1948 As Conjuncture: Revolution, Managed Decolonization, and World-Making in Asia-Pacific

Two-Day Conference

Captured partisan in South Korea in 1950 (dated March 20, 1950; New York Times)

The conference will take place Oct. 23-24 in Room 10383, Bunche Hall, UCLA.

Friday, October 23, 2026
(Pacific Time)

Bunche Hall, Rm 10383

This two-day conference is organized around the proposition that 1948 was a decisive global conjuncture, a moment when revolutionary aspirations, decolonization, imperial transitions, and the emerging Cold War converged to shape institutions and perspectives that endure today. Developments in the Asia-Pacific and the United States were central to the making of the past-1945 international order. By situating these histories within a wider global moment, the conference asks how seemingly distinct developments might be understood as interconnected. These include political violence in Greece, southern Korea, and the Philippines; the partitions of India, Korea, and Palestine; military occupation in Japan and the US military government in southern Korea; and the displacement and migration of peoples that accompanied these upheavals. At a time when the postwar international order faces mounting crises and shifting geopolitical alignments, revisiting 1948 allows us to understand better the unfinished histories of decolonization and the legacies of empire, and to reimagine emancipatory possibilities foreclosed by partition, managed decolonization, and competing hegemonic projects.   

  For a higher-resolution version of the poster, please click the pdf file at the bottom. 

* Parking: Conference attendees who are not affiliated with UCLA may park in visitor parking place at UCLA Parking Structure 3 North. The all-day rate is currently $18 on Friday and $12 on Saturday. You can pay at a pay station at the parking structure or through the PakMobile app (Zone 2504). Please allow extra time to park and walk to Bunche Hall. For parking information in detail including rates, and campus maps, please visit UCLA Visitor Parking. Parkig is subject to availability. 

** This conference is co-organized by the Center for Korean Studies (CKS), UCLA; Kangwon Institute for Unification Studies, Kangwon National University; Institute of Humanities Research, Sunchon National University; Institute for Peace Worlding Studies, Sungkonghoe University; Action One Korea, The Center for Historical Truth and Justice; The Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, Peace Network; International Peace Research Institute, Meiji Gakuin University; Center for Korean Studies, Ritsumeikan University; and New Era Peace Academy. It is supported by the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS Award Number: AKS-2023-SRI-2200001) as part of its Strategic Research Institute Program for Korean Studies,

Sponsor(s): Center for Korean Studies, Academy of Korean Studies

Click here to download the file.