Dr Yasuko Claremont

BA, Tamagawa University; MA, PhD, University of Sydney
Senior Lecturer
550 Brennan Building

+61 2 9351 4500

Yasuko Claremont teaches and carries out research in modern Japanese literature, comparative literature and Australian studies. She specializes in modern poetry and the works of Ōe Kenzaburō, the Nobel laureate for literature.

Current projects

Dr Claremont is currently engaged in two major research projects. The first is a critical study on the theme of spiritual renewal found in the literature of Ōe Kenzaburō. The resulting book, contracted with Routledge, UK, will be completed in March 2008. The second project explores the lives and times of the so-called “burnt-out site generation”, those Japanese who came of age amidst the rubble of the post-war era and came to lead Japan’s reconstruction. Dr. Claremont is writing an article on the specific contributions of certain individuals and guest editing a special issue of the journal Japanese Studies.

Selected publications

Dr Claremont is the author of Japanese Prose Poetry (The University of Sydney East Asian Series, No. 16, 2006), a study that traces how from small French-inspired beginnings the prose form has risen to become part of Japan’s national poetic tradition. Earlier works include Gen’ei: Selected Poems of Nishiwaki Junzaburō (1894-1982) (The University of Sydney East Asian Series, No. 4, 1991), and An Introduction of 20th Century Australian Poetry (1985). Dr. Claremont also translated into English Fumio Yamazaki’s Dying in a Japanese Hospital (1996).

Areas of teaching and research supervision

Teaching

• JPNS2670 Japanese literature (March Semester)
• JPNS2621 Japanese 5
• JPNS2622 Japanese 6
• JPNS3632 Japanese 10

Supervision

• Modern Japanese poetry, comparative literature, and Australian literature.

Other professional contributions

In addition to teaching and research, Dr Claremont has been Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Disability Liaison Officer since 2003. In January 2007, her team established a web site, Inclusive Equity, aimed at promoting a better learning environment at the University of Sydney. She was the Honorary Treasurer and an executive committee member for the fiftieth anniversary international conference of the Oriental Society of Australia, held in December 2006.