For more than 40 years, historians and archivists at California State University, Dominguez Hills have been gathering materials documenting the lives of Japanese Americans in the South Bay and Los Angeles. Consisting of photographs, yearbooks, and artwork, as well as documents such as letters and property leases, “Building Evidence: Japanese Americans in Southern California During Mid-Century - 40 Years of Collecting, An Exhibition” –on view now through March 2012–focuses on the lives and obstacles faced by Japanese Americans in the South Bay and Los Angeles prior to, during, and after World War II. Topics covered in the materials collected include the location of Japanese American ... Read More
Social Justice
Vivian Price: Labor Expert’s Documentary on Bracero Program to Be Aired on PBS
“Harvest of Loneliness (Cosecha Triste),” a documentary co-directed by Vivian Price, professor of interdisciplinary studies and coordinator of the labor studies program at California State University, Dominguez Hills, will be aired on PBS stations throughout the country in September and October. In the film, Price and Gilbert Gonzalez, professor emeritus of Chicana/o studies at UC Irvine, examine what was known as the bracero program, which recruited Mexican laborers for temporary work in the United States from 1942 to 1964. Price says that it has been “thrilling” to be able to share the history of the braceros, whose experience is virtually unknown in the United States. “So many ... Read More
CSU Dominguez Hills Sends Aid, Gesture of Hope to Japan
Students at California State University, Dominguez Hills were at first perplexed by the idea of sending a senbazuru of 1,000 origami cranes to areas of Japan that are still affected by the 8.9 earthquake and consequent tsunami that occurred in March. However, the completion of more than triple that number of paper cranes, along with the campus's collective effort of raising more than $1,000* [see fundraising update below] in aid served as a humanistic lesson in civics. In addition to the symbolic gesture, the university raised monetary support for Japan through the efforts of the Office of Student Life (OSL), public administration students taught by emeritus professor Carolyn Harris, ... Read More
Unveiling of 50th Anniversary Art Complements Reading by Emeritus Professor
The third painting in a series to commemorate the 50th anniversary of California State University, Dominguez Hills was unveiled by award-winning artist Hatsuko Mary Higuchi and President Mildred García on May 12 in the fifth floor gallery of the University Library's South Wing. In addition, emeritus professor of history Donald Hata read from the newly released fourth edition of his seminal work, “Japanese Americans and World War II: Mass Removal, Imprisonment, and Redress.” (Wheeling, Ill.; Harlan Davidson, 2010). Higuchi, who is based in the South Bay began her painting career after exploring various types of arts and crafts, including metalworking, interior design, and weaving. Her ... Read More
Unveiling of Third Commemorative Painting, Booksigning Celebrates 50th Anniversary
California State University, Dominguez Hills is proud to announce the unveiling of a third painting in a series that commemorates the university's 50th anniversary. “E Pluribus Unum” was created by South Bay artist Hatsuko Mary Higuchi and will be presented to the campus and local community at a reception at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 12, in the University Library. The evening will include a reading and book signing by Dr. Don Hata, emeritus professor of history, of the fourth edition of “Japanese Americans and World War II: Mass Removal, Imprisonment, and Redress,” which he wrote with his late wife, Dr. Nadine Ishitani Hata, in 1974. Higuchi says that she created “E Pluribus Unum” to ... Read More
