Thesiss

Islands are often represented as remote and exotic paradise destinations in popular imaginaries. Simultaneously, states frequently render island spaces as geo-strategic sites of security and state-building. However, these state-centric narratives of security obscure island lives…

The Japanese prefecture of Okinawa is a contradiction. A peaceful, idyllic tourist destination for beachgoers today, in 1945 Okinawans suffered through a four-month battle where hundreds of thousands of civilians died by American bombs, suicide, and at the hands of their Japanes…

This thesis explores the ways in which eisā, practiced and performed by the Ryūkyūkoku Matsuri Daiko - Los Angeles Branch (RMD-LA) is significant for the community building and cultural perpetuation of the Okinawan American youth community in Southern California. While a global …