Congresses
back to congress list search by countryRethinking International History from Asian Perspectives
Period: 2004-09-01 - 2004-09-30
Country: Tokyo, Japan
Description:
The Committee of History of International Relations will host a conference in Tokyo, Japan in late September 2004.
"Rethinking International History from Asian Perspectives" is the theme of the conference. The Tokyo Conference of 1998, the first CHIR conference held in East Asia, focused on political interactions between Asia and Europe in the 20th Century. The Tokyo Conference of 2004 will deal with the Asian aspects of international history. The terminology, "Asia", was originally referred to as an immense expanse lying east beyond Europe. The organizers of the 2004 conference interpret "Asia" very broadly and consider it as a region spreading from Western Asia to the Asia-Pacific region.
Organizers welcome proposals for papers that should fit into one of the following four panels:
1) East Asia in Modern History: One possible topic is the coming of the Western State System to East Asia where a unique hierachical international order with China on the top had been dominant. There are some historians who argue that because of continuing Chinese commercial activities this East Asian International Order survived well into the 20th century. This argument provides a fresh challenge to a traditional (Western-oriented) view of history. Other topics that were suggested by the organizers were the "Boxers" Uprising", the "United Front against Japan" during the 1930s and the Second World War, and the governments and popular movements in the East Asian region in the post-WWII period.
2) Search for Regional Identities in Asia: Organizers wish to carry on the discussion on a conflict between globalism and regionalism which was taken up by the CHIR Oslo Conference. Has a regional identity (or identities) ever existed in Asia" Was there something comparable to "Pan European movement" in Asia, for example" Was there ever a common regional economic or security sphere in Asia" These are the questions that should be addressed in this panel.
3) Asian Perceptions of the West: To Asians the "West" was vaguely conceived as Europe (plus North America). As the European Union expands eastward, our image of Europe may change accordingly. The expansion of Europe was really a process of growing recognition that "what was classical was only particular." This panel is devoted to the exchange of views and ideas about the "West." Papers on perceptions of European and American affairs"especially from non-Western viewpoints"are welcome.
4) International History: An Assessment: The 1998 Tokyo Conference did not address the problem of methodology, or basic ideas of international history. The preceding CHIR conferences did, however, discuss broader theoretical concepts such as "neutrality in history" or "major/minor powers." The demise of the Cold War seems to have forced us to reevaluate not only international relations but also historical science, and have prompted the rise of "post-modernism" or "antihistory." One suggetion for this panel would be "What is the current state of international historical writings by Asian scholars or specialists on Asian affairs in methodological terms"" Other suggestions would be "What was the meaning of the Socialist System of the 20th Century"" and "a relationship, if any, between modernization and westernization."
Those interested in submitting a proposal (1 page) for a presentation (20 minutes) and a c. v. are invited to write before March 31, 2004. The deadline for the papers is August 31, 2004.
The Tokyo Committee will bear the cost of accommodation for the paper-givers and those whom the Tokyo Committee asks to chair the sessions and to comment on the papers.
All correspondence should be sent to:
The Secretariat of the Tokyo Committee of the CHIR
c/o Professor H. Watanabe
Department of International Relations
Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
3-11-1 Asahi-cho Fuchu-shi
Tokyo, Japan, 183-8534
Phone & fax : +81-42-330-5381
e-mail : wtnbhi@aol.com
Professor Kumiko Haba
Department of Social Sciences
Hosei University
2-17-1, Fujimi, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo, Japan, 102-8160
Phone & fax : +813-3332-1777
e-mail : kumikoh@i.hosei.ac.jp
Program:
Call for paper:
Sign in
Become a member