Asian History Commons^™

Film Review: First They Killed My Father: A Daughter Of Cambodia Remembers, Timothy Williams

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Towards A Beautiful Japan: Right-Wing Religious Nationalism In Japan's Ldp, Andrew Weiss

Student Work

A 2017-2018 William Prize for best essay in East Asian Studies was awarded to Andrew Weiss (Davenport College '18) for his essay submitted to the East Asian Studies Program, "Towards a Beautiful Japan: Right-Wing Religious Nationalism in Japan's LDP” (Frances Rosenbluth, Damon Wells Professor of Political Science, advisor).

Andrew Weiss, a double major in East Asian Studies and Global Affairs, spent several months of field work in Japan over the summer and winter of 2017 to understand the role of right-wing Shinto in the thinking and politics of the Liberal Democratic Party. Why is the LDP and Abe in …

Alternative Marriage Practices Of Wartime Urban China In Discourse And Practice (1937-1949), Charlotte Cotter

Student Work

A 2017-2018 William Prize for best essay in East Asian Studies was awarded to Charlotte Cotter (Grace Hopper College '18) for her essay submitted to the East Asian Studies Program, "Alternative Marriage Practices of Wartime Urban China in Discourse and Practice (1937-1949)” (Peter C. Perdue, Professor of History, advisor).

Charlotte Cotter’s thesis, “Alternative Marriage Practices of Wartime Urban China in Discourse and Practice (1937-1949)” is an excellent study of how women in Shanghai during wartime explored different modes of intimate life, including alternate forms of marriage, when the upheaval of war tore apart families and disrupted personal relations. Throughout …

The Significance Of Mongolia's Foreign Policy And Security Apparatus On A Global And Regional Scale, Bolor Lkhaajav

Master's Projects and Capstones

Mongolia, land-locked between two politically, economically, and militarily powerful nations — Russia and China — often must balance its foreign and security policies with its two neighbors and countries beyond. When discussing Mongolia’s foreign policy and security apparatus, historians and scholars look at the international relations of East Asia as a whole. This is the case not because Mongolia’s foreign policy is insignificant but because greater powers impose greater influence on smaller states. Mongolia’s partial involvement in World War II (WWII), and the Cold War introduced new challenges as well as opportunities for Mongolia to modernize its foreign policy principles …

Betraying Revolution: The Foundations Of The Japanese Communist Party, Matthew J. Crooke

Master's Projects and Capstones

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and China’s restoration of capitalism, it is easy to dismiss the relevancy of socialism today. Yet, the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) has enjoyed success at the polls and recognition as a serious opponent of the government of Abe Shinzō. The JCP however is not making a push for power. Instead, it supports liberal opposition parties, most recently throwing its weight behind the new Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) in the October 2017 general election. A future CDP government in Japan could include the JCP as a coalition partner. Does …

From Proletariat To Past Glory: Nationalism's Evolution In Modern China, Lance Ekelund

Master's Projects and Capstones

Despite the rapid success of its growth over the past four decades, the People’s Republic of China is facing new political, economic and societal problems. In these turbulent times of change and upheaval, nationalism has re-emerged as a significant force within China, spearheaded by the new regime under President Xi Jinping. This paper examines how a more offensive-oriented nationalism and several subcategories of nationalism are slowly seeping into the aforementioned aspects of modern China. It argue that unlike the defensive nationalism that China adopted over a century ago, this new wave of offensive nationalism is tied directly to the desire …

Complexities Of Chinese Contemporary Art, Hongjia Chen

Master's Projects and Capstones

Throughout the history of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), art has always been state-dominated and driven by governmental and political agendas. In comparison to fellow artists in the Western world, historically, Chinese artists have lacked the freedom to express their passion and creativity through artistic forms. The contemporary art movement in China, however, maneuvers around this challenge and provides a more positive direction—one in which artists have a stronger voice and economic benefits are combined with governmental support and encouragement of art activities that enhance social capital and one’s habitus. To some extent, this is changing, with the first …

起死回生(Resuscitation): Japan's Search For Machines And Their Meanings, Justin P. Mcdonnell

Master's Projects and Capstones

Japan’s lost decade(s) ushered in a new era of economic and societal malaise, marked by a shrinking population, an increased proportion of elderly people, inequality, neo-nationalism(s), uncertainty, and isolation. This project seeks to understand how Japan is trying to address these issues and reconstruct itself from the lost decade(s) with the use of artificial intelligence (jinkou chihou) and robotics along with the societal implications of this technology. This interdisciplinary research utilizes innovative, historical narratives (Morris-Suzuki,1988, Hornyak 2006), and the socio-cultural milieu of Japan and its traditions (Allison 2013; Katsuno 2010) to further appreciate and acknowledge Japanese perspectives and …

Strange Woods, Song Park

Graduate School of Art Theses

I am interested in searching for images of women that have not been adequately represented in visual art. As a visual artist, I am directed by my sense of sight to investigate and know something. I like to challenge myself to visualize things that do not already have a visual representation. It has been frustrating for me to create images of women, and I have experienced a deep ambivalence in response to the different images of women I have encountered. The socially and culturally constructed images of women that I have internalized and those that have developed from my own …

18_大都會漁港 — 反思香港漁業發展, 羅 家輝

專題講座

1947年，英國殖民地部漁業顧問希克林(Frederick Hickling)來港考察，發現香港的漁業技術，比他到訪過的英國屬土都要先進，他認為1940年代香港的漁業發展水平，大致等同1890年代的英國本土—即英國漁業開始機動化的時代。1995年，美國生態學者沙芬拿(Carl Safina)在西太平洋島國帕勞(Palau)調查，準備撰寫專書《海洋之歌─全球海洋生態發現之旅(Song for the Blue Ocean)，在跟土著青年的對談中，得悉早前香港漁船的活珊瑚魚作業，對當地社會和生態帶來深遠影響……戰後半個世紀香港漁業經歷了甚麼變化是成功還是失敗？進步還是落後？本土還是國際？仍有不少問題值得深思。

常言道: 「香港由小漁村發展成為國際大都會。」誠然，今天香港已不是「小漁村」。2010年施政報告宣佈香港水域禁止拖網後，香港仔、筲箕灣、青山灣陸續湧現鐵殼雙拖漁船，每對拖網漁船投資額約 3,000萬元。主流說法是今天漁業已是「夕陽行業」? 但有人認為今天香港漁業才「開始發展」？問題也許暫無定論，但上船親身了解後，必另有一番體會。

A History Of Slavery In Central Asia: Shī’Ī Muslim Enslavement In 19th Century Bukhara, Robert Dunbar

Verbum

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph.

Despite more than a century of interest on the part of western scholars and historians in the region of Central Asia, in many respects our knowledge of many topics in Central Asian history remains limited. To date, when compared to the body of historical works treating the history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery in the Americas, or even the history of slavery within the Arab-Muslim world, the history of slavery in Islamic Central Asia has received little attention. Thus, it stands to reason that the history of …

"And Babies.": The History, Politics, And Memory Of My Lai, 1968-2018, Dana Lechleiter

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

On March 16, 1968, American soldiers murdered over 500 elderly men, women, and children in the small Vietnamese village of My Lai. Although the U.S. military attempted to conceal the massacre, it was eventually revealed by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh. Utilizing a wide range of primary and secondary sources, my thesis examines official and popular reactions to the My Lai massacre and its role in the historical memory of the Vietnam War. I detail the investigation and trial of the soldiers responsible, the conviction of one of the massacre’s chief perpetrators, and the intervention of President Richard Nixon. The passing …

The American Impact On The Evolution Of The Japanese Women’S Rights Movement, Caitlin Tripp

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to explore the impact of America’s influence on Japanese women’s efforts to obtain equal rights. America’s role in various Japanese women’s rights groups and movements has been the subject of essays and theses in the past, yet the topic is generally centered specifically on the period during the American occupation following World War II in 1945. This paper aims to take a broader look at Japanese Women’s Rights efforts before and after the war to garner a better understanding of the ways in which the American influence aided in the development of the movement. …

Shadows Of Empire: The Mughal And British Colonial Heritage Of Lahore, Naeem U. Din

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The Pakistani city of Lahore is the capital of the Punjab province. The city itself has existed for over a thousand years. In 1947 the British rule in the Indian subcontinent ended, resulting in the partition of British India into the modern states of India and Pakistan. At the time the Punjab province was also partitioned, with the western half (including Lahore) going to Pakistan and the eastern half being awarded to India. Prior to partition, Lahore served as an important administrative and commercial center under the Mughal Empire (1526–1799), the Sikh Empire (1799–1849), the British East India Company (1849–1858), …

How To Be The Perfect Asian Wife!, Sophia Hill

Art and Art History Honors Projects

“How to be the Perfect Asian Wife” critiques exploitative power systems that assault female bodies of color in intersectional ways. This work explores strategies of healing and resistance through inserting one’s own narrative of flourishing rather than surviving, while reflecting violent realities. Three large drawings mimic pervasive advertisement language and presentation reflecting the oppressive strategies used to contain women of color. Created with charcoal, watercolor, and ink, these 'advertisements' contrast with an interactive rice bag filled with comics of my everyday experiences. These documentations compel viewers to reflect on their own participation in systems of power.

Praise And Prejudice: American Attitudes Toward Japan In Uncle Ben, Anna Nielsen, Rachel Baron, Emily Orton

FHSS Mentored Research Conference

Uncle Ben in Japan is a 1933 geographical workbook intended to teach American schoolchildren about Japan. This text highlights both positive and negative American attitudes towards Japan in the 1930s. Although this work expresses certain views progressive for its time, it also contains evident assumptions of American national superiority.

Live Confucian: The Newsletter Of The Confucius Institute At Pace University Spring 2018, Confucius Institute

Live Confucian

A newsletter of the Confucius Institute, Pace University.

The Confucius Institute at Pace Universi­ty is dedicated to providing Chinese lan­guage and cultural education, resources,and services to meet the needs of people from all backgrounds.

The Heritage-Making Conundrum In Asian Cities: Real, Transformed And Imagined Legacies, David Ocon

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

The process of heritage-making is farfrom straightforward. Defining the meaning of heritage in young nations and citieswhere land availability is limited is a challenging exercise. It often crossesthe paths of history, religion, memory-shaping, development, andidentity-building. It requires fluent communication channels between civilsociety, local organisations and governments. Willingness to cooperate from allthe parties involved is essential; dialogue a must.In land-scarce or densely populated Asiancities, expansion and growth is colliding with the preservation of legacies, thepast and memory. This paper examines regional case studies from Hong Kong,Manila and Singapore, where preservation of cultural patrimony, development anddaily life follow conflicting paths. It sheds …

Text Mining In Chinese Ancient Attires, Lu Wang

Western Research Forum

Starting from the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE) when writing system appeared in China, clothing was recorded as symbols to denote social statuses. The hierarchical signification of clothing remained in the following dynasties until the end of imperial China in 1911. The imperial period produced twenty-five official dynastic histories with rich corpuses on the subject of attire, documenting regulations and prohibitions of detailed dress code, a subject being scarcely studied and treated with assumptions today. This research will use text mining tools to identify descriptive words of clothing that reflect Chinese hierarchal ideology from the twenty-five histories. The method is to …

The Claremont Colleges Asian Studies Faculty Research Practices, Xiuying Zou, Carrie Marsh

Library Staff Publications and Research

A study on research practice and needs for library resource and service support of Asian studies faculty at The Claremont Colleges.