season two: silver lining
Episode 1. (Abigail MacBain): The Origin of Buddhism in Japan
Episode 1. In our first episode of the second season of the Silver Lining podcast, Columbia PhD candidate Abigail MacBain, explores the origins of buddhism in Japan, how it was used as a tool in extending state authority, and what buddhism is like in the regime today. Her bio can be found here.
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Timestamps
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[0:25] Introduction to how Buddhism was introduced to Japan
[5:28] Q: Why was Emperor Shomu so invested in the development of Buddhism? How did this help him extend his authority across the country and the nearby region?
[16:25] Q: How was the rise of Buddhism, as encouraged by Emperor Shomu, received by the Japanese at the time? What was the interaction between Buddhism and native practices/deities?
[27:10] Q: How is Todaiji perceived by Japanese society today?
[28:45] Q: You’ve explained how Buddhism was used in state expansion and support in the time of Emperor Shomu - do we see any instances of religion being used as a tool for state control today?
[30:10] Q: How has Buddhism influenced how Japan has reacted to the pandemic?
[32:40] Conclusion
Episode 2. (Becky Bae): Contemporary Korean Media - The Handmaiden and Webtoons
Episode 2. In our second episode of season two, Becky Bae, a postdoctoral research scholar at Columbia’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute, examines Park Chan-Wook’s film The Handmaiden and how it subverts common tropes in the portrayal of the Japanese colonial era in contemporary Korean cinema and the rise of Korean webtoons in contrast to the older medium of Korean manhwa. Her bio can be found here.
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Timestamps
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[0:00] Introduction to the Podcast
[0:30] Q: What led you to be interested in a wide variety of East Asian Art and digital media forms?
[3:00] Introduction to The Handmaiden.
[3:44] Q: What are some of the common tropes you see in the portrayal of the Japanese colonial era in contemporary Korean cinema?
[6:25] Q: None of the characters are valorized for anti-Japanese resistance - in fact, there is a queer, Japanese-Korean love story. Do you think a conventional love story between a heterosexual Japanese-Korean couple would have had the same effect?
[7:55] Q: The queer theme of the film seems to be at odds with the mainstream Korean commercial film - is that true to some extent?
[9:23] Q: How was the Handmaiden received domestically vs internationally?
[11:05] Q: How does the film demonstrate a more nuanced take on modernity?
[14:33] Q: Can you explain the role of erotica in the film? How does it evolve from a means of oppression to one of appropriation and empowerment?
[20:55] Q: How did the transition from manhwa to webtoons happen? Did any socioeconomic changes accompany it?
[26:05] Q: How are webtoons different from manhwa in terms of its content?
[28:50] Q: Which generations consume manhwa and webtoons?
[30:15] Conclusion
Episode 3. (Catherine Tsai): Shinto Shrines in Colonial Taiwan
Episode 3. In this episode, Catherine Tsai - a PhD Candidate in History and East Asian Languages at Harvard University - talks about 20th century Taiwanese history including Kominka, a Japanese colonial reform program, and Catherine’s own personal experience with COVID-19. Her bio can be found here.
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Timestamps
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[0:00] Introduction to the Podcast
[0:28] Q: You have researched the period of Taiwanese history between 1937-1945 when the Japanese colonial government implemented a program of reform, known as Kominka, in order to ensure Taiwanese subjects would remain loyal to the Japanese during their war against China. What did these reforms look like, and in particular, what was the role of shrine worship?
[4:45] Q: The Japanese colonial authorities advertised State Shinto as a patriotic, secular enterprise. How did they reconcile this understanding of Shinto with its intrinsically religious nature?
[7:50] Q: How did the Taiwanese population respond to the Kominka program/Temple Reorganization movement?
[13:20] Q: What does it take for people to adhere to policies imposed by imperial powers?
[16:15] Q: Shinto shrines are hardly noticeable in Taiwan today. Why does this period of history remain relevant to the Taiwanese?
[22:30] Q: You’ve also recovered from COVID and had a particularly challenging time with the testing and tracing system, which you wrote about in an op-ed for the Harvard Crimson. Would you mind briefly sharing your experience?
[28:20] Conclusion
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Editor's Note: in the episode, Catherine states that the Tongxiao or Tsusho Shrine is in Taoyuan but it is actually in Miaoli. There is also a Shinto shrine in Taoyuan, which is called the Taoyuan Martyr’s Shrine.
Episode 4. (Yuting Dong): Red Brick Know-how - Colonial Infrastructure in Manchuria
Episode 4. In this episode, Yuting Dong - a PhD Candidate in History and East Asian Languages at Harvard University - talks about modern Japanese history; more specifically, about the social and technological history behind the construction of colonial urban infrastructure in Northeast China under Japan’s influence and control. Her bio can be found here and her paper "Red Brick Know-how" will be published soon in Technology and Culture.
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Timestamps
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[0:00] Introduction to the Podcast
[0:30] Q: The paper we’re here to talk about specifically investigates Japan’s empire and technology in Manchuria from 1905 to 1945. Can you introduce our listeners to this paper as well as the concept of environmental history? How is it different from social history?
[3:30] Q: Could you explain the significance of red brick? How was it used imperially versus domestically?
[5:15] Q: What were the relations between Chinese workers and Japanese colonial experts? How were the contributions of the Chinese "later intentionally erased”?
[9:28] Q: How is red brick perceived in Manchuria/China and Japan today? What are the differences?
[12:25] Q: Are there other examples of how the Japanese “spread civilization” through materiality?
[15:18] Q: Is technology a specific type of materiality? Could you tell us more about technological determinism?
[20:55] Q: How does your understanding of materiality in imperial Japan affect your understanding of the East Asian region today?
[24:00] Q: How can ideas of environmental history be applied in understanding East Asia today?
[28:30] Conclusion
Episode 5. (Victoria Liu): Tibetan Identity through the Lens of Portrait Photography
Episode 5. In today’s episode, we chat with Victoria Liu - a PhD student on the History-East Asia track with a focus on Tibetan and Chinese visual culture at Columbia University - about how portrait photography can better help us understand Tibetan identity. Her bio can be found here.
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Timestamps
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[0:00] Introduction to the Podcast
[1:25] Q: What are some of the challenges you face in researching the history of photography in Tibet, which - as you state - is a field of scholarship that is still at a stage of infancy?
[2:20] Q: What interests you about photography and portrait photography in particular?
[4:28] Q: In your paper, you mention that while the camera provides the illusion of objectivity, the photographer has the ability to control, manipulate, and even produce perceptions beyond what our eyes can perceive. How do photographers achieve this?
[5:55] Q: In your work, you mention that the visual culture of photography is also associated with the concept of aesthetic modernity and the thirst for knowledge that radiated from urban centers in China. Can you expand more on this concept?
[7:15] Q: In your paper, you examine the differences between Chinese and Tibetan photography of Tibet and Tibetans. What were the main differences between the two?
[9:10] Q: Tibetans were able to gain agency in their search of a Tibetan identity through the use of photography - was this reflective of what was happening more broadly in Tibetan society?
[10:50] Q: What are some examples of the political and historical motivations of Chinese photographers capturing Tibet and Tibetans throughout the 20th century?
[12:18] Q: How does your research inform your understanding of what it means to be Tibetan in the 21st century?
[14:25] Q: Is social media something that you look at in your research?
[15:05] Q: What does it mean for identity to be performative?
[16:12] Q: What does it mean for your research to be comparative?
[17:00] Q: What does your research look like on a daily basis? Has it been affected by COVID at all?
[17:33] Conclusion
Episode 6. (Wenjiao Cai): Nature and the State in Early Modern Korean Borderlands
Episode 6. In today’s episode, we chat with Wenjiao Cai - a PhD Candidate in History and East Asian Languages at Harvard University - about the environmental history of early modern Korea such as agricultural settlements in the northern Korean peninsula during the 15th century. Her bio can be found here.
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Timestamps
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[0:00] Introduction to the Podcast
[1:20] Q: Why study the environmental history of early modern Korean borderlands?
[4:05] Q: What did the northern Korean peninsula look like in the 15th century both politically and economically? How was the region perceived by the Choson state?
[7:15] Q: In your research, you show that the Choson state sought to rectify the perceived deficiencies in northern lands by relocating agricultural migrants from the south. Could you say a bit about that process and its significance to Choson’s borderland development?
[11:35] Q: In your work, you compared Korea’s bio-geographic expansion with similar examples from other parts of the world. Could you speak on this topic?
[12:40] Q: In another chapter of your dissertation, you show that around the eighteenth century, tideland reclamation expanded in the northern borderlands, allowing coastal residents to create arable land out of sea. How did this happen and what were its implications for state-building in the northern region?
[17:14] Q: How did the spread of tideland farming shape borderland society?
[19:45] Q: How does your research better help us understand North Korea today?
[22:24] Conclusion