Writing Selves in Diaspora: Ethnography of Autobiographics of Korean Women in Japan and the United States

by Sonia Ryang

Linking autobiographic writings by Korean women in Japan and the United States and the author's ethnographic insights, Writing Selves in Diaspora presents an original, profound, and powerful intervention―both literary and anthropological―in our understanding of life in diaspora, being female, and forming selves.

Each chapter offers unique and original discussion on the intersection between gender and diaspora on one hand and the process of the self's formation on the other. Chapters are mutually engaging, yet have independent themes to language and self, romantic love, exile and totalitarianism, the ethic of care, and critique of medicalization of identity. Through the introduction of women's lives and introspection and interpretation accorded to them, this book delivers an unprecedented text of candor and courage.

This book will have appeal for both academic and intellectually-informed lay readers interested in gender, self, and diaspora.

246 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008