Graduation Date
Summer 2018
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in English, emphasis in Literary & Cultural Studies
Committee Chair Name
Janet Winston
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Mary Ann Creadon
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Subject Categories
English
Abstract
This project fuses personal narrative and literary criticism, as it excavates Ruth Ozeki’s representations of Japanese culture in the novel A Tale for the Time Being. I argue that her use of stereotype unsettles popular images of Japan by constructing characters who challenge the hegemonic gaze of the Western cultural imaginary. My reading connects continuing investment in these stereotypical representations to the postmodern epoch, where individuals and society as a whole have become incapable of dealing with the past. I explore the links between postmodern amnesia, the disappearance of a multiplicity of perspectives in history and the inclination of Western mass media and popular culture to reproduce stereotypes. I suggest that Ozeki’s novel reveals that we continue to rely on stereotypes to understand the world around us, particularly when we seek to know other people and other cultures. Ultimately, I find that Ozeki encourages her reader to develop a historical consciousness, as locating ourselves within the complex web of time, history and politics allows us to better negotiate the narratives and images that inform particular postcolonial subjectivities.
Citation Style
MLA
Recommended Citation
Curatolo, Cassandra S., "Historical consciousness, the cultural imaginary and postcolonial subjectivity in Ruth Ozeki's A Tale for the Time Being" (2018). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 187.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/187