Japan
In October 2026, Dr Huddie will travel to Japan to undertake an academic tour to promote the military welfare history ‘perspective’, the MWHN and the new MWHN book at Chiba University, the University of Tokyo, Nanzan University and Kyoto University. As well as speaking to student cohorts, Dr Huddie will present his roadshow paper to audiences of Japanese academic scholars and researchers and administrators from Japan’s network of peace museums.
Roadshow Lecture Abstract
For as long as there has been war, there have been soldiers’ and sailors’ spouses and children and widows and orphans, and there have been veterans. All of these people have been impacted by military service, and all of them have had or have sought welfare and medical needs before, during, and after military service and periods of conflict. The scope of military welfare history is broad because while military welfare clearly begins with soldiers and veterans, it by no means ends with them. This ‘perspective’ (military welfare history) also interrogates how their service affects their families, dependents, and communities. In addition, military welfare history incorporates all the changes to a society due to this service, including but not limited to policies, perceptions, ideologies, provisions, and infrastructures. This vast range of categories necessitates examining the decisions of governments and militaries as well as charitable, philanthropic, and religious organizations. It likewise requires gauging how creating and modifying various forms of assistance (such as government allowances and pensions, regimental provisions, charitable funds, philanthropic education, employment, housing, and medical care) seeks to meet the evolving needs of soldiers, veterans, and their families. It is the purpose of this lecture to present military welfare history as a new academic perspective, to trace its origins and evolution, and to discuss both its core features and its utility.
Itinerary:
Alongside various meetings with Japanese colleagues and researchers and some small-class teaching, while in Japan Dr Huddie will undertake a series of academic engagements. Namely:
10 October Dr Huddie will participate in the MWHN panel, entitled ‘Military Welfare History: a new academic “perspective” to consider with two illustrative case studies’, at the Seikeishi-gakkai (Conference of the Political Economy and Economic History Society), which takes place at Nanzan University, Nagoya.
This panel will comprise the following papers by Dr Huddie and two Japan-based MWHN members:
- Shoji Nakamura, ‘The Veterans’ Welfare in mid-20th-century United States: its history and scope’
- Paul Huddie, ‘Military Welfare History: what is it and why does it matter?’
- Mahon Murphy, ‘Military Welfare: captured soldiers as objects of aid’
19 October Dr Huddie will present ‘Military Welfare History: what is it and why does it matter?’ at the University of Tokyo.
26 October Dr Huddie will present ‘Military Welfare History: what is it and why does it matter?’ at the Kyoto Museum for World Peace, Ritsumeikan University
This series of event has been made possible by an International Fellow award from the Chiba University’s Invitation Program for Outstanding Foreign Researchers (J-PEAKS) programme.
