Pedagogy of Democracy : Feminism and the Cold War in the U.S. Occupation of Japan

Pedagogy of Democracy re-interprets the U.S. occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952 as a problematic instance of Cold War feminist mobilization rather than a successful democratization of Japanese women as previously argued. By combining or "using" three fields of research & mdash;occupation, Cold War, and postcolonial feminist studies & mdash;and examining occupation records and other archival sources, Koikari argues that postwar gender reform was part of the Cold War containment strategies that undermined rather than promoted women's political and economic rights. Koikari suggests that American and Japanese women leaders both participated in as well as resisted the ruling dynamics of race, gender, class, sexuality, and nation. Thus, Pedagogy of Democracy sheds new light on the complex and contradictory implications of Western feminist interventions in Asia. By applying a postcolonial feminist framework to American gender reform in the Cold War Asia-Pacific context & mdash;a subject hitherto understudied among feminist scholars & mdash; Pedagogy of Democracy reveals both the similarities And The differences between imperial feminisms in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

Pedagogy of Democracy re-interprets the U.S. occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952 as a problematic instance of Gold War feminist mobilization rather than a successful democratization of Japanese women as previously argued. By combining three fields of research-occupation, Gold War, and postcolonial feminist studies-and examining occupation records and other archival sources, Koikari argues that postwar gender reform was one of the Gold War containment strategies that undermined rather than promoted women's political and economic rights.

Koikari suggests that American and Japanese women leaders both participated in as well as resisted the ruling dynamics of race, gender, class, sexuality, and nation. Thus, Pedagogy of Democracy sheds new light on the complex and contradictory implications of Western feminist interventions in Asia.

"Pedagogy of Democracy re-interprets the U.S. occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952 as a problematic instance of Cold War feminist mobilization rather than a successful democratization of Japanese women as previously argued. By combining three fields of research - occupation, Cold War, and postcolonial feminist studies - and examining occupation records and other archival sources, Koikari argues that postwar gender reform was part of the Cold War containment strategies that undermined rather than promoted women's political and economic rights."--BOOK JACKET.

pedagogy Of Democracy Re-interprets The U.s. Occupation Of Japan From 1945 To 1952 As A Problematic Instance Of Cold War Feminist Mobilization Rather Than A Successful Democratization Of Japanese Women As Previously Argued. By Combining Three Fields Of Research - Occupation, Cold War, And Postcolonial Feminist Studies - And Examining Occupation Records And Other Archival Sources, Koikari Argues That Postwar Gender Reform Was Part Of The Cold War Containment Strategies That Undermined Rather Than Promoted Women's Political And Economic Rights.

Pedagogy of Democracy re-interprets the U.S. occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952 as a problematic instance of Cold War feminist mobilization rather than a successful democratization of Japanese women as previously argued. By combining three fields of research—occupation, Cold War, and postcolonial feminist studies—and examining occupation records and other archival sources, Koikari argues that postwar gender reform was one of the Cold War containment strategies that undermined rather than promoted women's political and economic rights. Contents 9 Acknowledgments 10 Note on Japanese Names 12 1 Introduction: Recasting Women in the U.S. Occupation of Japan 16 2 Feminism, Nationalism, and Colonial Genealogies: Women’s Enfranchisement and Constitutional Revision 47 3 Feminism, Domestic Containment, and Cold War Citizenry 90 4 Women, the Cold War, and the Question of Resistance 136 5 Making the Body Respectable: Cold War Containment and Regulation of Sexuality 174 6 Conclusion 204 Notes 208 Bibliography 230 Index 238 This book argues that postwar gender reform was part of the Cold War containment strategies that eroded rather than promoted women's political and economic rights. It suggests that American and Japanese women leaders both participated in as well as resisted the ruling dynamics of race, gender, class, sexuality, and nation. Compares and contrasts imperial feminism of both the 19th and 20th centuries A new look at democratization, women?s rights, and the Cold War in post-World War II U.S.-occupied Japan A new look at democratization, women's rights, and the Cold War in Post- WWII US-Occupied Japan