Sheila Miyoshi Jager (born 1963) is an American historian. She is a Professor of East Asian Studies at
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
, author of two books on Korea, co-editor of a third book on Asian nations in the post-Cold War era, and a forthcoming book on great power competition in northeast Asia at the turn of the 19th-20th century. She is a well-known historian of
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
and
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
.
Early life
Sheila Miyoshi Jager was born in 1963.
She is of Dutch and Japanese ancestry.
She graduated from
Bennington College
Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont. Founded in 1932 as a women's college, it became co-educational in 1969. It claims to be the first college to include visual and performing arts as an equal partner in ...
with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1984.
She earned a Master of Arts degree from
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
in 1985, and a PhD in anthropology from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in 1994.
Career
Jager is a Professor of East Asian Studies at Oberlin College.
She is the author of several books about
East Asian history
The History of East Asia generally encompasses the histories of China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Taiwan from prehistoric times to the present. East Asia is not a uniform term and each of its countries has a different national history, b ...
.
Her first book, ''Narratives of Nation Building in Korea: A Genealogy of Patriotism'', was published in 2003. In it, Jager analyzes Korea through the axes of history, gender, and nationalism, by using both theory and data.
She looks at male identity through the figures of
Shin Chaeho
Sin Chaeho, or Shin Chae-ho (; November 7, 1880 – February 21, 1936), was a Korean independence activist, historian, anarchist, nationalist, and a founder of Korean nationalist historiography (민족 사학, ''minjok sahak''; sometimes shortene ...
and
Yi Kwang-su
Yi Gwangsu (; 1892–1950) was a Korean writer and poet, and a notable Korean independence and nationalist activist until his later turn towards collaboration with the Japanese. His pen names were Chunwon and Goju. Yi is best known for his nove ...
between 1910 and 1945 in the first part; the female body as a metonymy for the Korean
body politic
The body politic is a polity—such as a city, realm, or state—considered metaphorically as a physical body. Historically, the sovereign is typically portrayed as the body's head, and the analogy may also be extended to other anatomical par ...
in the second part; and the leaders of South Korea (
Park Chung-hee
Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...
,
Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean Republic of Korea Army, army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected Political strongman, strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah ...
,
Roh Tae-woo
Roh Tae-woo (; ; 4 December 1932 – 26 October 2021) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993.
Roh was a close ally and friend of Chun Doo-hwan, the predecessor leader ...
) and North Korea (
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...
) in the third part.
In a review for ''
The Journal of Asian Studies
''The Journal of Asian Studies'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Association for Asian Studies, covering Asian studies, ranging from history, the arts, social sciences, to phil ...
'',
Roy Richard Grinker
Roy Richard Grinker (born 1961) is an American author and Professor of Anthropology, International Affairs, and Human Sciences at The George Washington University.
Grinker is an authority on North and South Korean relations. As part of his PhD r ...
, a Professor of Anthropology at
George Washington University
, mottoeng = "God is Our Trust"
, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
, called it "a coherent, well-argued, and well-researched study of Korea nationalism", but he deplored, "This book is not long, yet the scope is so extensive that it demands more detailed and wide-ranging analyses that might complicate her arguments."
He also criticized her use of Korean literature as reductive.
In a review for ''
Pacific Affairs
''Pacific Affairs'' (''PA'') is a Canadian peer-reviewed scholarly journal that publishes academic research on contemporary political, economic, and social issues in Asia and the Pacific. The journal was founded in 1926 as the newsletter for the ...
'', Chiho Sawada also criticized the book for being too short (only 140 pages), but he added that it was "an excellent text for courses on not only Korea but postcolonial histories and national/gender identities."
In a review for the ''
'', Swiss academic Martina Deuchler called it "a sophisticated and well-written study," although she warned "the book is not an easy read."
A Korean translation is forthcoming from Namu yŏnp'il Publisher (도서출판 나무연필).
Her second book, ''Ruptured Histories: War, Memory and the Post-Cold War in Asia'', co-edited with
Rana Mitter
Shantashil Rajyeswar Mitter (born 1969), known as Rana Mitter, is a British historian and political scientist of Indian origin who specialises in the history of republican China. He is Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China at t ...
, was published in 2007. It is a collection of essays by various scholars about the state of Asia since the end of the
Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
.
In a review for ''
The China Quarterly
''The China Quarterly'' (CQ) is a British double-blind peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1960 on contemporary China and Taiwan.
It is considered the most important research journal about China in the world and is published by the Cam ...
'',
Parks M. Coble, a professor of history at the
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a public land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the Morrill Act of 1862, the school was known as the Universit ...
, concludes that, contrary to Europe, there is no common thread between the Asian nations analyzed in this volume.
Nevertheless, in ''Pacific Affairs'', Associate Professor Kerry Smith of
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
suggests reading the entire book from cover to cover, not just certain chapters relevant to one's personal interests in specific nations.
Reviewing it for ''The Journal of Asian Studies'', Erik Harms, an Associate Professor of Anthropology at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
(then at
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
), described it as "an insightful collection of expertly researched and theoretically informed case studies from Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam."
He also noted, "We see how apparently local developments emerge within broader international, regional, and global contexts."
In ''
The Journal of Japanese Studies
''The Journal of Japanese Studies'' (JJS) is the most influential journal dealing with research on Japan in the United States. It is a multidisciplinary forum for communicating new information, new interpretations, and recent research results con ...
'', Christopher Goto-Jones of
Leiden University
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...
highlights Mitter and Jager's "attempt to wrestle the question of war memory away from its near exclusive focus on the singular rupture represented by Japan's defeat in 1945"; instead, they attempt to show how "the continuously shifting international environment impacts the formation (and utility) of national (and transnational and subnational) narratives."
Her third book, ''Brothers at War: The Unending Conflict in Korea'', was published in 2013 simultaneously by Profile Books in the UK and Norton in the U.S. It was a selection for the 2013 National Book Festival and featured in a C-Span Book TV After Words interview. The book covered the history of the Korean peninsula from its liberation in 1945 to 2012, portraying the confrontation between the two Koreas as a competition for legitimacy. ''The Economist'' called it the "most balanced and comprehensive account of the Korean War." Mark Atwood's review for the ''New York Times'' remarked it as "superb...elegant and balanced" while Eliot Cohen, reviewing for ''The Wall Street Journal, wrote'' "''Brothers at War'' does an exceptionally good job of bringing the conflict to life." In a review for ''
Foreign Affairs
''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...
'',
Andrew J. Nathan
Andrew J. Nathan (; born 3 April 1943) is a professor of political science at Columbia University. He specializes in Chinese politics, foreign policy, human rights and political culture. Nathan attended Harvard University, where he earned a B.A. ...
, a Professor of Political Science at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, who thought the book was a "magisterial history of the Korean War," noted that Jager suggested atrocities were committed not only by the
North Korean Army
The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the ''Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General Sec ...
, but also by the
South Korean Army
The Republic of Korea Army (ROKA; ko, 대한민국 육군; Hanja: 大韓民國 陸軍; RR: ''Daehanminguk Yuk-gun''), also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the l ...
and the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, a conflict which formally ended in 1953 but has never been fully resolved.
She also suggested that North Korea may have to become a province of China to survive economically.
''Brothers at War'' was chosen as one of three Best International Relations Books of the Year in the Asia and the Pacific category by ''Foreign Affairs''. A Dutch translation was published in 2020 by Omnibook under the title ''Broederstrijd in Korea: Het oneindige conflict tussen Noord en Zuid''.
Her fourth book, ''The Other Great Game: The Opening of Korea and the Birth of Modern East Asia'' will be published in May 2023 by The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. The publisher described it as ''"A dramatic new telling of the dawn of modern East Asia, placing Korea at the center of a transformed world order wrought by imperial greed and devastating wars."'' A Korean translation is due out in 2024 from Ghil Publisher (도서출판길)
In addition to academic articlee, she has written op-eds, columns, and book reviews for ''The New York Times, Boston Globe, Politico Magazine,'' and ''The New York Tmes Sunday Book Review.''
She has advised and appeared in two documentaries on the Korean War, ''The Battle of Chosin'' (WGBH/PBS, 2016) and ''Korea: The Neverending War'' (PBS/BBC/ARTE, 2019).
Personal life
Jager's Dutch paternal grandparents, Hendrik and Geesje Jager, were recognized as
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations ( he, חֲסִידֵי אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם, ; "righteous (plural) of the world's nations") is an honorific used by the State of Israel to describe non-Jews who risked their lives during the Holocaust to sav ...
by
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
in 1996. The
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem ( he, יָד וַשֵׁם; literally, "a memorial and a name") is Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; honoring Jews who fought against th ...
online entry reads,
''"In order to avoid deportation, the parents of seven-year-old Margaretha Celine (Greetje) de Haas (later Gosschalk) handed her over in August 1943 to a nurse who was active in a nurses’ Resistance group. The Resistance group was connected with an underground movement in the province of Groningen, and Hendrik Jager was one of the people who traveled to Amsterdam to maintain contact between the two groups. Hendrik’s main task was to find families willing to hide Jewish children. He would wait at the train station in Groningen and then escort the children either to the address he had found or, temporarily, to his home until a permanent place could be located. Since he had not found a family who would take her, Hendrik decided to take Greetje in himself and she stayed with him and his wife, Geesje, for three years. Hendrik and Geesje lived in Hoogezand, Groningen, and had two sons, Henk and Bernd, who regarded Greetje as a sister. The family never received any payment for looking after her...Hendrik found hiding places for approximately 50 Jewish children all around the province. After the war, the Jagers applied to become Greetje’s guardians, but in 1946, close friends of her parents were awarded custody. Although they were not related, Greetjeand called her guaridians 'uncle' and 'aunt,' and the Jagers remained close, even after she got married and immigrated to the United States...The Jagers kept in touch with her husband, Eddy, and their son and daughter after Greetje’s untimely death in 1971. On October 10, 1996, Yad Vashem recognized Hendrik Jager and his wife, Geesje Jager-ten Brinke, as Righteous Among the Nations."''
In the 1980s, Jager lived with
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
, then a community organizer in Chicago.
In winter 1986, Obama asked her parents if he could marry her, but they objected.
Shortly after he entered the
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
, Obama proposed to Jager a second time, but she rejected him.
Their relationship was only made public in May 2017, several months after the end of Obama's two-term presidency, in
David Garrow
David Jeffries Garrow (born May 11, 1953) is an American author and historian. He wrote the book ''Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference'' (1986), which won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Biogra ...
's ''
Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama''.
Jager married Jiyul Kim, a retired U.S. Army veteran and a history instructor at Oberlin College. They have four children and reside in Ohio.
Works
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References
External links
*C-SPAN, https://www.c-span.org/person/?71592/SheilaMiyoshiJager
*Book TV After Words 19 Jul 2013, https://www.c-span.org/video/?313919-1/after-words-sheila-miyoshi-jager
*2013 National Book Festival, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxPZ3Yrkesw
*Open Phones at the 2013 Natioinal Book Festival, https://www.c-span.org/video/?315052-6/open-phones-sheila-miyoshi-jager
*Lecture at the US army History and Education Center, US Army War College, 6 Aug 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLdLlwIC964
*Interview by Neal Conanon on ''Truth, Politics & Power,'' Episode 6, ''"Democratic People's Republic of Korea,"'' 7 April 2017, https://www.wqxr.org/story/truth-politics-power-democratic-peoples-republic-korea/
*Interview by Neal Conan on ''Truth, Politics & Power,'' Episode 23 "North Korea Update," 18 Aug 2017, https://beta.prx.org/stories/212917
*WGBH/PBS ''American Experience'' production, ''The Battle of Chosin'', 1 Nov 2016, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/chosin/
*PBS/BBC/ARTE documentary, ''Korea: The Neverending War,'' 29 Apr 2019, https://www.pbs.org/show/korea-never-ending-war/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jager, Sheila Miyoshi
Living people
1963 births
American people of Dutch descent
American academics of Japanese descent
Bennington College alumni
Middlebury College alumni
University of Chicago alumni
Oberlin College faculty
American women anthropologists
20th-century American anthropologists
21st-century American anthropologists
American women academics
21st-century American women