This event is co-sponsored with the Elliott School Book Launch Series.

Friday, August 31, 2018
12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Lindner Commons - Room 602
The Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052

Why do some governments and societies attach great significance to a particular anniversary year whereas others seem less inclined to do so? What motivates the orchestration of elaborate commemorative activities in some countries? What are they supposed to accomplish, for both domestic and international audience? In what ways do commemorations in Asia Pacific fit into the global memory culture of war commemoration? In what ways are these commemorations intertwined with current international politics?

This book presents the first large-scale analysis of how countries in the Asia Pacific and beyond commemorated the seventieth anniversaries of the end of World War II. Consisting of in-depth case studies of China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Singapore, the Philippines, United States, Russia, and Germany, this unique collective effort demonstrates how memories of the past as reflected in public commemorations and contemporary politics—both internal and international—profoundly affect each other.

Light refreshments will be available. This event is on the record and open to the media.

Speakers:

Dr. Mike Mochizuki, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, and Japan-U.S. Relations Chair in Memory of Gaston Sigur at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University; Co-Director, Memory and Reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific, Sigur Center for Asian Studies.

Dr. Daqing Yang, Associate Professor of History and International Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University; Co-Director, Memory and Reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific, Sigur Center for Asian Studies.  

Dr. Robert Sutter, Professor of Practice of International Affairs; Director, B.A. Program in International Affairs, George Washington University

Dr. Lily Gardner Feldman, Harry & Helen Gray Senior Fellow and Director of the Society, Culture & Politics Program, American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, Johns Hopkins University.  

Dr. Christine Kim, Associate Professor of Teaching, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.