Brown Bag@Congregational Library, Boston

David Hall talked about his book A Reforming People at the

Congregational Library on Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. Many

came from various parts of New England. Most were

Congregational Church members including ministers.

David Hall and Rev. Dan Smith (Minister, First Church

Congregational, Cambridge) after the Brown Bag. In

the final chapter, a close case study analysis on New Town

(Cambridge) is attempted.

Acc. to Hall, the early New England was not much like a

Libertarian laissez-faire society but a community based on

mutual help. Tea Party interpretation of New England

Puritanism does not seem to agree with Hall's analysis.

Landsman and Jaffee seminar, Dec. 5, 2010

Ned Landsman, "Philadelphia as 'The Edinburgh of America': The Sources and
Character of the American Enlightenment"
David Jaffee, " New York as Cultural Capital 1830-1880"

David Armitage Seminar at Komaba, Nov. 15, 2010

Kenryu introduces David to the audience.
Seminar paper title: "Civil War: A Conceptual Genealogy"

Joyce Chaplin Seminar at Sophia, Nov. 10, 2010

Joyce giving her paper

Joyce (left), Shitsuyo (right)

Poster designed by Ms. Mika Minoura

Hall Lecture 2010: U of Tokyo, Komaba Campus, Sept. 15

Lecture title: "Women as Actors and Subjects in Religion: Protestant
America, 1650-1850." In the lecture, Hall paid attention not much to
ideology but to actual 'practices' women conducted during the period.
The sacrament of Baptism as a special legacy handed down from mothers
to children in the early American religious life was a fascinating aspect he
pointed out. This means that women played crucial roles in the colonial
New England where the church covenant was extended to function as
the social covenant. In late 18th to 19th c, sentimental power was used
by women to become active and influential agents not only in a domestic
but in a public sphere. This lecture emphasized the empowering dimension
of religion for American women.
My grad seminar students came to the lecture.

Hall Lecture 2010: Daito Bunka Univ. Law School, Sept. 11

Lecture title: "Remaking Religion, Remaking Civil Society: Connections
and Differences, c. 1750-1850." Complexity, ambiguity and multi-layered
aspects of American religious history in its relation to civil society was
emphasized in the lecture.


Shitsuyo, Noriko, Yukimi, Izumi, Juro (Behind: Prof. Chiba and Prof. Sasaki)
Meiji Kinenkan garden in the evening



Prof. Onishi, Juro, Yukimi

Study Seminar in Gora, Hakone (March 14-15)

Mountain view with blossoms from the seminar house
Trying to catch up with reading assignments before seminar at a cozy
gallery cafe. The cup is from their Modern Meissen porcelain
collection.
View from my room
Washing stand in my room

So, time to study!

Alan Taylor's lecture and dinner

Alan Taylor's lecture on Thursday, September 18th was "Squaring
the Circle: Colonial and Native Spaces."
Circles are both spiritual and physical symbols which indicate
tribal communities of the Indian people. Alan introduced two
important material cultural objects, the Indian map of 1721 and
Powahatan's gift to the governor of Jamestown. "Circles "(Indian
communities) tried to integrate "Squares" (English colonies) to
keep peaceful relationships. His ethno-hisotorical reading and
interpretation led us to understand colonial Virginia from a Native
people's point of view.

Here are some pictures from dinner at 稲富 (Inatomi) after the lecture: Alan and Emily
Kenryu, Alan and Emily
Prof. Furuya was the main host of the dinner at this
Okonomi-yaki restaurant.

Alan Taylor at Komaba

Alan Taylor (UC Davis) gave a lecture for the Japanese Association
of Early Americanists at Komaba. The lecture title was
"The Migration Revolution in British North America."
It was interesting to view the colonial history in social historical
perspectives focused upon population growth.

Alan (left) Endo-san (right)

Lecture on David Cronenberg, Tuesday, June 17

Tristanne Connolly (St. Jerome's
College, U. of Waterloo, Canada)
gave a lecture entitled "'I Identify
With The Parasites': The Early
Films of David Cronenberg" on
Tuesday, June 17th at our Institute.
She introduced this gifted director's
early works such as "Shivers" and
"The Brood."


It was quite interesting to know his obsession on women's reproductive
power which he associated with extraordinary monstrous energy.
I wonder why this has been the case of obsessions seen among male
writers and artists. John Winthrop, the governor of the Mass. Bay
Colony, minutely recorded the monstrous birth by Mistress Anne
Hutchinson. There shall be some continuing fear to women's reproductive
power throughout the Western psyche. We went to Izakaya for dinner
afterword.

At Izakaya in Yotsuya Sanchome. From left to right: Ogawa-san,
Tristanne, Joe

Seminar by Prof. Lacorne, Saturday, May 10

"The Rise and Fall of American Secularism"
by Dennis Lacorne (Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris)

Having his interest in the formation of American national identity,
Lacorne tries to demonstrate that religion is always central in US
political history, even when the perspective is a secular one. He
asserts that American "secularism is always defined against a
background of religion."
--------
Lacorne tried to demonstrate the important role Enlightement
thoughts played through the Founding Fathers for them to establish
the separation between church and state in 18th century, especially
focusing upon Jefferson's adoption of Voltaire. I basically agree
with his thesis but at the same time, there had been a long
Presbyterian efforts for the separation between church and states
since the time of Reformation Europe in Geneva and in England in
the 16th century. Although I asked him how he evaluates efforts by
the Calvinist successors of the Reformation in Europe and in England,
his response was not clear on this point. He wanted to connect any
such idea of separation with Enlightenment. I asked about Madison's
Presbyterian background although he did not take it much seriously.
Instead he said there was Lockian influence to Madison's thought.

After the seminer we went to a Chinese restaurant in Shibuya then to
a nice quiet pub in the Center-gai. (Good to know there's a quiet

place in the midst of the Shibuya Center-gai!) Discussion continued

at the dinner table as well. Prof. Lacorne will stay in Japan for

about a month.

Jafee Seminar, the Third Day

"Expanding the Public Sphere: The Village Enlightenment of
New England, 1770-1810" was the title for the third session by
David Jafee, Professor of Bard College, New York. The way he
presented the rural New England during the Enlightenment
period was quite interesting focusing not narrowly on just
intellectual activities but business as well as social activities
taking evidences from material cultural objects, such as cabinets,
pianos, and globes. Discussion afterward was stimulating having
specialists attended from the Japanese Association of Early
Americanists. His arguments were mostly persuasive but there's
one point I could not agree with -- his interpretation of a
church's role in a community. It is true that ministrial
authority declined in the late 18th century due to revivalistic
Evangelical movements and appearances of new venues for knowledge
such as libraries and inexpensive reading materials. Local churches,
however, changed to the direction of democratization as it's
seen in the rapid growth of Methodists and Baptists. So,
adjustments to Enlightenment came to both religious and
secular spheres.







ICU intellectuals:
Prof. Onishi and
Prof. Morimoto









Kenryu with his mentor










The Red Sox Nation (right)


The Rising Generation of the Early Americanists (below)

Bill Corbett Poetry Reading, Jan. 24

Bill Corbett, a poet from Boston, held a poetry reading session with us.
He is a big Red Sox fan -- especially Nomar Garciaparra. It was nice
listening to him talking about Nomar. I believe Nomar was one of
the most beautiful ball players when he was with the Red Sox. I cannot
forget about the excitements to have seen Nomar playing at Fenway --
He had that repeated ritual of saying a short prayer, touching his gloves
and hands to fix all the small eqipments around his body until he became
ready to hit physically and emotionally. We coudn't take our eyes off
from him all these moments. Although he was sent away to Chicago before
the team won the World Series in 2004, I think, his contribution to the
Red Sox was great having poured certain spirituality and discipline into
the team.

Bill's poetry reading session was wonderful introducing not only his
poems but others by Elizabeth Bishop, James Schuyler, Gary Snyder,
and Philip Whalen. His voice carried us from New England to New York,
to Europe, and to Asia in our imagination. Poets can take us into
different spaces and spheres instantly with their magical power of
languages.

Bill answering questions from some participants after the reading session.

Lecture by K. Shimakawa, Dec. 12, 2007

Karen Shimakawa
(New York University)
gave her lecture "Mind Yourself:
Soundwalking in the Other's Shoes"
at our Institute on December 12th.

This talk is a part of her project "Somatic Citizenship" -- how bodily
experiences contribute to consolidate one's identity. She introduced an
interesting website "Soundwalk" (http://www.soundwalk.com/) which
is becoming popular among New Yorkers. Her presentation is in what
manner a person's identity can be destablilized by bodily experiences by
walking in an unfamiliar ethnic neighborhood guided by someone's
voice and sound effects only. You are a stranger in the neighborhood
but can participate its specific everyday activities guided by voices
from an audio equipment. How far can a person delve into an unfamiliar
territory of culturally, ethnically, and religiously foreign?