Yoshio Sugimoto
Yoshio Sugimoto (杉本良夫, Sugimoto Yoshio, born December 7, 1939) is a sociologist based at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, where he is currently Emeritus Professor.
Early life
He grew up in Kyoto and graduated from Kyoto University in 1964 with a BA in law and politics. He worked for three years as a staff writer for The Mainichi Shimbun, a Japanese national daily newspaper, but changed career direction enrolling in postgraduate studies in the United States where he obtained a PhD in sociology at the University of Pittsburgh in 1973.[1][2]
Academic career
Sugimoto moved to Melbourne, Australia in 1973, where he began work as a lecturer/researcher at La Trobe University's sociology department. During his more than 30-year tenure at La Trobe, Sugimoto held the positions of Professor of Sociology and Dean of Social Sciences. He became a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities in 1988.[2] In 1981, he was instrumental in the establishment of the Japanese Studies Centre, an inter-university institution based at Monash University, where he served as Foundation Director in 1981-82 and President from 1985.[3] Sugimoto's work has sought to challenge the prevailing monocultural models of Japanese society which claim it to be uniquely uniform and homogenous. Together with Ross Mouer, he developed a multicultural model which focuses on cultural diversity and social stratification, contributing to a paradigm shift in this area.[4] Sugimoto's book An Introduction to Japanese Society, first published by Cambridge University Press in 1997 and now in its fourth edition, "conclusively challenged the traditional notion that Japan comprised a uniform culture and showed how Japan, like most countries, had subcultural diversity and class competition."[5] Sugimoto established a publishing house, Trans Pacific Press, in 2000 that specialises in producing English versions of the works of Japanese social scientists.
Awards and honours
- 2017 Lifetime membership, Japanese Studies Association of Australia
- 2017 The Japanese Foreign Minister's Commendation Award[6]
- 2001 Centenary Medal, Commonwealth of Australia (for service to Australian society and the humanities in the study of sociology and Asian studies)[7]
- 1988 Fellow, Australian Academy of the Humanities (FAHA)
- 1987 Nihon honyaku bunka-shō (Japanese translation award)
Select bibliography
- Rethinking Japanese Studies: Eurocentrism and the Asia-Pacific Region, co-edited with Kaori Okano. Routledge, 2017.
- An Introduction to Japanese Society, fourth edition. Cambridge University Press, 2014.
- The Cambridge Companion to Modern Japanese Culture, editor. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
- Japanese Encounters with Postmodernity, co-edited with Johann Arnason. Columbia University Press, 1995.
- The MFP Debate: A Background Reader, co-edited with Ross Mouer. La Trobe University Press, 1990.
- Constructs for Understanding Japan, co-edited with Ross Mouer. Kegan Paul International, 1989.
- The Japanese Trajectory: Modernization and Beyond, co-edited with Gavan McCormack. Cambridge University Press, 1988.
- Images of Japanese Society: A Study in the Social Construction of Reality, co-authored with Ross Mouer. Kegan Paul International, 1986.
- Democracy in Contemporary Japan, co-edited with Gavan McCormack. M.E. Sharpe, 1986.
- Popular Disturbance in Postwar Japan. Asian Research Service, 1981.
References
- ^ "Yoshio Sugimoto". The Conversation. The Conversation Media Group Ltd. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ a b "Yoshio Sugimoto". Australian Academy of the Humanities. Australian Academy of the Humanities. p. Fellows. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ "Sugimoto, Yoshio". Encyclopedia.com. p. Writers Directory 2005. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ Mouer, Ross; Sugimoto, Yoshio (1986). Images of Japanese Society. Kegan Paul International.
- ^ Boyd, James (August 2003). "Intersections Review: An Introduction to Japanese Society Second Edition". Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context. 9.
- ^ "Emeritus Professor receives Japanese Foreign Minister's Award". La Trobe University. La Trobe University. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ "Professor Yoshio Sugimoto". Australian Honours Search Facility. Australian Government, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
