Dr. Ned Davis to present History Workshop, March 4th

Professor Ned Davis will be presenting "A Medieval Masquerade: Empire and Ethnicity in the Making of China's Most Notorious Temple Cult," on Friday, March 4th at 2:30 pm in the History Department Library.  This is the second session of the spring semester for the History Workshop, "De-Centering the Nation State: Historical Methodology within a Pacific Geography."  There will be a small reception following the talk in the History Department Lounge. 

Nixon Library and Museum - Summer Internship

Help Make American History This Summer

The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum (www.nixonlibrary.gov), a nonpartisan federal institution operated by the National Archives and Records Administration, is seeking talented and energetic undergraduate students to work as paid interns from June 6, 2011, to August 12, 2011.

Interns will assist with substantial and meaningful projects, such as researching the Nixon administration, assisting with an academic conference on the life and times of President Nixon, developing educational resources, and creating content for our web site and museum exhibitions. Interns will participate in discussions with experts in fields such as the Cold War, espionage, presidential history, domestic policy, and museum administration and take part in seminars and other learning opportunities throughout the summer. Interns will contribute to the work of a major national center for the study of the presidency, American history, and the Nixon era.

We are seeking driven candidates with a demonstrated record of accomplishment. In choosing interns, we are not guided by an applicants' major field of study but by their commitment to serious and impartial inquiry, their passion for public service, and their interest in the work of a nonpartisan institution. We welcome applications from students majoring not only in history, political science, and international relations but also in other fields such as business, education, marketing, public history, museum studies, Asian studies, African-American studies, economics, journalism, and communications (particularly new media). Familiarity with research using electronic databases such as ProQuest, JSTOR, and EBSCOHost is welcome. Applicants must be U.S. citizens and be able to pass a basic background check.

To apply, please send a current resume, one or two letters of recommendation, a current transcript (a photocopy or other informal version is acceptable), and a cover letter explaining why you would like to be an intern at the Nixon Library to:

    Dr. Timothy Naftali

    Director, Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum

    18001 Yorba Linda Blvd.

    Yorba Linda, CA 92886

You may also email the application to NixonEducation@nara.gov.

Applications must be postmarked or emailed no later than March 25. Late applications will not be considered. Finalists will be interviewed in person or by telephone. Please direct any questions to Mindy Farmer, program coordinator, at mindy.farmer@nara.gov.

About the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum

The nonpartisan, federal Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum is a member of the National Archives and Records Administration's system of presidential libraries. The Library's mission is to preserve and make available the record of the administration and career of Richard Nixon. Learn more about the Library online at www.nixonlibrary.gov.

History Forum - February 24th - Dr. Sharleen Nakamoto Levine

Please join us next Thursday, February 24th, at 12 Noon for Dr. Sharleen
Nakamoto Levine's talk on "Rice as the Source of an Unbalanced Racial Diet."

We will meet in Sakamaki Hall A201, the U H Manoa History Department Library.

Dr. Levine will introduce, discuss and analyze the successful and controversial
Ewa Plantation Health Project, started in 1930 by Martha R. Jones. Ph.D. The
Project was an experiment with Filipino and Japanese mothers and their babies
to lower infant mortality and improve dental health. It intended to replace a
diet around cheap white rice with an infant formula using poi. The talk
considers the the meaning of the project and the controversy surrounding it.
What are its legacies for writing about the histories of Filipino and Japanese
women in Hawaii, and their beliefs, practices and health?

The talk is free and open to the public.

Professor Joel Tishken will present "The Zions of Africa: Non-Trinitarian Christianities of Modern Africa" on February 10th

Please join us for this fascinating talk, which is free and open to the public!

Where: History Dept. Library, A-201, Sakamaki Hall
When: Thursday, February 10th, 12:00pm noon until 1:30pm

 Professor Joel Tishken:

This presentation will discuss Zionist Christianties in Africa and proposes an ideological shift for scholars. When scholars have compared churches such as the Nazareth Baptist Church, Legio Maria, and Cherubim and Seraphim to other forms of Christianity, these African theologies have generally been compared to European ones. Yet comparison of Zionist theologies by Western scholars has, not very surprisingly, led to a mountain of scholarship that finds African theologies to be heterodox and the European ones orthodox. I would contend that such an assertion, though framed as a theological or religious question is, in fact, a political one concerning the ownership of Christianity.

I will respond to this in two ways. Firstly, I will contend that the most central characteristic of Christianity is its translatability. Thousands of cultures over the course of history have redefined Christianity to suit its own needs. Europe has had its reformation (which continues today). Is Africa not entitled to one as well? This factor alone makes Zionist churches as Christian as any other.

But secondly, and more importantly, my own research indicates that some of these Zionist churches are reifying (though not deliberately) very ancient theological ideas. Many of them share theologies similar to those Christians cast out by early ecumenical councils, such as the Arians, Ebionites, and Montanists. Far from being non-Christian, African Zionist theologies are recreating very ancient forms of Christianity. In this manner, by shifting our comparative gaze away from Europe and into the ancient Christian past, Zionist theologies can appear anciently Christian, rather than exotic and heterodox from a Western point of view.

Marginality in South Asia across the Disciplines

Next week the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa will host two Center for South Asian Studies Rama Watumull Collaborative Lecture Series fellows.  Professors Ishita Banerjee-Dube and Saurabh Dube of El Colegio de Mexico, both interdisciplinary historians with a distinguished record of publications, will present at a series of four events collectively titled “Marginality in South Asia across the Disciplines.”  

We look forward to seeing everyone there.  Short readings are available for the two workshops—do encourage your graduate students to attend.  Abstracts for each event available upon request.  Please contact Dr. Ned Bertz (bertz[at]hawaii[dot]edu) to have the articles or abstracts sent to you electronically.  

‘Unsettling Art: Caste, Gender, and Dalit (Untouchable) Expression’
A public lecture by Dr. Saurabh Dube
Monday, February 7th, 5-6.30pm, Art Building 101

‘Questions of Religion and Politics: Democracy and Secularism in Contemporary Societies’
A workshop for graduate students and faculty led by Dr. Ishita Banerjee-Dube
Tuesday, February 8th, Noon-1.30pm, Sakamaki Hall A302

‘Cultures of Colonialism: Empire, Gender, Nation in British India and Spanish America’
A public lecture by Dr. Ishita Banerjee-Dube
Wednesday, February 9th, 11.30am-1pm, Sakamaki Hall A201

‘Subjects of Modernity’
A workshop for graduate students and faculty led by Dr. Saurabh Dube
Friday, February 11th, 3.30-5pm, Sakamaki Hall A201

The events are sponsored by the Department of Art & Art History, the Department of History, the Department of Religion, and the Women’s Studies Program, and are funded by the Center for South Asian Studies’ Rama Watumull Collaborative Lecture Series and the UH Diversity and Equity Initiative.