{"id":1071,"date":"2021-07-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-30T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eikei.dev.db-force.net\/english\/academics\/researcher\/details_00328\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T11:59:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T02:59:59","slug":"details_00328","status":"publish","type":"researcher","link":"https:\/\/eikei.ac.jp\/english\/academics\/researcher\/details_00328\/","title":{"rendered":"PETKOVA Galia"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Professor<\/span><\/h3>\n
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Ph.D. (Japanese studies; concentration in traditional Japanese theatre and gender studies)(SOAS, University of London)
\nM.A. (Gender studies)
\nM.A. (Japanese Studies; concentration in Japanese literature and linguistics)
\nOffice\uff1aRoom\u00a0615
\nE-mail\uff1apetkova_galia@eikei.ac.jp<\/a>
\nOffice Hours\uff1aPlease make an appointment by email or through Teams.
\nResearch Content\uff1aSee bottom of page<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Profile<\/h2>\n
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Specialising in Japanese and Asian traditional performing arts, cross-cultural studies, and gender studies.<\/p>\n

Academic field \/ Expertise<\/h2>\n

Literature<\/p>\n

Courses to offer<\/h2>\n

Introduction to Art and Literature
\nJapanese Culture Studies
\nCross-Cultural Studies<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Message<\/h2>\n
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University years can be the best time of your life. It is\u00a0entirely up to you what you make of it. You will make friends for life; you will grow intellectually and emotionally. How much you learn depends on you. Your teachers are here to help you and to stimulate you to learn, not to force you. Be curious \u2013 everything is interesting if you pay close enough attention. Use these four years well and you will gain both solid knowledge and confidence. But, most of all, learn to think critically, to analyse and understand human behaviour and society \u2013 this is the purpose of a university education. And spend time studying abroad. For me, this was my most constructive experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Introduction of the Research<\/h2>\n
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My scholarly interests include traditional performing arts in Asia, focusing on Japan, and gender studies. My recent research projects focus on regional performing arts in Japan such as <\/span>kagura<\/em> and various dances, and the female versions of all-male traditional performing arts and kabuki masculine heroes in Japanese culture.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Research Themes<\/h2>\n
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Cultural representation of gender and the body<\/span><\/p>\n

Construction of idea(l)s of femininity and masculinity onstage<\/span><\/p>\n

Interweaving of performance, power, gender, and identity<\/span><\/p>\n

Traditional performing arts in Asia \u2013 mutual influences and distinctive features, role in contemporary society<\/span><\/p>\n

Women in performance, representations of femininity<\/span><\/p>\n

Gender construction in kabuki<\/span><\/p>\n

Local performing arts in Japan \u2013 issues of identity and gender<\/span>
\nShared narratives in Asia<\/span><\/p>\n

Lion dances in Asia and Asian diaspora around the world<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Details of the Research<\/h2>\n
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As a Japanese studies specialist with a deep interest in every aspect of premodern Japanese society and culture explored within the context of Asia and the world, my research is highly interdisciplinary and comparative. I mostly work in the field of performance studies and gender, examining the way in which societies construct, maintain, enforce, transform and subvert through cultural re\/presentation their ideas of gender and gender relations, and especially their ideals of masculinity and femininity. My general research focus has its theoretical basis in contemporary critical thought, more specifically in the modern conceptualisations of the body, power, gender, and performance. Other key terms are the notions of cultural ideology, cultural production, identity, embodiment, hegemony, performativity and citationality of gender.
\nMy recent main research topics are:<\/p>\n

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  1. Production of gender on the stage of Japanese traditional performing arts, from ancient to modern times, as both reflecting societal perceptions and ideals of gender and influencing those. My particular focus has been the exploration of gender and body construction in Edo-period kabuki theatre, which I view as essential for understanding gender construction in premodern Japan, and its influence on contemporary Japanese concepts of \u201cideal\u201d traditional femininity and masculinity.<\/li>\n
  2. Conception of female versions of popular all-male performing arts and masculine heroes in the predominantly male traditional performance culture in Japan. There versions include genres such as onna sarugaku \u201cfemale sarugaku\u201d, onna bunraku<\/em> \u201cfemale bunraku\u201d, onna-zumo<\/em> \u201cfemale sumo\u201d, etc., and kabuki productions such as Onna Narukami \u201cFemale Narukami\u201d, Onna Shibaraku<\/em> \u201cFemale Shibaraku\u201d, etc.<\/li>\n
  3. Local performing arts in Japan (e.g. nenbutsu ky\u00f4gen, rokusai nenbutsu, Kurokawa noh, n\u00f4son kabuki, kodomo kabuki, sato kagura, dengaku,etc.<\/em>) as cultural heritage, and the role of performance in regional communities in terms of gender, identity, policymaking, promotion of local culture and products, food, and tourism.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    List of Papers<\/h2>\n
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    1. \u201cProjecting Classicism in Classical Kabuki Theatre \u2013 A Gender Perspective\u201d (2020).\u300e\u53e4\u5178\u306e\u672a\u6765\u5b66 : Projecting Classicism\u300f, \u8352\u6728\u6d69\u8352\u7de8\u3001\u6771\u4eac\uff1a\u6587\u5b66\u901a\u4fe1\u3001pp. 811-835\u00a0(invited)\u3000\uff08See \u201dOther Information\u201d for more details.\uff09<\/li>\n
    2. \u201cConsumption, Adolescent Women (Sho\u0304jo), and Cute Pop Culture in Japan\u201d (2016). Japanese Studies 25th Anniversary Conference Papers Collection, Sofia: Sofia University Press pp.291-308 (invited)<\/li>\n
    3. \u201cOnna Mono: The \u2018Female Presence\u2019 on the Stage of the All-Male Traditional Japanese Theatre\u201d (2015). Asian Theatre Journal, Vol. 32 (2) (Special Issue Section \u201cWomen in Asian Theatre\u201d), Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, pp.387-415 (peer-reviewed) (\u67fb\u8aad\u3042\u308a)<\/li>\n
    4. \u201cOnna and Onnagata: Representation of Women and the Female Body in Early Kabuki\u201d (2013). Bulgaria-Japan-The World. Japanese Studies 20th Anniversary Conference Papers Collection, Sofia: Sofia University Press, pp.289\u2013298 (invited)<\/li>\n
    5. \u201cGender and Body Construction in Edo-period Kabuki\u201d (2009). Core Ethics, Vol. 5, Kyoto: Ritsumeikan University Graduate School of Core Ethics and Frontier Sciences, pp.71-87 (peer-reviewed) (\u67fb\u8aad\u3042\u308a)<\/li>\n
    6. \u201cTraditional Japanese Noh Theatre: Development and Specifics\u201d (2003). The Civilizations of Ancient Greece, Rome and The Far East: Similarities and Differences. Conference Papers Collection, Veliko Tarnovo: Veliko Tarnovo University Press, pp.39\u201349 (peer-reviewed) (\u67fb\u8aad\u3042\u308a)<\/li>\n
    7. \u201c\u2018Subjecting\u2019 the \u2018Threatening\u2019 Space of the Female Body\u201d (2002). Views from the Edge \u2013 Ten: Occasional Working Papers, Volume 11, No.1, Centre for Research in Women’s Studies & Gender Relations, The University of British Columbia, pp.52\u201374 (invited)<\/li>\n
    8. Performing Gender in Edo-period Kabuki. PhD dissertation (2014). (\u6c5f\u6238\u6642\u4ee3\u306e\u6b4c\u821e\u4f0e\u306b\u304a\u3051\u308b\u30b8\u30a7\u30f3\u30c0\u30fc\u30fb\u30d1\u30d5\u30a9\u30fc\u30de\u30f3\u30b9) (\u535a\u58eb\u8ad6\u6587)\u3001SOAS, University of London \u30ed\u30f3\u30c9\u30f3\u5927\u5b66 \u6771\u6d0b\u30a2\u30d5\u30ea\u30ab\u7814\u7a76\u5b66\u9662 (A4\u3001pp. 390)
      \n———————–<\/li>\n
    9. Construction of Female Body, Gender, and Sexuality on the Stage: The Female Impersonator in the Japanese Kabuki Theatre as a Sociocultural Construct of \u201cIdeal\u201d Femininity? MA Thesis (2001). (\u821e\u53f0\u82b8\u8853\u306b\u304a\u3051\u308b\u5973\u6027\u8eab\u4f53\u3001\u30b8\u30a7\u30f3\u30c0\u30fc\u3001\u30bb\u30af\u30b7\u30e5\u30a2\u30ea\u30c6\u30a3\u306e\u69cb\u7bc9\uff1a\u300c\u7406\u60f3\u7684\u306a\u300d\u5973\u6027\u3089\u3057\u3055\u306e\u793e\u4f1a\u7684\u30fb\u6587\u5316\u7684\u69cb\u9020\u3068\u3057\u3066\u306e\u6b4c\u821e\u4f0e\u306e\u5973\u5f62) (\u4fee\u58eb\u8ad6\u6587) \u3001Central European University \u4e2d\u592e\u30e8\u30fc\u30ed\u30c3\u30d1\u5927\u5b66 (A4\u3001pp. 96)
      \n————————-<\/li>\n
    10. Japanese Noh Theatre: Historical and Theoretical Aspects. MA thesis (2003). (\u65e5\u672c\u306e\u80fd\u697d\u2015\u2015\u6b74\u53f2\u7684\u2022\u7406\u8ad6\u7684\u5074\u9762)(\u4fee\u58eb\u8ad6\u6587) Sofia University, Bulgaria \u30bd\u30d5\u30a3\u30a2\u5927\u5b66\uff08\u30d6\u30eb\u30ac\u30ea\u30a2\uff09(A4\u3001pp. 195)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n
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      Books and Other Publications<\/h2>\n
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