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Pan-pacific is a new term and new to me. Being on the West Coast, I often hear that the Pacific Rim is the future, though mostly in the economic and political context. But what does it mean for us to theorize on pan-pacific feminist theology?
I can think of several ways to look at this term, pan-pacific. The most obvious way of seeing it might be co imagine a world map. In most of the world maps made in the US, the Atlantic ocean occupies the center flanked by Europe and the American continents on its right and left sides, respectively. Now let's open our eyes to that rate map where the Pacific Ocean is placed in the center with Asia on the left and the Americas on the right. If we pursue this geography a little further in terms of power, I can think of the old world where the Americas and Africa were the main object of European imperialism while in the 20th century, Asia and the Pacific Islands have become the main object of Japanese and US imperialism. While the Indian subcontinent and Hong Kong were colonies of Britain and Southeast Asia that of France, American presence through its military bases, economic trade and cultural transmission drowns out other imperial forces in the Asian side of the Pacific, especially in the post-World War II era.
I can think of pan-pacific in a positive way that those countries around the Pacific Rim cooperate to form a Pacific version of the European common community. I have a hard time imagining a community of somewhat equitable membership since historically the power in this region has been lopsided in favor of the US, and perhaps, Japan. Given this historical context, it raises some legitimate questions about the possibility of genuinely open and heterogeneous Pan-Pacific feminist theologies.
I must confess that the category, pan-pacific, troubles me. In order to make sense of the term we must engage the cross-current discourse on identity which inform our endeavors so that our theological practices are more inclusive and open. We need to historicize Asian and Asian American experiences and examine how our personal narratives as practitioners of feminist theology are intertwined in those histories. Let me illustrate why this...