Dr Chris Harding’s work has contributed to public understanding about modern and contemporary Japan, in particular by helping to revise popular myths and misunderstandings about Japanese politics, wartime beliefs and behaviour, and social psychology. In 2013 Dr Harding was appointed one of the AHRC/BBC’s New Generation Thinkers. As a cultural historian, Dr Chris Harding contributes to public and professional debates on the links between culture, spirituality, and mental health through a combination of high-profile media work – including BBC Radio 3, Radio 4 and World Service documentaries and national print/online journalism. Most recently, Dr Harding has worked with the BBC on a four-part radio series, The Borders of Sanity looking at how culture shapes people’s experiences of mental illness and mental health. This was broadcast in May-June 2016. The series examines depression in Japan, adolescent mental health in Sweden, voice-hearing in the UK and healing in Ghana. Dr Harding wrote and presented the episodes which are rooted in his research on culture and mental health/illness. This programme follows on from a number of media collaborations between Dr Harding and BBC Radio and BBC TV Arts, most notably Freud in Asia (broadcast on Radio 3 Nov 2014) and Misunderstanding Japan (broadcast on Radio 4 Aug 2015). In 2014 Dr Harding also produced pieces for History Today (‘Japan’s Blitz’) and BBC History Magazine (‘Real Lives of the Kamikaze’). As part of his research, Dr Harding also works with members of the public, clinicians, religious professionals, academics, and others, for discussions about the interface between psy ideas and practices and religious and spiritual traditions. Further information Dr Harding's staff profile Dr Harding's personal website This article was published on 2024-08-01
