Overview

The Mexican Transpacific: Nikkei Writing, Visual Arts, and Performance considers the influence of a Japanese ethnic background or lack thereof in the writing of several twentieth and twenty-first century Mexican authors, directors, and artists. In spite of the unquestionable influence of the Nikkei communities in Mexico’s history and culture, and the numerous historical studies recently published on these two communities, the study of their cultural production and, therefore, their self-definition and how they conceive themselves has been, for the most part, overlooked. This book, a continuation of the author's previous research on cultural production by Latin American authors of Asian ancestry, focuses mostly on texts, films, and artworks produced by Asian Mexicans, rather than on the Japanese or Chinese as mere objects of study. However, it will also be contrasted with the representation of Asians by Mexican authors with no Asian ancestry. With this interdisciplinary study, the author hopes to bring to the fore this silenced community's voice and agency to historicize their own experience. The Mexican Transpacific is a much needed contribution to the fields of contemporary Mexican studies, Latin American studies, race and ethnic studies, transnational Asian studies, and Japanese diaspora studies, in light of the theoretical perspectives of cultural studies, the decolonial turn, and postcolonial theory.

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9780826504944

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[Lopez-Calvo's] project makes original contributions to the field, particularly in its treatment of literary, theatrical, and visual texts by Japanese Mexicans that have not previously been rigorously discussed before either independently or taken together. I am confident that it will encourage further scholarship in this area, since it is very much a first in its category. --Seth Jacobowitz, winner of the International Convention of Asia Scholars Book Prize in the Humanities, 2017, and author of Writing Technology in Meiji Japan: A Media History of Modern Japanese Literature and Visual Culture This project is meticulously researched. Through the study of memoirs, poetry, manga, painting, and theater, it brilliantly shows the Nikkei (Japanese Mexican) cultural production from 1906 until today. On a broader scale, Lopez-Calvo draws out implications for questions of transnational migration and national identity. This project makes a groundbreaking contribution to the historical dialogues between Asia and Latin America. --Araceli Tinajero, author of A Cultural History of Spanish Speakers in Japan

"Through the study of memoirs, poetry, manga, painting, and theater, [this book] brilliantly shows Nikkei cultural production from 1906 until today. On a broader scale, LÓpez-Calvo draws out implications for questions of transnational migration and national identity. This project makes a groundbreaking contribution to the historical dialogues between Asia and Latin America.""—Araceli Tinajero, author of A Cultural History of Spanish Speakers in Japan ""[Lopez-Calvo's] project makes original contributions to the field, particularly in its treatment of literary, theatrical, and visual texts by Japanese Mexicans that have not previously been rigorously discussed before, either independently or taken together.""—Seth Jacobowitz, winner of the International Convention of Asia Scholars Book Prize in the Humanities, 2017, and author of Writing Technology in Meiji Japan: A Media History of Modern Japanese Literature and Visual Culture"

Through the study of memoirs, poetry, manga, painting, and theater, [this book] brilliantly shows Nikkei cultural production from 1906 until today. On a broader scale, LOpez-Calvo draws out implications for questions of transnational migration and national identity. This project makes a groundbreaking contribution to the historical dialogues between Asia and Latin America. -Araceli Tinajero, author of A Cultural History of Spanish Speakers in Japan [Lopez-Calvo's] project makes original contributions to the field, particularly in its treatment of literary, theatrical, and visual texts by Japanese Mexicans that have not previously been rigorously discussed before, either independently or taken together. -Seth Jacobowitz, winner of the International Convention of Asia Scholars Book Prize in the Humanities, 2017, and author of Writing Technology in Meiji Japan: A Media History of Modern Japanese Literature and Visual Culture

Author Information

Ignacio LÓpez-Calvo is a professor of literature, director of the Center for the Humanities, and Presidential Chair in the Humanities at UC Merced.

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