SIA Affiliate Faculty Lecture: Tokyo Olympics, Past and Present
Date & Time: May 25, 2021 | 08:00 PM – April 26, 2024 | 02:17 PM
Location: Zoom
The Penn State Alumni Association will host Dr. Jessamyn Abel, SIA affiliate faculty member and Associate Professor in the Asian Studies Department, on Tuesday, May 25 at 12:00 p.m. for a talk titled, “Tokyo Olympics, Past and Present.” Abel is a historian of modern Japan with interests in cultural history, technology, infrastructure, sports, and international relations.
Abstract:
During the bidding and preparation for three Tokyo Olympiads—the cancelled 1940 Games, the successful 1964 Games, and the postponed 2020 Games—Japanese politicians and activists borrowed the aura of the Olympics for their own purposes, ranging from diplomacy to local infrastructure. Comparing three examples of Olympic planning for a single city in disparate times shows the flexibility and persistence of the particular opportunities and pressures created by the Olympics’ enduring symbolism as an international “festival of peace and amity.”