The Intimacies of Conflict

Cultural Memory and the Korean War

By Daniel Y. Kim | Publisher: NYU Press

About the book

Winner, 2020 Peter C Rollins Prize, given by the Northeast Popular & American Culture Association

Enables a reckoning with the legacy of the Forgotten War through literary and cinematic works of cultural memory

Though often considered “the forgotten war,” lost between the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War, the Korean War was, as Daniel Y. Kim argues, a watershed event that fundamentally reshaped both domestic conceptions of race and the interracial dimensions of the global empire that the United States would go on to establish. He uncovers a trail of cultural artefacts that speaks to the trauma experienced by civilians during the conflict but also evokes an expansive web of complicity in the suffering that they endured.

Taking up a range of American popular media from the 1950s, Kim offers a portrait of the Korean War as it looked to Americans while they were experiencing it in real time. Kim expands this archive to read a robust host of fiction from US writers like Susan Choi, Rolando Hinojosa, Toni Morrison, and Chang-rae Lee, and the Korean author Hwang Sok-yong. The multiple and ongoing historical trajectories presented in these works testify to the resurgent afterlife of this event in US cultural memory, and of its lasting impact on multiple racialized populations, both within the US and in Korea. The Intimacies of Conflict offers a robust, multifaceted, and multidisciplinary analysis of the pivotal—but often unacknowledged—consequences of the Korean War in both domestic and transnational histories of race.

Editions of The Intimacies of Conflict

Paperback
ISBN 9781479805365
AltFormat
ISBN 9781479800797
EBook
ISBN 9781479800018
EBook
ISBN 9781479800032

Read an Excerpt

Winner, 2020 Peter C Rollins Prize, given by the Northeast Popular & American Culture Association

Enables a reckoning with the legacy of the Forgotten War through literary and cinematic works of cultural memory

Though often considered “the forgotten war,” lost between the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War, the Korean War was, as Daniel Y. Kim argues, a watershed event that fundamentally reshaped both domestic conceptions of race and the interracial dimensions of the global empire that the United States would go on to establish. He uncovers a trail of cultural artefacts that speaks to the trauma experienced by civilians during the conflict but also evokes an expansive web of complicity in the suffering that they endured.

Taking up a range of American popular media from the 1950s, Kim offers a portrait of the Korean War as it looked to Americans while they were experiencing it in real time. Kim expands this archive to read a robust host of fiction from US writers like Susan Choi, Rolando Hinojosa, Toni Morrison, and Chang-rae Lee, and the Korean author Hwang Sok-yong. The multiple and ongoing historical trajectories presented in these works testify to the resurgent afterlife of this event in US cultural memory, and of its lasting impact on multiple racialized populations, both within the US and in Korea. The Intimacies of Conflict offers a robust, multifaceted, and multidisciplinary analysis of the pivotal—but often unacknowledged—consequences of the Korean War in both domestic and transnational histories of race.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is The Intimacies of Conflict about?

Winner, 2020 Peter C Rollins Prize, given by the Northeast Popular & American Culture Association

Enables a reckoning with the legacy of the Forgotten War through literary and cinematic works of cultural memory

Though often considered “the forgotten war,” lost between the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War, the Korean War was, as Daniel Y. Kim argues, a watershed event that fundamentally reshaped both domestic conceptions of race and the interracial dimensions of the global empire that the United States would go on to establish. He uncovers a trail of cultural artefacts that speaks to the trauma experienced by civilians during the conflict but also evokes an expansive web of complicity in the suffering that they endured.

Taking up a range of American popular media from the 1950s, Kim offers a portrait of the Korean War as it looked to Americans while they were experiencing it in real time. Kim expands this archive to read a robust host of fiction from US writers like Susan Choi, Rolando Hinojosa, Toni Morrison, and Chang-rae Lee, and the Korean author Hwang Sok-yong. The multiple and ongoing historical trajectories presented in these works testify to the resurgent afterlife of this event in US cultural memory, and of its lasting impact on multiple racialized populations, both within the US and in Korea. The Intimacies of Conflict offers a robust, multifaceted, and multidisciplinary analysis of the pivotal—but often unacknowledged—consequences of the Korean War in both domestic and transnational histories of race.

What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in The Intimacies of Conflict?

History and Archaeology > History > Military history > Specific wars and military campaigns > Military history: post-WW2 conflicts

Where can I read a sample of The Intimacies of Conflict?

You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781479805365

How long is The Intimacies of Conflict and how many pages does it have?

The Intimacies of Conflict has 336 page(s)

Who is/are the Author/s of the book The Intimacies of Conflict?

Daniel Y. Kim

Who is the Publisher of the book The Intimacies of Conflict?

NYU Press

What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?

The Intimacies of Conflict is available as paperback(ISBN 9781479805365) and altformat(ISBN 9781479800797) and ebook(ISBN 9781479800018) and ebook(ISBN 9781479800032)

Where can I buy The Intimacies of Conflict online or support local independent bookshops?

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Where can I buy The Intimacies of Conflict?