[January 15] Professor Joshua Paul Dale, Department of English Literature and Culture, will have a dinner and book reading at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Japan (FCCJ)

Joshua Paul Dale, author of Irresistible: How Cuteness Wired our Brains and Conquered the World and a pioneer in the field of cuteness studies, explains how the cute aesthetic spread around the globe. His book delves into the surprisingly ancient origins of Japan's kawaii culture, and uncovers the cross-cultural pollination of our globalized world. This is the first cultural history of cuteness, and offers a revealing look at how our most powerful psychological impulses have remade global style and culture.

In his talk, Dale will explore the science behind cuteness using examples ranging from the annual "Pikachu Outbreak" parade of Pokémon characters in Yokohama to the free-roaming foxes of Zao Fox Village in Miyagi Prefecture. Then, he'll speak on how Japan's kawaii culture influenced emoji; fan conventions of "furries" who dress in head-to-toe animal costumes; and the latest in cute robots, the LOVOT. 

Dinner and Book Reading by Professor Joshua Paul Dale at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Japan (FCCJ)

Date and time: Monday, January 15, open at 18:00, dinner from 18:15, presentation from 19:15, ends at 20:30. 
Venue: Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Japan (FCCJ), Marunouchi Nijubashi Bldg. 5F, 2-3, Marunouchi 3-chome, Chiyoda-ku. 
Participation fee: 4,000 (includes dinner and 1 drink).
Reservations can be made by sending email to front@fccj.or.jp. Payment is in advance before Wednesday, January 10th, 2024.

The talk will be in English. 
For more information, see: https://www.fccj.or.jp/event/book-break-joshua-paul-dale-author-how-cuteness-wired-our-brains-and-conquered-world