Ambassadors Ishii, Shear to hold informal chat before their talk on February 17

The Institute for Japanese Studies will present an informal chat with Ambassador Masafumi Ishii, Gakushuin University, and Ambassador David Shear, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), on Thursday, February 17 from 5:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. online (registration required). The chat will be held before their evening talk, “Geostrategy in the Grassroots: Common Strategic Challenges for the United States and Japan". Attendees may ask questions about their extraordinary careers in foreign service covering various posts around the world, their career paths, or any advice they might have. Open to students and faculty at Ohio State.

Jeremy Suri, Mark Horger to present on youth protests in USA, China on March 1

The Columbus State Community College Humanities Department, with support from the East Asian Studies Center, will present the "When East Meets West Symposium" featuring Jeremi Suri, University of Texas at Austin, and Mark Horger, The Ohio State University, on Tuesday, March 1 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. online (registration required). Profs. Suri and Horger will present "The Most Active and Vital Force: Modern Youth Protests in China and the USA."


Suri Abstract:
"A Revolution From Above That Turned On Its Leader"
This lecture will explore the origins of the Cultural Revolution in China. Mao Zedong, the leader of the communist regime, instigated a revolt of Chinese youth against the bureaucrats, functionaries, and rivals who challenged his power. The revolt, however, quickly turned against him and the most important parts of his regime, especially the People’s Liberation Army. We will explore this violent and unpredictable history in this lecture, and its legacies in contemporary China and elsewhere.

Horger Abstract:
"Taking the Knee and Other Gestures: Social Protest in Sport"
The post-George Floyd flowering of political consciousness in American and international sport is far from a new phenomenon. Spectator sport has long been a location of social change, social tension, and social protest. Because elite athletes are overwhelmingly young, social protest in sport often contains a generational element in addition to its other connotations. This lecture will touch on the history of political and social protest in sport, including protests and/or boycotts by athletes, teams, unions, and nations.

Michi Shiina to present on diachronic change in honorifics on March 2

The Institute for Japanese Studies will present a lecture featuring Michi Shiina, Hosei University, on Wednesday, March 2 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. online (registration required). Prof. Shiina will present "Law of Gradual Decrease in Respect in Honorifics and Inflation of Politeness: Shift from Honorifics to Benefactives in Japanese."

Abstract: Japanese donatory verbs are used as subsidiary verbs, or benefactives, as well as main verbs. I look at a diachronic change in the use of two Japanese benefactives used to express something that a speaker does in a courteous way: “sase-te-kudasaru” [lit. meaning: you give me permission of doing something] and “sase-te-itadaku” [lit. meaning: I receive the benefit of your letting me do something]. Although these two benefactive expressions can be used interchangeably, a survey of the corpora reveals that there is a shift from you-give-type “sase-te-kudasaru” to I-receive-type “sase-te-itadaku.” Behind this shift is the “law of gradual decrease in respect in honorifics.” To use Goffman’s terms (1967), this is a shift from a benefactive of “deference” to a benefactive of “demeanor.” I conclude by saying that the “law of gradual decrease in respect in honorifics” is a linguistic moment of diachronic change in honorifics as well as inflation of politeness in the Japanese language.