Work In Progress Speaker Series with Vicky Hsing
Invites you to our Work In Progress Series
Compounding Erosion: The Emergence of Erosion as a Medical Condition for Gynecological Diagnosis and Poison Gas Attack in Japanese Imperial Army
with
Vicky Hsing
Ph.D. Candidate in History at UC Irvine
This paper historicizes the unsettling convergence of the medical term “erosion” (糜爛) in the context of the WWII Japanese military, focusing on its dual deployment: first, as a diagnostic label for vaginal erosion among sexually enslaved “comfort women,” and second, as a descriptor for erosive blister agents central to Japan’s national security campaign against anticipated U.S. aerial bombardment. Buried in the shared vocabulary is more than a coincidental etymology; tracing the term’s etymological and etiological evolution reveals how these seemingly distinct usages reflect a radical conflation of militarism, gender, and modernity.
Monday, November 2, 2026
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Vicky Danning Hsing is a third year PhD student in the department of History at UCI. Her research discusses the formative relationship between modern warfare and the development of medical knowledge/practice on the venereal disease in East Asia.
