The UBC History Empires and (Post-)Colonialisms in the Asia-Pacific Cluster features local non-UBC scholars who have recently published monographs to have informal discussions about a chapter or two of their book. We invite all faculty and graduate students with interests in modern Asia/-Pacific (broadly defined) and the themes of empire, colonialism, or postcolonialism/decolonization to join, regardless of discipline or department.
The UBC History Empires and (Post-)Colonialisms in the Asia-Pacific Cluster is pleased to invite you to a seminar with Dr. Jun Uchida on her latest monograph Provincializing Empire: Omi Merchants in the Japanese Transpacific Diaspora. This seminar will be held on Tuesday, February 13th, 1:00-2:30 pm, in Buchanan Tower 1112. Lunch will be provided.
Dr. Jun Uchida is Professor of History and Vice-Chair of the Department of History at Stanford University. She is currently a Visiting Professor at Ewha Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea from 2023 to 2026. Her first monograph, Brokers of Empire: Japanese Settler Colonialism in Korea, 1876–1945, examined the role of Japanese settlers in the colonization of Korea.
In Provincializing Empire, Uchida:
“explores the global history of Japanese expansion through a regional lens. It rethinks the nation-centered geography and chronology of empire by uncovering the pivotal role of expeditionary merchants from Ōmi (present-day Shiga Prefecture) and their modern successors. Tracing their lives from the early modern era, and writing them into the global histories of empire, diaspora, and capitalism, Jun Uchida offers an innovative analysis of expansion through a story previously untold: how the nation’s provincials built on their traditions to create a transpacific diaspora that stretched from Seoul to Vancouver, while helping shape the modern world of transoceanic exchange.”
Interested participants should read the Introduction, Chapter 7 “A Shiga Immigrant Diaspora in Canada,” and the Conclusion of Provincializing Empire, which is available open-access here. A PDF version of these chapters will also be emailed to those on the cluster mailing list.
If you are interested in joining the cluster, please contact Quinton Huang (qhuang98@student.ubc.ca) to be added to the mailing list, and please direct other inquiries to Ryan Sun (rchsun29@student.ubc.ca).