 | Edward Kamens |
Edward Kamens, who has been named the Sumitomo Professor of Japanese Studies, is a specialist in premodern Japanese literature.
He is director of graduate studies in Japanese literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and in East Asian Studies, and is associate master of Saybrook College.
In his book "Utamakura, Allusion and Intertextuality in Traditional Japanese Poetry," Kamens explores the history, concept and influence of utamakura, a category of Japanese poetic words, many of which are place names or refer to their features. The book received the Hitomi Arisawa Award in 1998, given by the American Association of University Presses for "outstanding merit in the field of Japanese studies."
Kamens translates and offers commentary on writings by a historic Shinto priestess in "The Buddhist Poetry of the Great Kamo Priestess: Daisiin Senshi and Hosshin Wakash¯u" and on those of an imperial-princess-turned-nun in "The Three Jewels: A Study and Translation of Minamoto Tamenori's 'Sanb¯oe.'" Among his other works, Kamens is also the editor of "Approaches to Teaching Murasaki Shikibu's 'The Tale of Genji,'" which focuses on a thousand-year-old fictional account of courtly life in Japan, considered one of the most important works of premodern Japan.
Kamens holds four degrees from Yale: a B.A. (1974), an M.A. in religious studies (1979), and an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in East Asian languages and literatures (1980 and 1982, respectively). Before joining the Yale faculty in 1986, he was an associate professor at the University of Washington and held visiting posts at the University of California-Los Angeles and the University of Chicago.
During his years at Yale, Kamens has served as the chair of the Department of Eastern Languages and Literatures (1997-2000) and as director of undergraduate studies there and in the East Asian Studies Program. He is the former faculty director of the Richard U. Light Fellowships at Yale, and has served on numerous University committees, including chairing the Yale College Executive Committee and the Language Study Committee, among others.
Kamens has been an important part of the Saybrook College community since joining it in 1999, when his wife, Mary Miller, was appointed as master of the residential college. As associate master there, he serves as a freshman and sophomore adviser for Saybrook students, organizes trips to attend performances of the Metropolitan Opera and other cultural events in New York City, and chairs the advisory committee of the Saybrook College Orchestra.
Kamens has been honored numerous times by Yale, receiving its Mellon, A. Whitney Griswold and Morse Junior Faculty fellowships, among other awards. He has also held grants from the Association for Asian Studies and the Japan Foundation, among other organizations.
T H I S
Edward Kamens is appointed
as the Sumitomo Professor
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ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS
Edward Kamens is appointed as the Sumitomo Professor
Frances Rosenbluth is designated the Damon Wells Professor
Martin Bresnick is named the Charles T. Wilson Adjunct Professor
Yale Journalism Initiative to provide support for summer work
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In Memoriam: Asger Hartvig Aaboe
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Dr. Edward Chu . . . appointed as deputy director of the Yale Cancer Center
Campus Notes
Yale Books in Brief
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