Viktor Shmagin

2022 – 2024
Assistant Professor, Department of History, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK

2022 – 2024
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of History, Williams College, Williamstown, MA

2021 – 2022
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of East Asian Studies, Colby College, Waterville ME

2019 – 2021
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of History, Colby College, Waterville ME

2018 – 2019
Faculty Fellow, Departments of History and East Asian Studies, Colby College, Waterville ME

2016 – 2018
Assistant Professor, Department of History, Fort Lewis College, Durango CO

2016
Ph.D., History, University of California, Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara, CA
Dissertation title: “Diplomacy and Force, Borders and Borderlands: JapanRussia Relations in the Transformation of Japanese Political Culture in the Edo and Early Meiji Periods.”
Dissertation committee: Luke Roberts (Early Modern Japan), Tsuyoshi Hasegawa (Modern Europe), Sabine Frühstück (Modern Japan), Erika Rappaport (Imperialism)

2010
M.A., History, University of California Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara, CA.

2004
B.A., History, B.A., East Asian Studies, Oberlin College. Oberlin, OH

Book manuscripts
Expected completion

• January 2027: The Imperial Peace: Personal Contacts and Political Culture in Edo Period Japanese Relations with Russians and Ainu.

Peer-reviewed articles

• 2022: “Japan Meets Russia,” Education About Asia 27-1 (Spring 2022): 28-34.
• 2022: “The Imperial Peace of 1813: The Golovnin Incident and Russian Recognition of Tokugawa Authority in Ezo,” Journal of Japanese Studies 48-1 (Winter 2022): 63-92.
• 2017: “They Fear Us, yet Cling to Us: Russian Negotiations with Tsushima Domain Officials during the 1861 Tsushima Incident.” International History Review 39- 3 (2017): 521-545. [Published initially in online format, August 31, 2016]
• 2015 “‘Rihachofu kōkai nisshi’ kara yomitoku Tsushima jiken [The Tsushima Incident as Seen through Likhachëv’s Logbook].” Tōkyō daigaku shiryō hensanjo kenkyū kiyō 25 [The Research Bulletin of the Tokyo University Historiographical Institute no. 25] (Tōkyō Daigaku Shiryō Hensanjo, March 2015): 39-49.

Book reviews

• 2020: Edyta Bojanowska’s A World of Empires: The Russian Voyage of the Frigate Pallada. In the Journal of Asian Studies. August 2020. (By invitation)

Media Appearances

• Shin bakumatsu shi gurōbaru historii [The New Bakumatsu Global History], NHK video. (Interviewed for this program)
  • Episode 1: Bakufu vs rekkyō zenmen sensou no kiki [The Bakufu vs the Allied Powers, the Threat of All-out War.”] October 10, 2022.
  • Episode 2: Boshin sensō: Nerawareta Nihon [The Boshin War: Japan in the Crosshairs.”] October 23, 2022.
• “Pop Culture in Full Color: Japanese Woodblock Prints at Colby.” Nontime Art Talk, Colby College Museum of Art. Waterville, ME. April 19, 2019. (Presenter)

Encyclopedia Entries

• 2010: “Japanese Diplomacy under the Tokugawa,” World History Encyclopedia, Vol 6, ABC-CLIO: Santa Barbara, CA, 2010.
• 2010: “Russian Exploration of Siberia and Asia,” World History Encyclopedia, Vol 6, ABC-CLIO: Santa Barbara, CA, 2010.

Translations

• “Vneshnıa ͡ıa politika pravitel'stva Meĭdzi: Karafuto, Kore ͡ ıa, Taĭvan’ [Meiji ͡ Foreign Policy: Karafuto, Korea, Taiwan].” Nichi-ro kankei shiryō wo meguru kokusai kenkyū shūkai 2014 [International Research Conference Concerning Historical Sources on Japan-Russia Relations]. Translated and abridged by Viktor Shmagin. Tōkyō Daigaku Shiryō Hensanjo (May 2014): 82-84.

Internet Contributions

• “The Tokyo University Historiographical Institute,” [Introduction and overview] Dissertation Reviews

Tutorials

• "The Asia-Pacific War” Williams College Fall 2023 (HIST 112)

Seminars

• “Everyday Modernity in Japan” Williams College Spring 2023 (HIST 317); Colby College Spring 2022 (EA 298BA) 
• “Special Topics in Premodern Chinese History” Colby College Fall 2019 (HI 397CA)
• “Minorities and the State in East Asia” Williams College Fall 2022 (HIST 315); Colby College, Spring 2019 (HI 398); Fort Lewis College, Spring 2017 (HIST 392)
• “A Global History of Manga and Anime” Williams College Spring 2023 (HIST 315); Colby College Fall 2021, Fall 2020 (HI 397A)
• “Taikun to Trump - A History of East Asia and the West” Colby College Spring 2020 (HI 298CA) 
• “Introduction to Philosophy and Methods” Fort Lewis College Spring 2018 (HIST 292)
• “Senior Research Seminar” Fort Lewis College, Fall 2017 (HIST 496)
• “Rebellion and Revolution in Chinese History” Fort Lewis College Fall 2017 (HIST 392)

Lecture Courses

• “Foundations of Japanese History.” University of Alaska Fairbanks Fall 2024 (HIST 333) 
• “Premodern Japan.” Williams College Fall 2023 (HIST 217) 
• “A History of the Samurai” Williams College Spring 2023 (HIST 316); Colby College Fall 2020 (HI 297A); Fort Lewis College Summer 2017 online (HIST 392), Fall 2016; University of California Santa Barbara Summer 2015 (HIST 187S)
• “Modern Japan.” Williams College Fall 2022 (HIST 203), Fall 2023 (upcoming); Colby College Spring 2021, Fall 2018 (HI 297A)
• “Foundations in East Asian Studies” Colby College Spring 2022, Fall 2021, Spring 2019, Fall 2018 (EA 150)
• “A Maritime History of the World” Colby College Spring 2021, Spring 2020 (HI 198 A) • “A History of Modern East Asia” Colby College Fall 2019 (HI 197 A)
• “World Civilization II” Fort Lewis College Fall 2017, Fall 2016 (HIST 151)
• “World Civilization I” Fort Lewis College Spring 2018, Spring 2017 (HIST 150)
• “History of Japan” Fort Lewis College Fall 2016 (HIST 356)

• 2024: History Departmental Committee, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Committee for reviewing and revising the History Department Curriculum. (Committee member)
• 2022: Campus-wide planning committee, “A Vigil for Ukraine,” Colby College. Planning a vigil for the victims of the ongoing war in Ukraine and considering measures to support displaced Ukrainian academics and students. (Planning committee member)
• 2020 – 2022: Taikō Club, Colby College. (Faculty advisor)
• 2021 Screening of “Day of the Western Sunrise” and accompanying talk by film director Keith Reimink. Presented by the Colby College Institute for Arts and Humanities, Departments of History, East Asian Studies and Cinema Studies. Colby College. Waterville, ME. April 20, 2021. (Organizer and host)
• 2020: “It Came from Something Anime? Dale Beran Discusses 4chan, Anonymous, and the Alt-Right.” Webinar and virtual class visit to HI 397A with journalist Dale Beran. Presented by the Colby College Institute for Arts and Humanities, the Department of History, and the Department of East Asian Studies. Waterville, ME. November 18, 2020. (Organizer and host)
• 2020: “COVID-19 Teaching and Learning Report” planning committee. This committee researched various options for resuming classes for the 2020-21 academic year. May 2022. (Committee member)
• 2020: “Shusenjo: The Final Battleground of the Comfort Women Issue.” Screening and discussion with director, Miki Dezaki. Presented by the Colby College Institute for Arts and Humanities, the Department of History, the Department of East Asian Studies and the Department of Government. Waterville, ME. November 18, 2020. (Organizer and host)
• 2019: “Korean War Films: Turn Toward a Post-traumatic Future,” by Professor Kyung Hyun Kim, University of California Irvine. Association for Asian Studies, Northeast Asia Council, Distinguished Speakers Bureau talk. Hosted by the Colby College Departments of History, East Asian Studies and Cinema Studies. Colby College. Waterville, ME. September 18, 2019. (Organizer, host, grant writer)
• 2019: “An Imperial Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: The Japanese Occupation of the Mongolian Steppe,” by Assistant Professor Sakura Christmas, Bowdoin College. Research presentation at Colby College. Sponsored by the Departments of History and East Asian Studies, Colby College. Waterville, ME. April 30, 2019. (Organizer and host)
• 2018: “Mesa of Sorrows: Archaeology, History, and the Ghosts of Awat’ovi Pueblo,” by Professor James Brooks, University of California Santa Barbara. The Reece Kelly Distinguished Lecture in History at Fort Lewis College. Durango, CO. March 13, 2018. (Organizer and host)
• 2017: “Samurai Civility and Violence during Japan’s ‘Great Peace,’” by Professor Luke S. Roberts, University of California Santa Barbara. The Reece Kelly Distinguished Lecture in History at Fort Lewis College. Durango, CO. March 21, 2017. (Organizer and host)
• 2017: Skyhawk Journal of Undergraduate Research, Fort Lewis College. (Editor)
• 2016 – 2018: History Club, Department of History, Fort Lewis College. (Faculty Advisor)
• 2011: Modern Japanese history faculty search committee, Department of History, University of California Santa Barbara. (Graduate student representative)

• 2023: Virtual book manuscript workshop, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS. November 20, 2023. (Presented first draft of book manuscript)
• 2019: “Omote and Naishō in Foreign Relations: Lessons from The Russian Empire and the Soviet Union,” Façade Truths in Tokugawa Japan and Beyond workshop. Yale University. New Haven, CT. October 26, 2019. (Presenter)
• 2019: “Pop Culture in Full Color: Japanese Woodblock Prints at Colby.” Noontime Art Talk, Colby College Museum of Art. Waterville, ME. April 19, 2019. (Presenter)
• 2018: “The Great War in the World: Thinking the Centenary of the First World War from a Global Perspective.” Event sponsored by the Department of History, Colby College. Colby College, Waterville, ME. November 13, 2018. (Panelist)
• 2018: “Territoriality and the Emergence of Tokugawa Imperialism.” Built Japan: Environment, City, and Empire. Spatial History of Modern Japan workshop. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, February 9, 2018. (Presenter)
• 2018: “The Feudal Roots of Japanese Imperialism.” FLC Life Long Learning Speaker Series. Fort Lewis College, February 1, 2018. Public History speaking event. (Presenter)
• 2013: “Russo-Japanese Relations in the 18th and 19th Centuries: Russian Influence on the Evolution of Japanese Political Culture and Perceptions of Borderlands.” Tokyo University Historiographical Institute, Tokyo, Japan. September 6, 2013. (Presenter)

• 2024: “Building Bridges Across Foreign Lands: Japanese, Russians and Ainu during the 1793 Laxman Mission.” Western Conference of the Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference. Weber University, Ogden UT. October 12, 2024. (Presenter)
• 2023: “Giants Walking the Gauntlet: Visualizing the Laxman Mission’s 1793 Formal Reception.” New England Association of Asian Studies Annual Conference. Wellesley College, Wellesley MA. October 14, 2023. (Presenter)
• 2022: “Good Fences: Japanese and Russian Frontier Outposts at the Point of Contact from the 1820s to the 1850s.” Association of Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Boston, MA. March 16, 2023. (Presenter)
• 2021: “Conflict, War and the Environment in East Asia: A Long-term Observation from Premodern to Modern,” The Sixth Biennial Conference of East Asian Environmental History. Kyoto University, Japan. September 8, 2021. (Presenter)
• 2021: “Japan, Russia, and the ‘Imperial Peace’ of 1813,” The 12th International Convention of Asia Scholars. Kyoto Seika University, Japan. August 25, 2021. (Presenter)
• 2020: “The Loneliest Outpost: The Japanese Garrison on Etorofu Island in the MidNineteenth Century.” New England Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting. The University of Vermont (held digitally) Burlington, VT. October 17, 2020. (Presenter)
• 2019: “Muskets, Flags and Empire; the 1813 Russian Procession through Hakodate and Tokugawa Recognition of Russian Civilization.” Association of Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Denver, CO. March 24, 2019. (Panel co-organizer and presenter)
• 2018: “Peace from (Perceived) Power: The Golovnin Incident of 1811-1813, and the Russian Acceptance of Japanese Control Over Ezo,” Mid-Atlantic Region Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference. Elizabethtown College. Elizabethtown, PA. November 3, 2018. (Presenter)
• 2018 (unable to attend): “Absorbing the Periphery: Ezo and the Making of the Tokugawa Empire.” Association of Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Washington, DC. March 24, 2018. (Presenter)
• 2017: “The Russian Navy’s Flexible Role in Nineteenth Century Contacts with Japan.” Association of Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. March 17, 2017. (Presenter)
• 2016: “Intercontinental Borderland: The Second Russian-American Company Colony on Urup in the Performance of Russo-Japanese Relations.” Association of Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Seattle, WA. April 2, 2016. (Panel co-organizer and presenter)
• 2016: “Performing Sakoku: The Golovnin Incident and Russia’s Validation of Japan’s Foreign Relations Network.” Networks & Negotiations Graduate Conference. University of California, Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara, CA. February 12, 2016. (Presenter)
• 2015: “Russian Far Eastern Ports and their Effect on Russian Decision making during the 1861 Tsushima Incident.” Association of Asian Studies Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL. March 28, 2015. (Panel co-organizer and presenter)
• 2015: “‘They Fear Us, yet Cling to Us as if We Embodied Hope Itself’; Russian Negotiations with Local Japanese Officials during the Tsushima Incident of 1861.” Columbia Graduate Student Conference on East Asia. Columbia University. New York, NY. February 21, 2015. (Presenter)
• 2014: “‘They Fear Us, yet Cling to Us as if We Embodied Hope Itself’; Russian Negotiations with Local Japanese Officials during the Tsushima Incident of 1861.” Asian Studies Conference Japan. Sophia University. Tokyo, Japan. June 21, 2014. (Presenter)
• 2013: “‘They Fear Us, yet Cling to Us as if We Embodied Hope Itself’; Russian Negotiations with Local Japanese Officials during the Tsushima Incident of 1861.” Ranpeki no Kai [Ranpeki Association workshop]. Tokyo University. Tokyo, Japan. October 29, 2013. (Presenter)
• 2011: “Reexamining the Golovnin Incident: Crisis Management and Ambiguity in Late Tokugawa Diplomacy.” Is the Theory of the Sino-Centric World Order Still Good Enough?, workshop. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. August 24, 2011. (Panelist)
• 2011: “Pre-modern Nationalisms?” Nationalisms in Japan workshop, University of California, Santa Barbara. Santa Barbara, CA. June 16, 2011. (Panel chair and discussant)
• 2010: “The Truth Shall Set You Free?: Reclaiming Wartime Humanity in Shtrafbat and The Human Condition.” The Ruptures of War, graduate student conference. Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA. March 10, 2010. (Presenter)

• 2018: “Why we Should All Care about Premodern Japanese History.” Noontime Faculty Forum. Colby College. Waterville, ME. November 15, 2018. (Presenter)
• 2018: “The Axis War?” Discussion with Faculty Fellow Katherine Hollander on the Axis alliance of World War II at Colby College. Sponsored by the Department of History, Colby College. Waterville, ME. November 8, 2018. (Event co-organizer and panelist)
• 2017: “A Historical Look at Ethics in the Economy.” Teaching of Ethics conference, Fort Lewis College. Durango, CO. May 20, 2017. (Presenter)
• 2018: “Japan-Russia Relations in the Transformation of Japanese Political Culture in the Edo and Early Meiji Periods,” East Asian Studies Student-Faculty Research Colloquium. Colby College. Waterville, ME. October 18, 2018. (Presenter)

• 2019: Association for Asian Studies, Northeast Asia Council, Distinguished Speakers Bureau Grant [to invite speaker]
• 2015, 2016: Schlaikjer Fellowship, University of California, Santa Barbara History Associates
• 2015: Departmental Dissertation Fellowship, Department of History, University of California Santa Barbara
• 2014: Pacific Rim Research Program Graduate Fellowship, University of California Pacific Rim Foundation (deferred from 2012)
• 2012: Graduate Student Research Fellowship, Japan-U.S. Educational Commission (Fulbright IIE)
• 2012: Japan Foundation IPSP Japanese Studies Grant, Department of History, University of California Santa Barbara
• 2009: FLAS East Asia Academic Year Fellowship, Department of History, University of California Santa Barbara
• 2009: FLAS East Asia Summer Fellowship, Department of History, University of California Santa Barbara
• 2008: Dean's Fellowship, Graduate Division, University of California Santa Barbara

• 2016: Byron Dare Junior Faculty Award, Fort Lewis College
• 2014: DeConde/Burns Prize, University of California Santa Barbara, Interdisciplinary Humanities Center
• 2014: Richard Mayberry Award, University of California Santa Barbara, Interdisciplinary Humanities Center
• 2010: JE and GL Janotta Foundation Prize, University of California, Santa Barbara History Associates

• English (fluent)
• Japanese (advanced)
• Russian (native)

• 2012 – 2014: University of Tokyo Historiographical Institute, Tokyo, Japan. (Foreign Researcher)

• 2015 – Present: The Association for Asian Studies
• 2023 – Present: Modern Japan History Association

• 2005 – 2007: Shinpō, Takinomizu and Ueda JHS, Nagoya, Japan (employed by Interac, co. ltd, Nagoya). (Assistant Language [English] Teacher)