KONAN UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES

English Literature and Language

This program offers in-depth studies in literature, language and culture in the English-speaking world. By preparing papers for presentation in the Konan English Literary Society（https://www.konan-u.ac.jp/hp/els/) and working towards their theses, students are enabled to deepen and enrich their knowledge in their chosen field. Classes are kept small to ensure maximum participation in discussion and provide a high level of personal guidance from faculty members.

(For more information on the linguistics section of the program, please see the Konan Psychling website.（https://www.konan-u.ac.jp/hp/els/psychling/）)

Linguistics

Name Title Research areas Research conten
MARTIN, Andrew Professor Phonology, Psycholinguistics I specialize in phonology and psycholinguistics. I mainly study how infants learn phonological patterns, using a combination of computational modeling and statistical analysis. I am particularly interested in the role played by probabilistic generalizations in phonological grammars. I also work on the phonetic characteristics of infant-directed speech. My research focuses on Japanese, but I also utilize data from a range of languages.
DUFFIELD, Nigel G. Professor Syntax, Crosslinguistic Variation, Psycholinguistics (First and Second Language Acquisition; Language Processing) Formal research on grammatical variation within and across languages, with particular reference to Modern Irish and Vietnamese phrase-structure; comparative studies of grammar acquisition by children and adults.
NAKATANI, Kentaro Professor Semantics, Psycholinguistics My research interest lies in the mechanisms of human language that should reside in human brain. I'm especially interested in (i) the lexicon-syntax interface and (ii) the real time language comprehension and its relation to the use of memory resources.
FUKUSHIMA, Akitoshi Professor Phonetics Examines time control over syllables in English, focusing on the relationships of syllable structure and allophonic realization to syllable timing.

Anglophone culture

Name Title Research areas Research conten
INOSE, Kumie Professor Modern British History / British Imperial History Cultural and socio-historical study of the movements of imperial reorganization that took place in various parts of the British Empire during the two decades before and after 1900. Of particular interest is the analysis of the networks of information and culture that were created by the movement of people throughout the Empire, including travel, immigration, and war.
HAMAMOTO, Ryuzo Associate Professor American Culture and Literature Mark Twain and his Times. My research interests are on the 19th century American writer Mark Twain, particularly on the influence of his various cultural experiences on Twain's work. At the same time, I am interested in the identities and activities of the Ku Klux Klan that flourished after the Civil War and in the 1920s.

Anglophone literature

Name Title Research areas Research conten
Akimoto, Takafumi Professor American Literature The Parallel Relationship between the Changes in American Paper Currency System and the Imagination in American Fiction; Comparative Study of Jewish Imagination in American and Israeli Jewish Fiction
IWAI, Gaku Professor British literature I study twentieth century British writers, including D. H. Lawrence, H. G. Wells, J. M. Barrie and J. G. Ballard, by putting their texts into social and political contexts of the time when they were composed.
SUGIURA, Yuko Professor British Drama in 16th and 17th centuries My specialty is Shakespeare and his contemporary dramatists. My current research topic is the development of satire in John Marston’s plays. Other recent research topics are boy’s companies in 1580s and 1600s, the sources and adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, and so on.