About the event
In this hybrid study day, we will examine the multiple impacts of the Fukushima disaster in many areas (eco-critical, socio-economic, scientific, geopolitical, etc.), fifteen years after the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident that struck Japan on 11 March 2011.
In particular, we will take stock of the artistic and literary representations that have largely contributed to forge a collective memory of these events. For this, we will build on discussions initiated at a first symposium held in September 2017 at the University of Edinburgh, ‘Post-Fukushima Art and Literature in Japan and the West’.
Please note that some presentations will be given in French, and some in English. The language of the talk is noted in the programme below.
French writer and scholar Michaël Ferrier, a long-time resident of Japan and author of several books on this disaster, including 'Fukushima, récit d'un désastre' (Gallimard, 2012), already took part in these exchanges of 2017 and will be present again in Edinburgh for this study day in March 2026; he will also give a talk at the Institut Français d'Ecosse the day before the conference, at 4pm on Thursday 26 March.
Find out more about Michaël's Institut Français talk
Programme
10:10am - Welcome by Fabien Arribert-Narce (University of Edinburgh)
10:15am - Hervé Couchot (Sophia University, Tokyo), ‘Vers un nouvel “âge atomique”? Changements de paradigmes et continuités philosophico-politiques depuis Fukushima’ (online, in French)
11am - Michaël Ferrier (Chuo University, Tokyo), ‘De l’atome au flocon : quels modèles éco-critiques au temps de Fukushima ? Une comparaison Nakaya-Richter' (in person, in French)
11:45am - Élise Domenach (École Nationale Supérieure Louis-Lumière, Lyon), ‘Hamaguchi Ryusuke : la triloie du Tohoku, matrice d’une écocritique cinématographique’ (in person, in French)
12:30pm - Lunch
1:30pm - Julien Néel (Yale University), ‘Radiant Numinosity: Objects and Scales in Post-Fukushima Literature’ (in person, in English)
2:15pm - Akane Kawakami (Birkbeck, University of London), ‘Hideo Furukawa’s long walk’ (in person, in English)
3pm - Coffee break (in 40 George Square Café)
3:30pm to 4pm (finish) - Michaël Ferrier will read extracts from his roman en cours, in 40 George Square, Room LG.08 (Lower Ground Floor)
How to attend
This event is open to all, and free to attend. No registration is required for attending in person - to join online, please email Dr Fabien Arribert-Narce.
