Job alert! We are looking for talented PhD researchers to write a dissertation on Benzaiten worship in modern Japan or Mazu pilgrimages in Taiwan, as part of the ERC project "Maritime Goddesses: Transnational Connections, Blue Environments, and Ritual Care in East- and Southeast Asia" (MARGO).

TWO DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS IN EAST ASIAN RELIGIONS (296038) | University of Oslo

Job title: TWO DOCTORAL RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS IN EAST ASIAN RELIGIONS (296038), Employer: University of Oslo, Deadline: Monday, April 6, 2026

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Exciting research news! I have received a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council for my project "Maritime Goddesses: Transnational Connections, Blue Environments, and Ritual Care in East- and Southeast Asia." Looking forward! More info about the project: www.hf.uio.no/english/abou...

Million grant for research on goddesses and rituals in Asia - Faculty of Humanities

Aike Peter Rots will study some of the most popular deities in the world, how people relate to them, and changes in their surrounding environments.

hf.uio.no

Great text! What if AI is not here to stay?"Generative AI has been compared to the Concorde. Supersonic commercial flight seemed there to stay, until it became clear it would’t work at scale: too costly, too risky, too environmentally harmful" : www.universitetsavisa.no/fremtidsscen...

What if generative AI is not here to stay?

- Generative AI has been compared to the Concorde. Supersonic commercial flight seemed there to stay, until it became clear it would’t work at scale: too costly, too risky, too environmentally harmful...

universitetsavisa.no

Very much looking forward to my upcoming trip to Japan! 🇯🇵 Four weeks in Tokyo, Sendai, Nagoya, Kansai, and Kyushu. A full schedule, with work meetings, excursions, and three academic events. Please join if you are in town: ⬇️

Finally! 🤩 Our position piece: Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia: doi.org/10.5281/zeno... We unpick the tech industry’s marketing, hype, & harm; and we argue for safeguarding higher education, critical thinking, expertise, academic freedom, & scientific integrity. 1/n

In Kraków for the #IAHR2025 conference. Started today with a city walk, Catholic Mass, and Polish folk dance performance. Looking forward to the conference! I will be on two panels: "Recentring fear in the study of religion" (Tu, 9am) and "Religion and heritage-making in Japan and beyond" (Th, 1pm).

Ja, dette viser at vi er et land uten kontroll på oljesektoren. Og det miljøbevegelsen så forsiktig ber om, er en PLAN for utfasingen av denne forurensende næringa, på en måte som også ivaretar arbeidere i sektoren. Men noen krever full gass mot stupet www.nrk.no/klima/norge-...

What is the relationship between whaling, heritage, tourism & community? Through ethnographic research, @aikerots.bsky.social examines festivals in 3 Japanese towns as case studies of whaling as a social imaginary and reveals how heritage-making is a future-oriented endeavor doi.org/10.1080/1869...

One week left to apply for this tenured #envhist job!

Finn Arne Jørgensen@finnarne.me · last yr.

We are hiring! Fully tenured associate professorship in environmental history! We are looking for someone who can be a strong contributor to the history group, to a new #envhum related MA program (if all goes well), and to @greenhouseuis.net. #envhist

Just published: my article "Crossing Boundaries: Rethinking 'Japanese Religion' in the Anthropocene." A great honour to have been invited to contribute to the 50th anniversary issue of @jjrs-nirc.bsky.social. Many thanks @mcmullen.bsky.social, @jolyonbt.bsky.social, and @kaitlynugoretz.bsky.social.

Dr. Kaitlyn Ugoretz@kaitlynugoretz.bsky.social · last yr.

The Japanese Journal of Religious Studies @jjrs-nirc.bsky.social ✨50th anniv issue✨ abt past, present, & future of 🇯🇵 religious studies is out! 🙏Paul Swanson, Hayashi Makoto, Kawahashi Noriko, Keller Kimbrough, Emi Foulk Bushelle, @orionklautau.bsky.social @jolyonbt.bsky.social @aikerots.bsky.social

A short article on CORDIS, the research dissemination website of @erc.europa.eu, about our Horizon 2020 research project "Whales of Power" (2019-2025) 🇪🇺🐳🙏. In six languages 🇬🇧🇫🇷🇩🇪🇪🇸🇮🇹🇵🇱! Many thanks again to the European Research Council for making this project possible. cordis.europa.eu/article/id/4...

Exploring human-cetacean relations in maritime East Asia

A comparative ethnographic project dived into the links between religion, biodiversity and the environment.,,,European Commission

cordis.europa.eu

What does it really mean to transform society toward sustainability? On June 3, the RESULTS Symposium brings together researchers, activists, and professionals in Oslo for a day of conversations, collaboration, and reflection. 🕒 Today’s the last day to register! 🔗 shorturl.at/LZCV1 #Sustainability

RESULTS Symposium on Sustainability Transformations - Include - Research centre for socially inclusive energy transitions

Transformations to sustainability: Are we talking with or past each other?

shorturl.at

My article "Whales of Hope: Whaling Heritage, Tourism, and Community Belonging in Twenty-First-Century Japan" has just been published. It is part of the special issue "Japan Futures" (eds. Fabio Gygi and Iza Kavedžija). Many thanks to the editors and reviewers. 🐳 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Whales of hope: Whaling heritage, tourism, and community belonging in twenty-first-century Japan

This article discusses the significance of whaling heritage in contemporary Japan. It distinguishes between whaling as lived socioeconomic practice on the one hand, and whaling heritage as social i...

tandfonline.com

My article "Whales of Hope: Whaling Heritage, Tourism, and Community Belonging in Twenty-First-Century Japan" has just been published. It is part of the special issue "Japan Futures" (eds. Fabio Gygi and Iza Kavedžija). Many thanks to the editors and reviewers. 🐳 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Whales of hope: Whaling heritage, tourism, and community belonging in twenty-first-century Japan

This article discusses the significance of whaling heritage in contemporary Japan. It distinguishes between whaling as lived socioeconomic practice on the one hand, and whaling heritage as social i...

tandfonline.com

I will forever be haunted by this footage. Trawling has only been filmed underwater a few times in documentary history, and never with such clarity. What’s so heart-rending about these shots is watching how the animals don’t just get swept up — they swim for their lives. 🌎🦑🧪

Akademiet for yngre forskere leter etter 10 nye medlemmer! AYF samler fantastiske forskere i tidlig karriere der brenner for forskningspolitikk, forskningsformidling og vitenskapelig debatt. Søknadsfristen er 15. juni Mer info ⤵ akademietforyngreforskere.no/vil-du-bli-m...

Vil du bli medlem hos oss? Nå kan du søke medlemskap! Frist 15.juni - Akademiet for yngre forskere

Vil du bli medlem hos oss? Nå kan du søke medlemskap! Frist 15.juni  Link to the English edition of the Call for applications Velkommen til åpent nettmøte med oss 27.mai kl. 12.00 – les mer og registr...

akademietforyngreforskere.no

Very proud of my partner Nhung Lu Rots, who has submitted her PhD dissertation "Engaged Buddhism and Environmentality among Buddhist Minorities in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam" @uio.no. A great achievement! One of the dissertation's articles was published recently: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Towards an Alternative Buddhist Modernity: Hòa Hảo Charity Healing and Herbal Medicine in the Mekong Delta

This article examines the role of Hòa Hảo Buddhism in providing alternative healthcare, through traditional medicine and charity clinics, in the Mekong Delta. Based on participant observation and i...

tandfonline.com

Very proud of my partner Nhung Lu Rots, who has submitted her PhD dissertation "Engaged Buddhism and Environmentality among Buddhist Minorities in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam" @uio.no. A great achievement! One of the dissertation's articles was published recently: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Towards an Alternative Buddhist Modernity: Hòa Hảo Charity Healing and Herbal Medicine in the Mekong Delta

This article examines the role of Hòa Hảo Buddhism in providing alternative healthcare, through traditional medicine and charity clinics, in the Mekong Delta. Based on participant observation and i...

tandfonline.com

New on Bluesky! We’re OCEH - a research hub at the University of Oslo @uio.no, exploring climate, nature & culture through the humanities. Follow for research highlights, events, reading tips & snapshots from the OCEH Lab. 📸 OCEH Lab hf.uio.no/oceh #ClimateCrisis #EnvironmentalHumanities #envhum

THE RISE OF END TIMES FASCISM My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social. The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

The rise of end times fascism

The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them

theguardian.com

Sharing this video of excited people and wrestling spiders mostly to give you all a short break from doomscrolling. It may be hard to believe these days but there are still fun and interesting things happening in the world. Cherish them. 🕷️

@mulboyne.bsky.social · last yr.

Jumping spider fighting in Chiba, which a local group has registered with a UNESCO project. A tournament will be held in Futtsu in May. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHz3...

RIP Hatakeyama Shigeatsu (1943-2025), an oyster fisherman from Tohoku who started a reforestation project to improve the coastal environment under the slogan "the forest is the lover of the sea" (森は海の恋人). In 2012, he was awarded a UN Forest Hero award for his work. 🦪🌱 www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...

Can we get more of this? “The Japanese American National Museum will ‘scrub nothing,’ Fujioka said, and instead will highlight the importance of DEI. “Our community is based on diversity, equity is guaranteed to us in the Constitution, and inclusion is what we believe in,” Fujioka said.

Japanese American National Museum takes a stand against DOGE cuts to NEH

The National Endowment for the Humanities warned museums across the country that it was slashing funding, including money previously pledged to places such as LACMA and the Japanese American National ...

latimes.com

Mijn scriptie ging over Karl Popper’s Open Society: over de fundamenten van de democratie en de pijlers waarop ze rust. Zoals onafhankelijke pers en wetenschap. Vanavond lees ik over de uitholling vd publieke omroep en de aanval op academische vrijheid. Het kan snel gaan… nos.nl/artikel/2562...

Wetenschappers bijeen om zorgen over academische vrijheid in Nederland en VS

In een zaal van de Universiteit Leiden spraken wetenschappers hun zorgen uit, en probeerden ze van elkaar te leren hoe ze zich tegen de invloed van de VS kunnen wapenen.

nos.nl

What did 14 years of autocratic populism produce in Hungary? Poverty and corruption www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

The Hungarian Model

MAGA conservatives love Viktor Orbán. But he’s left his country corrupt, stagnant, and impoverished.

theatlantic.com

My colleagues and I at the Department of Culture, Religion, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Uni Oslo) have written a statement of support for our colleagues at Columbia University. In solidarity with them - and others in the US who face censorship and oppression. www.khrono.no/in-solidarit...

Letter of support: In solidarity with our colleagues at Columbia University

A letter of support from faculty at the Department of Culture, Religion, Asian, and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oslo.

khrono.no

It's now called a centre instead of a school, but we still do environmental humanities in Oslo.

OCEH alt@handle.invalid · last yr.

hello world (unofficially).

ALL universities should protest this. My university @uio.no (and Norwegian authorities) should raise this immediately with US counterparts. Nobody can send students or faculty to stay with US institutions if this is how they are treated!

Matt Novak@paleofuture.bsky.social · last yr.

Video of the international student at Tufts being arrested by "federal authorities" in Massachusetts has been released and it's terrifying. They're not even uniformed officers. Just secret police thugs in hoodies and masks. From WCVB: youtu.be/PuFIs7OkzYY

Video of the international student at Tufts being arrested by "federal authorities" in Massachusetts has been released and it's terrifying. They're not even uniformed officers. Just secret police thugs in hoodies and masks. From WCVB: youtu.be/PuFIs7OkzYY