Читать книгу Bodies That Work - Tami Miyatsu - Страница 10

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Acknowledgments

I could not imagine publishing a book of my own when I entered into a Ph.D. course at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, four years ago just after failing to gain a thesis-based Ph.D. degree: I could not find my way out. This book is, in fact, the third dissertation-length thesis I have written in the past 20 years. Decades ago, I submitted a 200-page thesis just to finish a Ph.D. course (without being granted a degree), which took me four years. The thesis was about the family and community in Toni Morrison’s early works. Working as a college instructor, I wrote the second, which took me seven years to finish. It reviewed motherhood in women’s antebellum slave narratives. After I failed to gain the degree with that endeavor, I decided, this time, to enroll in a Ph.D. course again. Working as a full-time instructor, I started a new project at Tsukuba in 2015. I was nervous about studying alongside much younger students. The only goal I set on that first day at Tsukuba was to hone my academic research skills under the guidance of distinguished professors.

The four years at Tsukuba turned out to be more wonderful than I had expected. In a huge, rural—yet also very international—campus at the foot of Mt. Tsukuba, I spent an incredible time—the most exciting, inspiring, and fruitful time that I had ever experienced in my academic career. I am very much indebted to my advisor, Etsuko Taketani, whose expertise thrilled me whenever ←xi | xii→I visited her. She taught me the academic skills necessary for conducting research and writing a dissertation—the same skills she has mastered through her own research. During meetings in her office, she provided me with new insights about my writing without tearing my confidence to shreds and succinctly yet passionately explained how and why my writing had failed. Sometimes, I was too excited to go home, and I found myself studying at the university library late at night to improve my dissertation, remembering her comments one by one. Under her excellent guidance and continuous encouragement, I found that my dissertation was nearly finished in just over three years.

I also could not be more grateful to the three advisors on my dissertation committee, who have earnestly advised and devotedly mentored me throughout the examination process: Motoko Nakada, Kiyoko Magome, and Anne McKnight. They read my dissertation and provided me with feedback before the end of the summer break, which made it possible for me to make revisions before submitting the final draft. Their scholarly questions, insightful comments, and positive feedback kept encouraging me to make little improvements every day throughout the summer. Without such warm support from the committee members, I could not have finished this project.

My Kansai Gaidai University (KGU) community in Osaka, Japan, greatly assisted me in finishing this project. When I moved to KGU in the last year of my doctoral studies, I was still not sure whether I could complete my degree in one year in Osaka, 600 kilometers away from the Tsukuba campus. Fortunately, I had much support and encouragement from Yoshitaka Tanimoto, President, and Eiko Tanimoto, President of the Board of Trustees, as well as all from the KGU faculty and staff. Tetsuji Machida, Dean of the School of English Language and Communication, College of Foreign Studies, provided me with tremendous support, without which my project would not have succeeded. James Webb and David A. Eason, my colleagues who read my manuscript, provided me with thoughtful feedback and careful editorial advice. If I had not moved to KGU, I would not have had the time, energy, nor momentum necessary to complete this project.

My family remains my rock: Kazu, my husband, and my dear daughters, Miriu and Erina. We feel connected to each other despite each of us living separately in four cities in two countries: Tokyo, Osaka, and Sendai in Japan and Kelowna in Canada. I sincerely appreciate their generosity over the last two decades, which allowed me the time to be a dedicated student, teacher, wife, and mother. Their endearing words and smiles sustained me whenever I felt depressed or was in despair over my academic career.

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What I regret at present is the unexpected loss of my English “mum,” Jill Howlett, who passed away on November 14, 2017. She was the person to whom I owe what I am. Jill was the best host mother one could wish to have. She was a cheerful, lively, and bighearted English lady. Three decades ago, I spent one summer at her house in Oxford just before going to King’s College London (KCL). I fell in love with her as soon as I met her. She was the type of person who would make everybody merry. People always gathered around her. I learned from her how to cook Yorkshire pudding, how to quarrel with (and refute) men, and how to laugh out daily difficulties. Our solid friendship of more than a quarter century began with the copious tears I shed on the day I left Oxford for KCL. I was scared of a new life in London and sad to leave my dear Jill. Oxford has since been my second hometown. We exchanged emails for many years, she welcomed my family and me back in Oxford, and a while ago, I welcomed her to Tokyo when she traveled 6,000 miles from England to visit me. She always encouraged me to pursue an academic career. Several years before her death, I visited her in Oxford on the way to an international conference held in England and had her listen to my presentation. I remember her big smiles while I was practicing my speech. My gratitude to my “English” mum is immeasurable.

My editor at Peter Lang, Meagan Simpson, helped me through the whole process of preparing the manuscript, which required a tremendous amount of work. Her considerate suggestions motivated, encouraged, and sustained me for several months of my struggle. Without her professional expertise and support, I would not have been able to complete the project in such a short period of time. I also want to thank Liam McLean, who has been unfailingly attentive and thoughtful toward this first-time author.

Finally, I express special thanks to the librarians and archivists who generously facilitated this foreign scholar’s research: the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture of the New York Public Library, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the Indiana Historical Society, the Chicago Historical Society, the University of Chicago Library, and the Manuscript Departments at the Library of Congress. I sincerely appreciate the warm support I received from the staff at each of these institutions. Valuable historical documents, printed or handwritten, fired my imagination regarding how African American women struggled to thrive under pressure and restrictions a century ago.

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