Not Japan, nor the U.S.: for an Interdisciplinary Analysis of Filmic Representations of Okinawa in the Last Decade

Position: Research appointment (pre-doc) Institute: Uni. Turin
Posted on: 19/05/2026 Deadline: 09/06/2026

Scientific-Disciplinary Group

10/ANGL-01 - English And Anglo-American Studies, 10/ASIA-01 - Cultures And Languages Of Central, South, Eastern And South-Eastern Asia, 10/PEMM-01 - Performing Arts, Music, Film And Media

Description

Ever since Denoon et al. (1996) first challenged the idea of Japan as a homogeneous society, scholars have looked at Okinawa (often relegated, in pop culture, to the role of a de-politicized tropical paradise) as a case study on multi-culturalism in Japan. This research aims to contribute to this scholarship, with a focus on filmmaking, analysing the representation of the Japanese and American occupation of Okinawa in three documentaries, reflecting markedly different perspectives – Okinawa: The Afterburn (2016), Occupied Okinawa (2023) and Ikusafumu (War clouds 2024) – with a post-colonial and interdisciplinary approach, combining history and textual/filmic analysis of Japanese and English-language sources. The study will investigate how they participate, sometimes problematically, in the negotiation of the Okinawan identity. It will also discuss the potential of filmmaking to foreground the issue of Okinawa (self-)determination as an example of broad sociopolitical processes.

Compensation

37,478 Euro

Job posting website

https://lavorainateneo.unito.it/index_ir.html?type=SEL_IDR

Number of positions

1

Maximum duration

12.0

Funding body

Università di Torino

How to apply

https://pica.cineca.it/unito/sum-2026-iii/

Selection process

Click to expand
Per Titoli e Colloquio. Il calendario dei colloqui viene pubblicato sull'Albo d'Ateneo ( https://webapps.unito.it/albo_ateneo/ ) e sul Portale di Ateneo ( https://lavorainateneo.unito.it/index_ir.html?type=SEL_IDR ). I candidati NON riceveranno comunicazione di ammissione al colloquio. La pubblicazione del calendario all'Albo Ufficiale dell'Ateneo equivale a notifica ai sensi di legge per la convocazione al colloquio. La domanda deve essere presentata tramite la procedura online https://pica.cineca.it/unito/sum-2026-iii - per informazioni: incarichiricerca@unito.it Mandatory requirement for admission to the selection: italian Laurea Magistrale, or Laurea a Ciclo Unico, or an equivalent degree from foreign Universities, obtained no more than 6 years prior to the application deadline (i.e obtained after 09/06/2020). The Call for Applications (published on the University Bulletin Board under ref. no. 2553 of 19/05/2026), containing the procedures to participate in the selection process and the specific requirements for each selection, is available at https://webapps.unito.it/albo_ateneo/ .

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