Warring Genealogies: Race, Kinship, and the Korean War

Warring Genealogies explores the development of kinships between Chicano/a and Asian American cultural production, including the 1954 proxy adoption of a Korean boy by Leavenworth prisoners, and critiques racialized formations of kinship emerging from the Korean War. It unpacks writings by Rolando Hinojosa and Luis Valdez, analyzes Susan Chois' The Foreign Student, and examines Chicano military police procedurals, white supremacist womens organizations, and the politics of funding Korean War archives.

Format: Hardback
Length: 171 pages
Publication date: 01 July 2022
Publisher: Temple University Press,U.S.

Warring Genealogies delves into the intricate web of kinship connections between Chicano/a and Asian American cultural production, exploring pivotal moments like the 1954 proxy adoption of a Korean boy by Leavenworth prisoners. Joo Ok Kim takes a comprehensive approach, examining white supremacist expressions of kinship in prison magazines, memorials, U.S. military songbooks, as well as critiques of these expressions in Chicana/o and Korean diasporic works. Through this lens, she conceptualizes the emergence of racialized kinship formations stemming from the Korean War.

Rolando Hinojosa's writings, including Korean Love Songs and The Useless Servants, and Luis Valdez's works such as I Dont Have to Show You No Stinking Badges and Zoot Suit, are analyzed by Kim to showcase counter-representations of the Korean War and the problematic portrayal of the United States as a benevolent savior. She also delves into Susan Choi's novel, The Foreign Student, as a novel that proposes alternative temporalities to dominant Korean War narratives. Furthermore, Kim examines Chicano military police procedurals, white supremacist womens organizations, and the politics of funding Korean War archives, adding depth to her comparative study between Asian American and Latinx Studies.

Through her meticulous research, Kim makes insightful connections about race, politics, and citizenship, critiquing the Cold War conception of the "national family." Warring Genealogies thus contributes to our understanding of the complex dynamics between different racial and cultural groups, shedding light on the enduring legacies of the Korean War and its impact on familial relationships.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781439920572