Presented by:
Dr. Judy Shoaf

Description:
In 1854, the American Commander Matthew Perry oversaw the signing of a treaty between Japan and the U.S. At that point, Japan had been "closed" for over two centuries, avoiding contact with the West and developing its own rich culture, including dollmaking and ritual doll displays in the home. Among the gifts Commander Perry brought back to the U.S. were some jointed dolls. As trade and tourism between the two countries grew, Japanese play dolls became part of artists' studios, children's playrooms, and humorous illustrations of doll families and doll play. They came in such works, up into the 1920s, to represent the Japanese themselves, even as Japan became a military powerhouse.

NOTE: This talk will include images and the pronunciation of short forms of the word "Japanese" which were dismissive at the time and are now offensive.

Biographical Profile:
Dr. Judy Shoaf earned a PhD in French and Medieval Literature from Cornell University, and taught literature courses at Yale University and the University of Florida (UF). Dr. Shoaf served 25 years as Director of UF's Language Learning Center (1993 to 2017). During the late 1990's, Dr. Shoaf developed an interest in Japanese dolls, and embarked on a study of doll culture in Japan, Western perceptions of Japanese culture, and Japanese dolls of the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) eras.

Invitations:
National Doll Club invites the UFDC community to attend. Please email nationaldollclub@gmail.com to request a link, no later than one day before the program (100 person limit).