Overview

Investigating the politics of seeing and its effects, this book draws on Slavoj Žižek’s notion of fetish and Walter Benjamin’s notion of the optical unconscious to offer newer concepts: “tinted glasses”, through which we see the world; “unit-thinking”, which renders the world as consisting of discrete units; and “coherants”, which help fragmented experiences cohere into something intelligible. Examining experiences at a Japanese heritage language school, a study-abroad trip to Sierra Leone, as well as in college classrooms, this book reveals the workings of unit-thinking and fetishism in diverse contexts and explores possibilities for social change.

Full Product Details

Author:   Neriko Musha Doerr
Publisher:   Berghahn Books
Imprint:   Berghahn Books
ISBN:  

9781800736870

ISBN 10:   1800736878
Pages:   278
Publication Date:   11 November 2022
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction: Tinted Glasses, Unit Thinking, and Coherants Chapter 1. The Politics of Vision and the Fetish beyond Optical Unconscious: Towards Spectacle Pedagogy Chapter 2. Seeing Failed Ninja, Ghost Samurai, and Last Samurai: Phantom Japan at a Weekend Japanese Language School in the US Chapter 3. Seeing Angels: The Fetish of Smiling Angels in the Poor but Happy Discourse in Sierra Leone Chapter 4. Seeing Holy Mouth Man: Fetish of Study Abroad Transformation Talk Chapter 5. Seeing Dr Jekyll in Mr. Hyde: Political Others and Beyond Polarization of Critical and Uncritical Chapter 6. Seeing Fairies and Anti-Spectacle Pedagogy: Cottingley Photographs of Fairies and Linguistic Landscape Project Chapter 7. Seeing Santa Claus and Elves: Swinging between Fantasy-World-for-Escape and Scrutinized-World-for-Change Chapter 8. Seeing Robbers, Freaks, and Dirt: Seeing Maui's Fishhook in Scorpio and Fetish of Us Conclusion: Continuing Dialogues References Index

Reviews

This is a unique book that is both theoretically lucid and draws together a very interesting set of seemingly incommensurable ethnographic examples and renders them comparable. * Paul Manning, Trent University In its coherence and patience with dwelling on specific concepts and the optics of engagements with particular objects, the manuscript offers refreshing and trans-disciplinary insights into contemporary culture. * John Borneman, Princeton University

Author Information

Neriko Musha Doerr is Assistant Professor at Ramapo College. Her publications include Transforming Study Abroad: A Handbook (Berghahn, 2020), The Global Education Effect and Japan: Constructing New Borders and Identification Practices (Routledge, 2020) and The Romance of Crossing Borders: Studying and Volunteering Abroad (Berghahn, 2017, with Hannah Taïeb).

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