The Pacific War, 1941-5: Heritage, Legacies, Culture
5-7 December 2011
Monash University (Caulfield Campus), Melbourne, Australia
In anticipation of the seventieth anniversary of Pearl Harbour, this conference will explore the heritage, legacy and cultural impact of war between Japan and the Allied Powers. The Pacific War was a conflict played out, for the most part, in the colonial territories of Britain, the Netherlands, the United States and Australia, and in Thailand and China. Hailed variously as the death knell of European colonial power in the region, the fulfilment of age-old European fears of Asian power, the rise of nationalist and independence movements in the Asia-Pacific, the nadir of Japanese imperialism and the dawn of the nuclear age, the Pacific War is a pivot point in the twentieth-century history of the region. This conference aims to bring together scholars working on the cultural, social and political implications of the Pacific War, and to stimulate debate about the war’s impact, legacies and continuing resonances.
Keynote Speakers
| DATE | SPEAKER | TOPIC |
|
Monday 05 December |
Professor Jay Winter |
Filming War |
| Tuesday 06 December | Professor Janet Watson |
A Sideshow to the War in Europe": Nation, Empire, and British Commemoration of the Pacific War |
| Wednesday 07 December | Associate Professor Paula Hamilton |
The Pacific war and the memorial Imagination in Australia |
Programme
- The draft programme has been released, you can download a PDF copy here
Sessions
Papers will explore the following themes: -
- The commemoration, remembrance and representation of the Pacific War in heritage sites, museums, monuments, battlefield tours, ceremonial occasions and key anniversaries;
- War crimes trials and the questions of justice, apologies, reparations and compensation claims;
- Decolonisation, independence movements and counter-insurgencies;
- Repatriations, home-comings and returns;
- Cultural productions focused on the impact and legacy of the war, including literature, theatre, film and television series;
- Relationships between former colonial powers, the US and USSR, Commonwealth nations such as Australia and New Zealand, Japan and new, independent Asian nations in the post-colonial world;
- Contested histories and historiographies of Japanese imperialism, the Pacific War and its aftermath;
- Teaching the legacies of the Pacific War in schools and universities.
Convenors
- Associate Professor Christina Twomey (christina.twomey@monash.edu)
- Dr Ernest Koh (ernest.koh@monash.edu)
Venue
- Monash University Caulfield Campus, Building H 900 Dandenong Road, Caulfield.
Accommodation
- Download our recommendations for accommodation (based on location only) here
Registrations
Please register online using your credit card via the Monash ecart here
- Full Conference Registration $250.00
- Student/Unwaged Registration $100.00
- Conference Dinner $70.00 pp
- Registrations for delegates will remain open until fully subscribed or 28 November 2011.
- Registration includes all morning & afternoon teas, lunches and welcome drinks on the evening of 05 December 2011.
- Conference Dinner will be held at Bok Choy Tang, Federation Square, Melbourne on Tuesday 06 December from 7pm, Vegetarians will be catered for.
Programme
- The draft programme has been released, you can download a PDF copy here
Enquiries
- Email: arts-sophis.conferences@monash.edu
- Telephone:or +613 9902 0116 or email kerrie.alexander@monash.edu
Image Courtesy: Clare Wilkinson [CC-BY-2.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
http://commons.wikimedia.org /wiki/File%3ARoll_of_Honour%2C_Australian_War_Memorial_(1658815267).jpg