Assimilation—On (Not) Turning White: Memory and the Narration of the Postwar History of Japanese Canadians in Southern Alberta.
This article explores understandings of "race"—specifically, what it means to be Japanese—of nisei (second generation) individuals who acknowledge their near complete assimilation structurally and normatively into the Canadian mainstream. Examining historically contextualized analyses of memory frag...
| Publicado en: | Journal of Canadian Studies Vol. 53; no. 2; pp. 238 - 270 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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University of Toronto Press
Spring2019
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=140211693&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 140211693 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00219495 JCS jtl: Journal of Canadian Studies issn: 00219495 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Spring2019 vid: 53 iid: 2 pid: 678 pub: University of Toronto Press artinfo: ui: 140211693 10.3138/jcs.2018-0008 ppf: 238 ppct: 32 formats: fmt: @attributes: type: P size: 667KB tig: atl: Assimilation—On (Not) Turning White: Memory and the Narration of the Postwar History of Japanese Canadians in Southern Alberta. aug: au: Aoki, Darren J. su: Japanese Canadians Race identity Postcolonialism Imperialism Communities sug: subj: Japanese Canadians Race identity Postcolonialism Imperialism Communities keyword: Alberta assimilation critical race Japanese Canadian Japanese diaspora memory multiculturalism oral history postcolonial history postwar Canada Canada d'après-guerre Canadiens d'origine japonaise diaspora japonaise histoire orale histoire postcoloniale mémoire multiculturalisme race critique ab: This article explores understandings of "race"—specifically, what it means to be Japanese—of nisei (second generation) individuals who acknowledge their near complete assimilation structurally and normatively into the Canadian mainstream. Examining historically contextualized analyses of memory fragments from oral history interviews conducted between 2011–17, the article focuses on the voices and experiences of southern Alberta, an area whose significance to local, national, continental, and trans-Pacific histories of people of Japanese descent is belied by a lack of dedicated scholarly attention. In this light, the article reveals how the fact of being Japanese in the latter half of the twentieth century was strategically central to nisei lives, both as individuals and in their communities. In imagining a racial hierarchy whose apex they knew they could never share with the hakujin (whites), the racial heritage they nevertheless inherited, and would bequeath, could be so potent as to reverse the direction of the colonial gaze with empowering effects in individual engagements then and as remembered now. We see how the narration and validation of one's life is the navigation of wider historical contexts, the shaping of the postcolonial legacy of imperial cultures as Britain and Japan withdrew from their erstwhile colonial projects in Canada. Cet article explore la compréhension de « race » — particulièrement, ce qu'être japonais signifie — des personnes nisei (deuxième génération) qui reconnaissent leur assimilation presque complète, tant structurellement que normativement, dans le courant dominant canadien. En examinant des analyses mises dans un contexte historique de fragments de souvenirs tirés d'entrevues d'histoire orale effectuées entre 2011 et 2017, l'article met l'accent sur les voix et expériences dans le sud de l'Alberta, une région importante pour les histoires nationales, continentales et transpacifiques des personnes de descendance japonaise, et ce, même si la recherche y prête peu attention. Sous cet angle, l'article dévoile comment le fait d'être Japonais dans la deuxième moitié du XXe siècle était stratégiquement central à la vie des nisei, tant individuellement qu'au sein de leur communauté. En s'imaginant une hiérarchie raciale dont ils ne pourraient jamais partager le sommet avec les hakujin (blans), l'héritage racial qu'ils recevaient tout de même et qu'ils allaient léguer pouvait être assez puissant pour renverser la direction du regard colonial de manière à avoir un effet habilitant dans leurs engagements individuels tant à l'époque que de la manière dont ils s'en souviennent aujourd'hui. Nous voyons comment la narration et la validation d'une vie naviguent de plus grands contextes historiques, le façonnement d'un héritage postcolonial de cultures impériales alors que la Grande-Bretagne et le Japon se retiraient de leurs anciens projets coloniaux au Canada. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Journal of Canadian Studies is the property of University of Toronto Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Journal of Canadian Studies holder: University of Toronto Press dt: @attributes: year: 2019 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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