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Alessandro Poletto

Lecturer in East Asian Religions, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis
Alessandro Poletto (he/they) specializes in the social and religious history of premodern Japan, with an emphasis on Buddhism in the early medieval period (tenth to the thirteenth century). He earned his PhD from Columbia University in 2020 with a dissertation entitled “The Culture of Healing in Early Medieval Japan: A Study in Premodern Epistemology,” in which he examined discourses and practices concerning healing and disease, with particular attention to the relationship between Buddhist healers and other technicians involved in the treatment of illness, namely court physicians and onmyōji. His other research and teaching interests include the understanding and ritual resolution of natural disasters in premodern East Asia, the history of the cultural exchanges between the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago, and Buddhist material culture and archeology in East Asia.

His current research focuses on the material and textual dimensions of various types of deposits — within statues or under the ground — in order to get a grasp of Buddhism as practiced by lay Buddhists in early medieval Japan. Dedicatory or votive materials discovered inside Buddhist statues or in underground deposits (commonly known as kyōzuka) illustrate the motivations behind the undertaking of a certain burial of sutras, or the production of a copy of a specific sutra, allowing us to see the hopes, aspirations and anxieties of the people engaging in such practices, but also the ways in which they attempted to shape their destinies, and those of deceased dear ones, through their dedicatory good acts.

Before joining Washington University, Alessandro was a JSPS postdoctoral fellow at Kyoto University. He holds a B.A. from the University of Naples “L’Orientale,” and an M.A. from Osaka University.

Economy

MOEX Russia Index Ends Flat as Gold Prices Surge and Oil Mixed

Russian stocks finished Saturdays trading session largely unchanged, with the MOEX Russia Index closing flat at 0.00% in Moscow. Despite the steady headline figure, individual shares posted modest gains and losses,...

U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump Tariffs, Deepening Global Trade Uncertainty

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a significant portion of President Donald Trumps trade tariffs, ruling that the sweeping measures imposed under emergency powers were unlawful. While the decision marks a major legal...

USMCA Tariff Exemption Eases Pressure on Mexico and Canada, but Trade Risks Remain

Mexico (EWW) and Canada (EWC) received a temporary boost after the White House confirmed that goods shipped under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will be largely exempt from the newly implemented 10%...

Asian Markets React to Trump’s New 10% Tariff After Supreme Court Blocks Key Trade Levies

Asian trading partners are reassessing their positions after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to introduce a new 10% tariff on imports from all countries, just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down several of...

Trump Meets Vietnam’s To Lam, Signals Easing of U.S. Tech Restrictions and Announces New 10% Tariff

President Donald Trump met with Vietnamese leader To Lam at the White House on Friday, marking their first formal in-person talks and signaling a potential shift in U.S.-Vietnam relations. According to a summary published...

Politics

Islamic State Claims New Attacks on Syrian Army as Violence Escalates Under President Ahmed al-Sharaa

Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for two new attacks targeting Syrian army personnel in northern and eastern Syria, signaling what the militant group describes as a new phase of operations against the countrys...

Thousands March in Lyon After Killing of Far-Right Activist Quentin Deranque

Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Lyon, France, on Saturday following the killing of 23-year-old far-right activist Quentin Deranque, whose death has intensified political tensions across the country. Deranque was...

Trump Approves FEMA Emergency Declaration After Massive Potomac River Sewage Spill

U.S. President Donald Trump has approved an emergency declaration for Washington, D.C., following a massive sewage spill into the Potomac River, triggering a coordinated federal response led by the Federal Emergency...

JPMorgan Closes Trump Accounts as $5 Billion Lawsuit Moves to New York

JPMorgan Chase Co. (NYSE: JPM) notified President Donald Trump and his hospitality business in February 2021 that it would terminate their bank accounts, according to newly disclosed letters filed in court. The documents...

Australia Denies Plans to Repatriate Citizens from Syrian Islamic State Camp

Australias centre-left Labor government has firmly denied reports that it is preparing to repatriate a group of Australians detained in a Syrian camp linked to suspected Islamic State militants. The clarification follows a...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Nvidia Earnings Preview: AI Growth Outlook Remains Strong Beyond 2026

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA) is heading into its upcoming earnings report with Wall Street expecting another quarter of solid performance, driven by surging demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure. While...

Microsoft Gaming Leadership Overhaul: Phil Spencer Retires, Asha Sharma Named New Xbox CEO

Microsoft has announced a major leadership transition in its gaming division, as longtime executive Phil Spencer retires after 38 years with the company. The move marks a significant shift for Microsoft Gaming at a time...

OpenAI Targets $600B Compute Spend as IPO Valuation Could Reach $1 Trillion

OpenAI is reportedly planning a massive expansion of its artificial intelligence infrastructure, targeting approximately $600 billion in total compute spending through 2030. According to a source cited by Reuters, the...

Alibaba, Baidu, BYD Shares Slide After Pentagon Military List Update

Alibaba Group, Baidu, and electric vehicle giant BYD saw their Hong Kong-listed shares fall sharply on Friday after the companies were briefly included on a U.S. Pentagon list of firms allegedly linked to the Chinese...

Nvidia Nears $30 Billion Investment in OpenAI, Replacing Previous $100 Billion AI Partnership

Nvidia is reportedly close to finalizing a $30 billion investment in OpenAI, marking a major shift in the companies artificial intelligence partnership. According to a Financial Times report published Thursday, the new...