HU and UMA Academics Gathered to Discuss Post/Imperial Political Ecosystems

Hokkaido University (HU) and its Strategic International Partner, the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMA) once again held a joint virtual symposium on 7 and 11 March 2025, as the HU-UMA Symposium on Post/Imperial Political Ecosystems: How Our World Has Been Shaped. The tie between the two universities is the oldest of their international partnerships and dates from the time of Sapporo and Massachusetts Agricultural Colleges during the 19^th century. Their inter-university partnership has deepened in recent years, from the joint appointment of faculties; to research collaborations in Polymer Science and Engineering, Information and Computer Sciences, Agriculture, Engineering, Aquatic Studies; to sharing materials related to the Agricultural Colleges between the University Archives.

The idea for the event was formed by academics of Middle Eastern Regional Studies and Modern History, and gathered speakers and moderators from a wide range of academic disciplines: Director Norihiro Naganawa and Professors Yoko Aoshima and David Wolff from the Slavic-Eurasian Research Center (SRC); Lecturer Jonathan Bull from the Research Faculty of Media and Communication; Professor Hyunjoo Naomi Chi from the Graduate School of Public Policy; and Senior Academic Specialist Taena Uemura from the Office for International Collaborations, HU; Chair David Mednicoff of the Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies; Professor Andrew March from the Department of Political Science; Associate Professor Garrett Washington from the Department of History; and Senior Lecturer Bogdan Prokopovych from the Isenberg School of Management, UMA. Through the sessions titled #1) The twentieth century reconceptualised in Asia and the Middle East, #2.) Post-imperial legacies: Japan’s end of empire, transnational migration, and comparative contexts, #3.) Ukraine in post-imperial politics, and a roundtable discussion, the academics discussed what the disintegration of empires in the twentieth century meant and how it has impacted the global crisis we are facing today.

Day 1 with key academics, from top left clockwise: Dir. Naganawa, Assoc. Prof Washington, Chair Mednicoff, and Dr. Bull

This symposium had 70 registrants. These included not only staff and students of the two universities, but also those who came from other universities and research agencies in Japan and the USA, alumnus of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, medical professionals, to employees in higher education and medical institutions in India, Portugal and Israel, and in Indonesian fishery. Questions and comments from the audience and discussants included: in connection to repatriation following the collapse of empires, what might  we learn from the comparative study of exhibits at war memory museums?; to what extent might a researcher’s nationality and social position affect responses from museum curators?; after the disintegration of the USSR, how did Russia attempt westernisation as a strategy?; how are authoritarian regimes in multi-ethnic states influenced by legacies from the previous imperial regimes?; how might Western countries’ well-intentioned yet hypocritical support for forming law and order in the Middle East provoke a backlash of emotions and make dialogue more difficult?

HU’s Executive Vice President (International Affairs) Aya Takahashi expressed her ‘expectation on wider perspectives and deeper research collaborations to be produced by the Platform for Explorations in Survival Strategies at HU-SRC and UMA.’ EVP (Research) Tsuyoshi Setoguchi mentioned ‘Humanities and Social Sciences’ importance on interdisciplinary research projects, as well as connecting points with the outside communities beyond the academia.’ UMA’s Vice Provost of Global Affairs Kalpen Trivedi commented that ‘UMA leaderships on research had confirmed weighting on HU collaborations as a key international partner, and this shall be expanded by funding for researchers’ mobility budgeted from FY 2025.’ Associate Dean for Research and Engagement Pari Riahi from UMA’s College of Humanities and Fine Arts closed the two-day event, explaining that ‘human mind and emotion have the power to create narratives, and Humanities and Social Sciences can visualise and understand things,’ and acknowledging ‘this event was an occasion of sharing multidisciplinary ideas that transcended time and space.’ It was academically significant for scholars from universities in the US and Japan to discuss the Middle East and Ukraine under the prolonged impact from the disintegration of empires, and Japan in Eastern Asia where the cold war has never really ended. The speakers have agreed to meet again at HU later this year in order to develop ideas and research topics exchanged during the symposium.

Day 2 with panelists, from top left clockwise: Dir. Naganawa, Snr. Lecturer Prokopovych, Prof. Wolff, Chair Mednicoff, Assoc. Dean Riahi, EVP Setoguchi, and Prof. Aoshima

Text and photos provided by Slavic-Eurasian Research Centre, Modern Japanese Studies Program, Office for International Collaborations