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Theme: 4. Seeing from the Neighbourhood: States, Communities and Human Mobility
Federico Brusadelli
University of Naples "L'Orientale", Italy
Federico Brusadelli
University of Naples "L'Orientale", Italy
Mattia Dello Spedale Venti
University of Naples "L'Orientale", Italy
Harryanto Aryodiguno
President University, Indonesia
Federico Brusadelli
University of Naples "L'Orientale", Italy
The emergence of “self-determination” as one of the most important and impactful concepts in the global history of the contemporary world is a well-studied phenomenon, both in relation to processes of national formations and imperial crises in the early 20th century (from Central Europe to the Qing Empire), and in the framework of post-WW2 decolonization, especially in Africa and Asia. The construction of collective identities and memories and the concurrent rearticulation of “culture” and “ethnicity” along teleological historiographical narratives, justifying the creation of or the aspiration to a “self-determined” political space, therefore, represent a productive and stimulating interpretative horizon for the study of contemporary East Asia, as demonstrated by the constantly growing attention (and the increasingly “critical” approach) to these tendencies.
Within this framework, the present panel wishes to contribute to the study of “self-determination” across modern and contemporary East Asia by identifying specific case-studies that cut across the global, regional and local spheres, helping to “critically explore the complicated interaction of community, society and state”, as suggested by this ICAS cluster.
How is “self-determination” conceptualized by intellectual elites in post-Cold war Asia? How is the connection between “ethnicity”, “culture”, and “autonomy” articulated and justified (or denied)? What is the political agenda underlying these articulations, and how is it related to global trends and to the circulation of “hegemonic” or “anti-hegemonic” discourses? To answer these questions, the four presenters will analyze individual and collective textual productions and/or forms of socio-political engagement in China, Japan, Indonesia.
Exploring the personal experiences of Okinawan families who left their homes to embark in global journeys, Chiara Ghidini will address the multifaceted connections between migration and identity-building through the 20th century, while Mattia Dello Spedale Venti will look at the Ryukyu islands in the present century, by examining the national campaigns and international connections of recently established movements for the “self-determination” of the islands. Similarly, the “self-determination” of communities placed at cultural and ethnic borders will be at the centre of Harryanto Aryodiguno’s paper (co-authored with Chih-yu Shih), observing the production of Chinese-Indonesian intellectuals in relation to debates on “Chineseness” and “post-Chineseness”. Moving to the PRC, Federico Brusadelli will assess how the “established intellectual elite” of the Chinese Communist Party used the historical lessons from former Yugoslavia in the consolidation of a negative conceptualization of “self-determination” for the so-called “ethnicities”, as a strategic component in the elaboration of an alternative global agenda.
Presenter: Mattia Dello Spedale Venti – University of Naples "L'Orientale"
Presenter: Harryanto Aryodiguno – President University
Presenter: Federico Brusadelli – University of Naples "L'Orientale"