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Dr. Asami Nakamura delivered her lectures within the framework of an academic exchange under the Erasmus+ Key Action 1 programme. Dr. Nakamura, a renowned scholar in speculative fiction, utopian studies, and gendered/racialised representations in literature and media, has an extensive academic portfolio. She has published on topics ranging from nostalgia in dystopian fiction to feminist and queer utopias, and she is currently the principal investigator of a JSPS-funded project examining techno-Orientalism in Anglophone speculative fiction. Her international collaborations include work on digital inequality across arts, humanities, and sciences.

On Thursday, 27 November, Dr. Nakamura delivered a guest session for the Intercultural Communication course titled “Rethinking Communication through Speculative Fiction.” The session explored how speculative fiction—from Blade Runner and Ex Machina to Cloud Atlas, Klara and the Sun, and After Yang—can challenge familiar cultural binaries such as East/West and human/machine. Students were asked to reflect in advance on how robots are imagined, whether the term “robot” functions as an insult or compliment, and why robotic representations are often gendered or racialised.

During her stay, Dr. Nakamura engaged actively with students and faculty, offering fresh perspectives that bridged literary analysis, cultural studies, and emerging debates on technology and society. Her sessions resonated strongly with the Intercultural Communication programme, encouraging students to critically examine how speculative narratives shape public imaginaries about identity, power, and difference. Her visit further contributed to broader scholarly exchange within the field of intercultural communication, fostering dialogue on the role of humanities-based approaches in understanding contemporary communication challenges.

This visit also reflects a growing tradition of scholarly exchange between Tallinn University and Japanese institutions. Just one year earlier, BFM hosted Professor Ryoko Hayashi, whose Erasmus lectures inspired students through discussions on digital communication and cultural identity—an event documented in the MediaHub story “Professor Ryoko Hayashi’s Inspiring Erasmus Lectures at Tallinn University.” This continuity of collaboration underscores Tallinn University’s commitment to fostering intercultural academic dialogue and strengthening ties with partners in East Asia.

This collaboration has also been reciprocated through academic visits from Tallinn University to Japan. Earlier this year, Professor Anastassia Zabrodskaja visited Kobe University, where she delivered guest lectures and met with faculty and students to discuss joint research opportunities—a visit highlighted in the MediaHub storyProfessor Anastassia Zabrodskaja's Visit to Kobe University: Strengthening Academic Ties. Her engagement helped reinforce the growing academic partnership between the two institutions and laid additional groundwork for future exchanges such as Dr. Nakamura’s visit to Tallinn.

Dr. Nakamura’s lectures offered Tallinn University students a unique opportunity to engage with cutting-edge research at the intersection of literature, technology, identity, and cultural critique, further strengthening academic ties between Estonia and Japan.

For additional information, please reach out to Dr. Anastassia Zabrodskaja, Professor of Intercultural Communication, Head of the MA Program in Communication Management, and Executive Director of the European Masters in Intercultural Communication, at anastassia.zabrodskaja@tlu.ee.