NEWS

American women in postwar Japan topic of Jan. 16 lecture in King

CHAPEL HILL – The American influence on gender roles in Japanese culture will be the topic of a lecture Jan. 16 in the King Public Library at 101 Pilot View Drive.

Dr. Janice Bardsley, an associate professor of Japanese at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will give the free public lecture at 7 p.m. For information, call (336) 983-3868.

Bardsley will speak on the role of American women in Japan from 1945 to 1952. The Americans promoted democracy to Japanese women during U.S. occupation of the country after World War II. Bardsley notes that cartoons, advertisements and articles from Japanese women's magazines in the postwar era demonstrated that the Japanese understood American women's freedoms in marriage, work and public life.

Bardsley also will explore how royal women in Japan today stand at a controversial divide between the country's imperial past and conflicting ideas from other cultures. She will discuss how photographs of royal weddings depict a romantic picture of the empress and crown princess.

Bardsley, who teaches courses on Japanese literature, women’s writing and women and work, has recently contributed articles to "Education About Asia" and "U.S.-Japan Women's Journal." Her book of translations, "The Bluestockings of Japan: Feminist Fiction and Essays from Seito, 1911-1916," will be published soon by the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan.

The lecture was arranged by Carolina Speakers at UNC. The outreach program brings more than 90 faculty members to business, civic and community groups across the state. The speakers share their expertise on more than 150 topics, including 46 that focus on North Carolina and the South. For more information or to schedule a Carolina Speaker, contact Sandy Roberts at 919-962-1993 or sandy_roberts@unc.edu, or visit the Carolina Speakers Web site at www.unc.edu/depts/uncspeak.

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Contact: Sandy Roberts, 962-1993