Christopher Gerteis

Christopher Gerteis is Professor of Modern and Contemporary Japanese History at SOAS University of London's School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics, where he also contributes to the Japan Research Centre. His interdisciplinary scholarship examines the intersections of class, gender, and generation in postwar Japan, challenging dominant historical narratives through attention to marginalized perspectives and grassroots voices.

Gerteis' research interests span multiple domains including labor movements, social politics, historical memory, and digital humanities. His work increasingly explores the intersection of history and video gaming, reflecting his commitment to innovative approaches for conveying historical complexity to broader audiences. He publishes the Substack resource 'Past Meets Pixel' examining this convergence.

His recent publications reveal evolving research trajectories, with significant contributions in 2024-2025 spanning Japanese industrial heritage tourism, historical video game design, AI applications in historical research, and the social impacts of mass tourism. These works demonstrate his ability to bridge traditional historical scholarship with emerging digital methodologies.

Gerteis has held several significant editorial positions, including founding editor of the SOAS Studies in Modern and Contemporary Japan series (Bloomsbury Publishing) and Regional Editor (East Asia) for the International Journal of Asian Studies (Cambridge University Press). He is also a founding member of the editorial board for the 'Power Currents: Asian Media in the World' series (Pittsburgh University Press).

His leadership extends to innovative research projects like the Hashima XR initiative, which employed Extended Reality technology to recreate the Gunkanjima coal mining community, demonstrating his commitment to interdisciplinary approaches that make historical research accessible through new media formats.