Yehji Jeong

PhD Program (She/Her)

Campus

Fields of Study

Areas of Interest

Empires, Colonialisms, East Asia, Manchuria, Mobility, Racial Politics and Politics of Representation, Migration

Working Dissertation

Title

The Land of Bandits: Outlaws, Mobility, and Racial Politics in Manchuria, 1904-1945

Supervisors

Takashi Fujitani
Tong Lam
Andre Schmid

Description

My dissertation aims to reinterpret the layered history of modernity and imperialism in Manchuria in the early twentieth century through the lens of bandits. Western observers interested in China and Manchuria recognized that banditry was widespread in China and tried to explain why this was the case in China. Like the image of the Orient was for Europeans, this image of Chinese bandits reflected imperialist ideas and desires. Why did banditry matter to the imperialist powers in Manchuria? How was the imperialist desire for Manchuria structured? How did banditry as an imperialist concern form the basis of racial politics in Manchuria? My dissertation aims to answer these questions.

Awards

Cohort