Research Support
SPIRITS

Public Diplomacy of Knowledge in Cold War East Asia: International Collaboration and Multi-Language Publication

Project Gist

International research collaboration on “Knowledge and/as Diplomacy” and publication of research results in three languages (Japanese, English, and Chinese).

Keywords

knowledge, diplomacy, East Asia, United States, Cold War

Joint Research/Academic Institutions Abroad

University of Tokyo, Nihon University, Hiroshima University, Chungnam National University, Korea University, Jeonbuk National University, National Chengchi University, Zhejiang University, University of Colorado, Indiana University, University of Washington

Background and Purpose

Although cultural aspects of the Cold War have been studied extensively in the past decade, little has been explored about the development of academic and professional knowledge in East Asia. In the early Cold War era (late 1940s to 1960s), knowledge in East Asia, such as Area Studies, Science & Technology, and Journalism methodology, was constructed under the influences of East-West confrontation and financial aid by the U.S. The process was also influenced by other factors such as divided nations and legacy of colonialism. In this project, scholars from Japan, U.S., China, Taiwan, and Korea collaborated in the research of relationships between knowledge and diplomacy. They focused on both governmental and non-governmental actors who influenced the process of knowledge construction. The results of collaboration will be published in three languages: Japanese, Chinese, and English.

Project Achievements

As a product of the two-year collaboration, an edited volume Knowledge as Diplomacy: The U.S. and Asia in the Cold War will be published in three languages. A Chinese version is being edited in Taiwan, and a Japanese version will also be published in 2021 academic year. An English version is currently under peer review at a university press in the U.S. Through the editing of this volume and various meetings and conferences, a network of Japanese, U.S., Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean scholars have been built. The team has applied for a JSPS Grant-in-aid for the next four years as an extension of this collaborative research, and the application has been accepted.

Future Prospects

We will publish Chinese and Japanese versions of the edited volume in 2021 academic year, and an English version in 2022. Also, a new JSPS Grant-in-aid project (on Knowledge construction in East Asia from the late 1960s to the 1970s), which is an extension of the SPIRITS collaborative research, has been accepted. We will organize meetings on this new project, and strive to publish another edited volume in four years.

Figure

Workshop at Kyoto University in January 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic, turned out to be a very valuable face-to-face discussion opportunity.

Principal Investigator

TSUCHIYA Yuka

TSUCHIYA Yuka
Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies
She has received a doctoral degree in 2004 from University of Minnesota, Department of American Studies. Her field of specialization is U.S. cultural/public diplomacy during the Cold War. Her recent publication includes Cultural Cold War and Science & Technology: U.S. Overseas Information Program and Asia (Kyoto University Press, 2021).
http://www.tsuchiya.jinkan.kyoto-u.ac.jp/