Dr. Ricky Law

Biography

Ricky W. Law is a historian specializing in interwar Germany, Japan, and transnational movements. His book, 'Transnational Nazism: Ideology Culture German-Japanese Relations, 1919–1936,' explores the cultural context of Tokyo Berlin’s political rapprochement in 1936. He argues that an ideological outlook on transnational Nazism attracted Japanese individuals to Hitler's National Socialism, while convincing Germans to accommodate the Japanese perspective within the Nazi worldview. Law examines the role of mass media in shaping mutual perceptions and disseminating transnational Nazism, surveying national media to assess its impact. During the rise of Hitler's Nazi movement, Japanese newspapers and lectures transformed language textbooks to promote the ideals of the Nazi party. As the Hitler regime ascended, it prompted a niche for the Nazi worldview within Japan, influencing newspapers, films, nonfiction works, and voluntary associations. Originally from Central Coast California, Law studied electrical engineering before earning his B.A. in History from the University of California, Berkeley. He spent his junior year as an exchange student at the University of Göttingen in Germany. Following his graduation, he taught English in Hokkaido, Japan, as part of the Japan Exchange Teaching Program, which cultivated his interest in Germany and Japan, leading him to obtain an M.A. and Ph.D. in History with a concentration in Global History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His teaching includes a wide range of topics across world regions, and he plans to develop new courses on German, Japanese, and Roman histories, alongside his current work on a book manuscript concerning interwar and wartime Japanese foreign relations through the lens of foreign language acquisition.

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