Titled “Origin Stories,” this podcast series aims to build transdisciplinary spaces in which to rethink educational practices in order to redress pervasive ideological and methodological biases in Japanese Studies. In this space scholars will discuss their personal background, intellectual formation, experiences in the field, and evolving perspective on Japanese Studies. In this series, we hope to explore the following questions: How can we employ a black feminist framework to unpack the historical forces contributing to the particular racial formations that have congealed within Japanese cultures since the late medieval period, and within postwar Japanese Studies in its deep debt to U.S. imperialism and white supremacy? How have legacies of racism and anti-blackness in the academy hindered scholars of color in their work in Japanese Studies? What new insights can be mined when marginalized members of academia gather to critically consider anti-racist curricula and policies as they reimagine the humanities? For more details, visit our Japanese Studies and Antiracist Pedagogy website: https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/jsap/podcast/