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This book discusses the cultural, political and social implications of the Pacific War and engages with debates over the war's impact, legacies, and continuing cultural resonances. Crucially, it examines the meanings and significance of the Second World War from a truly international perspective and the contributors present fascinating case studies that highlight the myriad of localised idiosyncrasies in how the Pacific War has been remembered and deployed in political contexts.
List of contents
Part I: Remembrance 1. Thinking About the Pacific War 2. De-historicising the Second World War: Diaspora, Nation and the overseas Chinese 3. "A Sideshow to the War in Europe": Nation, Empire and the British Commemoration of the Pacific War 4. Contested Memories of the Pacific War in Australia 5. The Thai-Burma Railway: Aysmmetrical and Transnational Memories Part II: Aftermaths 6. Unfinished business: Legal, Moral and Political Dimensions of the Class ‘B’ and ‘C’ War Crimes Trials in Asia and the Pacific 7. The Pacific War experience of Dutch Eurasian civilians in Java, 1942-48 8. Coercion and Consent: Being ‘Indian’ in Malaya during the Japanese Occupation 9. Revenge Killings in 1945 and their Absence from the Historical Narrative in Singapore Part III: Race, Sex and Culture 10. ‘South Seas Lore: Anthropology, Cultural Determinism and the Pacific War’ 11. Contested Medical Science: Re-examining Japanese Medicine and Filipino Adaptations in the Philippines during the Japanese Occupation Period 12. The "outrage" in Miri: Sex, race and violence and the Second AIF in Sarawak 13. Mothers Darlings: Secrets and Silences in the Wake of the Pacific War
About the author
Christina Twomey is Professor in the School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies at Monash University, Australia.
Ernest Koh is Senior Lecturer the School of Philosophical, Historical and International Studies at Monash University, Australia.
Summary
The Pacific War is an umbrella term that refers collectively to a disparate set of wars, however, this book presents a strong case for considering this assemblage of conflicts as a collective, singular war. It highlights the genuine thematic commonalities in the legacies of war that cohere across the Asia-Pacific and shows how the wars, both individually and collectively, wrought dramatic change to the geo-political makeup of the region.
This book discusses the cultural, political and social implications of the Pacific War and engages with debates over the war’s impact, legacies, and continuing cultural resonances. Crucially, it examines the meanings and significance of the Second World War from a truly international perspective and the contributors present fascinating case studies that highlight the myriad of localised idiosyncrasies in how the Pacific War has been remembered and deployed in political contexts. The chapters trace the shared legacy that the individual wars had on demographics, culture and mobility across the Asia Pacific, and demonstrate how in the aftermath of the war political borders were transformed and new nation states emerged. The book also considers racial and sexual tensions which accompanied the arrival of both Allied and Axis personnel and their long lasting consequences, as well as the impact returning veterans and the war crime trials that followed the conflict had on societies in the region. In doing so, it succeeds in illuminating the events and issues that unfolded in the weeks, months, and indeed decades after the war.
This interdisciplinary volume examines the aftermaths and legacies of war for individuals, communities, and institutions across South, Southeast, and East Asia, Oceania, and the Pacific world. As such, it will be welcomed by students and scholars of Asian history, modern history and cultural history, as well as by those interested in issues of memory and commemoration.
Additional text
"This book offers a useful collection of essays for scholars and students researching and studying the aftermath and memory of the Second World War in the Asia-Pacific region."
KEVIN BLACKBURN, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore, Australian Historical Studies, 47, 2016
"The Pacific War certainly offers once-passed-by rich material for statement and test of new conceptions...With the Pacific War’s 75th anniversary soon upon us, we might look forward to more memory, more history. Lighting up fading reminiscence with new conceptions and questions, this collection of stylish essays leads the way."Lamont Lindstrom, University of Tulsa
