East Asia, Latin America, and the Decolonization of Transpacific Studies (Historical and Cultural Interconnections between Latin America and Asia)

In this collective work, researchers from different disciplines reflect upon the challenges and opportunities of decolonizing transpacific studies through the lens of a few paradigmatic case-studies that deal with connections between East Asia and Latin America. The present book offers a productive problematization of the idea of the transpacific as a concept and a space that is not restricted to a single definition. We defend that the transpacific can instead promote an understanding of agents and experiences that share many common traits that have been generally overlooked by a hegemonic interpretation of knowledge and the relationship between regions.By fostering an environment that not only accepts a plurality of views but that actively looks to accommodate analogous, tangential, and even contradicting approaches to the study of our ideas, we seek a double objective. First, we hope to highlight precisely the richness within the idea of the transpacific, avoiding sticking to any particular conception to it while at the same time acknowledging and owning each of our points of enunciation. Our second objective is part of a constant struggle in the quest towards social and epistemic justice. By adopting this stance of plurality, we can fight against structures of knowledge production and reproduction that willingly or unintentionally instill specific interpretations in ways that inculcate exclusivity. The goal of this book is opening up and expanding the debate regarding transpacific connections, examining the limits and promises of including these experiences within the conceptual paradigm of the Global South, and showcasing different ways of approaching decolonial research to the study of the relationship between East Asia and Latin America. Foreword Acknowledgments Contents List of Contributors List of Figures List of Tables Chapter 1: When East Is North and South Introduction Debating the Idea of the Transpacific Questioning What It Means to Do Decolonial Work Methodologies of Action in Investigation Contradictions, Absences, and Promises for the Future References Chapter 2: Confronting “the Ends” of Area: Murmurs Toward a Transpacific Phenomenology Introduction On the Stakes of “Area” A Politics of Murmurs Confronting the Inheritance of Murmurs At the Ends: Misdirections as Re-directions References Chapter 3: Decolonial Notes on How to Do Research on International Migrations in the World-System Introduction Historical Capitalism and Migrations How Migrations Have Been Studied in the Social Sciences Liberating Migrations: Decolonial Thought Decolonizing International Migration Studies Conclusion References Chapter 4: Ocean Narratives: Fluxes of Commodities Across the Pacific in the Contemporary Age Introduction. Decolonial Studies: New Approaches from the Global South From Baja California Sur to a Global Economy: Terrestrial/Ocean Extractivism Territorial Colonialism: Oasis as European Agroecosystem Oceans-Sea Extractivism: Whale Shark and Turtles as Commodities in the Transpacific Economy Pacific Sea Consumption of Commodities: An Overview from China Conclusions References Chapter 5: From IIRSA-COSIPLAN to the Belt and Road Initiative: Infrastructure for Extractivism in Latin America Introduction Description and History of the IIRSA-Cosiplan Project IIRSA Under the Auspices of the IDB and the FTAA IIRSA Under the Control of UNASUR Brazil as a Regional Power The Brazilian School of Geopolitics and Sub-imperialism The Concepts of South America and Latin America China and Latin America China’s Direct Investments in Latin America The Belt and Road Initiative The “Greening” of the BRI BRI in Latin America Conclusions: IIRSA-COSIPLAN, BRI, Extractivism, and the Uncertainties of Regional Integration in Latin America References Chapter 6: The Feminization of Extractive Violence: A Comparative Study from Colombia and Indonesia Introduction Advancing Ideas from Decolonial Feminisms to Examine Extractive Violence Against Racialized Women Trans-pacific Exchange: Promises and Limits of a Decolonial Feminist Approach Physical Violence as Violence on the Body-Territory The Feminization of Economic Violence from Changing Labor-Land Relations Epistemic Violence: The Destruction of Fundamental Knowledge for the Reproduction of Life Concluding Remarks References Chapter 7: China’s Lost Connection to the Global South: A Fanonian Reading of Yu Dafu and the Colonized Status of May Fourth Literature in the Japanese Empire Introduction The Gaze of the Colonial Master in Forming Chinese and Antillean Black Identities Romance and Sexuality in the Colonizer-Colonized Relationship Across the Pacific: Connecting Yu Dafu and Frantz Fanon in Postcolonial Studies Conclusion References Chapter 8: Worshipping Ancestors: A Decolonized Epistemology on Death Conceptions in Indigenous Okinawan and Mexican Worldviews Introduction A Continuum Between Life and Death The Journey to the World of the Beyond: Postmortem Body Considerations The World of the Dead General Conclusions References Chapter 9: The Vedette China on Havana’s International Cabaret Stage Introduction The China Mulata on Stage The Vedette China on Havana’s World Stage Conclusion References Chapter 10: Between North and South: Colombia in Korean War Exhibitions Introduction Museums, Memory, and National Narratives Studying Museums The Sample The Korean War The Museums The War Memorial of Korea—Seoul Military Museum of Colombia—Bogotá Narrating the Korean War The Participation of the UN The Sacrifice Who Are the Heroes? The Arsenal Conclusion References Chapter 11: This Coronavirus Shit Is Real: Racialized People, Vulnerability and Intersectional Care in Virtual Social Networks During the Pandemic Introduction Vulnerability and Intercultural Care in Virtual Social Networks Coronavirus and the Virus of Racism Genealogy of Systemic Racism The Heirs of Biological Irrigation Hegemonic Speeches and Dissident Speeches. “The Chinese Virus” and the “Venezuelan Biological Weapons” Versus “I Am Not a Virus” Invented Traditions. The ‘Unwanted Siblings’ and ‘Yellow Peril’ Intercultural Solidarity and Acts of Citizenship in Virtual Social Network Conclusions References Chapter 12: Latin America as a Catalyst to Restore Japanese Culture: Tsurumi Shunsuke’s Post-Mexico Philosophy Tsurumi Shunsuke’s Post-US Experience and Early Contacts with Latin America Tsurumi’s Post-Mexico Philosophy: Empathy and Restoration Conclusions: Lessons from Another-Other References Index