SymposiumHomonationalism Revisited

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OUTLINE

This symposium invites renowned queer theorist Jasbir K. Puar, whose scholarship has profoundly shaped and continues to influence critical discussions on the intersections of gender, sexuality, colonialism, and racism. Puar’s concept of “homonationalism”, first articulated in her groundbreaking 2007 book Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times, has had far-reaching impact not only on feminist and queer theory but also on area studies, colonialism and race studies, religious studies, disability studies, and critical animal studies. The program will feature a keynote lecture by Professor Puar, followed by presentations from two discussants and an open discussion. This symposium is co-organized by the Global Mediterranean Research Project (Multiculturalism and Intersectionality in Complex Cities (MICCS), Doshisha University) and Komaba Campus Safer Space (KOSS), Division of Diversity & Inclusion, Komaba Organization for Educational Excellence, The University of Tokyo.

DATE & TIME

Saturday, October 11, 2025, 12:00–16:00 (On-site check-in from 11:30)

LANGUAGE

English
(For webinar participants only, simultaneous English–Japanese interpretation will be available.)
*Please note that on-site participants will have access to the English-only program.*

ACCESSIBILITY

For webinar participants only, real-time Japanese captioning will be provided via UD Talk.

PROGRAM

12:00–12:10: Opening Remarks – Chikako Mori, Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Sociology, Doshisha University

12:10–12:30: Introduction to the Symposium – Hiroshi Yasui, Research Fellow, MICCS, Doshisha University

12:30–13:30: Keynote Lecture by Jasbir K. Puar
From Homonationalism to Homofascism

(15-minute break)

13:45–14:15:
Discussant 1: Response from Regional Perspectives – Genya Fukunaga, Associate Professor, Organization for Diversity & Inclusion, College of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Presentation title: “Post/Cold War Order and Homonationalism in East Asia.”(tentative)

14:15–14:45:
Discussant 2: Response from Interdisciplinary Perspectives – Hiroshi Yasui, Research Fellow, MICCS, Doshisha University
Presentation title: “The Impact of Homonationalism: Perspectives from Animal Politics”
Abstract: Jasbir K. Puar’s concept of homonationalism has been widely referenced not only in queer theory and studies on gender and sexuality in Israel, but has also been applied across multiple fields. This presentation examines the cross-disciplinary impact of homonationalism on critical animal studies, focusing on the concept of vegan nationalism in Israel. It draws on an ecofeminist perspective to explore how binaries such as meat-eating versus vegetarianism, and the intersections of humans and animals, have historically shaped normative understandings of bodies.

(15-minute break)

15:00–15:55: Q&A and Discussion – Moderator: Akiko Shimizu, Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo

15:55–16:00: Closing Remarks – Akiko Shimizu, Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo

SPEAKERS

Keynote Lecture: Jasbir K. Puar, Professor, University of British Columbia

Jasbir K. Puar is Distinguished Faculty of Arts Professor in the Social Justice Institute at the University of British Columbia, Extraordinary Professor in the Women’s and Gender Studies Department at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa, and Professor Emerita at Rutgers University where she was faculty in the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department for 23 years. Puar is the author of the award-winning books: The Right to Maim: Debility, Capacity, Disability (2017), which has been translated into Spanish and is forthcoming in Portuguese, and Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times (2007), available in French, Spanish, Portuguese, forthcoming in Japanese, and re-issued as an expanded version for its 10th anniversary (2017). Her articles have been published in journals such as Social Text and South Atlantic Quarterly, mainstream venues such as Al-Jazeera and The Guardian, and translated into more than 20 languages.
Dr. Puar is also co-author of exhibitions for the Sharjah Architecture Triennial (2019) and the Sharjah Art Biennial (2023). In 2019 she received the Kessler Award from the Center for Gay and Lesbian Studies (CLAGS) at CUNY, which recognizes lifetime achievement in and impact on queer research and organizing.

Discussants:
Genya Fukunaga
Associate Professor, Division of Diversity & Inclusion, Komaba Organization for Educational Excellence, The University of Tokyo. Fukunaga’s research focuses on colonialism, the Cold War order, and the politics of sexuality in East Asia. Major publications include The Struggle over Sexuality and Life: LGBTQ Movements and Politics in Taiwan and South Korea (Akashi Shoten), and “State, Capital, and Reproduction: The Formation of ‘Queer Families’ and Homocapitalism in Post–Same-Sex Marriage Taiwan” (Japanese Sociological Review, no. 303, forthcoming).

Hiroshi Yasui
Research Fellow, MICCS, Doshisha University; Academic Researcher, Research Promotion Organization, Doshisha University; Research Fellow, Center for the Promotion of Integrated Humanities, National Institutes for the Humanities. Yasui earned a Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, in 2023. His research focuses on Israeli studies, gender and sexuality studies, and critical animal studies. His book In the Name of Rights: LGBTQ Rights and Animal Rights in Israel was published by the University of Tokyo Press in 2025.

FORMAT

Hybrid
(On-site at Doshisha University Tokyo Satellite Campus Seminar Room and via Zoom Webinar)

REGISTRATION

For on-site participation, please register here.
For Zoom Webinar participation, please register here.

Advance questions for the speakers can be submitted here
(there is also a field for advance questions on the registration form; either option is fine).

CO-ORGANIZERS

Global Mediterranean Research Project – Multiculturalism and Intersectionality in Complex Cities, Doshisha University; Komaba Campus Safer Space (KOSS), Division of Diversity & Inclusion, Komaba Organization for Educational Excellence, The University of Tokyo

CONTACT

Hiroshi Yasui (MICCS, Doshisha University)
hiroshi.yasui63@gmail.com