C. Andrew Gerstle, FBA (born 18 June 1951) is an American-born

Japanologist , sometimes known as Japanology in Europe, is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese language, History of Japan, history, ...

and academic, who has been Professor of Japanese Studies at the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

School of Oriental and African Studies The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

since 1993.

Career

Born on 18 June 1951 in the United States, C. Andrew Gerstle studied Japanese culture at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, graduating in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He completed a Master of Arts degree at

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

six years later, and carried out his

doctoral studies A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

; in 1980, he was awarded a PhD for his thesis "Circles of fantasy: musical and dramatic conventions in the plays of Chikamatsu". He was appointed to a lectureship at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

in 1980, and was promoted to Professor of Japanese nine years later. Since 1993, he has been Professor of Japanese Studies at the

(SOAS). He was also director of the

Arts and Humanities Research Council The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities. History The Arts a ...

Centre for Asian and African Studies at SOAS from 2000 to 2005."Andrew Gerstle"
''SOAS University of London''. Retrieved 30 June 2018."Circles of fantasy : musical and dramatic conventions in the plays of Chikamatsu"
''HOLLIS: Harvard University Library Catalogue''. Retrieved 30 June 2018. According to his

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

profile, Gerstle's research focuses on "The cultural and social history of 17th–19th century Japan, with particular reference to ''

Bunraku is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or (puppeteers), the (chanters) ...

'' and ''

Kabuki is a classical form of Theatre of Japan, Japanese theatre, mixing dramatic performance with Japanese traditional dance, traditional dance. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily stylised performances, its glamorous, highly decorated costumes ...

'' theatres, popular literature, sexuality and the visual arts"."Professor Andrew Gerstle"
''British Academy''. Retrieved 30 June 2018. In 2013, he organised a project which resulted in the "''

Shunga is a type of Japanese erotic art typically executed as a kind of ukiyo-e, often in Woodcut, woodblock print format. While rare, there are also extant erotic painted handscrolls which predate ukiyo-e. Translated literally, the Japanese word '' ...

'': sex and pleasure in Japanese art" exhibition at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

Awards and honours

In 2015, Gerstle was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

, the United Kingdom's

national academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, and serves as a public policy advisors, research ...

for the humanities and social sciences.

Select publications

* ''Circles of Fantasy: Convention in the Plays of Chikamatsu'', Harvard East Asian Monographs no. 116 (Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University, 1986). * ''Eighteenth-Century Japan: Culture and Society'' (Allen & Unwin, 1989). * ''Theatre as Music: The Bunraku Play 'Mt Imo and Mt Se: An Exemplary Tale of Womanly Virtue (Centre for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 1990). * ''Recovering the Orient: Artists, Scholars, Appropriations'' (Harwood Academic Publishers, 1994). * ''Chikamatsu: Five Late Plays'' (Columbia University Press, 2001). * ''Kabuki Heroes on the Osaka Stage, 1780–1830'' (British Museum Press, 2005). * ''Shunga: Sex and Pleasure in Japanese Art'' (British Museum Press, 2013). * ''Shunga: Ten Questions and Answers'' (International Research Center for Japanese Studies, 2013).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerstle, Andrew Living people 1951 births Japanologists Columbia College (New York) alumni Waseda University alumni Harvard University alumni Fellows of the British Academy Academics of SOAS University of London