Overview
Base Encounters explores the social friction that US bases have caused in South Korea, where the entertainment districts next to American military installations have come under much scrutiny. The Korean peninsula is one of the most heavily militarised regions in the world and the conflict between the North and South is continually exacerbated by the presence of nearly 30,000 US soldiers in the area. Crimes committed in GI entertainment areas have been amplified by an outraged public as both a symbol for, and a symptom of, the uneven relationship between the United States and the small East Asian nation. Elisabeth Schober's ethnographic history scrutinises these controversial zones in and near Seoul. Sharing the lives of soldiers, female entertainers and anti-base activists, she gives a comprehensive introduction to the social, economic and political factors that have contributed to the tensions over US bases in South Korea.
Full Product Details
Author: Elisabeth Schober
Publisher: Pluto Press
Imprint: Pluto Press
Dimensions:
Width: 13.50cm
, Height: 2.00cm
, Length: 21.50cm
Weight: 0.303kg
ISBN: 9780745336053
ISBN 10: 0745336051
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 20 April 2016
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Out of stock
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.
Reviews
'A very powerful book which deserves a broad readership. Eloquently written, ethnographically rich and theoretically sophisticated.' -- Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oslo, and author of 'Small Places, Large Issues' (Pluto, 2015) An excellent contribution to social anthropology and military sociology collections. ... Highly Recommended. -- CHOICE 'With lucid analytic prose and vivid storytelling, Elisabeth Schober shows us that the relationship between the US military and the people of South Korea is much more complex than many previous accounts let on.' -- Catherine Lutz
This is a very powerful book which deserves a broad readership. Eloquently written, ethnographically rich and theoretically sophisticated, it has a puzzle at its centre: How did South Korea go from being one of the most pro-American countries in the world to one where the US presence is strongly contested? In answering the question, Schober goes to the red-light districts of Seoul, showing how the 'pernicious triangle involving foreign soldiers, local women and native men' sheds light on larger issues concerning power, imperialism and gender -- Thomas Hylland Eriksen, Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Oslo, and author of 'Small Places, Large Issues' (Pluto, 2015)
Author Information
Elisabeth Schober is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Social Anthropology at the University of Oslo, where she is affiliated with the 'Overheating' project. She is also the author of Base Encounters: The US Armed Forces in South Korea (Pluto Press, 2016).
