Cultural Anthropological Aspects of The Forced Travels - Exile to and through East Asia during World War II

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23520394
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: European literature (English literature excluded)
• Research Institution: Gakushuin University
• Principal Investigator: PEKAR Thomas 学習院大学, 文学部, 教授 (70337905)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 亡命 / 亡命文学 / 異文化研究 / 文化接触研究 / 文化テキスト / 移住 / 移民文学 / 超文化研究

Outline of Final Research Achievements

a) A material base for a future Bio-Bibliography of European Jewish exile in East Asia during World War II was created by collections of materials in archives and libraries. A preliminary study was published in 2011. Related to this, I have also concentrated on exploring the Japanese attitudes towards the Jews during World War II. b) In the field of literary- and cultural-theoretical methodologies, key concepts discussions in cultural-studies such as ‘hybridity‘ und ‘transculturality‘ are included. Contrary to older dichotomic research approaches, heterogeneous elements are currently considered as intrinsic cultural elements, so that texts of exile or migration are now no longer cultural edge or outer phenomena. c) With regard to texts of East Asian exile, it was demonstrated that these texts can be read in a ‘positive‘ way, i.e. in terms of their abilities of cultural renewal. From this point of view, these texts were described as ‘Cultural texts of exile’.

Free Research Field

人文学