|
HONOLULU—February 20, 2008—Chaminade University’s Fujitani Interfaith Program will feature Dr. Gail Y. Okawa as its guest lecturer on March 9, from 1 to 3 p.m., in the Ching Conference Center, 3140 Waialae Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96816. Entitled "Calm in Adversity: Japanese Values, Resistance and Survival in U.S. World War II Concentration Camps," her presentation will share the adversity encountered by internees from Hawaii and how their Japanese values, literacy and identity helped them survive the hardships of unwarranted captivity. Admission is free. Donations accepted. For more information, contact Dr. Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel at psponsel@chaminade.edu or (808) 735-4822.
During World War II, the U.S. Department of Justice seized and imprisoned more than 7,000 U.S. residents, primarily on the basis of their immigration status as Japanese nationals. Nearly 900 were from Hawaii; of those, more than 700 were exiled to internment camps on the U.S. mainland. Among these internees was Rev. Tamasaku Watanabe, a Christian minister and Dr. Okawa’s maternal grandfather.
A professor of English at Youngstown State University in Ohio, Dr. Okawa is interested in the relationships among language/literacy, culture and race in educational, historical and political contexts. As a scholar-in-residence at the Smithsonian Institution in 2002, she began a study of U.S. language history through ethnic language objects in the Smithsonian collections. Since 2003, she continues to research the politics of language/literacy, identity, and culture among Japanese immigrants who were incarcerated in U.S. Department of Justice internment camps during World War II. She has published numerous articles in national journals and collections and has presented papers and lectures locally, nationally and internationally. She is currently working on a book-length study titled More Than a Mug Shot: Hawaii Japanese Immigrants in World War II U.S. Department of Justice Internment.
Celebrating more than 50 years of educating students for life, service and successful careers, Chaminade University offers programs of study grounded in the liberal arts with day, evening, online and accelerated courses. The main campus is located in Kaimuki at 3140 Waialae Ave., Honolulu, HI 96816, with 10 satellite locations around Oahu military bases and Catholic parishes and schools. For more information, visit the Chaminade Web site at www.chaminade.edu or call (808) 735-4711.
