Grappling with another other : Australian studies in Japan

Abstract

Australian studies in Japan provides an example of the dynamics of the construction of area knowledge. The definition and promotion of Australian studies has been shaped by specific Japanese needs, and Australian interests have been intertwined in the process. While individual practitioners' engagement has been framed within the context formed by Japanese and Australian states' concerns, their independent concerns as researchers and as educators have played a significant role in the construction of discourses of Australian studies. Through a case study of Australian studies in Japan as a network of representations of the area known as 'Australia', this thesis considers the meanings created when a specific country or region is represented in area studies education at a university level. The analysis of this thesis is interdisciplinary, deploying the methodological tools from history, cultural studies, and political science. Australian studies in Japan is investigated via textual analysis, using the related written texts and aural texts collected from interviews. The case study of Australian studies in Japan is synthesised with an analysis of the modem and contemporary cultural history of the respective countries and their bilateral relations in the changing international relations. The examination involves in depth investigation of institutions such as school textbooks, government agencies and universities. Integrating the discussion of knowledge/power relations and the questions of national identity in the contexts of Australia and Japan, the thesis examines a variety of approaches to area studies education. Comparisons of Australia and Japan are illuminating for the analysis of representations of the Other and the consequences of colonialism. Each country relates to the experiences and memories of both the colonised and the coloniser. Australia was colonised by Britain, and Japan colonised the neighbouring Asian countries. Indigenous peoples were colonised by the mainstream group within both countries. This thesis demonstrates the ways in which the two countries have common concerns with the question of national identity, vacillating between 'the West' and 'Asia' as totalised imaginary entities through their colonial and postcolonial experiences. This localised case study generates broader intellectual and educational issues, the relevance of which is not limited to Australia and Japan. It is also a study of the consequences of colonialism, the imaginary boundaries of world areas, the location of culture, and national identity in the context of globalisation. As a study of area studies practices at a university level, the thesis addresses issues concerning the internationalisation of higher education, and area studies education in relation to the internationalisation of curriculum in particular. This study itself demonstrates a possible form of area studies with an interdisciplinary approach that deals with trans-area issues.