Kirsten Refsing
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824836979
- eISBN:
- 9780824870973
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824836979.003.0012
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
This chapter presents the international history of research into Ainu linguistics. It particularly demonstrates how preoccupation with the genetic affiliations and distinct attributes of the Ainu ...
More
This chapter presents the international history of research into Ainu linguistics. It particularly demonstrates how preoccupation with the genetic affiliations and distinct attributes of the Ainu language have long made linguistic research an empirical device for defending particular theoretical and political positions. In the work of early twentieth-century missionary John Batchelor, for example, research into Ainu grammar became not only a medium for conjecture about Ainu racial origins and other topics of colonial concern. In addition, there are vibrant and ongoing traditions of collaborative work between Ainu and non-Ainu on oral literature, dialects, place names, and language revival. In this context, language is an important site of intercultural resistance against scientific colonialism.Less
This chapter presents the international history of research into Ainu linguistics. It particularly demonstrates how preoccupation with the genetic affiliations and distinct attributes of the Ainu language have long made linguistic research an empirical device for defending particular theoretical and political positions. In the work of early twentieth-century missionary John Batchelor, for example, research into Ainu grammar became not only a medium for conjecture about Ainu racial origins and other topics of colonial concern. In addition, there are vibrant and ongoing traditions of collaborative work between Ainu and non-Ainu on oral literature, dialects, place names, and language revival. In this context, language is an important site of intercultural resistance against scientific colonialism.
Mark J. Hudson, Ann-Elise Lewallen, and Mark K. Watson (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824836979
- eISBN:
- 9780824870973
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824836979.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
In 2008, 140 years after it had annexed Ainu lands, the Japanese government shocked observers by finally recognizing Ainu as an Indigenous people. In this moment of unparalleled political change, it ...
More
In 2008, 140 years after it had annexed Ainu lands, the Japanese government shocked observers by finally recognizing Ainu as an Indigenous people. In this moment of unparalleled political change, it was Uzawa Kanako, a young Ainu activist, who signaled the necessity of moving beyond the historical legacy of “Ainu studies.” Mired in a colonial mindset of abject academic practices, Ainu Studies was an umbrella term for an approach that claimed scientific authority vis-à-vis Ainu, who became its research objects. As a result of this legacy, a latent sense of suspicion still hangs over the purposes and intentions of non-Ainu researchers. This book seeks to re-address the role of academic scholarship in Ainu social, cultural, and political affairs. Placing Ainu firmly into current debates over Indigeneity, the book provides a broad yet critical overview of the history and current status of Ainu research. With chapters from scholars as well as Ainu activists and artists, it addresses a range of topics including history, ethnography, linguistics, tourism, legal mobilization, hunter-gatherer studies, the Ainu diaspora, gender, and clothwork. The book aims to reframe the question of Ainu research in light of political reforms that are transforming Ainu society today.Less
In 2008, 140 years after it had annexed Ainu lands, the Japanese government shocked observers by finally recognizing Ainu as an Indigenous people. In this moment of unparalleled political change, it was Uzawa Kanako, a young Ainu activist, who signaled the necessity of moving beyond the historical legacy of “Ainu studies.” Mired in a colonial mindset of abject academic practices, Ainu Studies was an umbrella term for an approach that claimed scientific authority vis-à-vis Ainu, who became its research objects. As a result of this legacy, a latent sense of suspicion still hangs over the purposes and intentions of non-Ainu researchers. This book seeks to re-address the role of academic scholarship in Ainu social, cultural, and political affairs. Placing Ainu firmly into current debates over Indigeneity, the book provides a broad yet critical overview of the history and current status of Ainu research. With chapters from scholars as well as Ainu activists and artists, it addresses a range of topics including history, ethnography, linguistics, tourism, legal mobilization, hunter-gatherer studies, the Ainu diaspora, gender, and clothwork. The book aims to reframe the question of Ainu research in light of political reforms that are transforming Ainu society today.
