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Abstract

What does it mean to create an inclusive society for disabled individuals inside and outside of Japan? And how might students, faculty, and staff working at the University of Tokyo help to achieve this objective? In this workshop, participants will be afforded opportunities to reflect on these questions by investigating the history of barriers to accessibility from Japan’s past that continue to affect disabled people in the present. They will also practice mobilizing their personal experiences and professional expertise to devise strategies for building a more diverse and equitable future, not only for disabled people but other populations as well.

This workshop will be divided into two parts. In Part One, participants will listen to a lecture about the ways that processes such as industrialization, globalization, and aging have played a key role in shaping ideas about inclusion in Japan, as they have led architects, engineers, educators, and other stakeholders to prioritize the needs of individuals with certain kinds of disabilities over others at different points in time. In Part Two, participants will then explore how their own fields have contributed to and corrected for such prioritizations and consider how the university can serve as a space to advance diversity and equity projects.

Ultimately, this workshop will offer participants insight into disability issues in Japanese and global contexts and suggest actions that they may take inside and outside of the classroom to foster a more inclusive society.

Speaker Bio

Mark R. Bookman is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Tokyo College. His research explores the history of disability policy and connected social movements in Japanese and global contexts. Mark holds Ph.D. and MA degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. His scholarship has been supported by numerous grants and awards, including a Fulbright US Student Fellowship to Japan and Japan Foundation Doctoral Research Fellowship.

Mark’s research has appeared or is forthcoming in journals like The Journal of Japanese Studies, Disability Studies Quarterly, and Japan Focus: the Asia-Pacific Journal. Mark has also written commentary for media outlets including The Japan Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The BBC, and Al Jazeera.

Outside the academy, Mark works as a disability policy consultant. He has collaborated with government and corporate entities in Japan, the USA, and Canada, as well as the International Paralympic Committee and UN, on projects related to inclusive education, equitable environments, and disaster risk management.
For additional information about Mark, see his website:.