Dr J. Charles Schencking
| Senior Lecturer | |
|---|---|
| Telephone: | (+61 3) 8344 5976 |
| Email: | j.schencking@unimelb.edu.au |
| Fax: | (+61 3) 8344 7894 |
| Location: | Room 309 Sydney Myer Asia Centre The University of Melbourne VIC 3010 |
| Academic Profile (click on the link for more information) | |
| Biography | |
| Research | |
| Publications | |
| Teaching | |
| Supervision | |
Biography
Charles Schencking is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Historical Studies and the Asia Institute where he has taught Japanese history with flare and passion since 2000. Charles brings a truly international background to his subjects, having studied and taught at universities in Britain, Japan, and America.
Charles has published widely on the political, social, and environmental history of Japan. His current research revolves around the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake that destroyed Tokyo and the culture of catastrophe and reconstruction in Japan from 1923 to 1930. In 2007, Charles was awarded a Universitas 21 Fellowship for 2008 to collaborate with scholars of natural disasters and interdisciplinary teaching at the National University of Singapore, Hong Kong University, University of British Columbia, and Western Washington University.
Charles’ teaching stresses the importance of learning as an active and holistic process of discovery. Through interactive lectures, innovative tutorial exercises, and targeted, integrated assessment he fosters the development of the core skills of inquiry, research, and persuasive expression. Reflecting his commitment to research-led teaching, Charles’ subjects demonstrate how the historical study of natural disasters, catastrophes, and wars in Asia and the Pacific have critical relevance to understanding the world today. In all of his teaching endeavors, he emboldens students to think critically and creatively about the past in the hope that this will challenge the way they see the present and, as global citizens, perhaps even shape the future.
Charles participates in numerous programs geared to assisting international students and those from equity groups succeed in tertiary education at the University of Melbourne. He also participates in university-wide training workshops for new tutors and staff that focus on the challenges and rewards of teaching in a multi-cultural, international classroom. In 2007, Charles served on the selection committee for the inaugural round of the Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Program.
In April 2006, Charles Schencking was awarded the Barbara Falk Teaching Award. He was selected as the teacher of the year within the Arts, Education, Law, and Music faculties at the University of Melbourne.
In November 2006, Charles Schencking was awarded one of twenty-six Carrick Awards for Australian University Teaching. He was selected in the Early Career Category.
Download PDF of Charles' teaching philosophy (222KB)
Current research project
The Great Kanto Earthquake and the Culture of Catastrophe in Japan: At the Epicentre of Natural Disaster and National Reconstruction.
Project Summary: This project will revolutionize our understanding of Japan’s most destructive natural disaster. It will examine the Great Kantô Earthquake within the socio-political context of post WWI Japan and place it at the epicentre of two critical discourses that dominated political, ideological, and cultural life: that of perceived social, ideological, and political regress and that of national reconstruction. My project will result in the first study in English or Japanese that not only explores how social commentators, elites, and institutions interpreted the earthquake catastrophe but also how these same actors attempted to use the disaster to reinvigorate state, society, and subjects on an ideological, political, social, and economic level.
National Benefit of Current Research Project: As the Indian Ocean Tsunami illustrated, Australia’s primary region of strategic, economic, and political interest and influence is highly prone to catastrophic natural disasters. Following such events, Australia has been, and will be, called upon to provide relief and reconstruction assistance. My project will enhance our understanding of how bureaucratic rivalries, conflicting economic, political, and ideological interests often shape and limit public policy outcomes following disasters. A deeper understanding of how governments have interpreted, dealt with, and attempted to use catastrophic events for political and ideological ends will benefit Australia by allowing us to more successfully address and respond to disasters in our region.
Publications
Sole Authored Book
- J. Charles Schencking, Making Waves: Politics, Propaganda, and the Emergence of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1868-1922, (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2005). 304 pages. ISBN # 0- 8047-4977-9
Published Book Reviews of Making Waves
- Roger Dingman (University of Southern California), The Journal of Military History, 70:1 (January 2006): 249-250
- Michael Lewis (Michigan State University), Monumenta Nipponica, 60:3 (Autumn 2005): 412-414
- Steven Bullard (Australian War Memorial) Asian Studies Review 29 (December 2005): 427-428
- Bruce Reynolds (San Jose State University), Japanese Studies, 25:3 (December 2005): 301-302
- Fred Dickinson (University of Pennsylvania), Pacific Affairs, 78:4 (Winter 2005-06): 662-664
- S.C.M. Paine (United States Naval War College), Naval War College Review, 59:3 (Summer 2006): 155-156
- Michael Barnhart (State University of New York) Journal of Japanese Studies 33:1 (Winter 2007): 199-201
- Nicholas Sarantakes (US Army General Command and Army Staff College) Intelligence and National Security 21:4 (August 2006):634-635
- William McBride (US Naval Academy) Technology and Culture 47:4 (October 2006): 833-834
Chapters in Refereed Edited Volumes
- J. Charles Schencking, ‘The Great Kantô Earthquake of 1923 and the Promises and Perils of National Reconstruction in 1920s Japan,’ in Greg Clancey, and Timothy Tsu eds., States of Emergency: Disasters in Asian History, Culture, and Memory, 2007 (Boston: MIT Press)
- J. Charles Schencking, ‘Interservice Rivalry and Politics in Post-War Japan,’ in John Steinberg et. al., The Russo-Japanese War in a Global Perspective: World War Zero, (London: Brill, 2005): 565-580
- J. Charles Schencking, ‘Navalism, Naval Expansion, and War: The Anglo-Japanese Alliance and the Japanese Navy, 1902-1922,’ in Philips O’Brien ed., The Anglo-Japanese Alliance, (London: Routledge, 2004): 122-139
- J. Charles Schencking, ‘The Politics of Pragmatism and Pageantry: Selling a National Navy at the Elite and Local Level in Japan, 1890-1913,’ in Sandra Wilson ed., Nation and Nationalism in Japan, (London: Routledge/Curzon, 2002): 21-37
- J. Charles Schencking, ‘From Micro History to Macro History: Drawing on Japanese Soldiers’ Experiences in the Second World War,’ in Peter Bastian and Roger Bell eds., Through Depression and War: The United States and Australia, (Sydney: Australia-American Fulbright Commission, 2002): 118-128
Articles in Refereed Journals
- J. Charles Schencking. “The Great Kantô Earthquake of 1923 and the Japanese Nation: Responding to an Urban Calamity of an Unprecedented Nature.” Forthcoming in Education About Asia 12:2 (Fall 2007). Special edition in Fall 2007 on “Natural Disasters in Asia.”
- J. Charles Schencking, ‘Catastrophe, Opportunism, Contestation: The Fractured Politics of Reconstructing Tokyo following the Great Kantô Earthquake of 1923’, in Modern Asian Studies, 40:4 (October 2006): 833-874
- J. Charles Schencking, ‘The Imperial Japanese Navy and the Constructed Consciousness of a South Seas Destiny, 1872-1921,’ in Modern Asian Studies 33:4 (October 1999): 769-796
- J. Charles Schencking, ‘Bureaucratic Politics, Military Budgets, and Japan’s Southern Advance: The Imperial Navy’s Seizure of German Micronesia in World War I,’ in War in History 5:3 (July 1998): 308-326
- J. Charles Schencking, The Politics of War Termination between Japan Crossroads of the Pacific, 4:2 (May 1992): 25-39
Refereed Encyclopedia Entries
- J. Charles Schencking, ‘Tokyo,’ for the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World, edited by Peter N. Stearns and (area editor, W. Dean Kinzley). Forthcoming by Oxford University Press in 2006, 1,250 workds.
- J. Charles Schencking, ‘Military Organization in Japan, 1750 to Present,’ for the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World, edited by Peter N. Stearns and (area editor, W. Dean Kinzley). Forthcoming by Oxford University Press in 2006. 1,500 words.
- J. Charles Schencking, ‘Arms, Armaments, and the Armaments Industry: East Asia, 1750 to the Present,’ for the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World, edited by Peter N. Stearns and (area editor, W. Dean Kinzley). Forthcoming by Oxford University Press in 2006. 1,250 words.
- J. Charles Schencking, ‘National Great Power Navies: Japan 1867-1945,’ for the Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History, forthcoming in 2007. 3,000 words
Select Book Reviews
- ‘Behind Singapore’s Fall.’ 29 October 2005, The Age, p. 4. Peter Thompson, The Battle for Singapore (London: Platkus, 2005), and Colin Smith, Singapore Burning (London: Viking, 2005)
- Andre Sorensen, The Making of Urban Japan (London: Routledge, 2002, 2004 for paperback edition). Forthcoming in Bulletin of the Japanese Studies Association of Australia, 25:1 (May 2005)
- Paul Ham, Kokoda (New York: HarperCollins, 2004). The Age, 27 November 2004
- Carola Hein, Jeffry M. Diefendorf, and Ishida Yorifusa eds. Rebuilding Urban Japan After 1945 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003). Bulletin of the Japanese Studies Association of Australia, 24:3 (December 2004): 353-354
- Anthony Best British Intelligence and the Japanese Challenge in Asia, 1914-1941 (New York: Palgrave, 2003). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 13:3 (July 2003): 234-436
- David Lu, Agony of Choice: Matsuoka Yôsuke and the Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire, 1880-1946 (New York: Palgrave, 2003). Journal of the Royal Asiatic ociety, 13:3 (November 2003): 295-297
- Ozaki Yukio, translated by Fujiko Hara, The Autobiography of Ozaki Yukio: The Struggle for Constitutional Government in Japan (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001). Bulletin of the Japanese Studies Association of Australia, 22:1 (May 2002): 94-95
- Stewart Lone, Army Empire, and Politics in Meiji Japan, (London: Macmillan, 2001). Bulletin of the Japanese Studies Association of Australia, 21:2 (September 2001): 220-222
- Louise Young, Japan’s Total Empire, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998). Modern Asian Studies, 35:1, (2001): 245-247
- James L. McClain, John M. Merriman, and Ugawa Kaoru eds. Edo and Paris: Urban Life and the State in the Early Modern Era (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1997). Journal of World History, 2:2 (Fall 2000): 394-396
- Frederick R. Dickinson, War and National Reinvention: Japan in the Great War, 1914-1919 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 10:2 (July 2000): 295-297
- Gordon H. Chang, Morning Glory, Evening Shadow: Yamato Ichihashi and His Internment Writings, 1942-1945, (Stanford University Press, 1997). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 9:3 (April 2000)
- Stephen Vlastos, ed. Mirror of Modernity (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 9:2 (July 1999): 64-67
- Paul Kratoska, The Japanese Occupation of Malaya (London: Hurst & Company, 1998) Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 9:2 (July 1999) :61-63
- Edward Drea, In the Service of the Emperor: Essays on the Imperial Japanese Army (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 9:1 (April 1999): 66-67
- Christopher Howe, The Origins of Japanese Trade Supremacy (London: Hurst & Company, 1996) Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 9:1 (April 1999): 67-68
- Mark R. Peattie and David C. Evans, Kaigun (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1997) Journal of World History, (Spring 1999) 10:1
Teaching
131-039 The Rise of Modern Japan, 1850s to 1960s
131-210 Total War in Asia and the Pacific, 1931-1952
131-463 WWII in Asia and the Pacific
Supervision
Current Ph.D Supervisions
- Chris Mullis, Between Two Empires: The Great Kanto Earthquake and Japanese Communities in America. Primary Supervisor
- Brett Holman, Air Mindedness: The Impact of Airpower on the British People, 1908-1939. Primary Supervisor
- Jordan Winfield, Buddhism and Authority in Burma. Primary Supervisor
- Bob Marimon, Victorian Defence Schemes from 1851 to 1900. Co-primary supervisor with John Murphy
Current MA Supervisions
- Nick Gillard, The McNamara Line and the Vietnam War. Primary Supervisor
- Tom Dowling, The Okinawan Teachers Association and the Flag Reversal Policy, 1945-1971. Primary Supervisor
- Janet Roberts, The Yachtsman’s Scheme and Australian Naval Support of Britain in 1939-40. Co-primary supervisor with John Lack
MA Completions (Since 2000)
- Janet Borland, Capitalizing on Catastrophe: Educators, Education, and the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Primary supervisor. Completed in 2003
- Caroline Spencer, The Great Kanto Earthquake and the Reconstruction of Yokohama. Primary Supervisor. Completed in 2005
- Jordan Winfield, Impermanence and Insurrection: Buddhism and Anti-Colonial Resistance in 19th and 20th Century Burma. Primary Supervisor. Completed in 2007
PhD Completions (Since 2000)
- Rosalind Hearder, Careers in Captivity: Australian Prisoner-of-War Medical Officers in Japanese Captivity During World War II. Associate and Co-primary supervisor with John Lack. Completed in 2003
- Richard Trembath, Remembering the Forgotten War: Australia’s Role in the Korean War. Associate and Co-primary supervisor with John Lack. Completed in 2003
- Jonathan Spear, A History of the Australian Red Cross in World War II. Associate supervisor with Kate Darian-Smith. Completed in 2006