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UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations UC Berkeley UC Berkeley Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title The Biopolitics of Memory: Lifted Tongues and Cloned Dogs Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6dc077m6 Author Yoon, Hyaesin Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California The Biopolitics of Memory in Transnational Circuits: Lifted Tongues and Cloned Dogs by Hyaesin Yoon A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and the Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender and Sexuality in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Trinh T. Minh-ha, Chair Professor Shannon Jackson Professor Charis Thompson Spring 2014 1 Abstract The Biopolitics of Memory in Transnational Circuits: Lifted Tongues and Cloned Dogs by Hyaesin Yoon Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric And the Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender and Sexuality University of California, Berkeley Professor Trinh T. Minh-ha, Chair The Biopolitics of Memory: Lifted Tongues and Cloned Pets explores an ethics of memory in a time when bodies are modified, reproduced, and disposed of in transnational circuits. This exploration raises two overarching questions. First, how do we carry memories of others when bodies and images intermingle at the intersection of biotechnology and virtual media? Second, what do such memories tell us about the uneven circuits within which these bodies circulate across the differences in sex, race, species, and nation? Critically engaging with the ethics of mourning, this dissertation searches for an ethics of memory that approaches bodies not as a fulcrum of abjection, but as regenerative interfaces in which collective memories are composed through encounters with other bodies. The dissertation concerns two sets of technologically intervened bodies, which embody “cuts” in cultural and biological memories. The first part examines the question of the diasporic tongue and its bearing on cultural memories. It begins with a scene from the South Korean film Tongue Tie, in which a boy undergoes surgery upon his tongue to improve his English pronunciation. My analysis explores the biopolitical implications of this surgically lifted tongue in the age of globalization – refiguring it in conjunction with the visceral tongue in Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s literature and video works, with American accent training in Indian call centers, and with the theories of Walter Benjamin, and Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. I argue that these wounded tongues perform the memories of displacement in their buffering and stuttering speech, carrying the potential to disrupt operation of the major language through their materiality. The second part of this dissertation asks how genetic reproducibility revises the politics of mourning, exploring commercial dog-cloning services – provided primarily by Korean scientists for grieving dog owners in the US. I challenge the prevailing criticism that clones are bio- mimetic replacements (to forego the process of mourning) by examining how this imaginary is ironically reversed in the rhetoric both of the pet cloning industry and of customers who cloned their dogs. I then shift focus to the intermingling of the various bodies involved in cloning, and argue that dog cloning produces memorable bodies by making other bodies invisible and even disposable. I especially trace the disappearance of former surrogate-mother dogs – said to be slaughtered for human consumption – by examining how the discourses of “animal welfare” 2 (raised by Western critiques), Korean nationalism, and the sex/species hierarchy shape the rhetorical and material landscape of the effacement of these bodies. This new biopolitics of memory focusing on corporeal assemblages urges us to reimagine our relationship with other beings – human, animal, and technology. However, this approach does not necessarily lead to a declaration of the egalitarianism of all beings, but rather asks us to think about the complexity of the value and forms of life in transnational circuits. Furthermore, the biopolitics of memory allows us to envision “kinship in spite of kind” not as a given, but as an ethical choreography of embodied interrelations across sex, race, and species. i To my father, Yoon Dong-Min, who left me beautiful memories. And to my mother, Wi Jung-Mee, who lights candles for him. ii Acknowledgements I’ve been graced with a remarkable dissertation committee. My heartfelt thanks go to my chair, Trinh T. Minh-ha, who has been a wonderful mentor and teacher in every sense. When I asked her to be my advisor back in my first year at Berkeley, she told me that she expects from her students shared spirit more than shared fields of knowledge. Throughout my time as a graduate student, she taught me what that mysterious word “spirit” might mean through her formidable scholarship, poetic wisdom, trusting patience, and kind generosity, combined with keen (but necessary) criticism. If this dissertation can present even a modicum of that spirit, it would be my great honor and pleasure. My deep thanks to Shannon Jackson for her depth and breadth of knowledge, engagement, and guidance. An unforgettable seminar in Performance Theory with her transformed my vision of writing and scholarly practice. I am also deeply grateful to Charis Thompson for her inspiring commentaries, unfailing encouragement, and sparkling presence. Her brilliant scholarship charmed me into the field of feminist STS, and working with her added new dimensions to my transdisciplinary approach. The faculty, staff, and colleagues in the Department of Rhetoric at UC Berkeley have given me a rigorous intellectual community as well as generous administrative and financial support. I am especially grateful to Marianne Constable, Samera Esmeir, Maxine Fredericksen, Marcus Norman, and Michael Wintroub. I am also immensely indebted to my cohorts and dissertation writing group members: Mark Minch and Keerthi Potluri. Mark has been a superb intellectual interlocutor, co-instructor, and friend – a true source of support (and silly troubles) – since my first day at Berkeley. Keerthi has been a keen, insightful, and supportive reader, whose wonderful company offered a critical mind, beautiful sarcasm, and a shared love for whisky and yoga. The Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality at UC Berkeley has been another venue of intellectual, challenging, and supportive encounters. My special thanks go to the members of the spring 2012 Gender and Women’s Studies dissertation writing seminar: Minoo Moallem, Sole Anatrone, Chris Atwood, Marc Boucai, Mark Minch, Amy Shen, and Julie Stein. I would also like to acknowledge all the students I’ve been fortunate to teach in both the Department of Rhetoric and the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies. I somehow had a perfect group of students every single semester, and I learned a lot from them. Earlier versions of dissertation material were presented at Funny Kinds of Love (a conference sponsored by Center for Science, Technology, Medicine, and Society at Berkeley) and PostNatural (a conference by the Society for Literature, Science, and the Arts) in 2013. The insightful questions and thoughtful comments at these presentations greatly contributed to my dissertation. I’m also grateful to those who edited and proofread varying stages of the manuscripts, especially Matthew Ritchie. Sooam Biotech Research Foundation has shown warm hospitality to me. Woo Suk Hwang, Tae Young Shin, Yeon Woo Jeong, and other scientists have kindly arranged meetings, shown me around the facility, explained the cloning process, and shared information. I also deeply appreciate “Eric” for sharing the story of cloning his dogs. The Berkeley Art Museum and iii Pacific Film Archive generously allowed me to screen Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s video pieces, over and over. My scholarship at Berkley wouldn’t be the same without the fabulous feminist scholars, comrades, and friends I’ve met at the Interdisciplinary Program in Gender Studies and through numerous feminist networks at Seoul National University. Special thanks to Chin-Sung Chung, Tae-Hwan Kwon, Hyun-Ah Yang, Jung-Sook Han, Eun-Kyung Bae, Jiyeon Chang, Sunhyng Lee, Ga-Chung Boo, Eunkyoung Choi, Myung-Sook Kim-Shin, Yeonbo Jeong, Jung-Mi Park, Hye-Rim Park, Hye-Jin Um, Bo-myung Kim and Hye-eun Jun. I would especially like to offer words of heartfelt gratitude to my dear friends Jiyeon Kang, Choi Myungwon, Jung-hee Jin, and Seunghyun Yang. They have been incredible sources of support in times of academic and personal challenges, delightful partners in crime to travel with, and companions for wonderful conversation both over the phone and in person. And, while this might come somewhat out of the blue, I must say thank you to my adult ballet class teachers at the Academy of Ballet: Zory Karah and Joshua Trader. Despite their different pedagogical styles, both offered an infectious passion that allowed me to maintain and rediscover my love for scholarship during the trying years of completing this dissertation. Last but never least, I’ve been blessed with the most supportive and loving family anyone could ask for. Ever since I realized that my father wouldn’t see me finish this dissertation, I’ve feared that whatever I could say in these acknowledgements would be unbearably insufficient. I have hundreds of images, but could never find the right words. For now, let me just express my deepest gratitude to my father, for everything he’s given me. Thank you dad. I love you. I also offer my profound gratitude for my mother’s unwavering love, devotion, and belief in her daughter. She taught me grace and resilience, without which I could never have made it this far. Thank you to my younger brother Seung-jun Yoon, who supplied so many tasty snacks and drinks while I was writing in Seoul, and to my younger sister Haeyoung Yoon for being such a wonderful “sis.” She makes my life brighter with her loving and radiating energy.
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