By Jennifer Bruno (Yale University) and Joshua Hotaka Roth (Mt. Holyoke College) Jennifer Bruno: What inspired you to undertake your research with Japanese Brazilian migrants in Japan? Joshua Hotaka Roth: There was a lot of excitement about globalization and transnationalism when I was in graduate school in the early 1990s. I had befriended several Japanese Brazilians … [Read more...] about Interview with Joshua Hotaka Roth
Archives for 2014
Space of Mediation: Why Do International Labor Recruiters in China Charge So Much, and Why are They Difficult to Regulate?
Biao Xiang Unskilled Chinese workers pay an average of US$8,000 (including US$ 3,000 “security bond” that would be confiscated if they violate any rules) in 2010 to secure a job in Japan, Singapore and South Korea, their top three choices. The high costs of international labor migration worldwide, but especially in Asia, have recently attracted high-level policy attention. … [Read more...] about Space of Mediation: Why Do International Labor Recruiters in China Charge So Much, and Why are They Difficult to Regulate?
2014 Plath Media Award: Playing with Nan; Honorable Mentions
Playing with Nan Dipesh Karel (University of Tokyo) and Asami Saito (Media Help Line, Kathmandu) 2013, HDV, color, 88 minutes Synopsis: Playing with Nan is the story of a young Nepali man who migrated to work in a Nepali restaurant in northern Japan. The film explores his daily life at work and his family at home, which reflects socio-cultural problems related to … [Read more...] about 2014 Plath Media Award: Playing with Nan; Honorable Mentions
2014 Hsu Book Prize: Tragic Spirits
Tragic Spirits gives us a mesmerizing depiction of the revival of shamanism among the Buryats of Mongolia under tragic circumstances. Facing life-threatening economic misfortunes in an era of neoliberal reform, Buryats turn to shamans to explain the causes of their hardships. The shamans explain their clients’ bad fate in terms of neglected ancestral spirits and it is here … [Read more...] about 2014 Hsu Book Prize: Tragic Spirits
A Conversation with Christine Yano
Heidi Lam (HL): You’ve been making the rounds of the internet lately as the anthropologist who was told that Hello Kitty is not a cat. How does that feel? Christine Yano (CY): I framed the book Pink Globalization in terms of headlines, because I’m talking about celebrity and iconicity through material and commercial culture. And then I became a part of it. I was terribly … [Read more...] about A Conversation with Christine Yano
Conference on “Visual Anthropology and Contemporary Chinese Culture”
The Minzu University of China hosted China's first conference on “Visual Anthropology and Contemporary Chinese Culture” on June 21-22 in Beijing. Anthropologists, filmmakers, and NGO representatives from America, Germany, Mainland China, and Taiwan offered diverse perspectives that sought the theoretical and practical development of visual anthropology as an important lens to … [Read more...] about Conference on “Visual Anthropology and Contemporary Chinese Culture”
The Korean Wave (Hallyu)
by Youna Kim In June 2011, Korea’s production company held its first European concert in Paris, singing for fans from France, the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, and so on. The company initially scheduled only one show at Le Zénith de Paris concert hall which seats about 6,000, but the tickets sold out in 15 minutes, prompting hundreds of fans to organize flash mobs in front of the … [Read more...] about The Korean Wave (Hallyu)
Semi-Native Anthropologist?: Fieldwork Encounters and Positionality in An Ethnic Village in Southwest China
By Yu Luo (Yale University) During the initial stage of my fieldwork, I spent most of my time learning how to draw Buyi ethnic batik with my village hostess, while watching Korean idol dramas dubbed in Mandarin. Perhaps commonly seen elsewhere, this scene nonetheless does not merely represent the globalizing circulation of Korean dramas, or mass media alike, to a remote corner … [Read more...] about Semi-Native Anthropologist?: Fieldwork Encounters and Positionality in An Ethnic Village in Southwest China
The Anthropology of Confucius Institutes
By Jennifer Hubbert ( Lewis & Clark College)In a 2010 episode entitled “Socialism Studies,” Jon Stewart of The Daily Show humorously skewered the American controversy over China’s Confucius Institutes (CIs). This episode highlighted a California resident--speaking against these Chinese government funded language and culture programs--who declares: “If it comes from … [Read more...] about The Anthropology of Confucius Institutes
Evolving Funerals in Japan
By Yohko Tsuji (Cornell University) In 2013, I attended a funeral of the Yamada family in an Osaka suburb. The deceased, age 89, was the widow of the family head whose funeral in 1992 provided the data for my article on Japanese mortuary rituals (Tsuji, “Mortuary Rituals in Japan: The Hegemony of Tradition and the Motivations of Individuals” Ethos 34(3), 2006). … [Read more...] about Evolving Funerals in Japan