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Events — Ainu as a Dying Race or Multiculturalism? Ainu representations in Golden Kamuy and Upopoy

April 20, 2026/ 1:00 PM

TBD

Ainu as a Dying Race or Multiculturalism? Ainu representations in Golden Kamuy and Upopoy

Colloquium with Rika Ito

 

Rika Ito is Professor of Asian Studies at St. Olaf College, teaching Japanese and linguistics. Her research centers on how language is used in different social situations and what that reveals about culture, power, and identity. Her publications include analyses of young Hmong Americans’ identity negotiation (Ito, 2021) and representations of foreign characters in anime (Ito & Bisila, 2020). Her recent project examines linguistic and visual representations of the indigenous Ainu in both virtual and physical spaces, in relation to contemporary tabunka kyōsei (multiculturalism) and the Ainu-as-dying-race discourse. She also serves on the editorial board of Language & Communication.


Sponsor(s): Terasaki Center for Japanese Studies