[Past Event] Japan and the U.S.: The Past is Present | Ryan Ranch

Course Description:

Sept. 12: Japan's Pacific War

Many Americans understand the origins of World War II with the Japanese military's attack on Pearl Harbor. From a Japanese historical perspective, however, the war in the Pacific has a much longer and more complicated origin. In this session we learn about the wider understandings of the Pacific War. Our focus will be less on military history, and more on culturally contingent understandings of the conflict.

Oct. 26: Japan Rearmed

For the last 80 years, U.S. bases have been a persistent fixture across much of Japan’s landscape, particularly in Okinawa. Join us as we examine the cultural, political and historical implications of this legacy, and how the U.S. military and Japanese Self-Defense Forces conflict with Japan’s “peace constitution.” Both of these sessions will help us better understand how this history informs the current military and political tension surrounding the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan and China.