In this talk Professor Kapur will elucidate the concept of "Participatory Crisis Archiving" using the Japan Disasters Digital Archive as a case study. This approach preserves ephemeral digital records of fast moving current events by utilizing digital tools that provide venues for seamless interaction between archivists and event participants. He will consider the conceptualization, design, implementation, and use cases of this archive with an eye toward a broader understanding of how similar archives might be deployed and utilized in the future for multiple uses, including commemoration, research, historic preservation, and classroom pedagogy.

*Event will take place in-person. Light refreshments served. To RSVP to attend, please email: cmeador@austin.utexas.edu.

Nick Kapur received his Ph.D. in Japanese history from Harvard University, working under Akira Iriye ad Andrew Gordon, and is presently Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University’s Camden campus, where he teaches Japanese and East Asian history. His research interests focus on modern Japan and US-Japan relations, broadly conceived. His book Japan at the Crossroads: Conflict and Compromise after Anpo (Harvard University Press, 2018) details enduring transformations in Japanese politics, culture, and society, as well as US-Japan alliance diplomacy and the Cold War international system, that unfolded in the aftermath of the massive 1960 protests against the US-Japan Security Treaty. In addition, he has recently published research on US-Japan relations during the John F. Kennedy administration, the 1968 centennial celebrations of Japan’s Meiji Restoration, and Japan’s postwar student movement.

Sponsored by: Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS), the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR); Co-sponsored by the Institute for Historical Studies in the Department of History