Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica

Speaker: Dr. CHAN, YA-HSUN (Assistant Professor, Institute of Social Research and Cultural Studies, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University)

Topic: The Roundabout Tactics of Empire and Democracy: Kazumin Ukita and Sakuzo Yoshino.

Moderator: Dr. H.Y. Lan (Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, and Chief Coordinator of the World History Research Center)

Time: December 20, 2024 (Fri) 15:00 - 17:00

Venue: Room 701, 7/F, Research Building, Institute of Historical and Philology, Academia Sinica

Organizers: World History Research Center, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica.

Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJU-uTZY_dYysuKKXZ5-gRRlp1ckU8F915yeA7hKOBJnTXpQ/viewform

Introduction:

In the early twentieth century, under the policy tone of “constitutionalism within and imperialism without,” Japanese political scientists Kazumin Uchida and Sakuzo Yoshino were representative of those who criticized the expansion of imperialism by force from the perspective of constitutionalism. At a time when the concept of democracy was not yet popularized, constitutionalism was regarded as an indispensable condition for the convergence of democratic ideas, and at the same time, Ukita and Yoshino believed that it was necessary to prevent democratic forces from shaking the foundation of constitutionalism. Empire and democracy thus became the key issues linking the two political ideologies. In this lecture, we will analyze, through the less familiar sources in the Chinese-speaking world - Ukita's “Lecture Notes on Sociology” and Yoshino's “Lecture Notes on Political Science” - the peculiar picture of Japan's political ideology in which anti-imperialism and anti-democracy are intertwined in the defense of the empire and the defense of democracy.

❈ Prior registration is required for this lecture.