"A Different PoV: Plea for Academic Rigor on North Korea"

The next Social Justice Research Lunch Series event will be held Tuesday, March 20, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in Crawford Hall, Room A13. Merose Hwang, an associate professor of history at Hiram College, will present "A Different PoV: Plea for Academic Rigor on North Korea." Attendees should bring their lunch; drinks and desserts will be provided. RSVP to socialjustice@case.edu.

About the talk

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea) is referred to as the most isolated country in the world. It is viewed as an inaccessible country and yet most individuals hold strong assumptions and feelings about this place. Teaching on this topic presents many challenges when ideas of North Korean threats and violence dominate the headlines. In this presentation, Hwang advises to look beyond an enemy lens to find a better way of understanding North Korea, as well as to look at the DPRK from its own historiographical vantage point. Examining North Korean pedagogical materials allows outsiders to glean a new perspective, one in which a country endured a long history of imperial and colonial aggression and emerged as a truly post-colonial nation. Studying DPRK poems, interviews, documentaries and films provides a nuanced understanding of the values and attitudes of people and see North Korea beyond a faceless horde under a dictator.

About the series

The Social Justice Research Lunch Series presents monthly events at which faculty and researchers across academic disciplines present how social justice is central to their research. Question-and-answer sessions follow presentations. Learn more at case.edu/socialjustice/events/upcoming-events/.