Faulkner's works as world literature examined through Japanese writers, Oe and Nakagami

• Project/Area Number: 25370294
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Literature in English
• Research Institution: Nagoya City University
• Principal Investigator: TANAKA Takako 名古屋市立大学, 人文社会系研究科, 名誉教授 (70197440)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2015)
• Budget Amount: ¥2,210,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥510,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000); Fiscal Year 2013: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
• Keywords: フォークナー / 中上健次 / 大江健三郎 / 父権制 / ポストモダニズム / 世界文学 / 国家 / 漂流 / ポストモダン / マイノリティ / 語り / 世界性

Outline of Final Research Achievements

World literature today takes into consideration the significance of crossing-over-the border, the relationship of minority to majority, and other racial, political, and economic issues shared in the global framework. This research re-evaluates William Faulkner as a writer of world literature through his influence on Japanese writers such as Kenzaburo Oe and Kenji Nakagami. Faulkner as a white American writer in the South belonged to majority towards the African-Americans, but minority against the North. Similarly, Oe and Nakagami, who are greatly influenced by Faulkner, respectively take a complicated position in patriarchal society in Japan. This study also examines Faulkner’s role as a cultural ambassador to Japan during the Cold War days, as an example of the tie between culture and politics.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] “To Go Beyond Communal Narrative Constructs: The Case of William Faulkner and Nakagami Kenji.” (2014)
  • Author(s): Takako Tanaka
  • Journal Title: Review of International American Studies Volume: 6, Spring-Fall Pages: 93-110
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
• [Journal Article] ｢切手ほどの土地｣－－中上健次とフォークナー (2013)
  • Author(s): 田中敬子
  • Journal Title: フォークナー Volume: 15 Pages: 91-105
• [Presentation] Faulkner, American Book Market, and the US Cultural Policy (2015)
  • Author(s): 田中 敬子
  • Organizer: International American Studies Association
  • Place of Presentation: ソウル国立大学
  • Year and Date: 2015-08-17
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Book] ウィリアム・フォークナーと老いの表象 (2016)
  • Author(s): 田中敬子、金澤哲、相田洋明、森有礼、塚田幸光、梅垣昌子、松原陽子、山本裕子、山下昇
  • Total Pages: 265
  • Publisher: 松籟社
• [Book] William Faulkner in Context (2015)
  • Author(s): Takako Tanaka, John T. Matthews, Richard Godden, Philip Weinstein, Jay Watson, Robert Jackson, Barbara Ladd, Michael Kreyling, Ikuko Fujihira et al.
  • Total Pages: 313
  • Publisher: Cambridge University Press