"Perversion de l'Histoire": George Balandier, his disciples, and African History in Japan
AbstractJapan's quest for a permanent United Nations Security Council seat could be expected to lead to an increased importance for foreign language and area studies in Japan, as it did in the United States. This is particularly the case with Japan, an insular nation proud of its homogeneity with little history of immigration. Despite the inherently greater difficulties for Japan in trying to understand the outside world, there has been little increase in attempts to understand the outside world when compared to the efforts made by the United States, which started with several advantages over Japan. The example of African history is a case study of Japan's failure to interact with the wider world of international scholarship and its perpetuation of discredited ideas.