Members
Co-Investigator
TORU SOGA
INSTITUTION
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hirosaki University
ACADEMIC FIELD & RESEARCH
Toru Soga is professor of ecological anthropology and area studies at Hirosaki University. His research focuses on the ethnic conflicts and refugee life in pastoral societies in East Africa, and he tries to clarify the mechanisms by which conflict occurs to find ways toward prevention. In this project, He will incorporate knowledge from evolutionary psychology in considering the universal human disposition by which peace-loving, ordinary people turn to conflict when faced with changed circumstances.
RESEARCH FIELD (FIELD SITE, LOCATION OF RESEARCH)
Pastoral societies in Ethiopia and Kenya
MAIN PUBLICATIONS/PAPERS
- Soga T. “Coexistence system of the pastoral societies over scarce resources” The Resoursification of Nature (Resource Anthropology, Vol. 6) Uchibori M., Matsui T. (Eds.) Koubundou Publishers Inc., 2004. (Japanese)
- Soga T. “Perceivable ‘unity’: Between visible ‘group’ and invisible ‘category'” Groups: The Evolution of Human Sociality. Kawai K. (Ed.) Kyoto University Press & Trans Pacific Press, pp. 219-238, 2013.
- Takakura H., Soga T. Nomads of Siberia and Africa. Tohoku University Press, 2011. (Japanese)
- Soga T. Refugee life as an extension of pastoral life: survival strategies of the Gabra Miigo pastoralists in Southern Ethiopia. Nilo-Ethiopian Studies, 16: 13-27, 2011.
- Soga T. ” How the Gabra Miigo maintained their subsistence system among their refugee time” The Globalization and Living World. Matsui T., Nawa K., Nobayashi A. (Eds.) Showado, pp. 389-426, 2012. (Japanese)
- Soga T. “The formation of institutions” Institutions: The Evolution of Human Sociality. Kawai K. (Ed.) Kyoto University Press & Trans Pacific Press, pp. 19-38, 2017.
- Soga T. “When others appear” Others: The Evolution of Human Sociality. Kawai K. (Ed.) Kyoto University Press & Trans Pacific Press, pp. 69-90, 2019.
- Ohta I., Soga T. (Eds.) Nomadic Thought. Showado, 2019. (Japanese)
COMMENTS
Though humans are social creatures, but having societies that presuppose (or emphasize) the manifestation of mutual sociality can be sometimes difficult to live in for people facing hardships, such as those with developmental disabilities. I want to think about the limits of sociality, rather than simply explore how humans are social creatures.