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The New Great Game: Anti-Japanism in the Era of China's Rise

Join the Franklin Humanities Institute for its Friday morning series, tgiFHI! tgiFHI gives Duke faculty in the humanities, interpretative social sciences and arts the opportunity to present on their current research to interlocutors in their fields. A light breakfast will be served at 9am.

About the presentation: The "new" Great Game suggests that, like the imperial competition of the past, we are witnessing a trans-imperial moment whereby Japan and China are vying for hegemony in East Asia. This is a new moment because East Asia, unlike Europe, has never had two co-existing superpowers. The prospect of a new imperial competition is complicated by the still-present American military power and the non-statist arena, especially in popular culture, where the imperial games are played out. Using one of the popular anti-Japanese video games, Glorious Mission Online (2013) as a case study, I argue the game is symptomatic of the relations between warfare and game in general. I then outline the trend in game development that subverts conventional war games. Finally, I propose an alternative game design over the disputed territories in the Southern China Sea that prioritize ecology over human conflict and development.

About the presenter: Leo Ching is Associate Professor of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies at Duke University.

Contact: Sarah Rogers