Establishment of the Research Center for West Asian Civilization
The preliminary foundation stage of the Research Center for West Asian Civilization was nominated for a “Pre Strategic-Initiative” by the Organization for the Support and Development of Strategic Initiatives in 2010. It opened as a provisional research center and aims to establish itself as an inter-disciplinary research center focusing on the ancient civilization of West Asia by 2013. Its main activities are centered on four operations below.
1. Support for Field Projects
The center supports a wide range of field projects, which have so far been conducted in isolation by individual researchers of the University of Tsukuba, in various regions in West Asia. It aims to facilitate and mediate communication between each project and function as a research center which assembles the latest academic information as well as technical know-how to conduct field research in the region.
2. Rescue Projects for Archaeological Sites and Historical Resources
In response to requests from West Asian nations the centre plans to facilitate rescue projects for cultural heritage under threat and contribute to the conservation and research of archaeological sites and historical resources.
3. Organization of Symposiums and Workshops
International symposiums and local workshops are organized on a regular basis (three workshops and two symposiums are to be held in the 2010-2011 academic year). This provides an interdisciplinary setting for researchers working on the ancient civilization of West Asia from different fields of study, including human science, in particular archaeology, history and linguistics; environmental science mainly geology and ecology; and chemical science involving material analysis and conservation of cultural property. In addition, the center promotes the exchange of researchers through the invitation of foreign researchers to Japan and by supporting Japanese researchers visiting overseas.
4. Education Program
Education programs are organized for post graduate and undergraduate students through which the students are expected to acquire practical knowledge of field work. In addition, students can participate in the workshops and symposiums where they can obtain feedback of their research from professional researchers.
West Asia represents a dramatic historical landscape which repeatedly marked important turning points in human history: the exodus of modern humans from Africa; the beginning of agriculture; the development of complex societies called ‘cities’, the invention of a writing system, the emergence of territorial states and the establishment of monotheistic religions. This long historical development of human society is so important that it has formed the social and cultural foundation of every society in the modern world. It is expected that the Research Center for West Asian Civilization at the University of Tsukuba will be at the forefront of world-wide research and research communities in this area. The office of the Research Center for West Asian Civilization can be found in the Humanities & Social Science Building (Kyodo-Kenkyu-To A601).