Japan Studies MA student Dylan Plung traveled to Cambridge, Massachusetts in February for the 22nd Annual Harvard East Asia Society Conference. The HEAS Graduate Student Conference is an interdisciplinary forum for graduate students to exchange ideas and discuss current research on topics related to East Asia. The conference allows young scholars to present their research to both their peers as well as renowned scholars of East Asian Studies. This year’s theme, “Voice and Silence: Memory in East Asia”, dovetailed well with Dylan’s recent research. His presentation on February 9th, “Passive Resistance: The Voices of Japanese Evacuees in WWII Japan”, focused on the end of World War II in Japan, trends in Japanese society, and international policy shifts, all through the lens of giving voice to civilian evacuees.
“It was a challenging and enjoyable experience,” says Dylan, “and I was able to both receive helpful and interesting feedback on my research and gain valuable practice presenting in an academic environment.”
Recently, Dylan was also the recipient of one of only three Blakemore scholarships (out of 38 applicants) given for Japanese language study at the Inter-University Center for Intensive Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama, Japan. The IUC is one of the most prestigious language programs for Japanese in the world. He will travel to Japan to begin his language study following graduation this June.