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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

Trump Vows Tougher Iran Sanctions as US Weighs New Economic Pressure

U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to intensify economic pressure on Iran as Washington prepares measures that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says could be unprecedented. Bessent is scheduled to hold a press...

ING Says Yen Is 20% Undervalued Against Dollar

The Japanese yen remains roughly 20% undervalued against the U.S. dollar, according to ING analysts, who believe recent U.S.-Japan currency intervention and potential Bank of Japan policy changes could support a...

Canada Announces Dollar-for-Dollar Retaliation Against 50% U.S. Tariffs

Canada will impose retaliatory tariffs matching new U.S. trade duties dollar for dollar starting Sept. 8, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Saturday, escalating trade tensions after negotiations between the two countries...

Merz Pushes Faster Reforms to Revive German Economy

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is preparing to press his cabinet to accelerate economic reforms designed to reduce pressure on businesses, stimulate growth and protect jobs in Germany, according to a report by Bild am...

Iran Allows Iraqi Oil Tankers Through Strait of Hormuz

Iran has approved the passage of several Iraqi oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz after repeated requests from Baghdad, offering limited relief as regional tensions continue to disrupt one of the worlds most...

Politics

Russian Drone Strike on Kryvyi Rih Mall Kills 16, Injures 130

At least 16 people were killed and more than 130 others wounded after Russian drones struck a shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih, central Ukraine, on Friday, according to Ukrainian authorities. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy...

Israel Targets Suspected Terrorist in Southern Syria

Israel said it targeted a suspected terrorist in southern Syria on Saturday, while Damascus condemned the incident as a violation of Syrian sovereignty amid rising tensions between the neighboring countries. Syrias foreign...

Milei Pushes for Formula 1 Return to Argentina

Argentine President Javier Milei is backing efforts to bring Formula 1 racing back to Argentina, nearly three decades after the country last hosted a Grand Prix. Milei said Sunday that his government would work toward...

NATO Facilitates Allied Talks on Strait of Hormuz Navigation

NATOs top military commander convened a videoconference this week to help interested allies coordinate potential contributions aimed at protecting freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, while stressing that the...

Prince Harry, Elton John Ordered to Pay £9.54 Million in Daily Mail Legal Costs

Britains Prince Harry, singer Elton John and other prominent figures have been ordered to make a 9.54 million ($12.7 million) interim payment toward the legal costs of Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers after...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

Nvidia AI Server Prices Set to Rise as Memory Costs Surge

Prices for servers powered by Nvidia artificial intelligence chips are expected to climb sharply as rising memory chip costs put additional pressure on the booming AI infrastructure market, according to a Bloomberg News...

29 US states are suing Meta. What might it mean for the rest of the world?

This week, a trial commenced in the United States that could drastically change how Facebook and Instagram operate globally. The trial in Oakland, which is expected to last six weeks, pits 29 US states against the two...

Want to muck around with a real quantum computer? Now you can

Quantum computers are expected to transform many facets of science and industry over the next decade or so but its very hard for most potential users to get their hands on one to find out what they can actually do with...

Anthropic IPO Could Challenge SpaceX’s Record $86 Billion Offering

Anthropic is reportedly considering an initial public offering that could rival or surpass SpaceXs record-breaking IPO, potentially making the artificial intelligence company responsible for the largest public share sale...

Samsung Shares Rise on $72 Billion Shareholder Return Plan

Samsung Electronics shares climbed on Friday following reports that the South Korean technology giant is preparing a shareholder return package potentially exceeding 100 trillion won ($72 billion). Samsungs board is...