About Us | National History and Collective Memory Project

The recent evolution of globalization, ironically, has strengthened the nationalized identity politics in each state, which seemingly results in the restoration of nationalism and the growth of exclusionist attitudes towards people whose cultural, religious, and linguistic backgrounds are different from the dominant ones. Furthermore, these processes are developing through such democratic procedures as national elections and are becoming a serious obstruction for the construction of contemporary democracy that assumes the coexistence of various citizens based on mutual understanding and tolerance. We can easily find this trend in inward-looking political changes that are prominent even among advanced countries.

It is the recognition of the "past" that becomes a focal point for restored and strengthened nationalism and reinforced exclusionist attitudes. Although we are familiar with it through the chronic experiences of antagonism and conflicts that are widespread in East Asian countries, it has also become a globalized trend that is beyond our assumption. Europe is not an exception in spite of its positive image of historical reconciliation and GermanVergangenheitsbewältigung. How should we perceive the present situation in which confrontation with different perceptions of the common past becomes harsh and the exclusionist attitudes against "others" are increasing under the democratic regime by utilizing different perceptions of the "past"?

Our "Interdisciplinary Research on the Function of National Histories and Collective Memories for the Democracy in the Globalized Society" (National History and Collective Memory Project, NHCM) examines this question based on the following perspectives and methods:

How have national histories, which were established along with the rise of modern nation states, been involved in the exclusion of "others"? Do the national histories include elements of antagonism within themselves? NHCM develops the historiographical reconsideration of European and Asian cases.

The end of the Cold War, which was marked with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of USSR, defrosted the frozen collective memories of wars and dictatorial regimes, and, at the same time, it drastically changed the public attitude towards the past. In each country collective memories of victimhood in the near past have been extensively utilized for the political aims. NHCM reconsiders the issue of collective memories.

HASHIMOTO, Nobuya	Professor	Kwansei Gakuin University

AWAYA, Toshie	Professor	Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
FUJIHARA,Tatsushi	Associate Professor	Kyoto University
FUJII, Takashi	Associate Professor	Kwansei Gakuin University
FUKUDA, Hiroshi	Associate Professor	Seijo University
GOTO, Yukako	Professor	Kwansei Gakuin University
HASEGAWA, Takahiko	Professor	Hokkaido University
IIJIMA, Wataru	Professor	Aoyama Gakuin University
KANAZAWA, Shusaku	Associate Professor	Kyoto University
KOMORI, Hiromi	Professor	Waseda University
KOYAMA, Satoshi	Professor	Kyoto University
LEE, Sungsi	Professor	Waseda University
MIZUNO, Hiroko	Associate Professor	Meiji University
NISHIYAMA, Masaru	Professor	Kwansei Gakuin University
RUSTERHOLZ, Andreas	Professor	Kwansei Gakuin University
SATO,Hitomi	Associate Professor	Konan University
SATO,Tatsuro	Professor	Kwansei Gakuin University
SHIMAMURA,Takanori	Professor	Kwansei Gakuin University
TAKAOKA, Hiroyuki	Professor	Kwansei Gakuin University
TATEISHI, Yoko	Assistant Professor	Seikei Univeristy
TOBE, Hideaki	Professor	Tokyo Keizai Univerity

HABE, Yuichiro Postdoctoral Researcher Kwansei Gakuin University

BERGER, Stefan	(Professor, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany: Historiography, German Social History)
BOGUMIŁ, Zuzanna	(Associate Professor, The Maria Grzegorzewska University, Poland: Sociology and Anthoropology, Gulag Studies)
FUJITANI, Takashi	(Professor, University of Toronto, Canada: Modern Japanese and East Asian History)
GLUCK, Carol	(Professor, Columbia University, USA: Modern and Contemporary Japanese History, Politics of Memory in Global Context)
GŁOWACKA-GRAJPER, Małgorzata	(Assistant Professor, University of Warsaw, Poland: Memory Studies)
LIM, Jie-Hyun	(Professor, Sogang University, South Korea: Global and World History)
LORENZ, Chris	(Professor / Honorable Research Fellow, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany: Theory of History)
MORRIS-SUZUKI, Tessa	(Professor, Australian National University, Australia: Asian History)
YONEYAMA, Lisa	(Professor, University of Toronto, Canada: Contemporary Japanese History, Memory Politics)

The Critical Global Studies Institute (CGSI) has been based at Sogang University since 2016. It is an institution established to rescue Korea’s humanities and social sciences from “the nation” by offering a global outlook on humans, society, and the environment. CGSI has the ultimate mission of presenting the alternative to both the rising tide of nationalist anti-globalization and hegemonic globalization (globalization “from above” in the form of globalization “from below.” CGSI’s ultimate vision for encountering the realities of 21st century life rooted in a transnational matrix can be summarized in four “trans-“ keywords: transnational, transregional, transdisciplinary, and transinstitutional. By incorporating these four “trans” concepts, CGSI seeks to develop global ethics and epistemology, sharpen critical insight into multicultural and global lives, and promote the responsibilities and practices required of global citizens.
The Institute for Social Movements is a central research institute of Ruhr University Bochum that works closely with the Foundation History of the Ruhr. Both form the House for the History of the Ruhr that contains the largest specialist research library in Germany on the history of social movements and regions of heavy industry. It also contains an archive with holdings related to the history of the Ruhr region, including the archives of one of the biggest industrial unions in Germany, the IGBCE.
The Institute of Sociology (IS) at the University of Warsaw is among the leading sociology departments at Polish universities. Its position is reflected in the number of professors and faculty with doctoral degrees, their track record in research, as well as the attractive curriculum and high quality of the teaching programmes. The Institute of Sociology is part of the Philosophy and Sociology Department at the University of Warsaw. It comprises 12 chairs and 4 Laboratories. As a result of collaboration with the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Department boasts the largest philosophy and sociology library in the country.

JSPS Topic-Setting Program
to Advance Cutting-Edge Humanities and Social Sciences Research,
Global Initiative Interdisciplinary　Research　on　the　Function　of　National Histories　and　Collective Memories for the Democracy in the Globalized Society

School of Humanities ,
Kwansei Gakuin University ,
UEGAHARA , NISHINOMIYA ,
HYOGO , JAPAN , 662-8501
history-memory@kwansei.ac.jp