Rethinking Generation, Community, and Diversity
Edited by Michael Omi, Dana Y. Nakano, and Jeffrey T. YamashitaWhereas most scholarship on Japanese Americans looks at historical case studies or the 1.5 generation assimilating, this pioneering anthology, Japanese American Millennials, captures the experiences, perspectives, and aspirations of Asian Americans born between 1980 and 2000. The editors and contributors present multiple perspectives on who Japanese Americans are, how they think about notions of community and culture, and how they engage and negotiate multiple social identities.
The essays by scholars both in the United States and Japan draw upon the Japanese American millennial experience to examine how they find self-expression in Youth Basketball Leagues or Christian youth camps as well as how they grapple with being mixed-race, bicultural, or queer. Featuring compelling interviews and observations, Japanese American Millennials dislodges the dominant generational framework to address absences in the current literature and suggests how we might alternatively study Japanese Americans as a whole.
Contributors: Dean Ryuta Adachi, Christina B. Chin, Brett J. Esaki, Kyung Hee Ha, Chenxing Han, Lisa Hirai Tsuchitani, Rebecca Chiyoko King-O’Riain, Lori Kido Lopez, Amy Sueyoshi, Takeyuki Tsuda, Wesley Iwao Ueunten, Aki Yamada, Jane H. Yamashiro, and the editors
“ The editors and contributors elevate Japanese American studies by situating Japanese American millennial lives through an intersectional lens with depth and rich storytelling. This impressive anthology weaves in the lingering legacy of the concentration camps, while framing the local and global impact of the legacy of war in the U.S. The editors do not end here, but vividly capture the issues of ethnic identity, LGBTQ identity, and the role of religion in Japanese American lives. This very nuanced, complex book is a must read for those searching for narrative plentitude.”—Mary Yu Danico, Director, Michi and Walter Weglyn Endowed Chair for Multicultural Studies, Director of Asian American Transnational Research Initiative, and Professor of Sociology at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
“ Assembling an array of social scientists, including up and coming young scholars, this volume offers a powerful corrective to assimilationist assumptions by illuminating the importance of ethnic identity and community in the everyday lives of Japanese American millennials. Empirically rich and methodologically diverse, Japanese American Millennials will enable readers to appreciate the impact of race in shaping the practices and thinking of these Asian Americans in a so-called post-ethnic society. This is a trailblazing book about the neglected but important generations in post-1965 Japanese America.”—Eiichiro Azuma, Alan Charles Kors Term Associate Professor of History and Asian American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Between Two Empires: Race, History and Transnationalism in Japanese America
"Editors Omi, Nakano, and Yamashita bring together research on Japanese American millennials in this collection.... Each (section) provides analysis, research, and commentary on the impact of ethnicity in shaping this group’s multitudinous perspectives and relationships with family and friends, while navigating multiple identities. Little has been written about the experiences of younger Japanese American generations, so this volume fills the gap, exposing the diversity and intricacies of Japanese Americans. It will be a valuable resource for audiences interested in Asian American studies, particularly Japanese American millennials. Summing Up: Highly recommended."
— Choice
Asian American History and Culture
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