MIYANISHI, Kaori
- JSPS Fellow
- Division of Socio-Cultural Dynamics
- M.Phil. (Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University), 2003
Ph.D. Candidate at the Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies,
Kyoto University, 2006
Current Research Interests
- U.S. military
- Cross-cultural marriages
I am currently doing research on the multifaceted relationship between
U.S. militaries and local society in Okinawa from the point of view of
gender. There are U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps bases in
Okinawa. I focus on the U.S. Marine Corps to explore the following topics:
1) dating and marriage; 2) base employment; and 3) “Base Town.” I will
compare my findings in Okinawan base towns with base towns in mainland
Japan, Korea, and Puerto Rico. In addition, I hope to modify the simplistic
view of “local women as victims” and thus contribute to gender studies.
I pay attention to how women who are related to U.S. military bases are
perceived in contemporary Okinawa and how Okinawan views of them have changed
historically. Previous studies have studied relationships between Okinawan
women and military bases in the framework of “militaries and women” with
women depicted as victims, but I would like to approach the lives of Okinawan
women with attention to their agency.
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