Faculty of Arts Asia Institute

Curriculum Vitae

Dr J. Charles Schencking

Department of History and Asia Institute



Professional Address

The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010, Australia

Tel: +61 3 8344 5976
Email: j.schencking@unimelb.edu.au

Current Position

Senior Lecturer of Japanese History at the University of Melbourne
Department of History and the Asia Institute
Appointed in July 2000
Confirmed in August 2002
Promoted to Senior Lecturer in August 2004


Education

University of Cambridge
Faculty of Oriental Studies
Supervisor: Stephen S. Large
Date Attended: October 1995 to October 1998.
Degree Earned: Ph.D. in Japanese History. Conferred 17 October 1998.
Dissertation Title: The Political Emergence of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1893-1921.

University of Hawaii at Manoa
Supervisor: John J. Stephan
Date Attended: August 1992 to May 1995.
Degree Earned: M.A. in Japanese History. Conferred 7 August 1994.
Grade Point Average: 4.0.
Thesis Title: The Japanese Navy in World War I and the Seizure of German Micronesia.

Western Washington University
Date Attended: September 1988 to June 1992.
Degrees Earned: B.A. in History, B.A. in Liberal Studies (East Asian Studies), and a minor in Japanese Language. Conferred 21 June 1992.
Grade Point Average: 3.77.


Publications

Sole-authored books

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

  1. Roger Dingman (University of Southern California). The Journal of Military History 70:1 (January 2006): 249-250.
  2. Michael Lewis (Michigan State University). Monumenta Nipponica 60:3 (Autumn 2005): 412-414.
  3. Steven Bullard (Australian War Memorial). Asian Studies Review 29:4 (December 2005): 427-428.
  4. Bruce Reynolds (San Jose State University). Japanese Studies 25:3 (December 2005): 301-302.
  5. Fred Dickinson (University of Pennsylvania). Pacific Affairs 78:4 (Winter 2005-06): 662-664.
  6. S.C.M. Paine (United States Naval War College). Naval War College Review 59:3 (Summer 2006): 155-156.
  7. Nicholas Sarantakes (US Army General Command and Army Staff College). Intelligence and National Security 21:4 (August 2006): 634-635.
  8. William McBride (US Naval Academy). Technology and Culture 47:4 (October 2006): 833-834.
  9. Andrew Lambert (Kings College, London). International Journal of Maritime History 18:2 (December 2006): 606-607.
  10. Michael Barnhart (State University of New York, Stony Brook). Journal of Japanese Studies 33:1 (Winter 2007): 199-201.

Chapters in Edited Volumes

“Admiral Tōgō: The Japanese Commander Who Destroyed the Russian Fleet,” in Jeremy Black, ed., Great Military Leaders and their Campaigns. (London: Thames & Hudson, 2008): 234-237. (1,945 words)

“Introduction” in Ryoko Adachi and Andrew McKay, eds., Echos of War: Australians Voice their Feeling about Japan. (Tokyo: Mirai Publishers, 2008): 3-7. ISBN # 978-0-646-50287-8.

“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. (11,108 words).

“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. (8,807 words).

“The Politics of Pragmatism and Pageantry: Selling the 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. (9,172 words).

“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. (4,923 words).

Journal Articles

"1923 Tokyo as a Devastated War and Occupation Zone: The Catastrophe One Confronted in Post Earthquake Japan," Japanese Studies 29:1 (May 2009): 111-129.

“The Great Kantō Earthquake and the Culture of Catastrophe and Reconstruction in 1920s Japan.” Journal of Japanese Studies 34:2 (Summer 2008):295-331. (15,400 words)

“The Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 and the Japanese Nation: Responding to an Urban Calamity of an Unprecedented Nature,” Education About Asia 12:2 (Fall 2007):20-25. **Special issue on Natural Disasters in Asia** (4,673 words)

“Catastrophe, Opportunism, Contestation: The Fractured Politics of Reconstructing Tokyo following the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923,” Modern Asian Studies 40:4 (October 2006):833-874. (13,995 words)

“The Imperial Japanese Navy and the Constructed Consciousness of a South Seas Destiny, 1872-1921,” Modern Asian Studies 33:4 (October 1999): 769-796. (12,876 words).

“Bureaucratic Politics, Military Budgets, and Japan’s Southern Advance: The Imperial Navy’s Seizure of German Micronesia in World War I,” War in History 5:3 (July 1998): 308-326. (7,987 words).

Encyclopedia Entries, Book Reviews, and Review Articles

Charles has published four entries in the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World and one entry in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History. He has published 26 book reviews in journals including: Japanese Studies, Monumenta Nipponica, Journal of World History, Modern Asian Studies, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, and Asian Studies Review. The five most recent are:

Richard Smethurst, From Foot Soldier to Finance Minister, Takahashi Korekiyo: Japan’s Keynes (Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2007). Japanese Studies 28:3 (December 2008).

Mark Metzler, Lever of Empire: The International Gold Standard and the Crisis of Liberalism in Prewar Japan (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006). Japanese Studies 27:2 (September 2007): 212-215.
Gregory Clancey, Earthquake Nation: The Cultural Politics of Japanese Seismicity, 1868-1930 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006). Monumenta Nipponica 62:2 (Summer 2007): 5-8.

Euan Graham, Japan’s Sea Lane Security, 1940–2004: A Matter of Life and Death? (London: Routledge, 2006). Japanese Studies 26:3 (December 2006):391-392.

“Behind Singapore’s Fall,” review article. 29 October 2005, The Age, p. 4. Review included Peter Thompson, The Battle for Singapore (London: Platkus, 2005), and Colin Smith, Singapore Burning, (London: Viking, 2005).

Current Ph.D Supervisions

1. Steve Hills. A history of Nuclear Power in Australia. Primary Supervisor.
2. Brett Holman, Air Mindedness: The Impact of Airpower on the British People, 1908-1939. Primary Supervisor.
3. Jordan Winfield, Buddhism and Authority in Burma. Primary Supervisor.
4. Bob Marimon, Victorian Defence Schemes from 1851 to 1900. Co-primary supervisor with John Murphy

MA Completions (Since 2000)

1. Nick Gillard, The McNamara Line and the Vietnam War. Primary Supervisor. Completed in 2008.
2. Tom Dowling, The Okinawan Teachers Association and the Flag Reversal Policy, 1945-1971. Primary Supervisor. Completed in 2008.
3. Janet Roberts, The Yachtsman’s Scheme and Australian Naval Support of Britain in 1939-40. Co-primary supervisor with John Lack. Completed in 2007.
4. Janet Borland, Capitalizing on Catastrophe: Educators, Education, and the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. Primary supervisor. Completed in 2003
5. Caroline Spencer, The Great Kanto Earthquake and the Reconstruction of Yokohama. Primary Supervisor. Completed in 2005
6. 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)

1. Chris Mullis, Between Two Empires: The Great Kanto Earthquake and Japanese Communities in America. Primary Supervisor
2. 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
3. Richard Trembath, Remembering the Forgotten War: Australia’s Role in the Korean War. Associate and Co-primary supervisor with John Lack. Completed in 2003.
4. Jonathan Spear, A History of the Australian Red Cross in World War II. Associate supervisor with Kate Darian-Smith. Completed in 2006

Grants Received and Submitted

Internationally Competitive

December 2001:U.S. Department of Education, National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. Project Title: ‘Shattered City, City Born: The Great Kantô Earthquake and the Reconstruction of Tokyo,’ Award: US $ 40,000. Tenure: 1 November 2002 to 31 July 2003.

Nationally Competitive

February 2004: (submitted) Australian Research Council Discovery Project. Project Title: ‘Rebuilding the Capital, Reconstructing the Nation: The Kantô Earthquake of 1923 and the Political Use of Catastrophe in Japan. DP0557443. $AUS 190,000 requested over three years.

December 2001: Australian Research Council, Discovery Project. Project Title: ‘Shattered City, City Born: The Great Kantô Earthquake and the Reconstruction of Tokyo.’ Award: AUS $ 50,000. Tenure: 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2002.


Conference Papers: International and National

‘Debates after the Disaster: The Imperial Diet and the Great Kantô Earthquake of 1923.’ Presented at a Japan Foundation Conference on Modern History held at Murdoch University in November 2003.

‘Politics and the Reconstruction of Tokyo, 1923.’ Presented at the Third International Convention of Asian Scholars, National University of Singapore. 19-22 August 2003.

‘Navalism, Naval Expansion and War: The Anglo-Japanese Alliance and the Japanese Navy, 1902-1922.’ Presented at the Anglo-Japanese Centenary Conference, The University of Glasgow. 10-13 September 2002.

‘Shattered City, Broken Dreams: Gotô Shinpei’s Failed Reconstruction Plans for Tokyo.’ Presented at the Asian Studies of Australia Association Conference, The University of Tasmania. 1-3 July 2002.


Awards and Academic Distinctions

January 2004 to December 2008:
Named as an editor to the editorial board of the Cambridge University Journal, Modern Asian Studies.

July 1999 to July 2000:
British Academy Post-doctoral Research Fellowship. Faculty of Oriental Studies, the University of Cambridge.

June 1998 to July 1999:
Yasuda Trust post-doctoral Research Fellowship. Faculty of Oriental Studies, the University of Cambridge.


Teaching Experience

July 2000 to present:
Lecturer in Japanese History. The University of Melbourne

August 1999:
Lecturer in Japanese History. Nihon University Summer Programme at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge

January 1999 - March 1999:
Temporary Lecturer in Japanese History. Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Cambridge

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