Monday 13 May
Dr Wai Lau
On the Process of Civilisation in Japan: Sociogenetic and Psychogenetic Investigations
A Figuration Sociologist at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, Dr Lau is the author of On the Process of Civilisation in Japan (2022). By employing the works of Norbert Elias in his book, he examines the complex civilising processes found in Japanese society from the 8th century to the 20th century. He will walk us through the micro and macro processes that have shaped the Japanese through 1,300 years of history.
Monday 10 June
Associate Professor Dieter Reicher
Heroes in the Movie and the National Habitus
With research focuses on Historical and Cultural Sociology, Prof. Reicher has previously taught at both the University of Vienna and City College New York. These days, however, he plies his academic trade at Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Austria. What exactly is the national habitus, and what is all this talk of heroes? Reicher argues that by examining the content and messages in mainstream cinema, one might garner a sense of who a people are, what structures they deem normative and what emotional proclivities they tend to display. When confronting films set in different cultural settings, one is then able to uncover internalised habits and a value system.