I am currently finishing my PhD in History at the University of Zurich (Switzerland). My dissertation covers the history of agricultural science in Japan and Taiwan across the entire 19th and 20th centuries. Specifically, I focus on the influence of Confucian political philosophy on the institutionalization of modern agricultural science. The project identifies continuities from the late Tokugawa period that perdure through empire and continue to exist in the form of foreign aid today. A more detailed overview can be found here.

My academic background is in political science and literary criticism, which continues to influence how I study the history of science. You may know me from my writing on Japanese web novels [1][2] or the politics of contemporary aesthetics [1][2]; I have also written a bit about the philosophy of history [1][2] and Lacanian psychoanalysis [1]. I am a polyglot and speak fluent English, French, Chinese, and Japanese; my German is advanced but still far from perfect.

On this website, you can find an abbreviated CV and PDF downloads of my publications. You can also catch my unhinged musings on Bluesky, or reach me via email at scott.ma[at]uzh.ch.

The image to the right is a depiction of farmer-soldiers created by bureaucrats at the Hokkaido Kaitakushi in early Meiji Japan, held at the Hokkaido Museum.