Legacies of the Comfort Women of World War II / Edition 1

by Margaret D. Stetz, Bonnie B. C. Oh

Overview

The stories of the former comfort women have galvanized both Asian and non-Asian intellectuals working in a variety of fields. Scholars of Asian history and politics, feminists, human rights activists, documentary filmmakers, visual artists, and novelists have begun to address the subject of the comfort system; to take up the cause of the surviving comfort women's sturggles; to call attention to sexual violence against women, especially during wartime; to consider the links among militarism, racism, imperialism, and sexism; and to include this history into 20th-century political history. This volume contains a cross-section of responses to the issues raised by the former comfort women and their new visibility on the international stage. Its focus is on how theorists, historians, researchers, activists, and artists have been preserving, interpreting, and disseminating the legacies of the comfort women and also drawing lessons from these. The essays consider the impact and influence of the comfort women's stories on a wide variety of fields and describe how those stories are now being heard or read and used in Asian and in the West.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765605443
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/31/2000
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	246
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Stetz, Margaret D.; Oh, Bonnie B. C.

Table of Contents

Part I Historical and Cultural Contexts; Chapter 1 The Japanese Imperial System and the Korean “Comfort Women” of World War II, Bonnie B. C. Oh; Chapter 2 “Comfort Women” and the Cultural Tradition of Prostitution in Japanese Erotic Art, Linda Gertner Zatlin; Chapter 3 “Comfort Women” in the Dutch East Indies, Yuki Tanaka; Chapter 4 Prostitutes versus Sex Slaves, Chunghee Sarah Soh; Part II Academic and Activist Responses; Chapter 5 Wartime Sexual Violence against Women, Margaret D. Stetz; Chapter 6 “Such an Unthinkable Thing”, Pamela Thoma; Chapter 7 Urgent Matters, Dongwoo Lee Hahm; Chapter 8 My Own Gaiatsu, Grant K. Goodman; Chapter 9 Placing Japanese War Criminals on the U.S. Justice Department’s “Watch List” of 3 December 1996, John Y. Lee; Part III Artistic Responses; Chapter 10 A Film within the Film, Dai Sil Kim-Gibson; Chapter 11 Making In the Name of the Emperor, Christine Choy; Chapter 12 Tomiyama Taeko’s, Margaret D. Stetz, Bonnie B.C. Oh, Tomiyama Taeko; Chapter 13 “Unsuspecting Souls”, Jill Medvedow, Mona Higuchi; Chapter 14 To Give a Voice, Therese Park;

Editorial Reviews

Artists, historians, activists, and others trace the legacy of the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery by discussing historical and cultural contexts, academic and activist responses, and works of art it has inspired. The essays also demonstrate that the breaking of the silence after 50 years has generated a network of alliances. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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