Gavin Whitelaw quoted in The New York Times about Japanese-style convenience stores in the US
Reischauer Institute Executive Director Gavin H. Whitelaw was recently quoted in two articles in The New York Times "Is America Ready for Japanese-Style 7-Elevens?" and "Why 7-Eleven and Other Convenience Stores in Japan Are So Special." Both September 9th articles, in response to the developing efforts of 7-Eleven to adopt Japanese food options in US stores, featured scholarly opinions from Dr.
Read MoreQiaoyan Li Rosenberg (2025-26 RIJS Postdoctoral Fellow) named inaugural recipient of United States-Japan Foundation Scholar Dissertation Award
Qiaoyan Li Rosenberg was selected by the United States-Japan Foundation (USJF) as the inaugural recipient of the United States-Japan Foundation Scholar Dissertation Award, a new annual competition recognizing the best social sciences doctoral dissertation on Japan produced in the United States.
Read MoreXiaolu Ma (Ph.D. 2017, Comparative Literature) wins Honorable Mention for 2025 AILC-ICLA Balakian Prize
Xiaolu Ma (Harvard Ph.D. '17, Comparative Literature) has received an Honorable Mention in the 2025 competition for the International Comparative Literature Association's Anna Balakian Prize for her book Transpatial Modernity: Chinese Cultural Encounters with Russia via Japan (1880–1930), published in 2024 through the Harvard University Asia Center Publications Program.
Read MoreDavid C. Atherton appointed Thorley D. Briggs 1953 Associate Professor of the Humanities
David C. Atherton has been appointed Thorley D. Briggs 1953 Associate Professor of the Humanities. Professor Atherton is a scholar of literature, focusing primarily on Japan’s early modern period (also known as the Edo or Tokugawa period, ca. 1600-1867). He is concerned with understanding how the intrinsic, literary dynamics of early modern texts interacted with and shaped the social, cultural, and political worlds beyond the page.
Read MoreIan J. Miller appointed Reischauer Institute Professor of Environmental History
Ian J. Miller, is the Reischauer Institute Professor of Environmental History as well as an Affiliate Professor in the Department of the History of Science and the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. Since July 2020, he has also served as Faculty Dean of Cabot House.
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