November 3, 2026
Gregory Smits, Professor of History and Asian Studies at Penn State University, will be visiting Dickinson to give a Flaherty Lecture in East Asian Studies.
Gregory Smits, Professor of History and Asian Studies at Penn State University, will be visiting Dickinson to give a Flaherty Lecture in East Asian Studies titled "Shadow Fleet, Empire, Masquerade: Three Different Ryukyu Kingdoms."
The so-called “Ryukyu Kingdom” is among the most poorly understood entities in East Asia. Journalists often invoke it, sometimes describing it as having been “independent” and sometimes noting that it existed for some 500 years. Chinese officials, well aware of the geo-strategic importance of the Ryukyu Islands routinely assert that somehow, they were once part of China. The Ryukyu Islands form an arc between Kyushu and Taiwan and are located within Japan’s Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures. Between circa 1370 and 1879, when Okinawa Prefecture was created, three different entities, all commonly called “the Ryukyu Kingdom,” came into existence. This talk explains each of these entities within the broader context of maritime activity in the East China Sea and briefly critiques some of the contemporary (mis)understandings and rhetoric connected with the Ryukyu Islands.
Hosted by the East Asian Studies Department.
Further information
- Location: Stern 102 & Great Room
- Time: 4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
- Cost: Free