Dr Laurence Mann - Oxford Brookes University

Dr Laurence E.M. Mann

FHEA PGCertTLHE DipABRSM

Senior Lecturer in Japanese Language

School of English and Modern Languages

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Phone number: +44 (0)1865 483737

Email: lmann@brookes.ac.uk

Location: Headington Campus, Tonge Block, T604

Laurence studied Japanese at the University of Oxford, where he was awarded a DPhil (No Corrections) in 2017, for research on a set of Shinto liturgies called the Engishiki Norito. His research interests centre on the relationships between form and meaning in texts, particularly poetry and songs. He teaches a range of undergraduate modules in Japanese language and culture at Brookes (see below for a current list). Aside from this, he also retains an affiliation at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, where he has taught since 2017.

Teaching

Modules taught

JPNS 4004 Japanese 1A

JPNS 6005 Japanese 4B

JPNS 5009 Language Studies in Japan

JPNS 5017 Japanese Reading and Writing 2A

Research

Laurence's research interests began in early Japanese liturgical and poetic texts from the Old Japanese (8th Century, Nara) Period. Since then, his interests have developed to span a broader range across both time and space, but retain a focus on the relationships between form and meaning, particularly in highly oral genres. His most recent publications scope across a wide variety of topics in language, including language education, multimodality and poetic rhetoric in Japonic languages. He also collaborates with researchers in experimental linguistics to investigate the cognitive underpinnings of poetic appreciation (and other topics) in a variety of languages, including Japanese, Korean, Welsh, English and Mongolian.

Research group membership

Associate Faculty Member, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford.

Founding Member, ERP Studies for East Asian Languages (with Seoul National, National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics, University of Inner Mongolia and others).

Research grants and awards

John Fell OUP Research Fund, March 2019

Creative Multilingualism Funded Research Project, June 2018

British Association of Japanese Studies John Crump Studentship, 2016

Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarship in the Humanities 2012-15

Young Bin Min-KF Fund Grant, 2014

University of Oxford Gibbs Prize 2008

Research projects

Poetry, song, heritage: the Poetic Mind (PI) 2019-2020, John Fell Fund

Can the music of poetry transcend cultural and linguistic barriers? A cognitive neuroscience investigation (Co-I) 2018-2019, Creative Multilingualism

Publications

Books:

- Mann, L; Kiaer, J &Cakir, E. Online Language Learning: Tips for Teachers, Palgrave (Accepted, Publication Dec. 2021).

- Mann, L; Corbeil, S. (Eds) Bungō: Multimodal Lives of Modern Literary Masters in Japan, Routledge (Accepted, Publication 2022)

- Kiaer, J; Mann, L. &Calway, N. Who invented dumplings? A Linguistic Guide to Food. Hodder & Stoughton (Accepted, Publication 2022)

Articles, Book Chapters, Reviews:

- Mann, Laurence. "Rhyming in Japonic: EngishikiNorito and OmoroSōshi”. Japan Studies Association Journal, (Accepted, Publication Date TBC).

- Mann, Laurence. “Notes on contours of rhyme in Eastern Old Japanese”, Japan Studies Association Journal (Under review).

- Ahn, H, Kiaer, J and Mann, Laurence “Viral words: COVID-19 in English Online” World Englishes (Under review).

- Mann, Laurence. (Review article): “Dean Anthony Brink: Japanese Poetry and Its Publics: From Colonial Taiwan to Fukushima”, Japan Review, 2021.

- Mann, Laurence. (Review article): “Bryan D. Lowe: Ritualized Writing: Buddhist Practice and Scriptural Cultures in Ancient Japan”, The Eastern Buddhist, 2021.

- Mann, Laurence. “Orality in the Engishiki Norito: Lingering Binarisms in the Study of Texts". Engishiki Kenkyu 30, 2015: 180-202.

- Mann, Laurence.“The Kokinshu, the lyric and the conventional” in R.Aiura et al. (Eds). East Meets West. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014: 118-134.

Academic translations:

- ‘The Triangle of Modern Japanese Yōga - Paris, Tokyo, East Asia’, by Miura, A., in East Asian Art History in a Transnational Context, Routledge, 2019

Professional information

Membership of professional bodies

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Other experience

- Tanaka JRF in Japanese, Pembroke College, University of Oxford (2018-2021)

 Principal teaching responsibilities: Classical Japanese Language and Literature; Modern Japanese Language and Translation; Linguistics

- College Lecturer in Japanese, Hertford College, University of Oxford (2018)

- Departmental Lecturer in Japanese, University of Oxford (2017-18)

 Principal teaching responsibilities: Classical Japanese Language and Literature; Modern Japanese Language and Translation; Linguistics

 Nominated for Student Union Teaching Awards (2018)

 Exam coordinator.

- Local Education Authority Music Teacher, City and County of Swansea (2016-17)

 Principal teaching responsibilities: Performance, ensemble musicianship

- Japanese Language Teacher, various colleges, University of Oxford (2012-16)

- Academic Translator and Conference Interpreter (2012-present)

Staff Profiles