The Authors and the Future of the Identity and Integration Blog

Welcome again to our continuing blog about issues of nationality and identity.  The authors of this blog decided it was important to introduce themselves briefly.  After this entry, the authors will be posting their first round table papers.  These papers were originally written before the beginning of the 62nd Japan-America Student Conference, and were a starting point for the many long discussion that led to the creation of this blog.  The Conference also led to the creation of a video to raise awareness about two specific cases: "zainichi" Koreans in Japan and the Vietnamese-American community in New Orleans East.  This video is accessible at Identity and Integration's YouTube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/IndentityIntegration

Articles on these issues will be posted in the future.


The ten authors of Identity and Integration are:

Ian Cross graduated in May of 2010 from Earlham College with a bachelor's degree in History and Economics.

Deidra Denson is an undergraduate student at the College of William and Mary, pursuing a double major in English and Hispanic Studies.

Erii Iikura graduated in March of 2010 from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies with a bachelor's degree in Korean language and Social History, and is now working towards a master's degree at the same university in Social History.  She is especially interested in the colonialism of the Korean peninsula.

Taylor Luczak is from Mississippi State University, working for a bachelor's degree in Political Science, International Business, and Asian Studies.

Maesu Matsushita is a senior at Saitama University, majoring in Business.

Ikuno Naka is an undergraduate student at Wellesley College majoring in International Relations and History.

Keita Niwano is a junior at Hitotsubashi university majoring in Commerce for his bachelor's degree.

Christina Ryu is a senior at Smith College majoring in East Asian Studies with a concentration in Japanese government.

Yuri Sugimoto is an undergraduate student at Kyoto University, majoring in Cultural Anthropology and Ecology.

Toshi Takeuchi is an undergraduate student at Keio University, majoring in Law.

The authors of Identity and Integration, pictured with DePauw University Professor Mona Bhan, who spoke with the authors during the 62nd JASC (Professor Bhan is not affiliated with this blog).

Welcome to the Identity and Integration Blog

Welcome to this new student-run blog.  The topics that will be touched on and discussed include: nations, nationalism and national identity; transnationalism and cosmopolitanism; integration versus assimilation; personal identity creation and projection; discrimination and social justice; globalization; the role of education, both institutionalized and otherwise; the fluidity of culture; cultural imperialism; empires and colonialism; and the roles and powers of student leaders.


This blog was founded by ten students of the 62nd Japan-America Student Conference (JASC) as part of a cumulative project across the month-long conference to impact cultural conflicts arising thanks, at least in part, to the myriad processes of globalization.  The students, united under a common round table discussion group (title: "The Role of National Identity in Globalizing Society") studied several subjects in particular.  This blog represents our desire and labor to continue raising awareness and promoting understanding through intellectual discussion.  We hope you will find our writings interesting and insightful, and we hope you will contribute to this ongoing project.  Inquiries and concerns may be e-mailed to IdentityAndIntegration [at] gmail dot  com.  Thank you for reading.