Handa Japanese Archaeology Fellow
Akira Matsuda
Akira Matsuda's research interests are in the relationship between archaeology - and more broadly cultural heritage - and the general public, and he recently completed his PhD in public archaeology at University College London. Previously, he completed his master degree in Cultural Resources Studies at the University of Tokyo and worked as a consultant in UNESCO's Division of Cultural Heritage. In the coming year he will work for the Sainsbury Institute's dogu project, in particular with the preparation of two exhibitions focusing on Jomon dogu (prehistoric figurines): one at the British Museum and the other at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts.
He also plans to organise a workshop on Japanese cultural heritage in March 2010, which aims to explore new aspects of cultural heritage in Japan, in particular in relation to the way in which the concept of 'cultural heritage' has been introduced, and yet not fully accepted, in Japan. The discussions held at the workshop are to feed into an in-depth examination of various phenomena relating to cultural heritage in East Asia (Japan, China and Korea) at a conference that he plans to organise in the same period in collaboration with University College London.
The conference aims to analyse how the past and its material expressions have been perceived, conceptualised and experienced in East Asia, and how these notions have aff ected local practices, national policies and shared notions of identity, especially in a period of fast economic development and increasing globalisation.
+ a.matsuda@sainsbury-institute.org