aposition at Hosei University and I moved to Kyushu Universityin 2011.In addition to teaching undergraduate students, I amresponsible for the International Master’s Program (IMAP) inJapanese Humanities together with Professor Cynthea Bogel.?is program, established in 2011, is conducted in English ando?ers courses on Japanese history, visual culture, premodernlanguages, religion, and other facets of the humanities.Students from around the globe, both Japanese andnon-Japanese, work side by side to achieve their goals.Please tell me about your passion towards your areaof study. What attracted you to it?My research focuses on the Asuka, Nara, and early Heianperiods in Japanese history. I am especially interested inancient city planning, which I approach from two di?erentangles. At the physical level, I examine how and why the layoutof Japan’s capital cities and palaces changed over time. At thereligious-philosophical level, I conduct research on sitedivination (fengshui) to determine which principles and beliefswere important when a site for a new residence, palace, orcapital was chosen.I have been interested in history and archaeology for as long asI can remember, and I owe my curiosity about other culturesand belief systems to my parents, who took me along on manyof their travels when I was younger.How do you find your life at Kyushu University and inJapan? Is there anything that still excites you?After so many years in Japan, I am still excited about beinghere. For one thing, I had never imagined that I would beworking here permanently. Moreover, unlike earlier positions Iheld at other universities, my teaching responsibilities atKyushu University involve courses only on topics closely relatedto my ?eld of expertise. One of the annual highlights of theIMAP program is the weeklong study excursion to the Kansaiarea with the ?rst-year master’s students. Although many ofthe sites we visit are on the itinerary each year, we try to addsomething new and special each time we go. We are often ableto arrange special access to the storehouses and back areas ofshrines and temples. Next March, for example, we will see theOmizutori ritual up close at Todaiji temple.How do you spend time after classes and duringweekends?My husband works in Macau, where he is Coordinator for theDepartment of Architecture and Design at a local university,so he is usually away. We have two sons (aged 1 and 8) andwhenever they are home from daycare or school they are withme. As a result, the line between my work life and my personallife is blurred. While the boys play, I often sit nearby gradingstudent work or preparing classes. I also schedule almost everyresearch trip during weekends and school holidays, so the boyscan come along rather than being with babysitters for severaldays in a row.Please tell me about your futureresearch/educational activities plans and vision?My ?rst monograph was published in 2008 and I am keen onpublishing another book. I have just been awarded a secondGrant-in-Aid for Young Scholars (KAKENHI Wakate A) tocontinue investigating site divination practices in premodernEast Asia. Professor Bogel and I have also been thinking aboutpublishing a handbook of Nara history, visual culture, andreligion, based on a course that we co-teach.Finally, I hope we can continue to improve and expand theIMAP program and possibly o?er a PhD. We believe this is aspecial and unique program in which students can prepare toenter a wide range of professions that require specializedknowledge of Japan and a high level of English.Ellen Van Goethem (Belgium)Associate Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Philosophy