Teaching & Institutions

KOIAS

2024 — 2026

Research, teaching, and international collaboration at the Kobe Institute for Atmospheric Studies.

KOIAS brings different disciplines and cultural traditions into the study of atmosphere. I joined the institute at Kobe University in 2024.

Atmospheric Studies Field: The study of how atmospheres shape experience, across philosophy, the arts, and other disciplines.

My work includes coordinating international collaborations, organizing the talks series, and coordinating the fellowship for visiting researchers.

Alongside this work, I conduct research on European and Japanese poetry and designed and taught a graduate course on breath, spirit, and atmosphere.

ki · qi Japanese · Chinese: Terms with meanings including breath, energy, and spirit, studied here in their different historical contexts.

Specially Appointed Assistant Professor, Kobe Institute for Atmospheric StudiesCoordinating the institute’s international collaborations, fellowship, talks, and symposia in Atmospheric Studies.Kobe University · October 2024 — September 2026
JSPS Core-to-Core Program for Atmospheric StudiesA five-year JSPS-funded network linking researchers in Atmospheric Studies across eleven partner centers.International network, eleven partner centers · 2025 — 2030
The KOIAS FellowshipCoordinating the KOIAS Fellowship and its meetings for visiting researchers.Coordinator · funded through the JSPS Core-to-Core Program · 2025 — present
Three symposia and a talks seriesOrganizing international symposia at Kobe University and ZRS Koper, and convening the KOIAS Talks series.Kobe University and ZRS Koper · 2024 — 2026
Breath, Spirit, and Atmospheres — a graduate seminarA course on breath, spirit, atmosphere, and ki, taught at Kobe University.An Introduction to Respiratory and Atmospheric Studies · Lecturer · Advanced Humanities Seminar, Kobe University · Fall 2025
From Harvard to Kobe University: The Value of Atmospheric Studies and the Humanities in the Contemporary WorldA talk for Shimadzu on Atmospheric Studies and the relationship between the humanities and the sciences.5th KOIAS–Shimadzu Lecture · Shimadzu Corporation, Kyoto · 10 September 2025
From Intention to Atmosphere: The Forgotten Respiratory and Atmospheric Roots of European CultureA lecture on the history connecting intention, breath, and atmosphere.KOIAS Talk · Kobe University · 4 December 2024
“Vibe and Atmosphere on Social Media (SNS)”A workshop on the relationship between “vibe,” atmosphere, and social media.Workshop convened at KOIAS, Kobe University · 28 January 2025
Society for Atmospheric Studies — Inaugural Conference, Kobe 2026Co-organizing the society’s inaugural conference in Kobe and designing and maintaining its conference website.Co-organizer · ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Kobe and Kobe University · 24 — 26 September 2026
The Re-Materialization of the Spirit: An Atmospheric Ecocritical History of Modern European PoetryA JSPS-funded project on breath, spirit, and atmosphere in modern European poetry.Research project · JSPS KAKENHI 25K22981 · Principal investigator · 2025 — 2026
Managing Editor, AtmosphaericaManaging editor of the forthcoming yearbook of the Society for Atmospheric Studies.The Yearbook of the Society for Atmospheric Studies · from 2027
Wind, Atmosphere, Stimmung — two invited lecturesTwo invited lectures on wind, spirit, and atmosphere in Hofmannsthal, Shelley, and Verlaine, taught in Yuho Hisayama’s Comparative Literature course.Comparative Literature, Prof. Hisayama · Kobe University · December 2024 — January 2025
“Kireji, Caesura, Atmosphere: A Preliminary Cross-Cultural and Philosophical Comparison”A comparison of Japanese cutting words and European caesuras through Nishitani and Agamben.Invited article · Contemporary and Applied Philosophy 17 · 2026
“Cross-Cultural Breathing: A Slovene–Japanese Dialogue on Atmosphere and Breath”A newspaper article on the collaboration between ZRS Koper and KOIAS, and their shared research on breath and atmosphere.Article · Delo, in Slovene translation · 26 June 2025

Connections

AtmosphereThe research questions behind my work at the institute.ZRS KoperCollaboration between Kobe and Koper.Society for Atmospheric StudiesThe Society for Atmospheric Studies and its inaugural conference.Academic positionsResearch and international collaboration at Kobe.Specially Appointed Assistant Professor, Kobe Institute for Atmospheric StudiesResearch and institutional coordination at Kobe.

Visit the instituteKOIAS →

Teaching & Institutions

Kobe University · October 2024 — September 2026Specially Appointed Assistant Professor, Kobe Institute for Atmospheric StudiesCoordinating the institute’s international collaborations, fellowship, talks, and symposia in Atmospheric Studies.

Institute for Philosophical and Religious Studies, ZRS Koper · 2023 — presentAssistant with PhD, Modern Languages and PhilosophyResearch in philosophy and literature at ZRS Koper, with collaborations on breath, atmosphere, and the arts.

ARIS research programme P6-0279 · Institute for Philosophical and Religious Studies, ZRS Koper · directed by Lenart Škof · 2026 — 2032Philosophy, Poetry and the ArtsA research program on philosophy, poetry, and the arts at ZRS Koper, directed by Lenart Škof.

International symposium, co-organized · Centre for Humanities, ZRS Koper · 15 – 16 June 2026Elemental Pathways Through Nature: Beyond Anthropocentrism and EcocentrismA symposium on nature, ecology, and philosophy that I co-organized at ZRS Koper, with a keynote by David Abram and a plenary by Serenella Iovino.

FORLILPSI, Università degli Studi di Firenze · 2025 — presentAffiliated Scholar — cultore della materia — in Japanese StudiesAn affiliation in Japanese Studies with Diego Cucinelli, including thesis co-supervision and research on Japanese and European poetry.

An Introduction to Respiratory and Atmospheric Studies · Lecturer · Advanced Humanities Seminar, Kobe University · Fall 2025Breath, Spirit, and Atmospheres — a graduate seminarA course on breath, spirit, atmosphere, and ki, taught at Kobe University.

Comparative Literature, Prof. Hisayama · Kobe University · December 2024 — January 2025Wind, Atmosphere, Stimmung — two invited lecturesTwo invited lectures on wind, spirit, and atmosphere in Hofmannsthal, Shelley, and Verlaine, taught in Yuho Hisayama’s Comparative Literature course.

Philosophy · Comparative Literature · General Education · 2018 — 2021Four courses as Teaching Fellow at HarvardTeaching in Philosophy, Comparative Literature, and General Education, with Certificates of Distinction in Teaching for three courses.

Teaching Fellow · PHIL 129 · Prof. Samantha Matherne · Harvard · Fall 2018 · Certificate of Distinction in TeachingKant’s Critique of Pure ReasonLeading discussion sections for Samantha Matherne’s course on Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason.

Teaching Fellow · GENED 1020 · Prof. John T. Hamilton · Harvard · Fall 2019 · Certificate of Distinction in TeachingSecurityLeading discussion sections for John T. Hamilton’s General Education course on security.

Teaching Fellow · GENED 1001 · Prof. Giovanni Bazzana · Harvard · Fall 2020 · Certificate of Distinction in TeachingStories from the End of the WorldLeading discussion sections for Giovanni Bazzana’s General Education course on apocalypse.

Teaching Fellow · COMPLIT 193 · Prof. Luis Girón Negrón · Harvard · Spring 2021What’s Love Got to Do with It?Leading discussion sections for Luis Girón Negrón’s Comparative Literature course on love.

Wadham College, Oxford · Fall 2023Seminar Tutor — Paul Verlaine, Romances sans parolesTeaching a seminar on Verlaine’s Romances sans paroles at Wadham College, Oxford.

The Yearbook of the Society for Atmospheric Studies · from 2027Managing Editor, AtmosphaericaManaging editor of the forthcoming yearbook of the Society for Atmospheric Studies.

Co-organizer · ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Kobe and Kobe University · 24 — 26 September 2026Society for Atmospheric Studies — Inaugural Conference, Kobe 2026Co-organizing the society’s inaugural conference in Kobe and designing and maintaining its conference website.

Springer · ReligionsAcademic editingCo-editing a section of the Handbook of Critical Respiratory Studies with Kalpana Subramanian and a special issue of Religions with Lenart Škof.

Kobe University and ZRS Koper · 2024 — 2026Three symposia and a talks seriesOrganizing international symposia at Kobe University and ZRS Koper, and convening the KOIAS Talks series.

Sophia · AI & Society · The Polish Journal of Aesthetics · Classical PhilologyPeer reviewerReviewing submissions for journals in philosophy, aesthetics, classics, and the study of AI and society.

International network, eleven partner centers · 2025 — 2030JSPS Core-to-Core Program for Atmospheric StudiesA five-year JSPS-funded network linking researchers in Atmospheric Studies across eleven partner centers.

Coordinator · funded through the JSPS Core-to-Core Program · 2025 — presentThe KOIAS FellowshipCoordinating the KOIAS Fellowship and its meetings for visiting researchers.

Paper for the Society for Atmospheric Studies Inaugural Conference, Kobe · 24 – 26 September 2026“Respiratory Poetics: Breath, Atmosphere, and Poetic Form between Europe and Japan”A comparison of Goethe and Bashō exploring how poems bring breath and atmosphere into language.

Selection commission · European Cultural Centre of Delphi and ZRS Koper · 2026Kapodistrias Residential FellowshipServing on the selection commission for a residential fellowship run by the European Cultural Centre of Delphi and ZRS Koper.

Symposium, organized · Gonzaga University in Florence · 24 November 2026Breath, Wind, SpiritA symposium on breath, wind, and spirit that I am organizing in Florence, with a keynote by Alessandro Nova.

Harvard College · Università degli Studi di Firenze · McGill University · 2019 — presentSupervision and examiningIndividual tutoring at Harvard, undergraduate thesis co-supervision in Florence, and doctoral examining at McGill.

2024 — 2026KOIASResearch, teaching, and international collaboration at the Kobe Institute for Atmospheric Studies.

Society, conference, and forthcoming yearbookSociety for Atmospheric StudiesAn international society bringing together researchers working on atmosphere across disciplines and cultures.

September 2023 — presentZRS KoperResearch and collaboration at the Institute for Philosophical and Religious Studies in Koper, Slovenia.

2018 — 2026TeachingTeaching philosophy and literature through close reading and discussion.

Article · Delo, in Slovene translation · 26 June 2025“Cross-Cultural Breathing: A Slovene–Japanese Dialogue on Atmosphere and Breath”A newspaper article on the collaboration between ZRS Koper and KOIAS, and their shared research on breath and atmosphere.

Publications, teaching, and academic experienceAcademic CVThe complete academic record, with publications, talks, teaching, funding, and service.