Tohoku Gakuin University

Language
日本語 English

Search
  1. HOME
  2. Undergraduate/ Graduate Schools
  3. Faculty of Economics
  4. Department of Co-existing Society Studies
  5. Learning Together: Faculty Introduction
  6. SAKUMA, Kyoko Associate Professor

Faculty of Economics Department of Co-existing Society Studies

Recruitment stopped in April 2023

For all students enrolled in faculties and departments that will cease accepting new students, we will ensure that they maintain their affiliation with their chosen department and the educational environment there until graduation. We, the faculty and staff, will also fulfill our responsibility to provide support for their student life, career paths, and job placement.

Faculty Introduction

SAKUMA, Kyoko Associate Professor

Specialized fields
  • Cultural anthropology (resource utilization theory), Southeast Asian studies (movement of people and goods in island regions)
Research Keywords
  • Indigenous rights movement regarding environment and development, and the protection and utilization of the natural environment.
Courses taught
  • Social Development Theory I & II, Introduction to SDGs, Fundamentals of Fieldwork, Fieldwork IIa, Basic Seminar, Seminars I, II & III
Representative works
  • "Borneo: A History of the Relationship Between Forests and People," Shunpusha, March 2020.
  • "The Genealogy and Contemporary Issues of Sarawak Anthropology," *Malaysian Studies*, Vol. 6, pp. 21-42, October 2017.
  • "Longhouses as Trading Hubs in Inland Borneo: A Study from River Trade in Sarawak at the End of the 19th Century," *Southeast Asian Studies*, 54(2), pp. 153-181, January 2017.
Message from the teacher

What comes to mind when you hear the term "tropical rainforest"? I have been researching the resource use and changes among people living on Borneo (a territory shared by Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei), located near the equator. Our lives are supported by many tropical resources, such as tropical timber sold cheaply in Japan, and palm oil, which is widely used in cosmetics, food, and fuel. In other words, the way people use resources in tropical rainforests, which have the highest biodiversity on Earth, is inextricably linked to the lives of people living in Japan. Instead of dismissing problems happening in some distant "developing country" as irrelevant or troublesome issues for those of us living in Japan, why not consider them together as something that concerns us all?

Faculty website (off-campus)

Related Pages