Duke University Press Formations of Colonial Modernity in East Asia (A positions book)

The essays in Formations of Colonial Modernity in East Asia challenge the idea that notions of modernity and colonialism are mere imports from the West, and show how colonial modernity has evolved from and into unique forms throughout Asia. Although the modernity of non-European colonies is as indisputable as the colonial core of European modernity, until recently East Asian scholarship has tried to view Asian colonialism through the paradigm of colonial India (for instance), failing to recognize anti-imperialist nationalist impulses within differing Asian countries and regions. Demonstrating an impatience with social science models of knowledge, the contributors show that binary categories focused on during the Cold War are no longer central to the project of history writing. By bringing together articles previously published in the journal positions: east asia cultures critique, editor Tani Barlow has demonstrated how scholars construct identity and history, providing cultural critics with new ways to think about these concepts―in the context of Asia and beyond. Chapters address topics such as the making of imperial subjects in Okinawa, politics and the body social in colonial Hong Kong, and the discourse of decolonization and popular memory in South Korea. This is an invaluable collection for students and scholars of Asian studies, postcolonial studies, and anthropology. Contributors. Charles K. Armstrong, Tani E. Barlow, Fred Y. L. Chiu, Chungmoo Choi, Alan S. Christy, Craig Clunas, James A. Fujii, James L. Hevia, Charles Shiro Inouye, Lydia H. Liu, Miriam Silverberg, Tomiyama Ichiro, Wang Hui Review "[B]ecause they range over such a diversity of topics, the essays help to highlight some of the inherent ambivalences and tensions in the notion of 'modernity' itself. . . . [T]his volume makes and exciting an significant contribution to the reinterpretation of modern East Asian history, and of notions of modernity and colonialism in general." --Tessa Morris-Suzuki, "Journal of World History" "Barlow's volume presents a highly innovative postmodernist perspective to challenge the dominant historiography of East Asia. . . . The essays challenge the idea that notions of modernity and colonialism are mere imports from the West. Instead, [they] show how colonial modernity has evolved from and into unique forms throughout Asia. . . . Barlow's volume stimulates us to rethink such crucial concepts as tradition, modern society, orientalism, and nation-state in East Asia. In this respect, readers who are interested in critical East Asian historiography will find Barlow's volume indispensable." --Alvin Y. So, "Pacific Affairs" "There is merit, as editor Barlow contends, that with the end of the Cold War and the crisis besetting area studies, the timing is right for deconstructive postcolonial critique. As revealed by the rich harvest of individual essays in this volume, this critique has already attracted an impressive panel of practitioners. "Formations of Colonial Modernity" not only deserves a wider readership but some element of emulation among historians of Asia." --Geoffrey C. Gunn, "Journal of Contemporary Asia" About the Author Tani E. Barlow is a historian of modern China, teaching in the women’s studies program at the University of Washington.