BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//5.99912//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:461@sainsbury-institute.org DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261015T180000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261015T190000 DTSTAMP:20260928T081829Z URL:https://www.sainsbury-institute.org/events/andre-leroi-gourhan-in-japa n-tangible-collections-and-intangible-recollections/ SUMMARY:André Leroi-Gourhan in 1930s Japan: Tangible Collections and Intan gible Recollections DESCRIPTION:Online lecture via Zoom.\n50 min lecture followed by Q&\;A.\ nFree and open to all\, booking essential.\nTo check your time zone conver sion if you are joining from outside the UK\, click here.\n\nIf you have l imited access to the internet but would still like to view the lecture\, p lease email sisjac@sainsbury-institute.org or call us on +44 (0) 1603 5975 07 to book to attend our livestream from 64 The Close. \nSpeaker\nMarion Di Santi (Sorbonne Université / Centre André Chastel)\nAbout the Talk\nA ndré Leroi-Gourhan (1911-1986) was a prominent figure in 20th-century Fre nch humanities. He is best remembered for his pioneering contribution to t he field of “technology” in the context of anthropological studies of techniques\, as well as for his pivotal role in transforming prehistoric a rchaeology and cave art research in the aftermath of World War II. He has influenced several generations of researchers\, who recognise him as one o f the leading thinkers on the relationships between humans\, technology\, and the environment.\n\nA significant yet often disregarded period in his career is his two-year stay in Japan\, between April 1937 and March 1939. As a scholarship student sponsored by the Japanese government\, he was als o commissioned by the Musée de l’Homme to assemble a collection of ethn ographic materials. This mission to Japan constituted a pivotal moment in the trajectory of his academic career. Aged just twenty-five\, this was Le roi-Gourhan's inaugural foray into fieldwork. Through meticulous field obs ervations\, systematic artefact collection\, photographic surveys and a de liberate process of acculturation\, Leroi-Gourhan constructed and refined his understanding of the relationship between culture and environment. Alm ost none of his work on Japan was ever published\, but the collection of e thnographic materials remains. The objective of this presentation is twofo ld: firstly\, to showcase the collections of Japanese materials assembled by Leroi-Gourhan\; and secondly\, to highlight the more theoretical contri butions that this trip to Japan made to his research\, particularly in the field of the study of techniques.\nAbout the Speaker\nMarion Di Santi is a Doctor in Art History and Archaeology. Initially a specialist in Japanes e prints – a subject she taught at the Sorbonne while pursuing her Ph.D. – she subsequently turned her attention to the history of Japanese coll ections in France (19th–20th centuries)\, with a particular focus on eth nographic collections. The subject of her doctoral dissertation was the ma terials assembled by André Leroi-Gourhan for the Musée de l’Homme duri ng his mission in the Japanese Archipelago (1937-1939).\n\n \;\n\nImag e: André Leroi-Gourhan visiting the Kamikaizuka shell midden alongside ar chaeologists from the Imperial University in June 1937. Kyoto University M useum\, Kyoto ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.sainsbury-institute.org/wp-content/u ploads/2026/09/H070-scaled.jpg CATEGORIES:Third Thursday lecture - Sainsbury Institute END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260329T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR