Profile

Lyle De Souza's CV (English)

ライル デ スーザ の 履歴書 (日本語) 

Lyle De Souza is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Language and Literature ↗️ and the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences  ↗️ at Kyoto Notre Dame University ↗️. 

Prior to his current appointment, Lyle held a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship nominated by the British Academy at Kyoto University. He has further advanced his research as a part-time JSPS KAKENHI Researcher at both Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo. His pedagogical experience includes part-time teaching appointments as a Lecturer at Kobe University, a Tutor at Ritsumeikan University, and an Associate Lecturer at Birkbeck, University of London. Additionally, he has served as a Visiting Scholar at the University of British Columbia.

Lyle's current research project 'Nikkei Global Literature: Diaspora, Race, Identity & Belonging' looks at literary representations of Nikkei racialisations, identities, and belongings in fiction by Nikkei diaspora authors in the United Kingdom and Australia. Lyle has published related papers on the topic of Nikkei diaspora literature in peer-reviewed academic journals which are available on his publications page. 

Lyle De Souza’s research and teaching span the humanities and social sciences, integrating literary criticism, cultural studies, Japanese studies and sociology. His scholarship focuses on the critical intersections of race, diaspora, identity and belonging. By analysing processes of racialisation, his work seeks to advance the understanding of minority experiences within contemporary socio-political frameworks, particularly under the conditions of globalisation and multiculturalism. Regionally, his expertise centres on Japan and East Asia, examined through transnational and contemporary lenses.

Drawing upon a diverse interdisciplinary foundation, Lyle’s primary research investigates the Nikkei diaspora. He examines the complex cultural histories of Nikkei communities and their profound influence on formations of identity. Through the critical analysis of novels by Nikkei authors, he explores the literary imagination of cultural identity, employing innovative theoretical approaches to elucidate the realities of contemporary minorities in multicultural societies.

Lyle has studied at Kyoto University ↗️ on two separate occasions. His first stint was from 2000 to 2002 as a MEXT scholar, during which he focused on sociology. From 2016 to 2019, he returned as a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow to conduct research on Nikkei literature. Lyle was awarded his Ph.D. in Japanese at Birkbeck ↗️, University of London ↗️ in 2015 for his study 'Cultural Identity in Contemporary Canadian Nikkei Cultural Productions'. He completed his MA in Japanese Cultural Studies also at Birkbeck and his BA in Human Geography with Applied Computing at King's College London ↗️, University of London. He was a Visiting Scholar at the University of British Columbia ↗️, and completed a summer course on English Literature at Harvard University ↗️. 

Lyle welcomes collaborative research with other academics with similar interests, or graduate students seeking supervision on topics related to the Nikkei diaspora. 

⭐ De Souza Seminar: Nikkei Diaspora Literature

⭐ Master's Degree Supervision

📥 Email