How does art engage with its social context? What does 'the politics of art' even mean? In his new book Impossible Speech: The Politics of Representation in Contemporary Korean Literature and Film (Columbia University Press, 2023), Christopher P. Hanscom takes on these questions in the context of contemporary Korean literature. Moving away from realist texts and realism, Impossible Speech instead focuses on four key figures: the migrant laborer, the witness of state violence, the refugee, and the socially excluded. Through each, the book probes the boundaries of what we think of as 'nonpolitical' art, showing how by calling on characters to address events and experiences that cannot be spoken about — in other words, by asking characters to speak impossibly — even art that might be considered nonsensical or absurd demands to be read as politically engaged.

Although this book uses examples drawn from modern Korean literature and film, Hanscom's contention that the politics of art lies in its ability to confront and challenge the boundaries of what is sayable is deeply relevant to art beyond East Asian Studies. Impossible Speech should, therefore, be of interest to those in Korean literature as well as those interested in literary theory, film studies, and speech studies more broadly.

Listeners with a keen interest in Korean literature should also check out Hanscom's earlier appearance on the New Books Network to talk about his first book,The Real Modern: Literary Modernism and the Crisis of Representation in Colonial Korea (Harvard University Asia Center, 2013). You can listen to that interview here.

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Christopher Hanscom, "Impossible Speech: The Politics of Representation in Contemporary Korean Literature and Film" (Columbia UP, 2024)