Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Alegal: Biopolitics and the Unintelligibility of Okinawan Life
    Alegal: Biopolitics and the Unintelligibility of Okinawan Life
    Alegal: Biopolitics and the Unintelligibility of Okinawan Life
    Ebook371 pages5 hours

    Alegal: Biopolitics and the Unintelligibility of Okinawan Life

    By Annmaria M. Shimabuku

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Okinawan life, at the crossroads of American militarism and Japanese capitalism, embodies a fundamental contradiction to the myth of the monoethnic state. Suspended in a state of exception, Okinawans have never been officially classified as colonial subjects of the Japanese empire or the United States, nor have they ever been treated as equal citizens of Japan. As a result, they live amid one of the densest concentrations of U.S. military bases in the world. By bringing Foucauldian biopolitics into conversation with Japanese Marxian theorizations of capitalism, Alegal uncovers Japan’s determination to protect its middle class from the racialized sexual contact around its mainland bases by displacing them onto Okinawa, while simultaneously upholding Okinawa as a symbol of the infringement of Japanese sovereignty figured in terms of a patriarchal monoethnic state.

    This symbolism, however, has provoked ambivalence within Okinawa. In base towns that facilitated encounters between G.I.s and Okinawan women, the racial politics of the United States collided with the postcolonial politics of the Asia Pacific. Through close readings of poetry, reportage, film, and memoir on base-town life since 1945, Shimabuku traces a continuing failure to “become Japanese.” What she discerns instead is a complex politics surrounding sex work, tipping with volatility along the razor’s edge between insurgency and collaboration. At stake in sovereign power’s attempt to secure Okinawa as a military fortress was the need to contain alegality itself—that is, a life force irreducible to the legal order. If biopolitics is the state’s attempt to monopolize life, then Alegal is a story about how borderland actors reclaimed the power of life for themselves.

    In addition to scholars of Japan and Okinawa, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in postcolonialism, militarism, mixed-race studies, gender and sexuality, or the production of sovereignty in the modern world.

    Alegal is available from the publisher on an open-access basis.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFordham University Press
    Release dateDec 25, 2018
    ISBN9780823282678
    Alegal: Biopolitics and the Unintelligibility of Okinawan Life
    Author

    Annmaria M. Shimabuku

    Annmaria Shimabuku is Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies at New York University.

    Related to Alegal

    Related ebooks

    Literary Criticism For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Why Is A South Korean Fringe Group Backing Japan's Position On WWII 'Comfort Women'?

      Jun 25, 2022

      They have been accused of being traitors, found guilty of defamation by courts, threatened online countless times and even assaulted in the street, but a group of South Korean activists and academics refuse to give in to the mainstream belief in thei

      5 min read

    • Article

      Land Of Ghosts And Legends

      Feb 23, 2023

      Land Of Ghosts And Legends
      10 min read

    • Article

      In Alamo Redesign, Renewed Battles Over Who Gets To Tell Stories Of Texas

      Oct 23, 2018

      It’s not often that a community gets the chance to redefine its symbols and decide who and what’s important. San Antonians are reflecting on a newly approved plan for its iconic site.

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Whole Self

      Dec 13, 2017

      BY DANA ISOKAWA THE TEN poetry collections featured in our thirteenth annual roundup of debut poets offer a glimpse of the wide range of contemporary poetry. Each of the books, published in 2017, shows just how much poetry can do. Eve L. Ewing’s Elec

      2 min read

    • Article

      Kawanakajima

      Mar 21, 2019

      Kawanakajima
      10 min read

    • Article

      Hidden Histories

      Sep 2, 2021

      In 1904, an accomplished young Krio man from a middle-class family in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, set sail from the west African coast to London. Aged just 26, his aim was to make his mark on the literary world. Augustus Merriman-Labor had

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Enemy In The Machine

      Jan 10, 2017

      The Enemy In The Machine
      20 min read

    • Article

      Spain’s Legión

      Aug 8, 2019

      Spain’s debacle in its 1898 war with the US came as the final nail in the coffin for the country’s armed forces. For three centuries, the Spanish army had held sway over Europe as the continent’s dominant military force. The steady loss of Spain’s ov

      7 min read

    • Article

      The Fracked Earth

      Apr 11, 2022

      The Fracked Earth
      4 min read

    • Article

      Civil War Times Online

      Aug 24, 2021

      Civil War Times Online
      1 min read

    • Article

      The Victorians And The Empire

      Sep 3, 2020

      When Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, the British Empire was a loose assortment of colonies mostly accrued for reasons of trade. By the time of her death nearly 64 years later, the Empire had expanded to become a coherent and dominant show of ec

      5 min read

    • Article

      Readers Write: Humanity From The Front Lines To The Classroom

      Nov 22, 2023

      I am an avid reader of your sterling publication. With regard to your article “Free speech on college campuses: Is it time for reset?” from the Nov. 13 Weekly, I applaud your staff for bringing up a very sensitive but important topic. The foundation

      2 min read

    • Article

      Making ‘Necessary Trouble’: A Historian Rises Above Her Roots

      Aug 22, 2023

      Drew Gilpin Faust’s memoir is both a moving personal narrative and an enlightening account of the transformative political and social forces that impacted her as she came of age in the 1950s and ’60s. It’s an apt combination from an acclaimed histori

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Unlikely Story Behind Japanese Americans' Campaign For Reparations

      Mar 24, 2020

      In his new book Redress: The Inside Story of the Successful Campaign for Japanese American Reparations, John Tateishi recounts the fight for justice in the wake of World War II internment camps.

      6 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Alegal

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Alegal - Annmaria M. Shimabuku

      Oabook_preview_excerpt.html}K$Ǒ_ ØUy3z^^6=$ U|!#k ˞^d:L./U]U1_t_>Kݣ/G>U^w{m}eW311mEB0o3lmsКwo^=3kw/ 7G^mxKfhL؁e܊tvxhX=eHl͒f(?VpMpIhw8x]^O2_: 'mf;ɧ̍[7Ϋ׮vҼnMg#cй{r0m W.L K_]%Dmj? T&jD$#rз/]ArOV mۡ-hw =ox p L-bmہW0m+ݵw;ޝ(C?kkO'8i(?[LӂWo,QubϊϹ,'l ǰWqCdT :Dxl4hH&YfT&΃/\m}еΝe*4 <Utv lk) :yY2/bď33 |Ên[eֽ,zEJ͆j7ćg9*S%N.<4[_x5.yԴqk^-lډry6ʷ]K\䋐,؀o"Ѫ\ڑʫڙI4O](zas߇!ZڥI-ࢤ3kOc>4/[?1h4( ZY<;ݿg.LlߛOn'wiв}'kC~qUͲj妽xb\R%Jϙ2w.yجBOO{;f%KN W?zڒPH5Xqg ajXCGIr"w^G'z-z[ o[x 778B4=t~? }e FqV`wYe?}4|?}ph}".=Un/#9{Gz6t%)68{!$EIM]IK=U#R>hyh-eR26d߽7{3YɃ{$XP`^Y #;O(1pɂ/n&Ioz'5^4>x{5bt.zXO.HM!8"6_&Ÿk8;rf Poȭ؁sdIkԪzM,T-*־4/ڝ).0AM,Xӆ6=YŶ%c$)iŶm>;>ze:H|UzubA)*oI"g+,~^7ɪi_9n l?fe[B v()#MB>{ x ޅrkQv&@G33\SY+7cNnH uȬDxswUFVyA^==]yփ>pJ8;:bYص\X*añŠ꭯$ !'޳kDȒo[nozSxT.?sqsPD>P[{c^Ns^ЄR8jfϼQWଡ଼Dƭ:L);V%V1# B 7%ǖk@sj8֤A^!_Q.3fOeCc TN,  f$b"&ODY9?,HE`@E[QQzA e_v]|"W3 JKG"f0T_HmJrB^栔Qч?/u|j8 /[О֠ٴX$iՠ  JVMtJ@a*lt5{. WlýgF=Mm3u.?,GsmQAD+:SW{>,Q\I8pH2E ysU5mN<4[9*J#<{rN`l<>'D52`w=V5\Mv:i MŻ YI/\/zXvDYftÎTH4"ю1>G ;*RswR ̯2ʤė ѰI3BNH6`n_/F1&Eڄ{fM|sUNB0aRt%*ML-rvVcޓ-<Sk &+N$g:3Eo8`!٨rBA[DaA"ˢH%(7Үhco)D_"WߴAUO@O$tvv \+RT }N̟>`BР%U+ժla i%V!Ws!fY0%0_E/`"lN%Q2|7Aȵh3| w@ MJ oHL S9{XlsՏF;ˬxhe& >"I4f'=&fȈ٥Keӯfųh1C$1$2%0\v 2!uSu':4q7ʃxd;^ecwh/0']'el`n)A7~yRc.oy Bq4v$leڞ3V5{yq`}9bVB,, u)>=Z}hFLA) K2LidWW>R?;HAhč&i`ٓ4a?0#c=QYɤ23 ^3lxiC;ze6nlpG{aRi{&Da"ϭcbܫV Ɇ!9R.(iɱc%8; ˖: Ԫf-G˞]/$2LڳO/ГmIQ:6o|ؒVä+WV$8 _O}v!lLV ‚>$Ž?`,>gyxC!A]s:3p تrlsf(={ J$( K "{R?y":Y=ƃftA`U-!_X"h#M`[3m+1/l9~5(q#)l@DVD!:c*NPKNRN, ("k-5҆l#%@|EY'ַ\Ǚ78ru opC[#J5 "A5Jc<V-jaL$d%FA= |`Ra BPe6vφT7ZAx29 r֓8vq,c@unB D90Fׄ- 68"qeVl aiAʎ.ruXGԂp&"Ai7б`b ё<RID𹂲Z10Q$9>(FrcF!J@7&*6v_VQ}/"}-?}Dn:c$fRZ:S,J}\,Qyc 7Q9$/`'̠h4θ_{9 fQR< ͹aiCqva.tѪV?#UP6 Q;XDOZԓ !l~7UT^SזZ =qn 3rb ȓoT!ΩNU,զe8V2j lUFP++&PQ(W5G@Ěo}ݎ  q/_]P/AlH-&oΣ2}N>+uf~ҫ׮bԯ$x"O2i]c>ŢVQF԰oFAq+N*H9e؂H4VP9Ekɕ٩{\RurJlռHز`<5 ?h$!VjKh3D \%`4C@gćN'&8.mo:!:nݥ ivv)obC^Y&)+ѴC7r0U@|rZSg5 c`5v*8@)6ڇ_Ϯ57Ϣ\[n:(P|ЕBvņ9kb04asFzMch4)rXJ'y)V$EpdgAdQM gpeM[++b/%ϼnK grY͙BQjX'uU[v.eaiޝ0N%jUPdW %7gBh[jYll"؀bB+3!C~bRY4wÉ? Rd =Q!9o)|\ -s+;|_54ћ6JGjc Jѩ~)e_x]A? ,XLڝ5`+ m0XyLѯ+:ly =! OJ58R|;~,#hܴ$ό7Sttnvk);ݡ=ic8ud]mfMkuh؜)%GLڪXYGC^wƆ0B77ͻ/_xҜ~j޾yu?7 Yb˦] |?7d&}0j<ԱAq|Eq Ѱ~p\o~kV/Dq>l Ⓗ E)'!Na9s.E'Q4"+/+ԀK^[XH"E" Yh`DHqH% ܞF @raPs6uQ;^OƝuطvDJ0TMp$r'31N" =\g ЛFH/<?DK9`7%ػѱ1*Imczb]I8+i]{o-.9-ݖrKHQ% tv؛W޼~峧7~%j~q}pf7O}WwM(h\:~vQ،>«p^p'T1v6;md;Lf%]3.ȂTQnom(m>v.8E,SSE@M-ZtQO+ZoPvjHQ e/ !l,|+_-.5wSCv-`AJ.Ȍ'8a|MRK@Pvi> )4/ksխV;L/Sv>`#&d7C ` >ʔAyV;vћ* kW}c)˃Z+ALʊ}:m7]#}ǹj8-`t*Oy  B-ޙpZ_KǯdҖV4"sjep3(SW̍bRj7 v:ތ*ש);LoΊpLZ8Km XX1N곿\swk˒n6IrR3?]6{ײJAc?ryKo@%wKaYM" \(fP4hՕk"&srr7;w-/Ć wWd?!\q ̬qP)1&F(z sķt^kL' س|zTzڏ*kq!^ nV9`(5UC2$ S
      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1