Organizer and Chair: Helen Hardacre, Harvard University
Discussants: Gail Bernstein, University of Arizona; Donald N. Clark, Trinity
University; Jeffrey E. Hanes, University of Oregon; Hyung Il Pai, University
of California, Santa Barbara; Germaine A. Hoston, University of California, San
Diego; Sharon A. Minichiello, University of Hawai'i, Manoa; J. Thomas Rimer,
University of Pittsburgh
The purpose of this round table is to provide a forum for interested members of the AAS to learn more about the history and objectives of the Meiji Conference, held at Harvard University May 6-8, 1994, and the Post-Meiji Conference Series, for 1995, 1996, and 1997. Both the Meiji Conference at Harvard and the tripartite Post-Meiji Conference Series were initiated and co-sponsored by the Northeast Asia Council. These conferences mark the first such effort by an area council of the Association. The purpose of the Meiji Studies Conference was to promote studies of Meiji Japan in all the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences, and thereby to contribute to the development and enrichment of Japanese Studies in the United States. The Post-Meiji Conference Series, titled "Competing Modernities in 20th Century Japan," will promote the study of the challenges that the Japanese and other peoples in the region affected by Japan's preeminent success in this century. The conferences treat Taisho Demokurashii (1900-1930), Fuashizumu and Cultural Identity (1930-1950), and Wealth as Power (1950-2000).
Dr. Hardacre, organizer of this round table, has served as chairperson for the Meiji Studies Conference and is presenting a paper at the Taisho Conference. The other participants are planning committee members for the "Competing Modernities" Conference Series. Dr. Hanes and Dr. Pai are highly regarded scholars, one specializing in Japan and one specializing in Korea, who will be invited to comment on their experiences as participants of the first conference of the Post-Meiji Conference Series.