Seung-kyung Kim - Böcker

The bonds forged in Peace Corps service shaped the field of Korean studiesFrom 1966 through 1981 the Peace Corps sent more than two thousand volunteers to South Korea, to teach English and provide healthcare. A small yet significant number of them returned to the United States and entered academia, forming the core of a second wave of Korean studies scholars. How did their experiences in an impoverished nation still recovering from war influence their intellectual orientation and choice of study—and Korean studies itself?In this volume, former volunteers who became scholars of the anthropology, history, and literature of Korea reflect on their experiences during the period of military dictatorship, on gender issues, and on how random assignments led to lifelong passion for the country. Two scholars who were not volunteers assess how Peace Corps service affected the development of Korean studies in the United States. Kathleen Stephens, the former US ambassador to the Republic of Korea and herself a former volunteer, contributes an afterword.

The bonds forged in Peace Corps service shaped the field of Korean studiesFrom 1966 through 1981 the Peace Corps sent more than two thousand volunteers to South Korea, to teach English and provide healthcare. A small yet significant number of them returned to the United States and entered academia, forming the core of a second wave of Korean studies scholars. How did their experiences in an impoverished nation still recovering from war influence their intellectual orientation and choice of study—and Korean studies itself?In this volume, former volunteers who became scholars of the anthropology, history, and literature of Korea reflect on their experiences during the period of military dictatorship, on gender issues, and on how random assignments led to lifelong passion for the country. Two scholars who were not volunteers assess how Peace Corps service affected the development of Korean studies in the United States. Kathleen Stephens, the former US ambassador to the Republic of Korea and herself a former volunteer, contributes an afterword.

The fifth edition of the Feminist Theory Reader assembles readings that present key aspects of the conversations within intersectional US and transnational feminisms and continues to challenge readers to rethink the ways in which gender and its multiple intersections are configured by complex, overlapping, and asymmetrical global–local configurations of power. The feminist theoretical debates in this anthology are anchored by five foundational concepts—gender, difference, women’s experiences, the personal is political, and especially intersectionality—which are integral to contemporary feminist critiques. The anthology continues to center the voices of transnational feminist scholars with new essays giving it a sharper focus on the materiality of gender injustices, racisms, ableisms, colonialisms, and especially global capitalisms. Theoretical discussions of translation politics, cross-border solidarity building, ecofeminism, reproductive justice, #MeToo, indigenous feminisms, and disability studies have been incorporated throughout the volume. With the new essays and the addition of a new editor, the Feminist Theory Reader has been brought fully up to date and will continue to be a touchstone for women’s and gender studies students, as well as academics in the field, for many years to come.

The fifth edition of the Feminist Theory Reader assembles readings that present key aspects of the conversations within intersectional US and transnational feminisms and continues to challenge readers to rethink the ways in which gender and its multiple intersections are configured by complex, overlapping, and asymmetrical global–local configurations of power. The feminist theoretical debates in this anthology are anchored by five foundational concepts—gender, difference, women’s experiences, the personal is political, and especially intersectionality—which are integral to contemporary feminist critiques. The anthology continues to center the voices of transnational feminist scholars with new essays giving it a sharper focus on the materiality of gender injustices, racisms, ableisms, colonialisms, and especially global capitalisms. Theoretical discussions of translation politics, cross-border solidarity building, ecofeminism, reproductive justice, #MeToo, indigenous feminisms, and disability studies have been incorporated throughout the volume. With the new essays and the addition of a new editor, the Feminist Theory Reader has been brought fully up to date and will continue to be a touchstone for women’s and gender studies students, as well as academics in the field, for many years to come.

This book asks what strategies women’s movements can employ to induce law and policy changes at the national level that will assist women’s equality without sacrificing their feminist energy, movement cohesiveness and core feminist commitments. The book takes up this question in order to emphasize the need not only to recognize the accomplishments of women’s movements through political participation, but also to analyze the process through which feminist organizations interact with formal politics. It examines the institutionalization of the Korean women’s movement under the progressive presidencies of Kim Dae Jung (1998-2002) and Roh Moo Hyun (2003-2007), focusing on three major pieces of legislation concerning women’s rights that were enacted during this time, and looks at the process of gender politics and the strategic bargains that needed to be made between the women’s movement and other political forces in order to advance their agenda. It questions whether the institutionalization of the women’s movement inevitably results in demobilization and deradicalization, and goes on to examine the relationship between the women’s movement and the government over the two most women-friendly administrations in South Korean history, a period marked by flourishing civil society activism and participatory democracy.

This study complements the burgeoning literature on South Korean economic development by considering it from the perspective of young female factory workers. In approaching development from this position, Kim explores the opportunity and exploitation that development has presented to female workers and humanizes the notion of the 'Korean economic miracle' by examining its impact on their lives. Kim looks at the conflicts and ambivalences of young women as they participate in the industrial work force and simultaneously grapple with defining their roles in respect to marriage and motherhood within conventional family structures. The book explores the women's individual and collective struggles to improve their positions and examines their links with other political forces within the labor movement. She analyses how female workers envision their place in society, how they cope with economic and social marginalisation in their daily lives, and how they develop strategies for a better future.

This study complements the burgeoning literature on South Korean economic development by considering it from the perspective of young female factory workers. In approaching development from this position, Kim explores the opportunity and exploitation that development has presented to female workers and humanizes the notion of the 'Korean economic miracle' by examining its impact on their lives. Kim looks at the conflicts and ambivalences of young women as they participate in the industrial work force and simultaneously grapple with defining their roles in respect to marriage and motherhood within conventional family structures. The book explores the women's individual and collective struggles to improve their positions and examines their links with other political forces within the labor movement. She analyses how female workers envision their place in society, how they cope with economic and social marginalisation in their daily lives, and how they develop strategies for a better future.

The sixth edition of the Feminist Theory Reader provides a general introduction to feminist theory, both in the United States and globally.In their balance of foundational and contemporary texts, the editors situate feminist theory within intersectional and transnational social justice movements and uphold the book’s challenge to readers to rethink the ways in which gender and its multiple intersections are configured by complex, overlapping, and asymmetrical configurations of power. The new edition furthers its commitment to the voices of transnational feminist scholars throughout the book’s four central sections and addresses an array of topics of contemporary concern, including the care crisis, reproductive justice, indigenous feminisms, global civil society, settler colonialism, violence, prison abolition, neoliberal feminisms, transfeminism, and disability studies. A substantially revised final section considers solidarity strategies in contemporary times to tie together a new edition that shares theories of feminism and the voices and experiences of women across time and place, drawing from them important lessons for the present day.Enriching its foundation with newer essays and expanded scope, the Feminist Theory Reader delves even deeper into the paradigmatic concepts of the field and cements its place as a touchstone for feminist scholars, teachers, and students of women’s and gender studies for many years to come.

The sixth edition of the Feminist Theory Reader provides a general introduction to feminist theory, both in the United States and globally.In their balance of foundational and contemporary texts, the editors situate feminist theory within intersectional and transnational social justice movements and uphold the book’s challenge to readers to rethink the ways in which gender and its multiple intersections are configured by complex, overlapping, and asymmetrical configurations of power. The new edition furthers its commitment to the voices of transnational feminist scholars throughout the book’s four central sections and addresses an array of topics of contemporary concern, including the care crisis, reproductive justice, indigenous feminisms, global civil society, settler colonialism, violence, prison abolition, neoliberal feminisms, transfeminism, and disability studies. A substantially revised final section considers solidarity strategies in contemporary times to tie together a new edition that shares theories of feminism and the voices and experiences of women across time and place, drawing from them important lessons for the present day.Enriching its foundation with newer essays and expanded scope, the Feminist Theory Reader delves even deeper into the paradigmatic concepts of the field and cements its place as a touchstone for feminist scholars, teachers, and students of women’s and gender studies for many years to come.