Marie Højlund Roesgaard

Marie Højlund Roesgaard serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies at the University of Copenhagen's Faculty of Humanities, concurrently holding a Global Visiting Professorship at Keio University's Graduate School of System Design Management since August 2023. Her academic career at the University of Copenhagen spans over 25 years, progressing from Assistant Professor roles to her current position established in 1998, with significant administrative leadership including Deputy Head of Department (2007-2010) and steering committee leadership for the Asian Dynamics Initiative (2008-2017).

Her educational foundation includes a PhD in East Asian Studies from Aarhus University (1994) with dissertation 'Rhetoric in Japanese Education Reform - An Analysis of the 1980s,' an MA in Japanese Studies (1989), and additional minors in Chinese and English. She further enhanced her expertise through a Research Management Course at Copenhagen Business School (2008-2009).

Roesgaard's research critically examines Japanese education through multiple lenses: moral education (dōtoku kyōiku) practices in relation to government policies and identity politics; global citizenship and Sustainable Development Goals integration; the cultural significance of yôkai (Japanese monsters) in historical and contemporary contexts; and the societal impact of private shadow education (juku). Her work consistently explores how 'the other' is perceived and how social 'order' is constructed across individual and societal levels within Japanese modern society, politics, and popular culture.

Analysis of her 40+ publications reveals a methodological emphasis on comparative Denmark-Japan studies, particularly regarding global citizenship pedagogy and SDG implementation. Her scholarship bridges theoretical frameworks with classroom ethnography, demonstrating how Japanese educational practices navigate tensions between national identity preservation and globalized educational imperatives, while her recent work increasingly addresses climate crisis pedagogy and sustainability education.

Her scientific recognition includes:

• Framework Grant (2017)
• Japan Foundation Short-Term Fellowship (2018)
• Global Visiting Professorship at Keio University (2023)
• Framework Programme award (2017)
• Japan Foundation Short-Term Fellowship Program (2018)

Roesgaard actively supervises master's theses on Japanese contemporary society and popular culture while securing competitive research funding. Her administrative leadership extends to the Asian Dynamics Initiative, where she fostered cross-faculty collaborations between Social Sciences and Humanities, and editorial roles for journals including The Copenhagen Journal of Asian Studies.

As founding Head of the Asian Dynamics Initiative steering committee (2008-2017), she developed interdisciplinary research networks examining Asian societal transformations, facilitating joint educational programs and comparative studies across 15+ Asian institutions while directing fieldwork on educational reforms and cultural identity formation in East Asia.