Sheila Miyoshi Jager facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sheila Miyoshi Jager
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Jager speaking at the 2013 National Book Festival
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| Born | 1963 (age 62–63) |
| Alma mater | Bennington College Middlebury College University of Chicago |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Employer | Oberlin College |
| Spouse(s) | Jiyul Kim |
| Children | 4 |
Sheila Miyoshi Jager (born 1963) is an American historian. She teaches about East Asian Studies at Oberlin College. She has written several books about Korea and East Asia, and is known for her deep knowledge of the region.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Sheila Miyoshi Jager was born in 1963. She has both Dutch and Japanese family roots. She went to Bennington College and earned her first degree in 1984. She then continued her studies, getting a Master's degree from Middlebury College in 1985. Later, she earned her PhD in anthropology from the University of Chicago in 1994.
Career as a Historian
Professor Jager is a specialist in East Asian history at Oberlin College. She has written many important books that help us understand this part of the world better.
Books by Sheila Miyoshi Jager
Her first book, Narratives of Nation Building in Korea: A Genealogy of Patriotism, came out in 2003. In this book, she explored how Korea built its national identity. She looked at history, gender roles, and feelings of patriotism. Experts praised it as a "well-researched study of Korea nationalism" and an "excellent text" for learning about postcolonial histories.
In 2007, she co-edited a book called Ruptured Histories: War, Memory and the Post-Cold War in Asia with Rana Mitter. This book is a collection of essays from different experts. It explores what has happened in Asia since the end of the Cold War. Reviewers called it an "insightful collection" that helps us see how local events connect to bigger international changes.
Her third book, Brothers at War: The Unending Conflict in Korea, was published in 2013. This book tells the story of the Korean peninsula from 1945 to 2012. It explains the ongoing competition between North and South Korea. The Economist newspaper called it "the most balanced and comprehensive account of the Korean War." Other reviewers described it as "superb" and "elegant and balanced." The book also suggested that terrible acts happened on all sides during the Korean War, not just by one side.
Her most recent book, The Other Great Game: The Opening of Korea and the Birth of Modern East Asia, was released in May 2023. This book tells a dramatic story of how modern East Asia began. It shows how Korea was at the center of big changes caused by powerful countries and wars. This book won the 2024 Robert L. Jervis and Paul W. Schroeder Best Book Award. It also received the 2024 Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History. Judges called it a "work of true scholarship" that helps us understand how imperial history shaped East Asia.
Other Contributions
Besides her academic books, Professor Jager has also written articles and reviews for major newspapers like The New York Times and Boston Globe. She has also given advice and appeared in two documentaries about the Korean War: The Battle of Chosin (2016) and Korea: The Neverending War (2019).
Personal Life
Sheila Miyoshi Jager's grandparents, Hendrik and Geesje Jager, were recognized for their bravery during World War II. They were honored as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1996. This award is given to non-Jewish people who risked their lives to save Jewish people during the Holocaust.
Her grandparents, who lived in the Netherlands, hid a seven-year-old Jewish girl named Greetje de Haas for three years to protect her from harm. Hendrik Jager also found safe places for about 50 other Jewish children. The Jager family never asked for money and treated Greetje like their own daughter. They stayed close with her throughout their lives.
In the 1980s, Jager lived in Chicago and had a relationship with Barack Obama, who later became the President of the United States. Their relationship became public in 2017 after Obama's presidency ended.
Jager is married to Jiyul Kim, who used to be in the U.S. Army and now teaches history at Oberlin College. They have four children and live in Ohio.
Awards and Fellowships
Sheila Miyoshi Jager has received many important awards and fellowships for her work:
- 2020: Smith Richardson International Security & Foreign Policy grant for her book project, The Other Great Game.
- 2014-15: Fulbright Senior Scholar Fellowship, which allowed her to conduct research in Seoul, South Korea.
- 2013: Featured at the Library of Congress National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.
- 2006-08: Visiting Research Professor at the U.S. Army War College.
- 1998-99: American Council of Learned Societies/Social Science Research Council (ACLS/SSRC) International Postdoctoral fellowship in Seoul.
- 1988: Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad fellowship for her research in South Korea.
