Iris-Aya Laemmerhirt 
Embracing Differences 
Transnational Cultural Flows between Japan and the United States

The omnipresence and popularity of American consumer products in Japan have triggered an avalanche of writing shedding light on different aspects of this cross-cultural relationship. Cultural interactions are often accompanied by the term cultural imperialism, a concept that on close scrutiny turns out to be a hasty oversimplification given the contemporary cultural interaction between the U.S. and Japan. »Embracing Differences« shows that this assumption of a one-sided transfer is no longer valid. Closely investigating Disney theme parks, sushi, as well as movies, Iris-Aya Laemmerhirt reveals a dialogical exchange between these two nations that has changed the image of Japan in the United States.

About the author

Iris-Aya Laemmerhirt (Dr.phil.) teaches classes in American Studies and British Literature at TU Dortmund University. Her main field of research are Pacific Studies and Transnational Studies with a strong focus on the literature and culture of Hawai’i. She has completed her Ph D thesis, which was partly funded by the Wilhelm and Günter Esser Foundation, on transnational Japanese-American cultural exchanges in 2008 at the Ruhr-University Bochum. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Residence at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise from 2013 to 2014.