For 30 years, H. Orth Hirt Professor of History James Huffman has served as an exemplary teacher, mentor and author, and he remains one of the most respected East Asian scholars in the world. Now as he prepares to retire at the conclusion of the 2006-07 academic year, Wittenberg will honor him with a special conference titled “Japan and the World.”

The three-day conference, Nov. 10-12, will feature a keynote presentation by renowned Japan scholar and Pulitzer Prize winner John Dower, who will discuss “Cultures of War: Pearl Harbor, Hiroshima and 9-11” during the Wittenberg Series-sponsored William A. Kinnison Endowed Lecture in History on Friday. Scholars from around the globe will also participate in panels and roundtable discussions, which will run concurrently with the Japan Midwest Seminar.

The conference will be followed by a reception and dinner on Saturday, and an alumni brunch on Sunday, which a number of alumni are sponsoring.
Huffman has received numerous prestigious academic honors, including four Fulbright Awards, the Ohio Academy of History’s Distinguished Teaching Award and the Wittenberg Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Teaching.

For more information on the event, contact Jennifer Oldstone-Moore at
joldstonemoore@wittenberg.edu.