Blog Prompts for Nuclear Futures Class, due by April 2 (Group C)

1. Discuss how tone, visuals, and/or characterization in Katsumata Susumu and Tatsuta Kazuto’s manga contribute to their portrayal of nuclear laborers–known as “nuclear gypsies” in Japanese–at two different moments in Japan’s “atoms-for-peace” history (the 1980s and after 2011). Your post should address the larger political-economic, historical context in which these contract laborers work, with reference to theories of precarity.

2. How does the “King of Sloppy,” Shiriagari Kotobuki, prompt us to rethink notions of sloppiness and humor in the face of catastrophe? Your post should consider Mary Knighton’s use of Sianne Ngai’s term “stuplimity” in this context and offer connections to other readings this semester or other nuclear-related (con)texts in which stuplimity applies.

3. Both Mary Knighton and Anne Allison address the Japanese notion of “ibasho ga nai” (居場所がない), a quotidian malaise due to having no sense of belonging or home. Referring to our primary sources this week and earlier, offer a reflection on this concept. Your post may develop a comparison with instantiations of “ibasho ga nai” outside of Japan.