WHERE ISLAND STUDIES MEETS MOBILITY STUDIES IN LITERARY AND CULTURAL STUDIES
Abstract
This special section challenges the conventional view of islands as isolated entities, aiming to portray island life through various lenses like literature, geography, and history. By merging mobility studies with island studies, it explores how movements within and around islands shed light on societal phenomena such as climate change, infrastructure development, migration policies, and trauma borne out of violent historical events. The articles, stemming from a conference on Jeju Island, South Korea, analyze power dynamics, imagination, and re-imagination between mainland and island, center and periphery. They reflect on islands as subjects for social scrutiny and platforms for cultural expression. Through diverse subjects like Robert Smithson’s Floating Island, Korean island literature museums, Zainichi Korean literature, wartime mobilization policies, film, and migration, the section showcases the richness and complexity of island experiences. It examines themes of identity politics, violence, and migration within island contexts. Ultimately, the articles engage in critical dialogues, revealing how various factors shape mobility and influence the movement of ideas, resources, and commodities on islands. Through interdisciplinary perspectives, the section highlights the interconnectedness of islands with broader socio-cultural and historical dynamics, emphasizing the need for nuanced understandings of island life.
