Bio
Dr. Hisaaki Wake, a native of Japan, came over to Massachusetts in 1993 as Rotary Foundation International Fellow. Since then, he has resided in the States of Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, California, and Maine as well as in the State of Colorado. Most of the time, he taught Japanese language and culture to college students. He also taught English reading and communications courses at Meiji University (Kawasaki) and American and comparative literature at Kindai University (Higashi-Osaka) in Japan in the early 2000s.
In 2012, Dr. Wake received his Ph.D. in Japanese by submitting a dissertation to Stanford University. In the dissertation, he wrote about the use of music in literary creation by the modern Japanese writer Nakagami Kenji, who originally came from a segregated ghetto in Wakayama Prefecture. In 2016, Dr. Wake obtained his United States citizenship in Portland, Maine. His current research interest includes curriculum designing by effectively incorporating authentic Japanese texts and audio-visual narratives in Japanese language and culture classrooms.
Education
Ph.D, Japanese, Stanford University (2012)
Master of Arts, English, State University of New York, Albany (1995)
Bachelor of Arts, English, Hokkaido University (1986)
Professional Experience
Lecturer, Meiji University
Lecturer, Kinki University
Lecturer, Stanford University
Visiting Lecturer, University of California, Davis
Visiting Assistant Professor, Bates College
Visiting Assistant Professor, Amherst College
Honors & Awards
Japan Congress of Journalists (JCJ) Citizens’ Media Award (2004)
Research and Scholarly Interests
Education Technology
Cross-cultural curriculum development
Ecocriticism
Publications
Books:
Wake, Hisaaki, Suga Keijirō, and Yuki Masami, eds. Ecocriticism in Japan. Edited by Hisaaki Wake, Suga Keijirō, and Yuki Masami. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2018.
Book Chapters:
“KS, Educator.” In Wild Lines and Poetic Travels: A Keijiro Suga Reader. Edited by Doug Slaymaker. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2021. 165-178.
“On the Ideological Manipulation of Nature Inherent in Japanese Popular Culture.” In Ecocriticism in Japan. Edited by Hisaaki Wake, Suga Keijirō, and Yuki Masami. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2018. 223-238.
“Shōjo to Tekusuto—Higuchi Ichiyō, ‘Takekurabe’ to Arisu Manrō, ‘Passhion’” (Girl and Text: ‘Growing-up’ by Higuchi Ichiyō and ‘Passion’ by Alice Munro). Bungaku kenkyu wa nan no tame? (What Good Is Literary Study?) Ed. Teruhiko Nagao. Sapporo: Hokkaido UP, 2008. 397-413.
Journal Articles:
“Nakagami Kanji to Genpatsu” (Nakagami Kenji and Nuclear Power Stations). Literature and Environment: The Journal of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment in Japan. Vol. 22: 2019.10. 48-58.
“Teaching Parallelism.” Bungaku, Geijutsu, Bunka (Literature, Art, Culture). Vol. 16:1. Higashiosaka: College of Arts and Literature, Kinki University, 2005. 93-115.
“To What Extent Is Carrie a Homo Economicus—the Representation of Economy in Sister Carrie.” Bungaku, Geijutsu, Bunka (Literature, Art, Culture). Vol. 15: 2.
Higashiosaka: College of Literature and Fine Arts, Kinki University, 2003. 57-88.
“On the Principle of Comparative Studies between Texts: Methodology and Practice.” Bungaku, Geijutsu, Bunka (Literature, Art, Culture). Vol. 15:1. Higashiosaka: College of Literature and Fine Arts, Kinki University, 2003. 33-76.
Book Reviews
“The Four Ecologies: Félix Guattari’s Thought (Kawade Shobo, 2016) by Toshiya Ueno.” In Literature and Environment: The Journal of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment in Japan. 20 (October 2017). 63-65.
Select Translations:
Eve Zimmerman, “Nyū Yōku no Nakagami Kenji” (Nakagami Kenji in New York). Japanese translation and coordination by Hisaaki Wake. Bessatsu Taiyō: Nihon no
kokoro, Vol. 199: Nakagami Kenji. Ed. Takazawa Shūji. Tokyo: Heibonsha, 2012. 152-3.
Yoshimoto Takaaki, “On Tenkō, or Ideological Conversion.” Tr. Hisaaki Wake. Translation in Modern Japan. Ed. Indra Levy. New York: Routledge, 2011, 102-21. *Originally published in Review of Japanese Culture and Society. Vol. 20. December 2008. Tokyo: Jōsai UP. 99-119.
Sekai wa kaerareru (The World Can Be Changed) I & II. Tokyo: Nanatsumori Shokan, 2004. *Cooperative translation works with the Translators United for Peace translators including Jun Hoshikawa. Vol. I received 2004 Japan Congress of Journalists (JCJ) Citizens’ Media Award.