Matoba, Kazuma

Position 
Visiting Research Fellow
Nationality 
Japan
At UNU-CRIS 
01/12/2022
Research Interests 

Collective intergenerational trauma
Global social witnessing
Cosmopolitan citizenship
Intercultural dialogue

Education 

Habilitation in Philosophy, Witten/Herdecke University, Germany
PhD in Communication, University Duisburg, Germany
MA in Linguistics, Sophia University, Tokyo
BA in Linguistics, Sophia University, Tokyo

Biographical Statement 

Kazuma Matoba is a Visiting Research Fellow at UNU-CRIS and a Professor for communication science, leading a research unit “Global Social Witnessing and Collective Trauma Integration” at Witten/Herdecke University in Germany. The purpose of his  research unit is to study collective trauma integration interdisciplinary and to develop personal and societal integration competence though social technology like “Global Social Witnessing”. Many social and global issues such as the refugee crisis, climate injustice, racism, and terrorism are rooted in serious, untreated historical collective traumata. Matoba (2022) describes phenomena of collective trauma more understandably and provides a social pathology that offers methodological recommendations (methods of treatment) for social therapy.

While researching at UNU-CRIS, he will be especially interested in the restoration and integration process for healing historical collective trauma in Eastern and Western Europe, by focusing on methodological considerations for building a new culture through the integration of collective and intergenerational trauma. He will be part of the Migration and Social Policy Cluster.