Thomas Blackwood
Professor of Sociology
Ph.D. – University of Michigan
Education
| 2005 Ph.D. – Sociology, University of Michigan |
| 1998 M.A. – Asian Studies: Japan, University of Michigan |
| 1991 B.A. – East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago |
Teaching & Research Interests
Sociology, Social Psychology, Inequality, Education
Academic Appointments
| 2014- Professor, Tokyo International University |
| 2012-2014 Program Manager, MIT-Japan Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| 2008-2012 Associate Professor, University of Tokyo |
| 2007-2008 Associate Professor, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University |
| 2006-2007 Assistant Professor, Bunkyo Gakuin University |
| 2003-2006 Faculty Research Associate, University of Tokyo |
Fellowships & Grants
| 2009-2011 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research |
| 2002-2003 Ito Foundation Dissertation Research Fellowship |
| 2001-2002 U.S. Department of Education Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship |
| 1998-2001 U.S. Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Multi-Year Fellowship |
| 1999 University of Michigan International Institute Ford Seminar in the Social Sciences and Area Studies |
Selected Publications/Conference Papers
| “Undocumented in Japan: Detention, Provisional Release, Uncertainty and Precarity.” Spring 2024 Sociology Department Colloquia Series, Texas A&M University, April 10, 2024. |
| “Ningen Keisei: Building Character through School Sports in Japan.” Department of Modern Languages and Cultures, Baylor University, April 11, 2024. |
| “The Psychological Stresses and Strains of Immigrant Detention in Japan.” Social Science Conference and Research Forum, Waldorf University, April 24, 2021. |
| “Playing Ball in Japanese High Schools.” Ritsumeikan Center for Asia Pacific Studies (RCAPS) Seminar, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, December 21, 2016. |
| “Bukatsu: An Essential Part of Japanese School Education.” Lakeland Lectures, Lakeland College Japan, May 25, 2016. |
| “Join the Club: Effects of Extracurricular Club Membership on Japanese High School Students’ Self Image” (with Douglas C. Friedman). Japan Forum 27(2) (2015) (Routledge): 257-275. |
| “Homo Athleticus: The Educational Role of Extracurricular Clubs in Japanese High Schools.” In K. Okano (Ed.), Beyond Formal Schooling in Japan: Non-Formal Education and Civil Society (pp. 71-91). (2015) New York: Routledge. |
| “Playing Baseball/Playing ‘House’: The Reproduction of ‘Separate Spheres’ in Japanese High School Baseball.” Sport, Education and Society 15(1) (2010) (Routledge): 83-101. |
| “Bushido Baseball? Three ‘Fathers’ and the Invention of a Tradition.” Social Science Japan Journal 11(2) (2008) (Oxford): 223-240. |