The conference will use the early modern and modern history of Japan as a site to explore the questions of craft and vision in the age of global history. Our goal is to pursue convincing new narratives told outside of the nationalist historiographical framework. The conference is envisioned as part of a broader conversation about how to bring global history to bear on the practices of Japanese history and bring Japan to bear on current debates in global history. 

How does current research on Japan history do justice to the connectivity and mobility of the early modern times? What is global history missing without a nuanced vision of the importance of Japan in East Asia? What does the idea of “global” brings to the current work on early modern and modern Japan?  What can be gained from a more inclusive view of early modern and modern world that de-centers European interpretations of global history while recognizing power dynamics and disparities? 

Avec: Pablo Blitstein (EHESS), Ulrich Brandenburg (Heidelberg University), Guillaume Carré (EHESS), Rebekah Clements (ICREA/Autonomous University of Barcelona), Martin Dusinberre (University of Zürich), Daniel Hedinger (Ludwig-Maximilians University), David Mervart (Autonomous University of Madrid), Noémi Godefroy (INALCO/EHESS), Nadin Heé (Free University of Berlin/MPI), Aleksandra Kobiljski (CNRS/EHESS), Corinne Lefèvre (CNRS/EHESS), Xavier Paules (EHESS), Jean-Frédéric Schaub (EHESS), Alessandro Stanziani (CNRS/EHESS), Takahiro Yamamoto (Heidelberg University)