We are proud to announce that Dr Jennifer Coates, Senior Lecturer in Japanese Studies in the School of East Asian Studies (SEAS), has been recognised by the Leverhulme Trust panel as an exceptional researcher whose work has attracted international recognition and whose future career is exceptionally promising.
With this year’s standard of nominations being incredibly high, Jennifer was selected as the prize recipient for the category Visual and Performing Arts out of a total of 400 applicants.
The prize was awarded to 30 outstanding researchers from across the UK, offering five prizes in each of the categories, which include Classics, Earth Sciences, Physics, Politics and International Relations, Psychology, and Visual and Performing Arts.
Speaking of how she felt upon finding out the news, Jennifer said: “It’s quite surprising! Japanese Studies sometimes feels like quite a small and specific field, so it's really nice to see a broader interest in Japanese cultural studies.
“Of course, any prize that recognises the achievement of anyone always reflects a huge team effort.
“My Head of Department and Departmental Director of Research and Innovation provided great advice on the application, and my collaborative publications with SEAS staff members were also part of the work considered by the selection committee.”
Anna Vignoles, Director of the Leverhulme Trust, said: “I am delighted that we have been able to award these prestigious prizes to such a stunningly talented group of academics. This round was more competitive than ever and the judges had an incredibly difficult task.”
Nominating Jennifer, Kate Taylor-Jones, Head of SEAS and Professor of East Asian Cinema, said: “Jen has shown herself to be a leader in the promotion and development of the field of Japanese Cinema studies in the UK and beyond.
“She has been instrumental in bringing together Japanese and Western Academics in the field of cinema, and internationally she is a highly sought-after speaker who has presented at most of the leading subject conferences and beyond.
“As well as a colleague, Jen is also a friend so I was beyond delighted for her. She really does deserve it.”
For SEAS, Jennifer’s fantastic accomplishment helps showcase the growth and progression of the department.
Kate added: “I hope that his award will demonstrate the breadth and quality of the work that is produced by scholars at SEAS.”
Going from studying Art History and English Literature at undergraduate level, Jennifer got involved in Japanese Cultural Studies after becoming inspired by the impact of Japanese arts and culture on the famous buildings and artworks in her hometown of Glasgow.
Since then, alongside teaching several undergraduate modules, she has studied, researched and taught on a global scale, including in Japan, Australia and the U.S.
As well as being published in internationally recognised journals on various topics, ranging from Japanese and East Asian cinema to gender studies, Jennifer has also incorporated her passion and research of Japanese Cultural Studies into two books, one of which is currently in development.
Commenting on the importance of Japanese Cultural Studies, Jennifer said: “I think that studying any cultures other than our own can be valuable in so many ways by exposing our preconceptions and assumptions, expanding our understanding of how life can be lived, opening up areas of similarity as well as difference, and prompting us to think from a position of shared humanity.
“Understanding Japanese culture specifically can be very helpful from our position here in the UK, as we are two long thin island nations with all the internal diversity that implies!”
“Japan often faces issues and challenges that the UK will also face in the near future, like population change and environmental issues.
“At the same time, some of the UK’s political attitudes and social structures inform or are also found in Japan today.
“Studying Japanese culture can help us to think through pressing global problems, and also to consider what a ‘good life’ can look like in these conditions.”
Jennifer will use the Philip Leverhulme Prize to support a new project, Personifying Japan: Celebrity, Star Persona, and Curatorship in the Transmission of Japanese Arts and Cultures.
With Japan’s long history of using visual and performing arts for political and global influence from the 20th century into the present day, the project will investigate how key prominent public personae formed through arts and culture shape how we understand and view Japan.
This project comes at a critical moment of celebrity politics, with a number of world leaders forming public personas that have the power to construct the stories we tell about nations, political moments or historical events.
In turn, it will propel new remits to media literacy through which the public will be able to better evaluate the claims to power and authority that come from celebrity politicians.
Jennifer added: “I think that postdoctoral positions and research-focused roles for early career staff are essential for universities to develop research potential, so I’m grateful for the support of trusts like the Leverhulme, and hopeful that we’ll see some more research support at the early career level being built into university planning and hiring initiatives.”
Originally posted on the University of Sheffield Staff Hub