Affiliated Faculty, Organizational Dynamics Programs
J. W. Traphagan, PhD is an anthropologist with expertise in the anthropology of science and technology. He has held positions in the Interplanetary Initiative at Arizona State University, Center for International Education at Waseda University in Tokyo, Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, and Human Dimensions of Organizations at the University of Texas at Austin.
Traphagan received his BA in political science from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, MAR in social ethics from Yale University, and PhD in social anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh. He did his postdoctoral research as a National Institute on Aging Postdoctoral Fellow in the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan. He is the author of numerous articles and books related to Japanese culture and the culture and ethics of space exploration including his most recent book related to Japan, Cosmopolitan Rurality, Depopulation, and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in 21st Century Japan (Cambria Press, 2020). Traphagan writes regularly for outlets such as The Daily Beast, The Conversation, FastCompany, FutureU, and the Harvard Business Review. He is also host of a regular podcast on the New Books Network that focuses on science, technology, and society and co-hosts a podcast called “How To Be Wrong” also on the New Books Network.
