The Boston College history and sociology departments, as well as a few other organizations, are commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Asian-Pacific War through a comprehensive lecture series that will illustrate the war's importance, especially its aftereffects on the Asian world.
The series kicked off on Jan. 24 with a lecture titled "Ten Legacies of the Asia-Pacific War" by professor Franziska Seraphim of the history department. It will continue today with a lecture given by Alexis Dudden of Connecticut College titled "Japan's Colonization of Korea."
Other scholars from different universities will be speaking throughout the semester.
BC history professor Seth Jacobs will give a lecture titled "Never Was a Foe So Detested" on March 21.
Organizers hope to open Americans' eyes to the war raging in Asia after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and the damages from that battlefield that still exist today.
Seraphim helped organize the lecture series with the assistance of a few BC students such as Paul Yoon, A&S '05.
The Asian-Pacific War is a piece of history that is far too often forgotten in American history, said Yoon. He attributed the overlook to the United State's limited subsequent involvement.
"Most people think that World War II ended in August 1945, but for a lot of Asian nations, that is not true," said Yoon.
More atrocities were committed after the bombings, especially in Korea, China, and Japan. Prominent experts in the Asia-Pacific War will address these topics.
Seraphim is adamant in awakening the American mind to the truth of the matter involving the Asian-Pacific War.
"America needs to think beyond the 'Pacific War' as 'our last good war,' dated from Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima," she said. "It simply doesn't do to perpetuate stereotypes of the Japanese as the 'little pest' over there who, for shady reasons, had the audacity to commit a heinous act of violence against us in December 1941."
"This may be a pop-version of history, but it so clearly misses the bigger picture of what had been at stake in Asia at least since 1931," she said.
There are many aspects of the war that remain unresolved, especially involving Japan's conduct during that time.
Yoon said believing that the war ended in August 1945 tends to eclipse its realities and the great transformations that took place in China, in Korea, and across Southeast Asia.
"The goal of this lecture series is to reexamine the way that history has been written since 1945 throughout the world," he said.
Seraphim said as globalization spreads throughout the world, it is imperative that Americans, as well as other cultures, fully understand the history of the Asian nations and what they had gone through to get where they are today.
"The war is being remembered because the legacies of that conflict remain part of the present especially as the Asia-Pacific region is trying to integrate further both economically and politically in the context of globalization," said Seraphim. "This year, it seems, Japan and Korea are on a course of reconciliation through cultural activities, whereas China and Japan may be on a course of collision."
These anniversaries provide a means of thinking about the pressing issues of today's world in light of the past.
As an American and as a citizen of this globally connected world who is and will be making careers in this "global" century, one must have an expanded vision and open mind, both said.
This isn't just another Asian event, rather, it is meant to educate everyone who is willing to learn about the major world powers of the East, said Seraphim.
"This event is geared toward everyone who understands him or herself as a global citizen of whatever nationality or ethnicity and simply wants to be better informed about international issues involving Asia today, in as much as they are rooted in the history of a major world religion that still does not command the kind of presence on campus that it deserves," said Seraphim.
For Yoon, the lectures would hold a special meaning specifically for Koreans. "There is a big Korean aspect to this event since the country was affected so much by Japanese imperialism at that time," said Yoon.
The series will continue today with a showing of the film Spy Sorge directed by Masahiro Shinoda in Higgins 310.
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