From series Natsuko’s Sake (1988–1991)

How are the histories we tell woven into broader intellectual and public contexts? How should they be? This central question informed each of the talks presented, highlighting the diverse audiences for and makers of historical interpretation, including professional scholars, students, politicians, and the general public. Certain stories about the Asian past have appeared again and again in both scholarly and more public fora, sometimes even lurking in the background of state-driven technopolitical agendas. There are widely repeated tales of a “Great Divergence,” when Asian scientific and technological capacities purportedly stagnated.