Farewell Open Lunch for Departing International Students Date: Wednesday, July 9, 2025 Time: 11:40 AM - 12:40 PM (During TUFS lunch break) Venue: Rented Room in TASC (not the usual Center location) We will be holding a special Farewell Open Lunch to celebrate and say goodbye to five international students who will be completing their exchange program this semester and returning to their home countries in July-August 2025. Visiting Professor John M. Mugane will also return to Harvard University at the end of July 2025. Unlike our usual Open Lunch, which is held on the first Wednesday of the month at the Center, this farewell event has been scheduled on a different date and location to accommodate students' class and exam schedules. Departing Students: Irene IRADUKUNDA Espoir Bohohya MAJALIWA Angel Gabriella OSEI Daniel Chiteta MUKUMA Lindah Lenah PHIRI We warmly invite all students who are available during the lunch break to join us for this farewell gathering. Please bring your own food and drinks ! Let's make this a memorable send-off for our friends and fellow students. Report Although it was a short time, we had a great time chatting and having fun even after we finished lunch. ＜＜Here's article＞＞

The 105th ASC Seminar will be held with Dr.Ohsoon Yun. The 105th ASC Seminar will feature Dr. Ohsoon Yun from Korea, who has been affiliated with our center as a Research Fellow since April of this year. Dr. Ohsoon Yun will talk about her research on "Ethiopian Coffee: Asian Coffee Road" and other topics. If you are a coffee lover and live near TUFS, please come and join us, you can also join us via Zoom, please pre-register here. Click here for Dr.Yun's YOUTUBE video Title: "Why Coffee Needs a Geography: Mapping Meaning from Asia to Africa" Abstract: While a ubiquitous global commodity, coffee's profound influence on place and identity often goes unexamined. This talk introduces Coffee Geography as a new academic field that investigates how coffee's journeys, narratives, and sensory experiences shape spatial meanings across Asia and Africa. Drawing from human and cultural geography, this framework positions coffee not only as a global product but as a moving signifier--a cultural medium that acquires new meanings as it travels between regions. Blending narrative and sensory analysis, I argue that coffee enables the construction of imagined geographies, linking distant places through shared tastes, stories, and symbolic associations. By tracing coffee's layered histories--from its African origins to its reinvention in Asian contexts--I explore how coffee mediates belonging, identity, and global connection. Ethnographic examples and case studies will illustrate how everyday coffee practices foster unexpected connections and remap relationships between cultures. Ultimately, this talk calls for a more reflexive and sensory-oriented approach to commodity studies, revealing how even a daily drink can reshape our understanding of space, self, and the world. ◆Speaker: Dr. Ohsoon Yun ◆Date：July 10th, 2025 (Thu) 5:40p.m.～7:10p.m.（JST）/ 8:40a.m.～10:10a.m.（GMT) ◆Venue：Hybrid　 Onsite： Room113（1F Research and lecture bldg.,TUFS Fuchu Campus） Online：ZOOM ◆Language：English ◆Addmission fee：Free 【Please pre-register in advence from here】Or Use QR Code. Registration deadline: Noon July 10th, 2025 (Thu) The Zoom link will be sent after you pre-registerd. ◆Jointly organized by African Studies Center - TUFS and Kanto Branch of Japan Association for African Studies Report The 105th ASC Seminar was held in a hybrid format, with a total of 60 participants (14 face-to-face and 46 online).The seminar was given by Dr. Yun, a special researcher at ASC. Her encounter with coffee in Ethiopia, which began with Ethiopian coffee geography (tourism), expanded beyond geography and tourism to include comparisons of coffee cultures in Japan, Korea, and Asia through Africa.The story, which became a lifelong research topic for Dr. Yun, was also interesting to us from multiple angles. As the content was multifaceted, participants asked a variety of questions during the Q&A session.

Title: "Where Africa's people Speak: African Languages in Thought, Work, and Life" Abstract:　 This talk is a journey into how African languages are learned, spoken, and lived--not just studied. In African contexts, language is never just words; it's people, place, memory, and power. From classrooms to clinics, from homes to courtrooms, African languages are everywhere--vibrant and alive. These spaces aren't just physical. They're symbolic too: sites of identity, resistance, and cultural affirmation. I'll explore three dimensions of language: Thought, Work, and Life. In Thought, we look at how African languages shape how people think, learn, and imagine the world. They carry indigenous knowledge and challenge colonial assumptions--just think of Ng?g? wa Thiong'o's call to decolonize the mind. In Work, we see how language policies shape real outcomes in courts, hospitals, and tech spaces. Translation and interpretation are not just services--they're economies. In Life, language shows up in homes, markets, stories, songs, and online spaces. It's how people connect across generations and express who they are. This talk pushes back--quietly but clearly--against the idea that African languages are fading or marginal. They are spoken, taught, learned, and most importantly, lived. And where they're spoken--physically and symbolically--matters. Because in every sense, language is a way of being in the world. ◆Speaker: Prof. John M. Mugane（Visiting professor , African Studies Centre, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies / Professor, Harvard University） ◆Date：Thursday, June 26th, 2025/ 5:40p.m.～7:10p.m.（JST） 8:40a.m.～10:10a.m.（GMT)◆Venue：Hybrid?Onsite Room109（1F Research and lecture bldg.,TUFS Fuchu Campus）＆ Online（ZoomMeeting）?Access：https://www.tufs.ac.jp/abouttufs/contactus/access.html◆Language：English◆Addmission fee：FREEPlease pre-register in advence from here. Or Use QR Code. Registration deadline: Noon June 26th, 2025 (Wed)The Zoom link will be sent after you pre-registerd. ◆Jointly organized by African Studies Center - TUFS and Kanto Branch of Japan Association for African Studies Report The 103rd ASC Seminar was held in a hybrid format with 51 participants (25 face-to-face and 26 online). Prof. John M. Mugane spoke on "Where Africa's people Speak: African Languages in Thought, Work, and Life." being followed by lively discussion among Japanese and African scholars.

TUFS African Weeks 2025 "African Weeks 2025," an event organized primarily by students of Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) to promote deeper understanding of Africa, will be held from June 1 to 14, 2025. For more details ?? Instagram: @afri.canweek2025 or visit the official website: TUFS African Weeks 2025 Announcement（only in Japanese）. Event 1: [Watch] [Listen] Film Screening by International Students (by Irene IRADUKUNDA @iradukunda_irene_250/)(Pre-registration required [link])◆ Date & Time: Thursday, June 5, 2025, Period 6 (17:40-19:10)(Movie screening 17:40-18:40, followed by social time)◆ Venue: Room 115, Research and Lecture Building, TUFS [TUFS Students Only]Event 2: [Touch] [Taste] [Smell] Cooking Event(Pre-registration required for TUFS students [link])◆ Date & Time: Saturday, June 7, 2025, 10:00-12:00 (tentative)◆ Venue: Shiraitodai Community Center (Meet and dismiss on-site) Event 3: [Watch] [Listen] [Touch] Talk Show(Co-hosted as the 102nd ASC Seminar; pre-registration required [link])◆ Date & Time: Wednesday, June 11, 2025, Period 3 (12:40-14:10)◆ Venue: Room 115, Research and Lecture Building, TUFS Event 4: [Watch] [Touch] African Fashion Show(Pre-registration required [link])◆ Date & Time: Thursday, June 12, 2025, Period 6 (17:40-19:10)◆ Venue: Room 115, Research and Lecture Building, TUFS Event 5: [Watch] [Touch] African Fabric Accessories Sale(Items will be available during the following events)?June 5 (Thu) 17:40-19:10?June 11 (Wed) 12:40-14:10?June 12 (Thu) 17:40-19:10◆ Venue: Room 115, Research and Lecture Building, TUFS