csi undergraduate conference on research, scholarship ... - CSI Today

Research Paper PresentationsP A N E L D I S C U S S I O NCulture of the AtomicBomb—Japan after WorldWar IILecture Hall, 1:45pm–3:15pmFaculty Mentor – Dr. Janet Ng DudleyAtomic Bomb and Its CultureEffects: OverviewAni PeradzeDuring the final stages of World War II in 1945, theUnited States decided to use atomic bombs againstJapan in order to end the war. On August 6th andAugust 9th two bombs were dropped in the citiesof Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed hundredsof thousands of people. In both cities, most of thedead were civilians. Even though, the U.S.government had a full understanding of the powerof an atomic bomb, no one expected this kind ofdisastrous outcome. This paper gives an overviewof the politics of the dropping of the Atomic Bomb,the political repercussions and the effects on Japanand its cultural expressionKurosawa and the SamuraiRaymond ReyesThis project is an in-depth look at thehistorical/cultural context of Akira Kurosawa’s postwarsamurai films Sanjuro, Yojimbo, Seven Samuraiand The Hidden Fortress. It discusses the purposeand aim of the nonstandard portrayal of samurai inthe aforementioned films by comparing andcontrasting the characters to historic samuraipractices as outlined in William Scott Wilson’s“Ideals of the Samurai” and Yamamoto Tsunemoto’sHagakure.Human in the ShellJennifer Megan TerzicIn a fantastic future world, when the onlydistinction between humans and machines hasbeen narrowed, and even blurred, what is themain ingredient that defines us as humans? What isa human; what makes us human? When the frailtyof mortality has been stripped away, or “cyberized,”is there any interior or “origin”? Through an analysisof a popular, cyberpunk franchise in Japan, whichalso became influential in the U.S., I will attempt toanswer these questions.The Social Aesthetics of KawaiiVictoria CooperModern Japanese society is uniquely defined by aparticular style known as Kawaii. Kawaii, mostcommonly translated as “cute,” takes on a variety ofmeanings from adorable and lovable tochildlike. From the Japanese eye, “cute” is not onlycommon, it is an acceptable term used in everydayvernacular, a popular aesthetic, and an obsessivelysought after approach to living. However, the wordgoes beyond describing a physical and visual styleas described previously; rather, Kawaii has becomea lifestyle in Japan as many, from children to adults,have made a conscious choice to indulge in thisinnocent aesthetic. In this paper, I will answer thequestion how, in such a serious and logical society,can such unrealistic characters not only be popular,but also be identified with by people of all ages,genders, and social classes?16