Book Talk: Becoming Nisei
At a free, virtual event, Lisa Hoffman and Mary Hanneman will discuss their new book "Becoming Nisei," a history of the Tacoma Japanese-American community.
UW Tacoma faculty members Lisa Hoffman and Mary Hanneman will discuss their new book “Becoming Nisei: Japanese American Urban Lives in Prewar Tacoma” on Tuesday, January 26 from 6 to 8 pm. The discussion will be hosted by UW Tacoma Associate Professor Danica Miller.
Hoffman and Hanneman interviewed more than forty Japanese Americans who lived in Tacoma prior to the start of World War II. Their book chronicles Japanese migration to Tacoma in the late 1800’s as well as the thriving community that existed in the city before President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 which authorized the United States government to forcefully relocate Japanese Americans from their homes to concentration camps.
“Becoming Nisei” is the result of a years-long process by Hoffman and Hanneman to document this community. The book examines how Nisei – second generation American children of Japanese immigrants – navigated both the city and a complex social identity, one where they were expected to learn traditional Meiji-era cultural practices at a time of deep suspicion and even open hostility in the U.S. of those from other countries.
This event is free and open to the public.
Recent news
Main Content
Omari Amili: Navigating the Post-Prison Pathway
Main Content
School of Education Welcomes First Undergraduate Students
Main Content
UW Tacoma Joins National Engineering Network
UW Tacoma in the News
Main Content
‘Identities Horizons’ spotlights AAPI students at UWT
Main Content
The enduring legacy of the Black 'Buffalo Soldiers'
Dr. Luther Adams - Free Man of Color discusses the history of Black participation in the U.S. military, particularly the regiments known as the Buffalo Soldiers.
Main Content
Chancellor Lange Named to Seattle Mag’s “Most Influential” List
UW Tacoma Chancellor Sheila Edwards Lange is one of the region’s 25 “most influential” people in Seattle Magazine’s 2024 review.