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Staff Profile

Matteo Giacche'

Postgraduate Research Student

Background

I hold a BA and a MA (hons) degree in Oriental Languages and Civilizations, with a major in Japanese language and literature, from Sapienza University of Rome. After my graduation I worked for five years as a radio host and author, cultivating my passion for music. For two years I hosted a show on the Japanese music scene.


I am currently a PhD candidate at Newcastle University, with a project that combines my love for music and my passion for Japanese literature - investigating the role of music in the novels of Murakami Haruki.

Research

My PhD dissertation aims to analyse the role of music in the novels of Murakami Haruki. Specifically, I aim to investigate how music influences the development of the narrative, and the shaping of the characters and their persona. In works such as Norwegian Wood (1987) and South of the Border, West of the Sun (1992), music triggers characters’ memories, guiding them through introspection, helping the narrative to construct their feelings, shape their personalities and develop their relationships. In addition, ‘Magical realism’ (Strecher, 2002: 79), in the form of alternative realities or parallel worlds, is one of the trademarks of Murakami’s works, and in novels such as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1994), Kafka on the Shore (2002), and 1Q84 (2009), this feature has brought an enchanting element into his narrative. In my study, I therefore also explore how music actively contributes to the occurrence of these magical moments, guiding the protagonists to discover parallel worlds and their inner ones.

Furthermore, another aspect of Murakami’s novels that has been analysed by scholars such as Anna Zielinska-Elliot (2022), Johnatan Dil (2022) and others, is the role of the unconscious. In this dissertation, I will explore how music plays an important role in the unlocking of the unconscious. In this sense, affect theory, Freud and Jung's theories will prove useful.



My Broader research interests include:


  • Music and manga
  • Politics and manga
  • Music and gender


Conferences:

  • Paper presented at 54th NeMLA Convention (North East Modern Language Association), Niagara Falls, NY, March 23-26, 2023. Panel: Music in Literature (II). Title: "The Power of Music: Subversion and Self-Fulfilment in Contemporary Japanese Literature"


  • Paper presented at 51st NeMLA Convention (North East Modern Language Association), Boston, Massachusetts, March 5-8, 2020. Panel: Music in Literature (II). Title: "Music for Thought: The Role of Western Rock Music in Japanese Novels and Manga"


  • Paper presented at AATI (American Association of Teachers of Italian) @ Cagliari International Conference 2018, June 20 – June 25, 2018. Title: "Gramsci in Giappone" (Gramsci in Japan)


Funding:

  • 2023 - EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) engagement student prize in the School of Modern Languages


  • 2023 - Newcastle University Doctoral College Enhancement Fund - Travel and Conference Funding


  • 2021-2024 - Vice-Chancellor’s EU Research Scholarship – Newcastle University: value of 75% of tuition fees. Available for each year of the degree subject to academic progression


  • 2021-2022; 2022-2023; 2023-2024 - The Sasakawa Japanese Studies Postgraduate Studentship - The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation


  • 2015-2016 - JASSO, Japan Student Service Organization; Monthly scholarship offered by the Japanese government for promoting integration among international students


  • 2015 - International mobility (Japan, AIKOM exchange program - University of Tokyo) - Sapienza University of Rome


Supervisors:

  • Dr Gitte Marianne Hansen, School of Modern Languages, Newcastle University
  • Dr Fernando Beleza Pinto, School of Modern Languages, Newcastle University


Teaching

2023/24

  • HSS8022 Reflective Researcher Portfolio - Teaching Assistant
  • JPN1005 Introduction to Japanese History and Culture - Seminar instructor
  • JPN4006 Literary and cultural expressions in Japan - Teaching Assistant


2022/23

  • HSS8023/24 Reflective Researcher Portfolio - Teaching Assistant
  • JPN1005 Introduction to Japanese History and Culture - Seminar instructor
  • JPN4006 Literary and cultural expressions in Japan - Teaching Assistant


2021/22

  • JPN1005 Introduction to Japanese History and Culture - Seminar instructor
Publications