Environmental Change Workshop Series
The Environmental Change Workshop (ECW) is a hub/arena for discussing on-campus issues related to environmental change that transcends university courses. It is designed to engage graduate students, researchers, professors, experts, and individuals passionate about driving ecological change.
Why do we exist?
Purpose
Our goal is to gather independent people interested in social-ecological relations. We aim to better equip them, exchange ideas, and engage them in discussions that can lead to tangible social change, particularly through our platform for discussions on political ecology and public debate in Japan.
Format
ECW workshop series on climate mitigation, agrarian and environmental change, agriculture and food, and sustainability topics is held twice a semester. KASA Sustainability organizes and hosts a two-session event that consists of a reading workshop and a speaker, which encourages participants to learn and share their knowledge.
Gatherings
The ECW Reading Workshop is a casual gathering of like-minded people who discuss the theme of the ECW Speaker Workshop. The speaker selects and recommends the readings, and the participants are encouraged to read the following works to gain a richer understanding of the speaker workshop.
Collaboration
With support from the Sophia University Graduate Program in Global Studies and as part of the Political Ecology Network, we aim to create a conducive space for researchers and students to exchange ideas, discuss and promote research; expand graduate student access to resources to collaborate, support and publish about climate change mitigation and food research.
Sophia Symposium 2025
Engaging in Inter- and Trans-Disciplinary Research and Teaching in Universities
Inter- and trans-disciplinary (ITD) approaches are recommended for researchers and educators who work at highly specialized institutions such as universities. While the rationale of inter- and trans-disciplinarity approaches is now widely recognized and inter- and trans-disciplinary research institutes and teaching centers have been established to promote collaboration among multiple disciplines, most researchers and educators may rightly ask “how can we apply them to our own research and teaching?” This symposium addresses this practical and important question by inviting front-line educators from Japan, Thailand, and the United States to share their rich experiences and to exchange perspectives on how IDT research and teaching help us not only improve knowledge creation but also make our teaching impactful for students.
Program
10:00 Opening Remarks
10:10-12:30 Morning Session
Transdisciplinary Research on the Social Impacts of Global Environmental Problems
-Perspectives from the Ground of Deforestation in Tropical Asia-
Daisuke Naito (Kyoto University)
Zamboanga, Mindanao: Islam and Christianity at the "End of the World'
Eric Tagliacozzo (Cornell University)
Bridging Ecological Economics and Political Ecology: Environmental Justice Lessons from Myanmar
May Aye Naw Thiri (University of Tokyo)
12:30 -14:00 Lunch Break
14:00 -16:10 Afternoon Session
Understanding Climate Change Perceptions, Emotions, and Actions in Japan:
A Transdisciplinary Mixed-Methods Study
Carola Hommerich (Sophia University)
A World Ecology of Disasters in Development in East Asia:
Shifting Worldviews and Values towards Justice and Care
Takeshi Ito (Sophia University) and Carl Middleton (Chulalongkorn University)
Southeast Asia to Slaughterhouse: Reflections on Jim Scott’s Mentorship
Timothy Pachirat (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)
16:10 -16:20 Coffee Break
16:20 -17:20 Roundtable Session
17:20 -17:30 Closing Remarks