East Asia and Cosmopolitan Memory

This paper examines institutional underpinnings of the so-called “history problem” in East Asia, a set of controversies over how Japan should commemorate the Asia-Pacific War. I first illustrate how the history problem resulted from a collision of mutually reinforcing nationalist memories in Japan,...

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Main Author: SAITO, Hiro
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Language:English
Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2014
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Online Access:https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1614
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spelling sg-smu-ink.soss_research-28712015-04-14T08:06:06Z East Asia and Cosmopolitan Memory SAITO, Hiro This paper examines institutional underpinnings of the so-called “history problem” in East Asia, a set of controversies over how Japan should commemorate the Asia-Pacific War. I first illustrate how the history problem resulted from a collision of mutually reinforcing nationalist memories in Japan, China, and South Korea. Next, I introduce two intersecting dialectics that hold the key to explaining the trajectory and dynamics of the history problem. One is a dialectic of nationalism and cosmopolitanism as two logics of constructing collective memory, and another is a dialectic of commemoration and historiography as two modes of appropriating the past. I then argue that the recent trajectory and dynamics of the history problem points to the emergence of cosmopolitan memory, coupled with historians’ critique of nationalist memory. In conclusion, I critically assess future prospects of cosmopolitan memory and reconciliation in East Asia. 2014-07-13T07:00:00Z text https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1614 Research Collection School of Social Sciences eng Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Sociology
institution Singapore Management University
building SMU Libraries
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider SMU Libraries
collection InK@SMU
language English
topic Sociology
spellingShingle Sociology
SAITO, Hiro
East Asia and Cosmopolitan Memory
description This paper examines institutional underpinnings of the so-called “history problem” in East Asia, a set of controversies over how Japan should commemorate the Asia-Pacific War. I first illustrate how the history problem resulted from a collision of mutually reinforcing nationalist memories in Japan, China, and South Korea. Next, I introduce two intersecting dialectics that hold the key to explaining the trajectory and dynamics of the history problem. One is a dialectic of nationalism and cosmopolitanism as two logics of constructing collective memory, and another is a dialectic of commemoration and historiography as two modes of appropriating the past. I then argue that the recent trajectory and dynamics of the history problem points to the emergence of cosmopolitan memory, coupled with historians’ critique of nationalist memory. In conclusion, I critically assess future prospects of cosmopolitan memory and reconciliation in East Asia.
format text
author SAITO, Hiro
author_facet SAITO, Hiro
author_sort SAITO, Hiro
title East Asia and Cosmopolitan Memory
title_short East Asia and Cosmopolitan Memory
title_full East Asia and Cosmopolitan Memory
title_fullStr East Asia and Cosmopolitan Memory
title_full_unstemmed East Asia and Cosmopolitan Memory
title_sort east asia and cosmopolitan memory
publisher Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University
publishDate 2014
url https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1614
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