Reframing Transracial Adoption
Adopted Koreans, White Parents, and the Politics of Kinship
Publication Year: 2012
Published by: Temple University Press
Cover
Title Page, Copyright, Dedication
Contents
Preface: The Personal and the Political
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pp. ix-xii
Although the Republic of Korea (South Korea) once declared that it would halt overseas adoptions by the year 2012, few believe that this will actually take place. It is far more likely that the program will come to a gradual close over the next several years or perhaps even decades. Regardless of when the final...
Acknowledgments
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pp. xiii-xvi
This book about family building could not have come to fruition without the support of many families. First I thank the adopted Koreans and the adoptive parents who invited me into their homes to offer both impressionistic...
1. Adoption Matters: Beyond Catastrophe and Spectacle
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pp. 1-21
When Haiti experienced the January 2010 earthquake that revealed its political, economic, and infrastructural vulnerabilities to the world, many people across the globe felt compelled to give. Although the outpouring of generous and charitable giving was impressive...
2. Adoption Facilitators and the Marketing of Family Building: “Expert” Systems Meet Spurious Culture
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pp. 22-49
What does it mean to adopt another culture? Is this a selling point for prospective adoptive parents, or does it amount to an obligation that comes with this particular type of parenting more than others? Is culture something that comes with the child but requires maintenance? Is it something...
3. Navigating Racism: Avoiding and Confronting “Difference”in Families
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pp. 50-100
Becky Drake was adopted from Korea in 1984 at the age of five by her white American parents. The Drakes had already adopted a two-year-old girl from Korea in 1979. When they applied for their second adoption, Mr. Drake...
4. Navigating Kinship: Searching for Family beyond and within “the Doctrine of Genealogical Unity”
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pp. 101-141
The vast majority of Korean overseas adoptions, like most transnational adoptions, are “closed,” meaning that birth parents and adoptive parents do not have contact with one another as part of the adoption...
5. Strategic Interruptions versus Possessive Investment: Transnational Adoption in the Era of New Racism
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pp. 142-180
The impending termination of overseas adoption from Korea, whether it occurs in 2012 (as speculated in 2008)1 or anytime thereafter, will certainly be an interruption in the “business as usual” of transnational adoption. The steady supply of Korean transnational adoptions amid the booms and busts of adoption programs from other nations has made Korean...
Notes
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pp. 181-186
References
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pp. 187-206
Index
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pp. 207-214
E-ISBN-13: 9781439901854
Print-ISBN-13: 9781439901847
Page Count: 230
Publication Year: 2012
Series Title: Asian American history and culture
Series Editor Byline: edited by Sucheng Chan, David Palumbo-Liu, Michael Omi, K. Scott Wong, and Linda Trinh Võ
