80 Years On: Memory and Legacy of World War II in ESEA Popular Culture Description2 September 2025
The year 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. This global conflict has shaped the modern world and continues influencing international relations, cultural production and historical discourse. In Europe, V-E Day (8 May 1945) is often commemorated as the end of the war, and yet in the Asia-Pacific region, the war continued relentlessly until Japan's unconditional surrender on 15 August 1945, following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It was on 2 September 1945, when Japan signed the formal surrender document, that World War II officially ended.
The 80th anniversary offers a timely opportunity to examine how World War II is remembered and reimagined in popular culture across East and Southeast Asia (ESEA), and equally important, how these representations have been transmitted and circulated across the globe. From blockbuster films to literary works, television dramas to manga, video games to digital media, the portrayal of World War II in popular culture serves as a lens through which memory, identity and historical legacy are constructed and negotiated. The transmission across different cultural contexts also raises pertinent questions about the meaning and problematics of translating war memory.
This hybrid symposium invites scholars and researchers from diverse disciplines, including but not limited to history, cultural studies, film studies, literary studies and translation studies, to address these themes. Comparative and interdisciplinary approaches are especially encouraged. The organisation team is planning to submit an edited book proposal to Routledge following the symposium. At the end of the symposium, there is an optional publication planning workshop.
Attendance at the conference can be either in-person or online. Prices remains the same for both options.
PLEASE ONLY SELECT THE £40 OPTION IF YOU HAVE ALREADY REGISTERED TO ATTEND THE 2025 BACS CONFERENCE.
More information about the conference can be found here: https://bacs2025.le.ac.uk
https://le.ac.uk/arts/news/events/80-years-on
Standard rateBACS conference registered attendee |
