Japanese Emoji, Cultural Literacy, and Global Communication

This talk explores the fun and fascinating world of emoji. Learn what the emoji in our phones reveal about our cultural literacy and teach us about Japanese and other world cultures. Discover the ways emoji use differs between generations, how emojis get approved for use, and why emojis make us better communicators and global citizens. And bonus: discover what famous works of literature have been translated into emoji!

Alisa Freedman is a Professor of Japanese Literature, Cultural Studies, and Gender at the University of Oregon and the Editor-in-Chief of the U.S.–Japan Women’s Journal. Her books include Tokyo in Transit: Japanese Culture on the Rails and Road, an annotated translation of Kawabata Yasunari’s The Scarlet Gang of Asakusa, and co-edited volumes on Modern Girls on the Go: Gender, Mobility, and Labor in Japan, and Introducing Japanese Popular Culture. 

She has published widely on Japanese modernism, Tokyo studies, youth culture, gender, television, humor as social critique, teaching pedagogies, and digital media, along with publishing translations of Japanese literature. She is writing two books: Cold-War Coeds: The Untold Story of Japanese Women Sponsored by the U.S. Military and TV Japan: Screaming Samurai Form Anime Clubs in the Land of the Lost. Alisa has been nationally recognized for excellence in mentoring and enjoys presenting at cultural events like anime cons and Japan festivals.