Dear colleagues,

You are invited to join on Zoom for the public colloquium series which is part of my Introduction to Anthropology of Japan course at the University of Colorado Boulder. Information about the first three talks is below. 

Best,

Kate

Public lecture: Wed, Jan 31, 2024

12:20-1:10pm MT, on Zoom

Register in advance:

https://cuboulder.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYlc-ysrjItG9Cv9jYzXccsC0GiNfMqOsSk

 

Crazy About Kofun: Ancient Tomb Fandom, Promotion, and Commodification

Dr. Laura Miller

Ei'ichi Shibusawa-Seigo Arai Endowed Professor of Japanese Studies and Professor of History, University of Missouri-St. Louis

 

Kofun are ancient tombs found throughout Japan, but the earliest (3rd century~5th century) are tumuli located in the Kansai region. In recent years history buffs and civic organizations have displayed great interest in these tombs, which are often used to promote Individual, local, and national identities. In this talk I will provide a little history about kofun before turning to in-progress research on "kofun mania." 

 

 

Public lecture: Wed, Feb 7, 2024

12:20-1:10pm MT, on Zoom

Register in advance:

https://cuboulder.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJErdu-uqzoiE9Nc6EWlFx5GwFZ9rwWvINmP

 

The "History Wars" and the "Comfort Woman" Issue: Revisionism and the Right-wing in Japan and the U.S.

Dr. Tomomi Yamaguchi

Associate Professor of Anthropology and Sociology, Montana State University

 

An issue of intense controversy currently in Japan is "comfort women", with many in the right wing relentlessly attacking the accepted historical narrative and denying that there was any Japanese government involvement in, or corresponding responsibility for, a system of sexual slavery of women and girls in countries occupied by Japan during World War II. Right-wing media and intellectuals have begun to use the term "history wars" to refer to this development. In particular, as "comfort woman" monuments and statues have been built in various locations in the world, including the U.S., during the last decade, they have become the target of attacks from the Japanese government and Japanese right-wingers. Based on my fieldwork on the Japanese right-wing movement, I will highlight how the acts of remembering and commemorating the survivors' experiences of wartime violence against women became such a contentious political issue that mobilized the Japanese right-wing so intensively and emotionally both in and outside of Japan.

 

 

Public lecture: Wed, Feb 14, 2024

12:20-1:10pm MT, on Zoom

Register in advance:

https://cuboulder.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIlcOGorTsiEtWkcGtnKKZ3sAqmoJ9TKmgU

 

The Bust of Harry S. Truman

Ms. Momoko Usami

Ceramicist

 

In 2020, the 75th year anniversary of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese ceramic artist Momoko Usami was given a public commission to create a bust of Harry S. Truman for Hotel Kansas City. Truman may have advocated for civil rights domestically, but he also authorized the dropping of atomic bombs on Usami's native country. For Usami, who now lives in the American Midwest with her family, having mixed-race children in a period of civil unrest helped shape the complexity of her depiction of Truman. Her key motivation in her depiction was a fear of repeating the worst of history. Usami hopes that her art increases public awareness so we will not make the same mistakes again, and that we will find better paths for the future.

--
Kathryn E. Goldfarb
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
University of Colorado at Boulder
1350 Pleasant St.
Boulder, CO 80309
Hale Science 350 | Campus Box 233 UCB
Office: Hale Science 466
Office phone: 303.492.1589
kathryn.goldfarb@colorado.edu