Altered Lives, Enduring Community

by Fugita, Stephen S.

• ISBN13: 9780295983806
• ISBN10: 0295983809
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-05-01
• Publisher: Univ of Washington Pr

Summary

Altered Lives, Enduring Community examines the long-term effects on Japanese Americans of their World War II experiences: forced removal from their Pacific Coast homes, incarceration in desolate government camps, and ultimate resettlement. As part of Seattle's Densho: Japanese American Legacy Project, the authors collected interviews and survey data from Japanese Americans now living in King County, Washington, who were imprisoned during World War II. Their clear-eyed, often poignant account presents the contemporary, post-redress perspectives of former incarcerees on their experiences and the consequences for their life course.Using descriptive material that personalizes and contextualizes the data, the authors show how prewar socioeconomic networks and the specific characteristics of the incarceration experience affected Japanese American readjustment in the postwar era. Topics explored include the effects of incarceration and resettlement on social relationships and community structure, educational and occupational trajectories, marriage and childbearing, and military service and draft resistance. The consequences of initial resettlement location and religious orientation are also examined.

Author Biography

Marilyn Fernandez is associate professor and chair of sociology, Santa Clara University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
1 Introduction	3	(11)
2 The Pre-World War II Community	14	(33)
3 The Incarceration	47	(38)
4 Military Service and Resistance	85	(20)
5 Resettlement	105	(29)
6 Marriage and Family Formation	134	(22)
7 Occupational Patterns	156	(17)
8 Religion and Making Sense of the Incarceration	173	(21)
9 Looking Back	194	(17)
Appendixes	211	(20)
Notes	231	(3)
Glossary	234	(1)
References	235	(14)
Index	249