Jamin Tan

MPhil candidate in Japanese Studies 2022-2024

My research revolves around the science fiction (SF) works of Suzuki Izumi, a writer who was active during the era of Japan's Women's Liberation Movement. My dissertation seeks to explore the reinvention and problematisation of gender dynamics in Suzuki's writing.

I will primarily focus on the representation of women’s bodies and agency, as well as Suzuki’s world-building in her literary works, specifically the anthologies Terminal Boredom and Hit Parade of Tears. In particular, I aim to focus on Suzuki’s portrayal of the struggles to reframe one’s mind away from the dominant heterosexist and heteronormative narratives of our current society, which Suzuki does through the creation of alternate universes where the gender dynamics in society is radically different from what we are currently used to.

Through my research, I also aim to address the question of why Suzuki’s contemporaries have received more attention than she, although Suzuki was arguably more instrumental in Japanese women’s SF.

Supervisor: Dr Juliana Buritica Alzate
College: St Antony's College
Previous Degree Program: I received a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in English from Nanyang Technological University in 2022. My undergraduate dissertation explored the ways in which Mishima Yukio's Spring Snow portrayed feminine autonomy and transgression.