Making Paper Cranes: Toward an Asian American Feminist Theology

by Mihee Kim-Kort, Grace Ji-Sun Kim (Foreword)

This is not your typical Asian instructional book on Asian crafting or origami. Making Paper Cranes is an attempt to describe an ever emerging life, in an emerging community within Christianity in North America, that is intentionally taking flight and impacting the world. This theological book engages the social histories, literary texts, and narratives of Asian American women, as well as the theological projects of prominent Asian American feminist theologians. It seeks to offer another liberative theological voice. Inherent in its construction is the interconnectedness of all stories that articulate struggle, resistance, and the artistic flourishing of oppressed peoples. Simply put, Making Paper Cranes is about Asian American mothers, daughters, sisters, and women who are imaginatively and courageously crafting their journeys together in and through their Christian faith.

Genres: Nonfiction, Spirituality, Theology, Religion, Feminism, Asian American

120 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2012

Reviews

[Rebecca Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I really did appreciate the content of the book, it was a little hard to get through for me. I felt like it was written more as an academic book than for the average reader. I am excited to read more from the many authors that were shared in this book as well.

[Stephanie Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a hard one to review since I’m not well-versed in theology. This book is aimed for folks who have a solid foundation on theology and are interested in the intersection of theology, feminist theory, and Asian American feminism. I do applaud Kim Kort for her budding ideas of Asian American feminism, an area that is budding in interest. She articulates the stereotypes and social boundaries that Asian American women are subjected to—the model minority myth, the quiet female who shouldn’t assert herself (aka making “waves”). Kim Kort shares her personal experiences as she navigates these stereotypes as a woman, mother, and pastor. She attempts to locate Asian American women within theology, a predominantly White tradition, and asks how Asian American women can transform Christianity to be more inclusive of us and other races. I can’t wait to see how Kim Kort advances her theories and ideas in her later writings!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Making Paper Cranes is an amazing book. It is a mixture of autobiographical stories mixed with excellent theological analysis. The book explores what it means to be an Asian American woman as well as a pastor who is also an Asian American woman. Sometimes the book bogs down in hard core theology and I wished for more personal stories. Still glad to have read this book, and bummed I skipped Kim-Kort's talk when she spoke at our church with the Next Conference in November 2014.

[Kevin]

Really enjoyed Mihee Kim-Kort at the Why Christian 2015 conference and wanted to check out her book. It's more academic than I can handle right now. I might come back to it.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kim-Kort intersperses her dialogue with stories from her life. The first half focuses on Asian American women's experiences. the second half looks at theology. that half was a little more dense than I like my theology.