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The Origins of World War II in the Pacific: The Decline of China and the Rise of Japan

Instructor
Jeffrey Greenhut
W1221
Video Catch-up
Available

Course Description

Americans generally consider World War II in the Pacific primarily a war between Japan and the United States, which started on December 7, 1941. The reality is that this war was an outgrowth of two centuries of China’s decline and seventy years of Japan’s rise. This lecture will discuss how and why China, once the unchallenged central power in Asia, became a cat’s paw of the Western powers and why Japan avoided that fate and grew so powerful that it dreamed of a Chinese empire.

Course Info

  • Time: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
  • Date: Monday, January 22
  • Location: Friedberg Auditorium, Lifelong Learning Building
  • Fees: Member - $30
    $100 for any combination of four events, members only
    Non-member - $35
    One-time guest pass, Member or Non-member at the door - $35.

About the Instructor

  • Dr. Jeffrey Greenhut received his doctorate in history with a specialty in military history in 1978.  He has worked at the National Archives in Washington, was Command Historian for the Naval Security Group, and was a Program Director for the United States Army Center of Military History.  He has taught at American University and Johns Hopkins University, among others.  He has published in a number of scholarly and professional journals. Additionally, Dr. Greenhut is a retired Army officer (Lt. Col.)  with service in Vietnam, Panama, Africa and the Middle East.  He holds the Army Achievement Medal, Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Meritorious Service Medal and the Bronze Star.