What’s Next for Tohoku? The Future of “Reconstruction” and “Relief”
Saturday,December 8,2012Categories: Symposium , Past Symposium (2008-2012)
Sponsored by IACS, ICU
Saturday, December 8, 2012
ICU Administration Building(Honbuto) 206
What’s Next for Tohoku?
The Future of “Reconstruction” and “Relief”
| It has been more than a year and a half since 3/11: The Great East Japan Earthquake and Disaster. While anti-nuclear campaigns have intensified in response to the tragic accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant, the national media has toned down calls for “reconstruction” in the affected areas. Considerable progress has been made in clearing away piles of rubble, exposing a myriad of problems that remain to be dealt with carefully. As the Tohoku region slowly returns to normalcy, it becomes increasingly difficult for “outsiders” to imagine the needs of peoples and places so tragically devastated just last year. This symposium seeks to look at “what’s next” for Tohoku. We will begin by examining the history of attempts at “reconstruction” and “relief.” As members of an academic community devoted to “active liberal arts,” our imaginings of the future are necessarily based on a critical summation of what has taken place since disaster struck. What constitutes the sort of “reconstruction” that people in Tohoku desire? And in order to bring this about, what can students and faculty, as responsible global citizens, do now? Our first task may well be to listen to the voices of the people confronting “reconstruction.” Contributing money and volunteering time and labor remains essential. Moreover, in order to revive industries that have been severely damaged, government and public funding is an urgent necessity. How can we take advantage of university research and creative-thinking and problem-solving skills to help the people of Tohoku go beyond a simple return to the way life was before 3.11? Seeking to bring together the efforts and thinking of people in and outside the academic community, we earnestly invite your active participation in this symposium. |
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| Program: | ||
| 13:00-13:05 | Introduction to the Symposium M. William Steele, Director, Institute of Asian Cultural Studies |
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| 1. Reconstruction and Relief in Historical Perspective | ||
| 13:05-13:25 | M. William Steele (ICU, Director, Institute of Asian Cultural Studies) The Great Tohoku Famine of 1904-05: Two Sides of International Relief |
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| 13:25-13:50 | Kawanishi Hidemichi (Hiroshima University) Where have all the Tohokus gone? Robbed Histories, Erased Memories, Lost Landscapes |
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| 13:50-14:15 | Kawauchi Atsushi (Historical Archives Network) Regional Identity Buried under Rubble: Rescuing History from Natural Disasters |
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| 14:15-14:25 | Q&A | |
| 2. Special Lecture | ||
| 14:25-15:05 | Tada Kazuhiko, Director, Tono Magokoro Network The Reality of “Reconstruction” |
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| 15:10-15:40 | Tea break Exhibition of Photographs at Honbunto 204 | |
| 3. How Universities relate to Reconstruction and Relief: A Critical Look into the Future |
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| 15:40-16:05 | Murakami Mutsuko (Coordinator ICU Service Learning Center) An Outline of University-based Relief Programs: Where does ICU fit in? |
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| 16:05-16:20 | Paul Johnson (ICU Church) The Shame of ICU: What ICU Did and What ICU Did Not (In English) |
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| 16:20-16:40 | Noda Subaru (ICU student) Relief and Liberal Arts: Student Responsibility and the Problem of Continuance |
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| 16:40-16:45 | short break | |
| 16:45-17:10 | Nishida Masayuki (Institute of Asian Cultural Studies) After Reconstruction: The Case of the 2004 Sumatra Earthquake |
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| 17:10-17:35 | Ishikawa Yoshiya (Institute for Advanced Studies of Clinical Psychology) Clinical Psychology and Assistance Activities: Reconstructing Hearts in Tohoku Today |
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| 17:35-18:00 | Kato Etsuko (ICU) Aiming at “Uselessness”: Observations from Student Group Fieldwork at Shinchi-machi, Soma-gun, Fukushima |
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| 18:05-18:45 | 4. General Discussion: What should ICU do? What should we do? | |
Everyone is welcome!