World Talk Lecture: In the Shadow of the Mushroom Cloud: 75 years since the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasa

This event has ended.

Delivered by experts from Cardiff University’s School of Modern Languages, the World Talk Lecture Series is a series of talks on topics of current interest in various countries around the world. Aimed primarily at AS and A-Level students to stimulate interest in, and gain a better understanding of, current political, social and cultural developments around the world, the talks will be approximately 45 minutes in length and be followed by a 30-minute question and answer session.

In this lecture, Dr Christopher Hood will examine the key aspects of what happened in 1945 and how the bombings continue to influence Japan and should influence global politics today.

Abstract

On 6 August 1945 an atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Hiroshima. A second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later. These two bombings helped to bring an end to the Second World War but were also a start to what became known as the Cold War. 75 years since the bombings, the Cold War has ended, and the public, and possibly political leaders, may have a lesser

awareness of the impact of nuclear weapons and the threat of their usage is at its highest in thirty years. Japan, on the other hand, has continued to be impacted, politically, socially and culturally, by the bombings ever since the bombs were dropped. This lecture will cover key aspects of what happened in 1945 and consider the way in which the bombs continue to influence Japan and should influence global politics today.

Biography

Christopher Hood is a Reader in Japanese Studies in the School of Modern Languages at Cardiff University. He is the author of Japan: The Basics (2014), Dealing with Disaster in Japan: Responses to the Flight JL123 Crash (2011), and Shinkansen: From Bullet Train to Symbol of Modern Japan (2006). He is the President of the British Association for Japanese Studies.  Twitter: @HoodCP

Simultaneous TranslationThe event will be delivered in the medium of English. You are welcome to ask questions in the medium of Welsh during the Q&A session. If you intend to do this, please contact mlang-events@cardiff.ac.uk by Thursday 23 January to request simultaneous translation. Please note that 10% or more of those planning to attend will need to request this provision in order for it to be sourced and will be subject to resource availability.

We apologise that the entire registration page is not available in the medium of Welsh; unfortunately, the platform we use does not offer this service.

Events in this series

World Talk Lecture Series

• View all events in this series