Date/Time
Date(s) - 09/10/2026
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm
Location
4010 JFSB
Category(ies)
As part of the Humanities Center’s Out of the Best Books series, Scott Miller will discuss Hôjôki: Visions of a Torn World by Kamo no Chômei, 12th century, Japanese, and consider what makes it a work of lasting literary and intellectual importance. Please join us for the first event of this series on Thursday, September 10th @ 3:30pm in 4010 JFSB. Refreshments will be served.
Out of the Best “Books”: Hôjôki: Visions of a Torn World by Kamo no Chômei
Out of the Best Books” is a new Humanities Center lecture series that invites faculty members from throughout the college to reflect on a literary work they regard as among the “best books.” Each month, a different scholar will introduce a foundational text, addressing whatever dimensions of the book most appeal to them (e.g, aesthetic quality, historical significance, spiritual dimensions, enduring capacity to shape human thought and experience, etc.). The series aims to foster broad conversations about the nature of literary excellence and the continuing relevance of great books in contemporary intellectual life.
About our presenter:
Scott Miller earned a comparative literature B.A. from BYU, studied at the University of Tsukuba in Japan, and then completed an M.A. and Ph.D. in East Asian studies at Princeton University. He researches and publishes on nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Japanese literature, oral narrative, early Japanese sound recordings, and translation theory.
He taught at Colgate University prior to joining the BYU faculty in 1994 and has subsequently been sequestered from most forms of direct interaction with students through a string of administrative appointments, including his most recent role as dean of the College of Humanities. He has recently returned to the classroom to teach courses in Asian literary traditions, Japanese literature, and comparative literature.
