An Invitation to Theorise East Asian Pedagogy:
Bodymind, Dark Consciousness, and Self-cultivation

An Invitation to Theorise East Asian Pedagogy: Bodymind, Dark Consciousness, and Self-cultivation

Speaker: 

Professor Keita Takayama

Professor of Comparative Studies in Education

Centre for Research in Educational & Social Inclusion

University of South Australia

Discussant:

Professor Cheng Chung-yi

Department of Philosophy

Director, Research Centre for Chinese Philosophy and Culture

The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Date: September 11, 2025 (Thursday)

Time: 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm 

Mode: Online via Zoom

Registration: https://hku.zoom.us/meeting/register/7LeouR-eSjGC-YMAx0WgSQ

Building on the theoretical work initiated by Komatsu and Rappleye (2017), this paper turns to the East Asian and Japanese theories of bodymind and learning as a possible theoretical resource for a new appraisal of East Asian pedagogy. To this end, the paper first delves into the East Asian and Japanese theories of bodymind and learning, drawing on scholarship of comparative philosophers Thomas Kasulis and Robert Carter, Japanese philosopher Yasuo Yuasa whose scholarship influences the former two, and educational philosopher Tadashi Nishihira. The theoretical account, assembled from these scholarly works, is then deployed in rereading three recent studies on Confucian pedagogical thoughts and practices, based respectively in Edo-Japan, Taiwan and mainland China, that cut across time and space in East Asia. Aligned with Chen’s (2010) call for ‘Asia as method,’ this cross-temporal and cross-regional inquiry is intended not only to solidify the theoretical account of East Asian bodymind and pedagogy but to suggest a comparative methodology that foregrounds regional inter-referencing as a mode of theorisation.      

About the Speaker:

Keita Takayama is Professor of Comparative Studies in Education at the Centre for Research in Educational & Social Inclusion, the University of South Australia. His research draws on postcolonial and decolonial theories to study the past and present educational policies, practices and thoughts as well as their transnational mobilities.

About the Discussant:

Cheng Chung-yi is a professor in the Department of Philosophy and Director of the Research Centre for Chinese Philosophy and Culture, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research areas include Song-Ming Confucian philosophy, contemporary Neo-Confucian philosophy, the history of Chinese philosophy, and East-West comparative philosophy.

All are welcome!