February 26, 2016
3:00-4:30 PM

Tokioka Room, Moore Hall Room 319

“Preserving and Presenting Uchinanchu Identity in the Diaspora: The Evolution of Okinawan Clubs in Hawaiʻi and Brazil.”

This study examines the historical development of Okinawan clubs in terms of identity politics and structural differentiation. It traces the historical evolution of Okinawan clubs in context of the drive to preserve and assert Okinawan identity against external pressures (e.g., American and Japanese nation building projects). A comparative analysis of the Okinawan communities in Hawaiʻi and Brazil is used to test hypotheses concerning the evolution of diasporic associations.