Negotiating Insider and Outsider Identities in Postdisaster Fukushima

• In Event: Rethinking Curriculum and Pedagogies Through Feminist Praxis

Abstract

In this paper, the author explains how she negotiated insider and outsider identity as she navigated through multiple contested discourses and emotional spaces in post-disaster Fukushima. In writing this reflective essay, the author analyzed her field notes, which she kept during her seven-month stay in Fukushima. The reflective analysis revealed that the author’s affiliation with the native culture didn’t automatically grant her an insider status in the post-disaster community. However, it was not necessarily a disadvantage in research. Taking both insider and outsider positions deepened her understanding of the complex political and emotional context of post-disaster community. She also realized the potential role of researchers/outsiders, which is to become co-witness to the disaster and give testimonies through their research.

Author

• Kaoru Miyazawa, Gettysburg College