NEWS
2023.07.19
【Report】The NUQ-RU Global Symposium on “Language, Mobility and Knowledge Production in the New Era” was held!
The NUQ-RU Global Symposium titled “Language, Mobility and Knowledge Production in the New Era” took place on July 11. The event was jointly organized by the Asia-Japan Research Institute at Ritsumeikan University and the Institute for Advanced Study in the Global South, which is based at Northwestern University in Qatar.
For this symposium, the following five presenters shared their research findings.
Dr. Toshiyuki Takeda (Associate Professor, AJI, Ritsumeikan University), “Arabic Language, Mobility, and Cross-border Networking of Shinqiti Intellectuals: Mauritania, the Arab Gulf, and Beyond in the Globalized World”
Dr. Clovis Bergère (Assistant Director for Research Institute for Advanced Study in Global South, Northwestern University in Qatar) “From Diglossia to Multilingualism in African Studies: Reflections from Guinea”
Dr. Ammar Khashan (Associate Professor, AJI, Ritsumeikan University), “Beyond the Ocean of Cultural Differences: Intimate Reflections on the Language Cosmoses of Arabic and Japanese Presentation”
Dr. Hasan Mahmud (Assistant Professor, Liberal Arts Program, Northwestern University in Qatar)
“A Postcolonial Social Theory Approach to Understanding Social Experience in Global South: reflections from a study on ethno-nationalism in Bangladesh”
Dr. Nobuyuki Matsui (Visiting Assistant Professor, Research Organization of Open Innovation & Collaboration, Ritsumeikan University)
“How Japanese Philosophy has Retained its Japaneseness While Adopting Modern Western Philosophical Concepts: From the Kyoto School to Yujiro Nakamura on Subjectivity”
First, Dr. Toshiyuki Takeda provided an overview of Arabic language education in Mauritania in his presentation. He also talked about the significant contribution of intellectuals from Mauritania to the religious education industry in Saudi Arabia.
During the Q&A time, the other participants raised questions about how to approach the international migration of educational intellectuals while taking into account the differences between individuals from Western nations and those from Asian and African countries.
Dr. Takeda (Left) delivering his presentation and Dr. Ayaka Kuroda (Right)
During his presentation, Dr. Clovis Bergère discussed the African languages, the impact of French colonialism, and the relationship with English from the perspective of African studies, with a specific focus on Guinea. During the Q&A session, participants asked about the potential for “open translation” between various language communities.
Dr. Clovis Bergère making his presentation
Dr. Ammar Khashan presented on the history, structure, and ways of thinking embedded in two distinct languages. He explored these topics based on his experience of learning Japanese as an Arabic speaker. The participants brought up the issue of loanword adoption from an international standpoint and its impact on language comparisons during the Q&A session.
Dr. Ammar Khashan delivering his presentation
Dr. Hasan Mahmud’s presentation provided an overview of postcolonial sociological theory and discussed how he applied it in his research on Bangladeshi Muslims. During the Q&A session, the participants delved into possible alternatives that could be considered following postmodern criticism.
Dr. Hasan Mahmud delivering his presentation
Dr. Nobuyuki Matsui's presentation compared the ideas of philosophers Kitaro Nishida and Yujiro Nakamura to Western philosophy, focusing on the concepts of "subject/object," "subject/predicate," and "place." In the Q&A session that followed, participants inquired about the Kyoto School's involvement in the war and the evolution of Japanese philosophy in the postwar period.
Dr. Matsui delivering his presentation
The presentations, which revolved around language, mobility, and knowledge production, covered various topics and areas from West Africa to Japan. Despite this diversity, there were engaging discussions during each presentation.