Japan's colonial empire, which lasted from 1895 to 1945, has been an object of intensive study in many disciplines, but it has been relatively neglected in the field of Asian American literature. This dissertation addresses that omission through an analysis of the narrative form of Asian American fiction and drama in the context of Japanese imperialism. In the 1850s, Western imperial powers forced Japan into a position of economic and political subjugation. Japan subsequently reestablished its independence through the formation of its own military and colonial empire. This effort included Japan's attempt to define itself in the global discourse as an imperial power---to control the representation of its colonial status. At the height of its empire, Japan dominated much of East Asia and the Pacific islands, including Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, the Philippines and parts of China. Following its defeat in World War II, Japan sought to control its colonial legacy yet again, this time by whitewashing its imperialist past. Japanese empire has appeared as a recurrent theme in Asian American literature throughout the twentieth century: in Orientalist geisha narratives and early-century Korean American novels, in narratives of World War II and, more recently, in contemporary novels about Japan's colonial and wartime atrocities throughout Asia. Rewriting the Rising Sun analyzes selected works of Asian American literature---by Onoto Watanna, Richard Kim, Chang-rae Lee and David Henry Hwang---in order to track the changing significance of Japanese imperialism in the twentieth century, from the celebration of Japanese empire early in the century, to its vilification during World War II, the rehabilitation of Japan's reputation during the Cold War, and the recently renewed focus on Japan's wartime atrocities. These works of literature deploy varied and distinct narrative strategies to construct new representations of Japanese imperialism. This dissertation stresses the importance of narrative form in Asian American literature, particularly the idea of narrative authority, control and power. I show how these works dramatize the power and limits of narrative authority, its seizure, its disavowal, and even the risks of exercising narrative authority, as a way to represent, contest and refigure colonial authority, and the legacy of Japanese imperialism.
展开▼
机译：日本的殖民帝国始建于1895年至1945年，是许多学科的深入研究对象，但在亚裔美国人文学领域却相对被忽视。本文通过对日本帝国主义背景下亚裔美国人小说和戏剧的叙事形式的分析来解决这一遗漏。在1850年代，西方帝国强国迫使日本处于经济和政治统治地位。日本随后通过建立自己的军事和殖民帝国来恢复独立。这项努力包括日本试图在全球话语中将自己定义为帝国力量，以控制其殖民地地位的代表。在其帝国鼎盛时期，日本统治了东亚和太平洋岛屿的大部分地区，包括韩国，台湾，东南亚，菲律宾和中国部分地区。在第二次世界大战失败后，日本试图再次粉刷其帝国主义过去，以再次控制其殖民遗产。在整个20世纪，日本帝国在亚裔美国人文学中经常出现：在东方主义的艺妓叙事和本世纪初的韩裔小说中，在第二次世界大战的叙事中，以及最近在有关日本在整个日本的殖民和战时暴行的当代小说中亚洲。改写《旭日》分析了亚裔美国人文学的精选作品-奥托纳·沃塔纳（Onoto Watanna），理查德·金（Richard Kim），李长荣（Chang-rae Lee）和戴维·亨利（David Henry Hwang）-为了从庆祝活动中追踪日本帝国主义在20世纪的变化意义日本帝国的崛起，到第二次世界大战期间的毁，冷战期间日本声誉的恢复以及最近对日本战时暴行的重新关注。这些文学作品运用不同而独特的叙事策略来建构日本帝国主义的新代表。本文强调了叙事形式在亚裔美国人文学中的重要性，尤其是叙事权威，控制和权力的观念。我将展示这些作品如何体现叙事权威的力量和局限，夺取，剥夺甚至行使叙事权威的风险，以此作为代表，争夺和推翻殖民权威的方式，以及日本帝国主义的遗产。
展开▼
