Mothers’ Darlings of The South Pacific: The Children of Indigenous Women and U.S. Servicemen, World War II, Judith A. Bennett and Angela Wanhalla (eds) (2016)

Review of: Mothers’ Darlings of The South Pacific: The Children of Indigenous Women and U.S. Servicemen, World War II, Judith A. Bennett and Angela Wanhalla (eds) (2016) Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 379 pp., ISBN 978 0 82485 152 1 (hbk), US$65

Experiences in Archaeology, Social Justice, and Democratic Principles

ABSTRACT From 2016 to 2019, the University of Hawai‘i West O‘ahu conducted archaeological field schools at Honouliuli National Historic Site to teach our students basic archaeological skills. Because the site was the largest Japanese and Japanese American concentration camp on O‘ahu, the field school initiated a program related to social justice and democratic principles for the imprisonment of US citizens and legal residents based on racial and national profiling. The demography of O‘ahu created a special bond to the incarcerees’ stories and the students of Asian and Hawaiian descent. Through field trips, student discussion, and curriculum development, we focused on the pedagogical benefit of experiential learning. Field trips to the National Park Service's World War II Valor in the Pacific Park System on O‘ahu, King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center, and the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i allowed the students to see and understand the historical context of the Japanese internment from the mid-nineteenth century, with the development of plantations and early colonialism, to the beginning of World War II and the internment of the more than 300 Japanese and Japanese American—as well as European and Okinawan—civilians and the imprisonment of over 4,000 prisoners of war.

Masao Abe

Masao Abe (阿部正雄, 1915–2006), was a prominent exponent of Japanese Zen Buddhism within academic circles in the West and made a distinguished contribution to comparative philosophy and interreligious dialogue. Abe’s Zen was shaped by the thought of the Kyoto school of Japanese philosophy and its principle of “absolute nothingness.” Abe linked absolute nothingness to the Buddhist principle of emptiness (sunyata) and based his engagement with Western philosophical thought and Christian theology on the Kyoto school’s appropriation of this Buddhist teaching. Abe began graduate studies in philosophy at Kyoto Imperial University in 1942, where he was influenced by Keiji Nishitani’s lectures on nihilism and the philosophy of religion. Shin’ichi Hisamatsu’s exposition of Zen challenged Abe’s youthful commitment to Pure Land Buddhism. After completing his studies, Abe worked as a professor at Nara University of Education (1952–1980), while also teaching periodically at Kyoto and Hanazono Universities. Starting in the 1950s, he began a study of Christian theology at Union Theological Seminary, with Reinhold Niebuhr and Paul Tillich, and Western philosophy at Columbia University. After his retirement from teaching in Nara in 1980, Abe became a visiting professor at Claremont Graduate University and subsequently at the University of Hawai‘i, Purdue University, the University of Chicago, and several other American and European universities. He also participated at the East-West Philosopher’s Conference at the University of Hawai’i and, with John B. Cobb, was co-chair of the International Buddhist-Christian Theological Encounter (the “Cobb-Abe Group”). Abe’s version of Zen was influenced by D. T. Suzuki’s engagement with Western thought, and the philosophy of the Kyoto school, which began with the work of Kitaro Nishida and continued with Hajime Tanabe, Keiji Nishitani, and Shin’ichi Hisamatsu. Nishida, reflecting Japanese Zen teachings, articulated a logic arising within the standpoint (tachiba) of absolute nothingness (zettai mu), the “place” (basho) wherein all dualism is overcome. Nishitani and Hisamatsu would later link Nishida’s philosophy more explicitly with Buddhist teachings, especially the goal of “awakening” (jikaku) to the “emptiness” (sunyata) of all things in their “true suchness” (shinnyo). Based on these philosophical roots in the Kyoto school and following the example of D. T. Suzuki as an apostle of Zen in the West, Abe engaged in extensive comparative studies with Western philosophical thought and interreligious dialogue with Christians and Jews.

What Can You Do With a Bachelor's in Public Health? A Case Study of Graduate Outcomes From the University of Hawai‘i

Since the development of a Bachelor of Arts in public health, a common question among prospective students, faculty, and community members has been asked: “What will students do after graduation?” While national data on graduates are abundant, community inquiries sought more detailed profiles of local graduates. To address this need, data on 224 graduates of the Bachelors of Arts in Public Health (BAPH) degree at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa were collected through alumni outreach efforts and professional online profile searches. Data were compiled into a summary presentation and program “resume”. Findings indicated roughly 30% of BAPH graduates pursued graduate-level education and 43% were employed within a year of graduation. Employment in local NGOs and healthcare organizations was common, while bureaucratic challenges limited hiring at public agencies. A review of job titles suggested graduates were employed in program coordination or support staffing. Local program profiles, such as this one, complement national employment data. Moreover, these efforts may foster interest among prospective students and support from faculty, administrators, and employers.