Name: Adam Coldren
Year in program: 8
ABD Y/N: Yes
Primary supervisor: Dr. Ethan Segal
Major field: East Asia
Minor fields: Empire and Colonialism, Memory and Trauma Studies
Hello! I am a current PhD candidate in Michigan State University’s history department with an emphasis on modern Japanese history. Although my interests are far-reaching, my primary focus is on death and commemoration in the late 19th and 20th centuries. My master’s thesis at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa investigated both the Hiroshima Peace Memorial complex and the infamous Yasukuni Shrine while my current project at Michigan State University looks at the role sacrifice played in the development of the nation in Meiji Japan.
During my time at MSU, I’ve acted as a TA for a wide range of courses, including World History (both halves), Asia and the World, Latin America and the World, Africa and the World, and Genocide in Theory and Practice.