For decades, the concentration camp experience has been the focal point of Japanese American history. However, this rich history encompasses far more than just the WWII years. JAMsj will host three young scholars to share their groundbreaking research that stretches the boundaries of Japanese American studies. 

Dean Adachi, a PhD candidate in history at Claremont University, will discuss the often overlooked role of Christianity in the earliest Japanese communities in Northern California and Hawaii. Adachi will highlight the transnational connections that link these Japanese American Christian communities.

Jeffrey Yamashita, a PhD student in ethnic studies at UC Berkeley, will be presenting "The Most Honorable Sons: Framing Heroic Masculinities in the Japanese American Community." Yamashita will share the story of Nisei war hero Sergeant Ben Kuroki. Specifically, he will explore Kuroki's masculinity and how it
served as a foundation for the 100th/442nd RCT. 

Dr. Jane Yamashiro is currently a visiting scholar at the University of Southern California. Jane's presentation examines Japanese Americans in Japan to illuminate how "Japanese American" -- an ethnic minority identity in the U.S. -- is reconstructed in Japan. She will demonstrate how interactions with Japanese in Japan shape how Japanese Americans understand their own racial and national identities.

  
The presenters are excited to share their work publicly with the JAMsj community and look forward to starting a new public conversation on Japanese American studies.

 Cost: Free with admission to the museum (non-members, $5; students and seniors over age 65, $3; JAMsj members and children under 12, free).

  Please email PublicPrograms@JAMsj.org or call the JAMsj office at (408) 294-3138 to reserve a spot.