This new volume tackles current interpretative problems in the study of the opening of Japan to the Western world in the 19th century by looking beyond existing methods and theories to rethink the country and its global connections through new organizing frameworks. Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow for Global Perspectives on Society (GPS) Warren A. Stanislaus’ chapter, “Laughing at Civilisation: Charles Wirgman’s Japan Punch and the Reopening of Great Britain,” reveals the unlikely story of a popular treaty port humor magazine, which diverged from a civilizing mission to playfully reimagine the opening of Japan and satirize Western notions of progress.
About the author
Warren A. Stanislaus is a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow for Global Perspectives on Society (GPS) at NYU Shanghai. He received his DPhil (PhD) in history from the University of Oxford (Pembroke College). Warren is interested in how global cultural flows across national borders shape emotions, identities and popular culture. In particular, employing transnational approaches to modern and contemporary society, his work explores forces of globalization from below. Focusing on media and the politics of popular culture, Warren specializes in research that examines Japan’s transnational connectivity with East Asia and the wider world.