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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

Goldman Sachs Sees Value in European Real Estate Stocks Despite Sharp Selloff

European real estate stocks have taken a significant hit since late February, tumbling roughly 14% as rising bond yields and widening credit spreads weigh heavily on the sector. According to Goldman Sachs, valuations have...

Asian Currencies Hold Steady Amid U.S.-Israel-Iran Tensions and BOJ Signals

Asian currencies traded within a narrow range Monday as geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran continued to weigh on regional sentiment. Most currencies in the region remained under...

Asian Stocks Drop Amid Iran War Fears and BOJ Rate Hike Signals

Asian equity markets declined sharply on Monday as investors reacted to mounting geopolitical tensions surrounding the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, while hawkish signals from the Bank of Japan added further pressure on...

South Korea March Exports Expected to Surge to Near Five-Year High Amid AI-Driven Chip Demand

South Koreas exports in March are projected to have surged at their fastest pace in nearly five years, powered by soaring global demand for semiconductors driven by artificial intelligence investment. A Reuters poll of 11...

Gold Prices Inch Higher Amid U.S.-Iran War Tensions and Technical Rebound

Gold prices edged up in Asian trading on Monday, recovering modestly after a turbulent week marked by sharp volatility tied to escalating geopolitical tensions between the United States and Iran. Spot gold climbed 0.4% to...

Politics

U.S.-Iran War Talks Emerge Amid Ongoing Strikes and Economic Fallout

Diplomatic efforts to end the month-long U.S.-Iran war are gaining momentum, even as military operations intensify across the Middle East. President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday that the United States and Iran have...

Myanmar's Military Chief Steps Down to Pursue Presidency After Controversial Election

Myanmars military leader Min Aung Hlaing resigned as commander-in-chief on Monday to pursue the countrys presidency, marking a significant political shift following the nations first elections since the 2021 military coup...

UNIFIL Peacekeeper Killed in Southern Lebanon as Tensions Escalate

A United Nations peacekeeper was killed and several others were wounded after a projectile struck a UNIFIL position near the southern Lebanese village of Adchit al-Qusayr on Sunday. Indonesias foreign ministry confirmed...

Trump Says Iran Nuclear Deal Could Be Near as Direct Talks Progress

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the United States is actively engaged in direct negotiations with Iran, expressing cautious optimism that a diplomatic agreement could be reached soon. Speaking to reporters...

Pakistan Leads Diplomatic Push to Reopen Strait of Hormuz Amid Iran War

Pakistan brought together foreign ministers from Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia in Islamabad on Sunday in a high-stakes diplomatic effort to end the ongoing Iran war and restore critical oil shipping routes through the...

Science

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

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...

Technology

Cybersecurity Stocks Tumble After Anthropic's Claude Mythos AI Leak Sparks Market Fears

Major cybersecurity stocks took a sharp hit Friday following reports that Anthropic accidentally exposed details about its next-generation AI model before its official launch. CrowdStrike fell 7%, Palo Alto Networks...

Chinese Universities with PLA Ties Found Purchasing Restricted U.S. AI Chips Through Super Micro Servers

Procurement records reveal that four Chinese universities, two of which have direct ties to the Peoples Liberation Army, acquired Super Micro Computer servers loaded with restricted Nvidia AI chips over the past year. The...

Federal Judge Blocks Pentagon's Blacklisting of AI Company Anthropic

A federal judge has temporarily prevented the Pentagon from enforcing its designation of Anthropic as a national security supply-chain risk, dealing an early blow to the Trump administration in a growing dispute over...

SMIC Allegedly Supplies Chipmaking Tools to Iran's Military, U.S. Officials Warn

Chinas top semiconductor manufacturer, SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation), has reportedly been transferring chipmaking equipment to Irans military industrial complex, according to two senior Trump...

Google's TurboQuant Algorithm Sends Memory Chip Stocks Tumbling

Major memory chipmakers took a significant hit on Thursday after Google researchers introduced a groundbreaking compression algorithm that threatens to reduce artificial intelligence demand for memory chips. Samsung...