2025 Japan Lecture Series – What We (Don’t) Talk About When We Talk about Literature: The Visual Representation of Language and Why it Matters in Japanese, March 20.

The Japan America Society of Pennsylvania (JASP) will present Dr. Chris Lowy and his talk "What We (Don’t) Talk About When We Talk about Literature: The Visual Representation of Language and Why it Matters in Japanese" on March 20, part of the JASP's 2025 Japan Lecture Series.

The three character sets used in Japanese - hiragana, katakana, and kanji - allow authors to create a dynamic visual representation of language, adding a unique layer to the reading experience. Poetry, advertising, and representations of dialect or internal dialog are just some of the areas where this creativity is expressed. Dr. Lowy will illuminate this aspect of Japanese literature that may be underappreciated by readers.

Join the JASP on March 20, 2025 for a lecture about how Japanese authors sculpt the architecture of language for their creative and aesthetic purposes. Light hors d’oeuvres and beverages will be provided.

Chris Lowy is the William S. Dietrich II Assistant Professor of Japanese Studies at Carnegie Mellon University. He received his PhD in modern Japanese literature from the University of Washington in 2021. He teaches courses on contemporary Japanese literature, queer literature, contemporary thought, and literary representations of illness and disease. His research focuses on two main topics: the role of written language in Japanese literature and depictions of HIV/AIDS in Japanese literature from the 1980s and 1990s. A co-authored book about the role of written language in Japanese literature will be published later this year by Hituzi Syobo.

The Japan Lecture Series is sponsored by Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, Inc. The talk runs from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in Hamerschlag Hall at Carnegie Mellon University (map): it's free, but registration is required.