{"title":"Distant Country, Paradise, Wilderness, or Mysterious World: The Changing Image of the South Sea (Nan’yō) Islands in Japanese Science Fiction","authors":"Hui Jiang, Lin Cheng, Nengying Chen","doi":"10.24043/001c.90560","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24043/001c.90560","url":null,"abstract":"For Japan, “Nan’yō” is a geographical concept as well as a historical and cultural one. Taking the mid-Meiji period, post-World War I and II periods, and the beginning of the 21st century as its nodes, this paper examines various texts and compares the historical background of the South Sea Islands as imagined in Japanese science fiction, with a focus on both literature and films. The works of the four periods, through a distant view, close view, reconstruction and retrospection of the South Sea Islands, respectively, portray “Nan’yō” as a distant country for ambitious expansion; an earthly paradise of colonial ideals; a dangerous and exotic foreign land; and a mysterious world overrun with primitive civilization, with the aborigines are portrayed as ignorant and backward, and sometimes even being cast as unfamiliar and potentially threatening Others. Unlike the typical (anti-)utopian narrative, the Japanese “Nan’yō fantasy” is based on the political discourse model of civilization-backwardness, in which the differing attitudes towards the natural environment and primitive tribes reflect Japan’s ambivalence in defining its self-positioning within the cultural crossroads of the East and the West. This portrayal of Nan’yō is a product of the close interconnection between the mass media and the spirit of the times: a reflection of personal ideals and national destiny, as well as a collective vision interacting with social reality.","PeriodicalId":51674,"journal":{"name":"Island Studies Journal","volume":"18 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138589674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Risk Perception of Small Islands Community on Climate Change: Evidence From Mepar and Baran Islands, Indonesia","authors":"Tezar Tezar, R. Setiadi","doi":"10.24043/001c.89381","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24043/001c.89381","url":null,"abstract":"This study explores climate risk perception of communities in two small islands, Mepar and Baran, located in Lingga Regency, Riau Islands Province to fill in the lack of knowledge regarding the topic in Indonesia and to support island bottom-up climate change adaptation planning. This study uses proportional random sampling and a questionnaire survey of 165 households to collect data related to demography, level of knowledge, level of risk perception, and adaptation actions taken by communities. We use descriptive statistics and employ discriminant analysis to determine factors influencing risk perception of these small islands’ communities. We identify two categories of risk perception in this study as a basis for analysis, namely risk perception on climate change hazards and climate change risk perception on community’s life. This study finds four factors that consistently influence both types of risk perception on climate change. These are the number of climate change indicators perceived, age, and the experience on extreme weather both at sea and on the island. Other influencing factors which have a partial role include the duration of residence on the island, place of birth, education level, and trade relations. We then critically discuss the results within the complexity of small island development and bottom-up climate change adaptation.","PeriodicalId":51674,"journal":{"name":"Island Studies Journal","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139235185","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Island, Identity, and Trauma: The Three Ecologies of Wu Ming-Yi’s ‘The Man With the Compound Eyes’","authors":"Kunyu Wang, Guidan Zhang, Lucy Drummond","doi":"10.24043/001c.89379","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24043/001c.89379","url":null,"abstract":"Following Ivakhiv’s tri-ecological perspective, we undertake an analysis of Wu Ming-Yi’s ecological science fiction The Man with the Compound Eyes , which skillfully delineates a multi-faceted, three-dimensional network of island ecology via anthropomorphic, geomorphic, and biomorphic images. Through a sci-fi imaginary event in which a colossal trash vortex collides with the east coast of Taiwan, the book effectively unveils three profound ecological crises: the harrowing contamination of the island and oceanic ecology; the looming peril to ecocultural identity, stemming from the destruction of inhabited places; the psychological trauma inflicted by the encroachment of ecological colonization. Simultaneously, the work thoughtfully underscores humanity’s latent capacity for ecosophy and presents a vision of an ‘ecological posthumanism’.","PeriodicalId":51674,"journal":{"name":"Island Studies Journal","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135271895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Luis Miguel Dos Santos, Ho Fai Lo, Ching Ting Tany Kwee
{"title":"Islanders Come Back to the Mainland: Social Identity in the People of Jeju in Mainland Korea","authors":"Luis Miguel Dos Santos, Ho Fai Lo, Ching Ting Tany Kwee","doi":"10.24043/001c.88050","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24043/001c.88050","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates the social identity and self-efficacy of a group of people from Jeju who have come to the mainland Korean peninsula for their university education. Two research questions guided this study: (a) how do the people of Jeju describe their social identity in the mainland Korean peninsula, particularly as university students in South Korean university environments, and (b) how do the people of Jeju describe their challenges and problems due to their unique Jeju dialects and sociocultural practices, particularly as university students in South Korean university environments. Based on a general inductive approach, 16 participants were invited. The findings indicated (a) I am a South Korean citizen, (b) my spoken language and living style, and (c) social stigma and discrimination as the primary themes. The participants indicated that due to the islandness of Jeju, they had developed their self-identity as people of Jeju and South Korean citizens, but not mainland Korean from the Korean peninsula. Although not all participants spoke fluent Jeju dialect and followed the traditional local religion in Jeju, their sociocultural development and customs played significant roles in their self-identity, self-efficacy, and sense-making processes, as people of Jeju.","PeriodicalId":51674,"journal":{"name":"Island Studies Journal","volume":"137 ","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135869471","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘Made in Airbnb’: Sense of Localness in Neolocalism: Tourism Dynamics on Heimaey, Iceland","authors":"Michael Röslmaier, Dimitri Ioannides","doi":"10.24043/001c.88998","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24043/001c.88998","url":null,"abstract":"Neolocal expressions where inhabitants promote distinguishing community characteristics through tourism have become increasingly popular in remote cold-water islands. Although scholars primarily discuss neolocalism in the context of microbreweries, evidence has emerged of tourism-neolocalism dynamics. Airbnb rentals, for instance, can be considered as neolocal playgrounds where inhabitants and tourists immerse themselves in and promote a destination’s localness. Through a qualitative case study, this paper examines how these traits play out on Heimaey, Iceland. It investigates whether distinct Airbnb hostings, ranging from locals cohabiting with visitors to more professionalised services exhibit divergent neolocal forms. Findings demonstrate that Airbnb delivers a form of neolocalism stemming from inhabitants’ living spaces whereby hosts construct localness either in the name of conservation or innovation. In this process, the boundaries between the local(isms), the global, and cosmopolitanism are blurred, thus complicating people’s sense of localness. Here, neolocalism becomes more than a mere commercial tool that automatically leads to sustainable outcomes. This study enriches our understanding of new intersections of modern tourism trends and their impact on a community’s sense of localness. Further research is needed to unravel the implications of these dynamics for community wellbeing from a community sustainability and resilience perspective.","PeriodicalId":51674,"journal":{"name":"Island Studies Journal","volume":"283 ","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135930519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anita Latai Niusulu, Tautalaaso Taulealo, John Connell
{"title":"‘Burn Like Hot Stones’: Children’s Perceptions of Environmental Change in Samoa","authors":"Anita Latai Niusulu, Tautalaaso Taulealo, John Connell","doi":"10.24043/001c.88472","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24043/001c.88472","url":null,"abstract":"A survey of children in the small Pacific Island state of Samoa was undertaken through focus groups and drawings. This primary study of children of different ages demonstrated that children were aware of local environmental changes including those triggered by climate change. The majority of Samoan children of both genders were aware of the multiple dimensions of climate change affecting Samoa, namely rising temperatures, heavier rainfall, stronger winds, cyclones, and how these affected to varying degrees different parts of Samoa. Sea level rise was perceived to be a feature of future, rather than, current climate change. Gender variations reflected domestic activities of children, while village location influenced observations and perceptions of change. Their knowledge was informed by their experiences of recent events triggered by climate change and tectonic activities, attending school, as well as by listening to various media sources such as television and radio, and to family members. Younger children, aged 6-9 years, had a basic understanding of climate change. Older children, aged 10-15 years, were able to conceptualize future changes, and exhibited a degree of forward thinking that suggested potential resilience in the face of change.","PeriodicalId":51674,"journal":{"name":"Island Studies Journal","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136210708","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Fourth Estate? The Experiences of Cape Verdean Journalists","authors":"Abrak Saati","doi":"10.24043/001c.88131","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24043/001c.88131","url":null,"abstract":"This article explores how being a small island jurisdiction affects actors in the journalism sector. The media is often referred to as the fourth estate, an institution inherently important for democracy. By scrutinizing politicians, journalists have the possibility to reveal transgressions and provide the public insight into how powerholders are performing as state officials. With this knowledge, the public can make informed decisions as to who will earn their vote in coming elections. This article studies the space for manoeuvre of investigative journalism in a small island state where the interconnectedness of people – journalists, sources, and powerholders – is a fact. It does so by studying the case of Cape Verde, a small island nation with 560 000 residents. Interviews with 12 Cape Verdian journalists from a range of the most important media outlets in the country, reveal that although freedom of expression and freedom of the press are constitutionally guaranteed, there are substantial practical limitations of free journalism. Respondents tell of widespread self-censorship, underfunding, and political interference as aspects that limit the possibility of conducting their work in a manner that would make them the watchdog institution that most of them aspire to and wish they could be.","PeriodicalId":51674,"journal":{"name":"Island Studies Journal","volume":"86 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135696233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Beyond Autarky: Discourses of Islandness-As-Heritage in Islands’ Energy Transitions","authors":"Marilena Mela","doi":"10.24043/001c.87733","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24043/001c.87733","url":null,"abstract":"This article employs heritage as a lens through which to research the roles of islandness in energy transition processes. Both in cases of islanders’ initiatives toward renewable energy projects and in cases of resistance against such projects, memories and imaginaries of islandness are evoked. The heritage of islandness is constructed discursively in response to threats and opportunities represented by the energy transition. Through an analysis of narratives in academic literature, national and local media, branding campaigns, and interview transcripts from islands in the North Sea and the Mediterranean, three common themes of islandness-as-heritage emerge across geographical difference: the island as self-sufficient ground, as laboratory of innovation, and as exploited territory. These uses of heritage are contextualized with critical counter-narratives from island studies literature, showing that the insistence on legacies of autarky, innovation, and exploitation might be contrary to the long-term interests of island communities. Instead, the activation of the heritage of interconnectedness that has historically characterized islands, islanders, and islandness, would highlight the necessary interdependence between places and could lead to an energy transition more aligned with the potentials and challenges facing the different island landscapes and their communities.","PeriodicalId":51674,"journal":{"name":"Island Studies Journal","volume":"54 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134960349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Variations and Parallels in Climate Change-Induced Migration Models: Customary Land Tenure in Francophone Pacific Islands","authors":"Elisabeth Worliczek","doi":"10.24043/001c.87722","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24043/001c.87722","url":null,"abstract":"It is tempting to assume that across all Pacific Islands, potential climate change-induced migration (PCCIM) due to sea-level rise can be approached in a unified manner. However, the diversity of the Pacific Islands requires an in-depth analysis in order to establish culturally coherent migration models. The possibilities and limits that customary land tenure can offer in this context on islands of the three Pacific French overseas territories Wallis & Futuna (Wallis, Futuna), French Polynesia (Rangiroa) and New Caledonia (Lifou) are analysed through four lenses: the intergenerational transfer of land rights, the distribution of land plots (geographically and between families), the extent of power exercised by customary authorities, and the different types of ownership or usufruct. The examination of common threads and variations shows that guiding principles (access to land in the interior of a respective island, strength of land rights on a certain plot, infrastructure issues, concepts of mobility, importance of primary land ownership, importance of primogeniture, and potential inter-island access) are shared to different degrees across the islands. The fourfold matrix allows a robust analysis of the possibilities in the context of PCCIM in different locations through examining parallels, differences, advantages, and disadvantages of the different systems.","PeriodicalId":51674,"journal":{"name":"Island Studies Journal","volume":"31 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136235347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Secessionism in Nevis: Why Have Tensions Eased?","authors":"Jack Corbett, Jessica Byron","doi":"10.24043/001c.85082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.24043/001c.85082","url":null,"abstract":"Existing studies of secessionism focus predominantly on why these movements gain momentum and persist. A subset of work focuses on why secessionist tensions cease. We contribute to these latter studies by adapting the main theories developed to explain why secessionist agitation occurs, to account for abatement. We focus specifically on the island of Nevis in St Kitts and Nevis, a country that should be a “least likely” case for secession, given its small population, territory, and economy, yet has experienced secessionist agitation for much of the second half of the 20th century. Since the late 1990s, momentum for secession has subsided. We explain why by reference to rationalist, culturalist and institutionalist arguments. We use an in-depth case study method, drawing on a range of sources, that foregrounds equifinality and concatenation across more than a century of inter-island politics. The findings suggest that all three types of arguments have some explanatory value but each fall short of fully accounting for the ebb and flow of secessionist dynamics. The findings may be of particular interest to multi-island states and territories in the Caribbean. They also offer practical lessons about the importance of policies that promote sectoral integration, encourage sociological linkages, and provide scope for dynamic political settlements.","PeriodicalId":51674,"journal":{"name":"Island Studies Journal","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44313146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}