The imagination of an apocalypse is a staple of Western cultures. On one hand drawing from the biblical tradition of revelation, on the other hand intersecting with contemporary imaginaries of worlds’ end through the ages, it is remarkable that similar narratives appear absent from the East Asian canon. We map out the narrative systems of two prints from Hiroshige's celebrated "100 Famous Views of Edo" cycle - "Sunrise at Kanda Myōjin Shrine", and "Komakata Hall and Azuma Bridge" to develop the polyphony of layers from which the images speak to us. This reveals not only a generally unrecognized aspect of loss and transience that underlies a part of Hiroshige‘s lyrical work, but also adds to our understanding of the nature of apocalyptic sensibilities. The ultimate question is how individuals construct meaning, and Hiroshige's work allows us to investigate both this question and the modes of how it can be asked.

About the Speakers:

Yi CHEN 陳怡 PhD, currently Fellow at the Käte Hamburger Centre for Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Studies (CAPAS), Heidelberg University. Previously: Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Bond University, Australia (2017-2020); Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (2016-2017); Assistant Professor of Ethics, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (2001-2004). Degrees: Ph.D. in Comparative Literature, University of Toronto, Canada (2015); Master’s in Classics, University of Arizona, U.S.A. (2008); PhD in Philosophy, Fudan University, China (2001). Specializations: Philosophy of Comparison, Phenomenology and Hermeneutics, Chinese Philosophy and Literature, Japanese Aesthetics.

Boris STEIPE MD PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto (2001–2022); Director, Specialist Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (2004–2019); Group Leader, Gene-Centre of the Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU), Munich (1995–2001); Fellow, Department of Structural Research, Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany (1990–1994). Degrees: Habilitation in Biochemistry LMU (2000); PhD, LMU (2000); MD, LMU München (1985). Specializations: Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, Complexity and Self-Organisation, Philosophy of Mind.

Access:

This event is open to all and will be held in a hybrid format:

Location: Zentrum für Ostasienswissenschaften (ZO) 120.02.11, Universität Heidelberg

Access via Zoom: If you would like to join the lecture online, please write to emily.tsui[at]hcts.uni-heidelberg.de for access.