April 13, 2006

 NORMAN – Have you ever wondered about other cultures’ opinions when it comes to money, health or body image? Do people in other countries have the same concerns as Americans? Are certain concerns more or less important?

Shigehisa Kuriyama, Reischauer Institute Professor of Cultural History at Harvard University, will discuss these issues in a free, public presentation titled “The Life of Money and the Afflictions of the Japanese Body” beginning at 4 p.m. Thursday, April 20, in the Frontier Room, Oklahoma Memorial Union, 900 Asp Ave.

The discussion is part of a Presidential Dream Course being taught by Kathleen Crowther-Heyck, assistant professor in the History of Science Department in the University of Oklahoma College of Arts and Sciences.  

Kuriyama’s research interests include the cultural history of Japan, history of medicine, and histories of the body and money. His presentation will explore the relationship between the rise of the money economy in 18th- century Japan and the archaeology of the Japanese experience of the body.

The presentation is sponsored by OU’s Office of the President as part of the Presidential Dream Courses established by David L. Boren in 2004, which allows instructors to bring renowned speakers to campus in an effort to enrich the academic environment for students and the general public.