Professor Aaron Moore

Event details

Lecture title: "My World in War and Revolution: A Comparative History of the Modern Diary in the East and West"

Venue: Playfair Library, Old College, The University of Edinburgh

18:00 Lecture start

19:00 Q&A

19:15 - Drinks Reception. - A small drinks reception will follow the lecture in  Playfair Library. All guest are welcome to attend.

Lecture abstract

In both the East and the West the diaries is an ancient genre, but it underwent important changes in the modern era. Simultaneously, the social structure, media environment, and political regimes also transformed rapidly.

In this lecture, Moore focuses on the relationship East Asian modernity shared with the personal diary, which came to both reflect and contribute to phenomena such as 'total war' mobilisation, revolution, and the experience of childhood. 

Moreover, having examined hundreds of diaries from around the world, Moore introduces a methodology for reading personal diaries that emerged out of his comparative approach to modern history. 

Despite the considerable cultural and ideological differences between China, Japan, America, the USSR, and Britain, the usefulness of the diary as a tool for self-discipline emerged almost simultaneously in each context, and this uncanny convergence must be explained​​.