Philip Kaffen

Philip Kaffen is an Associate Professor of Japanese and Cinema at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, affiliated with the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences (CHESS) and the Department of Languages, Cultures and Translation. His research focuses on visual images, including cinema, animation, photography, and installation art, examining their roles in social and cultural issues like militarism, war, sovereignty, and ecology. He teaches film history and thematic courses addressing these topics.

• Education: Not explicitly stated in text

His publications include works on documentary cinema, film and urban space, wartime film philosophy, and translations of Japanese philosopher Ukai Satoshi’s writings on planetary ideas, interviews with political theorist Adachi Masao, and a book on Japanese cinema history by Yomota Inuhiko. Current projects involve writings on grace in 21st-century cinema and image romanticism in 1960s film culture, alongside revisions to the Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema.

• Awards: Honors Faculty (Term Ends June 30, 2029)

No advising or grant information provided. His work engages interdisciplinary themes across visual culture and critical theory.