Paulina (Paula) Kolata
@paulakolata.bsky.social
Assistant Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University, US. Research on religion in Japan, Buddhism, rurality, depopulation, religious economies, heritage and materiality, food.
2026-27 REISCHAUER INSTITUTE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS IN JAPANESE
🚨***Applicant Deadline: December 19, 2025 (Friday), 5:00pm EST***
🚨***Recommender Deadline: January 9, 2026 (Friday), 5:00pm EST***
rijs.fas.harvard.edu/postdoctoral...
🚨***Applicant Deadline: December 19, 2025 (Friday), 5:00pm EST***
🚨***Recommender Deadline: January 9, 2026 (Friday), 5:00pm EST***
rijs.fas.harvard.edu/postdoctoral...
October 22, 2025 at 12:43 AM
2026-27 REISCHAUER INSTITUTE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS IN JAPANESE
🚨***Applicant Deadline: December 19, 2025 (Friday), 5:00pm EST***
🚨***Recommender Deadline: January 9, 2026 (Friday), 5:00pm EST***
rijs.fas.harvard.edu/postdoctoral...
🚨***Applicant Deadline: December 19, 2025 (Friday), 5:00pm EST***
🚨***Recommender Deadline: January 9, 2026 (Friday), 5:00pm EST***
rijs.fas.harvard.edu/postdoctoral...
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
DNA evidence of Tang dynasty cats www.livescience.com/animals/dome...
Pet cats arrived in China via the Silk Road 1,400 years ago, ancient DNA study finds
How and when domestic cats arrived in China has been a mystery. A new analysis of cat DNA suggests traders and diplomats likely carried the pets with them along the Silk Road 1,400 years ago.
www.livescience.com
March 20, 2025 at 11:09 AM
DNA evidence of Tang dynasty cats www.livescience.com/animals/dome...
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
Today's #ManuscriptMonday shows "tendoku," a way of "reading" a Buddhist sutra by rapidly fanning it out and then letting it cascade while chanting the title or a small section. In this case, the priest touches the book to the body as a ritual empowerment for protection.
youtu.be/CsN-9xc9hlY?...
youtu.be/CsN-9xc9hlY?...
大般若 転読加持（西代寺）
YouTube video by kosaimitsuji
youtu.be
March 24, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Today's #ManuscriptMonday shows "tendoku," a way of "reading" a Buddhist sutra by rapidly fanning it out and then letting it cascade while chanting the title or a small section. In this case, the priest touches the book to the body as a ritual empowerment for protection.
youtu.be/CsN-9xc9hlY?...
youtu.be/CsN-9xc9hlY?...
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
Over the weekend, @jjrs-nirc.bsky.social hosted a book talk on "The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions" (2025) with editor Matthew D. McMullen & OG Nanzan Guide editor Paul Swanson.
The event was held in Japanese. The recording is now available on the NIRC YouTube channel!
youtu.be/Q0r7ZgensPo
The event was held in Japanese. The recording is now available on the NIRC YouTube channel!
youtu.be/Q0r7ZgensPo
南山大学と日本宗教の国際的な研究 『The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions』
YouTube video by 宗文研NIRC
youtu.be
March 25, 2025 at 6:27 AM
Over the weekend, @jjrs-nirc.bsky.social hosted a book talk on "The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions" (2025) with editor Matthew D. McMullen & OG Nanzan Guide editor Paul Swanson.
The event was held in Japanese. The recording is now available on the NIRC YouTube channel!
youtu.be/Q0r7ZgensPo
The event was held in Japanese. The recording is now available on the NIRC YouTube channel!
youtu.be/Q0r7ZgensPo
A great blog project on the topic of urban to rural migration and rural revitalisation ran by Cornelia Reiher at the Freie Universität Berlin:
userblogs.fu-berlin.de/urban-rural-...
Including a recent gust contribution by Julia Olsson on her fieldwork on Akiya in Kochi Prefecture. Check it out.
userblogs.fu-berlin.de/urban-rural-...
Including a recent gust contribution by Julia Olsson on her fieldwork on Akiya in Kochi Prefecture. Check it out.
March | 2025 | Urban-rural migration and rural revitalization in Japan
userblogs.fu-berlin.de
March 26, 2025 at 7:04 AM
A great blog project on the topic of urban to rural migration and rural revitalisation ran by Cornelia Reiher at the Freie Universität Berlin:
userblogs.fu-berlin.de/urban-rural-...
Including a recent gust contribution by Julia Olsson on her fieldwork on Akiya in Kochi Prefecture. Check it out.
userblogs.fu-berlin.de/urban-rural-...
Including a recent gust contribution by Julia Olsson on her fieldwork on Akiya in Kochi Prefecture. Check it out.
The Tokyo District Court strips the Unification Church (or Family Federation for World Peace and Unification) of its religious corporation status. A new financial reality for the group and a germane development for the religious freedom legal landscape in Japan.
www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20...
www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20...
旧統一教会に解散命令 東京地裁 経緯は 今後の手続きは | NHK
【NHK】旧統一教会の高額献金や霊感商法の問題をめぐり、東京地方裁判所は「膨大な規模の被害が生じ、現在も見過ごせない状況が続いてい…
www3.nhk.or.jp
March 25, 2025 at 4:31 PM
The Tokyo District Court strips the Unification Church (or Family Federation for World Peace and Unification) of its religious corporation status. A new financial reality for the group and a germane development for the religious freedom legal landscape in Japan.
www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20...
www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20...
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
Our next Fear Research Network (FeRN) seminar will be on April 2, 2025. Valentina Zagaria will present on “The harga is the women’s fault” – Fearing migration’s revolutionary potential in a Tunisian border town" events.manchester.ac.uk/event/event:.... @uomsalc.bsky.social @uomsoss.bsky.social
FeRN Seminar Series: “The harga is the women’s fault” – Fearing migration’s revolutionary potential in a Tunisian border town | Events at The University of Manchester
events.manchester.ac.uk
March 14, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Our next Fear Research Network (FeRN) seminar will be on April 2, 2025. Valentina Zagaria will present on “The harga is the women’s fault” – Fearing migration’s revolutionary potential in a Tunisian border town" events.manchester.ac.uk/event/event:.... @uomsalc.bsky.social @uomsoss.bsky.social
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
@uomsalc.bsky.social will be holding an online information session for potential applicants to the following schemes:
Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships,
British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships,
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships.
Link here: shorturl.at/opLFB
Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships,
British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships,
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships.
Link here: shorturl.at/opLFB
Funding Opportunities - School of Arts, Languages and Cultures - The University of Manchester
www.alc.manchester.ac.uk
March 18, 2025 at 12:13 PM
@uomsalc.bsky.social will be holding an online information session for potential applicants to the following schemes:
Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships,
British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships,
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships.
Link here: shorturl.at/opLFB
Leverhulme Early Career Fellowships,
British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships,
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships.
Link here: shorturl.at/opLFB
Looking forward to visiting University of Toronto & McMaster University in a couple of weeks. I appreciate the opportunity to share my work through the Yehan Numata Program in Buddhist Studies 2024-2025. My first time in Toronto & Hamilton. I’ve been assured Spring is the time to visit. 🌱
March 20, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Looking forward to visiting University of Toronto & McMaster University in a couple of weeks. I appreciate the opportunity to share my work through the Yehan Numata Program in Buddhist Studies 2024-2025. My first time in Toronto & Hamilton. I’ve been assured Spring is the time to visit. 🌱
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
Call for 12 Bicentenary Postdoc Research Fellowships (3-years) at UoM. Fellows will need a mentor and address the Faculty of Humanities priority research themes of Digital Futures; Sustainable Futures; Creativity; Global Inequalities; and Adaptive Societies. www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Bicentenary Research Fellowships in Humanities:Oxford Road
www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk
January 15, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Call for 12 Bicentenary Postdoc Research Fellowships (3-years) at UoM. Fellows will need a mentor and address the Faculty of Humanities priority research themes of Digital Futures; Sustainable Futures; Creativity; Global Inequalities; and Adaptive Societies. www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
Sheffield is an important centre of expertise on East Asia, both within the UK and internatiinally! Please share and sign to support our colleagues!
Sheffield Uni Needs East Asian Studies!
The University of Sheffield has been a global leader in East Asian Studies since its inception as the national centre for modern Japanese Studies in 1963. Korean Studies was introduced in 1979 and mai...
www.megaphone.org.uk
January 10, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Sheffield is an important centre of expertise on East Asia, both within the UK and internatiinally! Please share and sign to support our colleagues!
Looking forward to the Food System Temporalities conference with a great programme of papers: from the Red Palm Weevil infestations, to fishy futures, slow food movements & technological interventions in contemporary foodscapes. Excited to throw my two “Buddhist food waste” cents into the mix.
January 9, 2025 at 7:35 AM
Looking forward to the Food System Temporalities conference with a great programme of papers: from the Red Palm Weevil infestations, to fishy futures, slow food movements & technological interventions in contemporary foodscapes. Excited to throw my two “Buddhist food waste” cents into the mix.
My copy of The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions arrived yesterday. Many congratulations to the editors, @mcmullen.bsky.social and @jolyonbt.bsky.social, and the stellar collective of the contributors.
@kaitlynugoretz.bsky.social The cover photo is truly fab!
Feels like a good start to 2025!
@kaitlynugoretz.bsky.social The cover photo is truly fab!
Feels like a good start to 2025!
January 4, 2025 at 7:45 AM
My copy of The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions arrived yesterday. Many congratulations to the editors, @mcmullen.bsky.social and @jolyonbt.bsky.social, and the stellar collective of the contributors.
@kaitlynugoretz.bsky.social The cover photo is truly fab!
Feels like a good start to 2025!
@kaitlynugoretz.bsky.social The cover photo is truly fab!
Feels like a good start to 2025!
Harvard-Yenching Library Travel Grant programme has reopened:
10 grants of $2000 each in 2025 & 🤞🏼 more to follow. Aimed at non-tenured faculty members, dissertation-writing PhDs/ABDs & independent scholars. Award period by 30 June 2025
Deadline: 31 January 2025
library.harvard.edu/grants-fello...
10 grants of $2000 each in 2025 & 🤞🏼 more to follow. Aimed at non-tenured faculty members, dissertation-writing PhDs/ABDs & independent scholars. Award period by 30 June 2025
Deadline: 31 January 2025
library.harvard.edu/grants-fello...
Harvard-Yenching Library Travel Grant
The Harvard-Yenching Library awards several grants each year to help scholars travel to Cambridge to use our collections in their research.
library.harvard.edu
December 16, 2024 at 8:10 PM
Harvard-Yenching Library Travel Grant programme has reopened:
10 grants of $2000 each in 2025 & 🤞🏼 more to follow. Aimed at non-tenured faculty members, dissertation-writing PhDs/ABDs & independent scholars. Award period by 30 June 2025
Deadline: 31 January 2025
library.harvard.edu/grants-fello...
10 grants of $2000 each in 2025 & 🤞🏼 more to follow. Aimed at non-tenured faculty members, dissertation-writing PhDs/ABDs & independent scholars. Award period by 30 June 2025
Deadline: 31 January 2025
library.harvard.edu/grants-fello...
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
My department has just advertised 5 salaried PhD positions. Projects within the fields of religion, culture studies, environmental humanities, and/or Asian/Middle Eastern studies are welcome. 3-4 years, full-time, fully funded. Candidates must have finished their MA. www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Five Doctoral Research Fellowships (271145) | University of Oslo
Job title: Five Doctoral Research Fellowships (271145), Employer: University of Oslo, Deadline: Monday, February 24, 2025
www.jobbnorge.no
December 9, 2024 at 5:58 PM
My department has just advertised 5 salaried PhD positions. Projects within the fields of religion, culture studies, environmental humanities, and/or Asian/Middle Eastern studies are welcome. 3-4 years, full-time, fully funded. Candidates must have finished their MA. www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
The Fear Research Network (FeRN), led by @chikaw.bsky.social and yours truly, brings together researchers interested in the politics, feelings, and practices that converge around fear from historical and contemporary perspectives. tinyurl.com/ycx25kkb Here are some of our upcoming events at UoM
December 2, 2024 at 8:55 PM
The Fear Research Network (FeRN), led by @chikaw.bsky.social and yours truly, brings together researchers interested in the politics, feelings, and practices that converge around fear from historical and contemporary perspectives. tinyurl.com/ycx25kkb Here are some of our upcoming events at UoM
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
Fascinating online (and physical) exhibit on "how women and their families experienced pregnancy and childbirth in early modern Japan," with many amazing images like this one, a parodic rendering of the Buddhist Ten Realms Mandala placed within the womb. www.nichibun.ac.jp/online/ucsf_...
December 5, 2024 at 3:39 PM
Fascinating online (and physical) exhibit on "how women and their families experienced pregnancy and childbirth in early modern Japan," with many amazing images like this one, a parodic rendering of the Buddhist Ten Realms Mandala placed within the womb. www.nichibun.ac.jp/online/ucsf_...
Landed safely in Venezia for ‘Buddhist Foodways: Vegetarianism, Ritual Economies and Gastropolitics’ Workshop hosted by NICHE at Ca' Foscari University. Here’s to the next couple of days of great conversations.
www.unive.it/data/33113/2...
www.unive.it/data/33113/2...
November 27, 2024 at 9:10 PM
Landed safely in Venezia for ‘Buddhist Foodways: Vegetarianism, Ritual Economies and Gastropolitics’ Workshop hosted by NICHE at Ca' Foscari University. Here’s to the next couple of days of great conversations.
www.unive.it/data/33113/2...
www.unive.it/data/33113/2...
Nothing better than Venice in late November for the “Buddhist Foodways: Vegetarianism, Ritual Economies and Geopolitics” workshop hosted by the New Institute: Centre for Environmental Humanities (NICHE) at the Ca' Foscari University.
November 11, 2024 at 12:53 PM
Nothing better than Venice in late November for the “Buddhist Foodways: Vegetarianism, Ritual Economies and Geopolitics” workshop hosted by the New Institute: Centre for Environmental Humanities (NICHE) at the Ca' Foscari University.
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
For anyone curious about the history of emotions and allied fields, here are some starter resources, accessible for students and professionals alike.
1. The public lecture series organised by NACHE/SIHEX in English and Spanish and freely available here: mars.gmu.edu/collections/...
1. The public lecture series organised by NACHE/SIHEX in English and Spanish and freely available here: mars.gmu.edu/collections/...
History of Emotions lecture series / Historia de las Emociones serie de conferencias
mars.gmu.edu
November 11, 2024 at 8:29 AM
For anyone curious about the history of emotions and allied fields, here are some starter resources, accessible for students and professionals alike.
1. The public lecture series organised by NACHE/SIHEX in English and Spanish and freely available here: mars.gmu.edu/collections/...
1. The public lecture series organised by NACHE/SIHEX in English and Spanish and freely available here: mars.gmu.edu/collections/...
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
If you work on or teach about religious minorities have a look at the Religious Minorities Online Project www.degruyter.com/database/RMO... a peer-reviewed, open-access project co-edited by Michael Stausberg, Alex van der Haven and yours truly. We have published 23 articles so far.
Religious Minorities Online
Religious Minorities Online (RMO) is the premier academic resource on religious minorities worldwide, reflecting the state of the art in scholarship. It is written by leading scholars and is rigorousl...
www.degruyter.com
November 10, 2024 at 9:11 PM
If you work on or teach about religious minorities have a look at the Religious Minorities Online Project www.degruyter.com/database/RMO... a peer-reviewed, open-access project co-edited by Michael Stausberg, Alex van der Haven and yours truly. We have published 23 articles so far.
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
Lots of new followers in the last several days, so between that and the rollout of the new threading feature, this seems as good a time as any to plug a new book that I co-edited with @mcmullen.bsky.social. It’s the New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions. uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/the-ne...
The New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions
For nearly two decades, the Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions has served as a valuable resource for students and scholars of religion in Japan. This exciting update expands the audience to include…
uhpress.hawaii.edu
November 10, 2024 at 6:55 PM
Lots of new followers in the last several days, so between that and the rollout of the new threading feature, this seems as good a time as any to plug a new book that I co-edited with @mcmullen.bsky.social. It’s the New Nanzan Guide to Japanese Religions. uhpress.hawaii.edu/title/the-ne...
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
Outstanding job opening in a legendary Buddhist Studies Department with an absolutely top-notch Japan Studies program as well.
Asian Languages and Cultures at UCLA is searching for a tenure stream assistant professor in Japanese Buddhism!
recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF09824?fbc...
Asian Languages and Cultures at UCLA is searching for a tenure stream assistant professor in Japanese Buddhism!
recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF09824?fbc...
Assistant Professor in Japanese Buddhism
University of California, Los Angeles is hiring. Apply now!
recruit.apo.ucla.edu
September 20, 2024 at 2:45 AM
Outstanding job opening in a legendary Buddhist Studies Department with an absolutely top-notch Japan Studies program as well.
Asian Languages and Cultures at UCLA is searching for a tenure stream assistant professor in Japanese Buddhism!
recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF09824?fbc...
Asian Languages and Cultures at UCLA is searching for a tenure stream assistant professor in Japanese Buddhism!
recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF09824?fbc...
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
Trying out this thing, I guess, although I am very shy on social media. I had an article about how female Shinto priests negotiate menstrual pollution come out recently, if you want to see the sort of things I work on! nccisjpnew.wixsite.com/nccisjp/%E8%...
Vol 46(1) | nccisjp
nccisjpnew.wixsite.com
November 10, 2024 at 1:03 AM
Trying out this thing, I guess, although I am very shy on social media. I had an article about how female Shinto priests negotiate menstrual pollution come out recently, if you want to see the sort of things I work on! nccisjpnew.wixsite.com/nccisjp/%E8%...
Reposted by Paulina (Paula) Kolata
It's spooky month, so OUP made the first chapter of my #Buddhism book, Of Ancestors and Ghosts, free to read for the month of October. This chapter traces the origin of the #hungryghost and, with it, Buddhist cosmology. Link here: academic.oup.com/book/58038/chapter/477477607
October 1, 2024 at 6:24 PM
It's spooky month, so OUP made the first chapter of my #Buddhism book, Of Ancestors and Ghosts, free to read for the month of October. This chapter traces the origin of the #hungryghost and, with it, Buddhist cosmology. Link here: academic.oup.com/book/58038/chapter/477477607