Hello everyone,
I'm looking for a panel to join for the AAS 2026. My research focuses on politics of memory in South Korea, particularly how local governments (cities and provinces) engage in remembering the Japanese colonial period. While politics of memory is typically discussed at the national level, my work focuses on the agency of subnational actors: from commemorating independence activists and "comfort women", through disputes with national government, to engaging in paradiplomacy/city diplomacy with foreign partners, including suspending or reshaping international partnerships based on historical disputes.
My recent fieldwork includes case studies from more than 10 cities such as Gwangju, Mokpo, Gusan, Hwaseong, Miryang, and others, and I'm especially interested in how local historical narratives shape both domestic identity and international relations.
I'm open to various panel themes: memory studies, Korea–Japan relations, local governance, postcolonial politics, paradiplomacy, or interdisciplinary approaches to history and identity in East Asia.
Please feel free to reach out if you're organizing a panel and think my paper could be a good fit, or if you're also looking to form a panel around similar themes!
Best regards,
Natalia Matiaszczyk (she/her), PhD student
University of Lodz, Poland
natalia.matiaszczyk@edu.uni.lodz.pl / natalia.matiaszczyk@gmail.com
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Natalia Matiaszczyk
University of Lodz
natalia.matiaszczyk@gmail.com------------------------------