강용흘의 조국관, 미국관, 세계관

• 영문명: Younghill Kang's View on Motherland, the U.S. and the World
• 발행기관: 한국아메리카학회
• 저자명: 박진임(Jinim Park)
• 간행물 정보: 『미국학논집』제40집 3호, 39~67쪽, 전체 29쪽
• 주제분류: 인문학 > 기타인문학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2008.12.31

영문 초록

Younghill Kang has often been criticized as an Orientalist or native informant who appeals to the Western readership by volunteering informations on the 'far a way' East and presenting Eastern culture in negative manners so that the West can be regarded as an ideal place to live. This paper attempts to rebut such accusations and to recuperate his position as a representative first generation Asian-American writer. This paper examines, in particular, his view on motherland, the U.S. and the world to examine whether his attitude was that of an Orientalist. Rather than "creating the Orient, the Oriental, and his world" based on the biased and pre-existing knowledge of the Orient, which constitutes an Orientalist, this paper claims that, Kang truthfully described Korean culture and history. His praise of the U.S. was not addition his escapism but a way to resist the Japanese colonialism. In addition his seeming lack of patriotism comes not from his egoistic character but from his inclination to pacifism. Providing textual evidences, his paper claims that Kang was deeply influenced by Transcendentalists like Emerson, which resulted in his cosmopolitan philosophy. Finally this paper argues that Kang's literary success was partly indebted to the emerging multi-culturalism in the U.S. since the beginning of the 20th century represented by George Santayana. Thanks to the increased criticism towards Anglo-Saxon oriented mono-culturalism, the American audiences became interested in understanding minor cultures in the U.S.. Kang's texts functioned as an examplary literary texts to challenge the thus-far dominant American culture by its literary elegance and intricate cultural representations.

키워드

강용흘 초당 동양사람 서양에 가다 오리엔탈리즘 사해동포주의 다문화주의 Younghill Kang East goes West The Grass Roof Orientalism Multi-culturalism George Santayana