The State You’re In: Citizenship, Sovereign Power, and The (Political) Rescue of the Self in Kazuko Kuramoto’s Manchurian Legacy
This article investigates the significance of Kazuko Kuramoto’s Manchurian Legacy: Memoirs of a Japanese Colonist (1999) as a life narrative that foregrounds the biopolitical implications of modern subjectivity in the context of the global system of nation states. Using the theoretical insights of,...
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| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
2016-08-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11596 |
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| author | Andrea Pacor |
| author_facet | Andrea Pacor |
| author_sort | Andrea Pacor |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article investigates the significance of Kazuko Kuramoto’s Manchurian Legacy: Memoirs of a Japanese Colonist (1999) as a life narrative that foregrounds the biopolitical implications of modern subjectivity in the context of the global system of nation states. Using the theoretical insights of, primarily, Giorgio Agamben, Carl Schmitt, and Georg Simmel, I argue that Kuramoto’s record of her own experience between Manchuria, Japan, and the United States, showcases the fundamental conflict between the nation and the family as the largest and smallest social circles vying for the individual’s allegiance. This discussion will show that the nation-state’s claim is preeminent and that the political is fundamental to the construction of a viable subjectivity in the modern world, leaving complete exclusion as the only alternative. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-060a6993b13e4c3792dede6800cec2c8 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2016-08-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-060a6993b13e4c3792dede6800cec2c82025-01-06T09:09:12ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362016-08-0111210.4000/ejas.11596The State You’re In: Citizenship, Sovereign Power, and The (Political) Rescue of the Self in Kazuko Kuramoto’s Manchurian LegacyAndrea PacorThis article investigates the significance of Kazuko Kuramoto’s Manchurian Legacy: Memoirs of a Japanese Colonist (1999) as a life narrative that foregrounds the biopolitical implications of modern subjectivity in the context of the global system of nation states. Using the theoretical insights of, primarily, Giorgio Agamben, Carl Schmitt, and Georg Simmel, I argue that Kuramoto’s record of her own experience between Manchuria, Japan, and the United States, showcases the fundamental conflict between the nation and the family as the largest and smallest social circles vying for the individual’s allegiance. This discussion will show that the nation-state’s claim is preeminent and that the political is fundamental to the construction of a viable subjectivity in the modern world, leaving complete exclusion as the only alternative.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11596nationalismautobiographynation-statebiopoliticslife narrativesovereign power |
| spellingShingle | Andrea Pacor The State You’re In: Citizenship, Sovereign Power, and The (Political) Rescue of the Self in Kazuko Kuramoto’s Manchurian Legacy European Journal of American Studies nationalism autobiography nation-state biopolitics life narrative sovereign power |
| title | The State You’re In: Citizenship, Sovereign Power, and The (Political) Rescue of the Self in Kazuko Kuramoto’s Manchurian Legacy |
| title_full | The State You’re In: Citizenship, Sovereign Power, and The (Political) Rescue of the Self in Kazuko Kuramoto’s Manchurian Legacy |
| title_fullStr | The State You’re In: Citizenship, Sovereign Power, and The (Political) Rescue of the Self in Kazuko Kuramoto’s Manchurian Legacy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The State You’re In: Citizenship, Sovereign Power, and The (Political) Rescue of the Self in Kazuko Kuramoto’s Manchurian Legacy |
| title_short | The State You’re In: Citizenship, Sovereign Power, and The (Political) Rescue of the Self in Kazuko Kuramoto’s Manchurian Legacy |
| title_sort | state you re in citizenship sovereign power and the political rescue of the self in kazuko kuramoto s manchurian legacy |
| topic | nationalism autobiography nation-state biopolitics life narrative sovereign power |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11596 |
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