Embracing Differences ─ Transnational Cultural Flows Between Japan and the United States

The omnipresence and popularity of American consumer products in Japan have triggered an avalanche of writing shedding light on different aspects of this cross-cultural relationship. Cultural interactions are often accompanied by the term cultural imperialism, a concept that on close scrutiny turns out to be a hasty oversimplification given the contemporary cultural interaction between the U.S. and Japan. ?Embracing Differences? shows that this assumption of a one-sided transfer is no longer valid. Closely investigating Disney theme parks, sushi, as well as movies, Iris-Aya Laemmerhirt reveals a dialogical exchange between these two nations that has changed the image of Japan in the United States.

Iris-Aya Laemmerhirt teaches American Studies and British Studies at TU Dortmund University where she is a post-doctoral candidate. Her research interests are the literature of the 1940s, Transnational Studies, and representations of Hawaii in the media. Currently, she is teaching as a Fulbright SIR at UVA Wise.