The Historiographical Turn and Attitudes to History in Japanese IR

Abstract

In recent years, a “historiographical turn” in International Relations has led to a great deal of excavation and critique of long-standing traditions and stories, as well as a re-evaluation of the role of history in disciplinary history identity formation. One of the main strands has focused on the occurrence of a supposed ‘First Great Debate’ between the realist and Idealist/Utopian ‘schools’, and its reproduction through textbooks and endurance in the face of historiographical exposure as largely untrue. Despite broad assumptions that this myth persists due to heuristic/pedagogical utility, and criticism that it buttresses a disciplinary orientation towards Realism and a generally Eurocentric bias in International Relations, to date, research beyond textbooks into introductory courses and within specific contexts has not been undertaken. This research attempts to address this in the Japanese context through a survey of International Relations curricula, textbooks, and instructor attitudes in the Japanese context.



Author Information
Robert Dormer, Hiroshima Jogakuin University, Japan

Paper Information
Conference: ACSS2019
Stream: International Relations & Human Rights

This paper is part of the ACSS2019 Conference Proceedings (View)
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Posted by James Alexander Gordon