Performance and Representation in Colonial and Postcolonial Asia: Refiguring Gender, Sexuality, and Nationality in Transnational Spaces

Session Submission Type: Organized Panel Proposal Application

Abstract

This panel presents research analyzing artistic and political performances that intertwine gender, sexuality, ethnicity and nationality as central to the production of transnational cultures in Manchuria, Korea, Okinawa, Taiwan, and Japan. The panel crosses disciplinary and geographical borders by exploring the interplays between peripheries/ center, colonies/ empire, and personal/ public in transnational Asia from the 1930s to the present. Focusing on this complex period of social and political struggles, the panelists address frequently overlooked historical agents and public figures in their studies. More specifically, Nayoung Aimee Kwon examines the vicissitudes of mass media representations in East Asia by analyzing three iconic international performers who negotiated conflicts between personal and public demands during the tumultuous time of transition from wartime to Cold War. Huang-wen Lai explores the idea of a two-dimensional colonial discourse which showcases the conversations among colonial subjects through the transnational superstar Ri Kōran. Hideyo Konagaya considers how a new counter-public culture is constructed in Japan through Okinawan dance, music, and theater. Finally, Fang-chih Irene Yang investigates a recent incident in Taiwan involving a Japanese porn star, in order to address the complex views of gender, sexuality, and homosociality in the current political landscape of Taiwan. Overall, this panel explores new ways to combine methodologies from media studies, history, and anthropology to analyze cultural and political performances in transnational Asia.

Area of Study

• Interarea-Border Crossing-Diaspora

Session Organizer

• Huang-wen Lai, University of Pennsylvania

Chair

• Ayako Kano, University of Pennsylvania

Individual Presentations

• Performing Transwar East Asia’s Transition - Nayoung Aimee Kwon, Duke University

• Superstar on Stage: The Aspects of Nationalism and Commercialism through the Lens of Colonial Screen - Huang-wen Lai, University of Pennsylvania

• Mediating National and Transnational Policy in the Politics of Cultural Heritage in Japan - Hideyo Konagaya, Waseda University

• Sexualization of Women, Homo-sociality, and Homophobia in Taiwan’s Politics - Fang-chih Irene Yang, National Cheng Kung University

Discussants

• Ayako Kano, University of Pennsylvania

• Dan O'Neill, University of California, Berkeley