This Master’s thesis uses the Indochinese Refugee Foundation of Lowell, Massachusetts, a federally funded social service provider, as a case study in the local politics of Southeast Asian refugee resettlement. I argue that the Foundation’s archives offered an opportunity to study the local implementation of the “economic self-sufficiency” mandate of the 1980 Refugee Act, which led the Foundation to increasingly scramble to get refugees off of the welfare rolls and in the labor market as quickly as possible. I conclude that this served to push refugees into low-wage, unskilled, insecure positions such as electronics assembly, and also led to an institutionalized neglect of the broad range of services refugees required. This neglect had a hand in creating the very poverty the Act originally sought to prevent. The archive also offered the opportunity to highlight two unexpected ways that Cold War militarism reshaped urban landscapes. First, the demography and culture of Lowell were profoundly reshaped by refugees resettled partly as a result of American Cold War foreign policy in Southeast Asia. Second, the expansion of Defense Department funded high-technology temporarily revitalized the city’s economic base and drew refugees to the city with the promise of employment.

This thesis presents an original annotated translation of Xiangyang shou cheng lu 襄陽守城錄 [A Record of the Defense of Xiangyang’s City Wall] written by Zhao Wannian (ca. 1169-1210) in 1207. In this record, Zhao, a low ranking official in the Song army, describes the events of a two and half month siege imposed upon the city of Xiangyang by invading Jin troops. Currently the only other full translation of this text that is available is in German by Herbert Franke and can be found in Studien und Texte zur Kriegsgeschichte der südlichen Sungzeit that was published in 1987. In addition to my translation, an overview of this event in the war between Song and Jin (1206-1208) as well as an overview of Xiangyang’s strategic geographic location is included in the introduction. A copy of the Yue ya tang edition of the text is provided in the appendices, along with an index of names which appear in the text, an explanation of the translation of titles, a glossary of weapons, a glossary of place names, and supplementary maps and photographs.

Asian history is increasingly recognized by experts as a necessary part of a high school student's world history experience. Asia is important for them to study because of its great intrinsic value and because of Asia's relationship with the United States in the future. To date, however, in Utah there are no separate Asian history courses being taught and few teachers include Asia as an important part of the world history course.Schools in other parts of the nation have instituted practical Asian history courses and Utah can follow their example. Teachers should consider how much time can be devoted to Asia, whether to teach a survey of all Asia or in-depth studies of one or two Asian countries, and what methods to use. Each teacher must decide what is best for his situation. A variety of books and teaching aids are available to help him gain knowledge and enrich the course. Utah teachers can make a significant contribution to America's future by teaching valid concepts about Asia to their students.

This dissertation studies the critical and historical examination of modern Japanese Buddhism in terms of its collaboration with and resistance to ultranationalism and militarism before and during World War II. It also examines how Buddhism came to Japan and transformed itself according to the historical, social and political contexts throughout history. Also it shows how and why Japanese Buddhism has transformed the Gautama Buddha's teachings, the Dhamma and the notion of community, Sangha to its own in terms in relationship to the state. In order to examine the Japan's modern-nation-state's invention of installing a national consciousness and identity in the people through the means of State Shinto and the emperor, kokutai ideology after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, I apply the methodologies of social critical theories of James Scott, Benedict Anderson, Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu. After the Tokugawa shogunate's long patronage of Buddhism (1602-1868), the dissertation examines how modern Japanese Buddhism was challenged by the Meiji state, and transformed itself to meet the need of the modern-nation-state centered on State Shinto and kokutai ideology. Moreover, it exposes how Japanese Buddhism struggled to meet the modernity itself such as individuality and socialization. Furthermore, in the 1930-40's, in the context of rise of ultranationalism and militarism in the name of "overcoming modernity," this dissertation explores how the Japanese Buddhist sects such as True Pure Land, Nichiren, Zen, and the Kyoto School collaborated with and resisted to them. Despite the main Japanese Buddhism's active participation in the war, there were few Japanese Buddhists' resistances. The dissertation examines why and how they could not effectively resist but failed. Moreover, the dissertation shows that there were several opportunities that Japanese Buddhism might have stopped the state's control of religions--the rise of ultranationalism and war ideology in the cases of Uchimura Kanzô's lese majeste in the 1890's, the state's failures of ratification on the Religious Organization Law twice in the 1920's, and Seno'o Girô's anti-fascist movements in the 1930's--the Buddhists had had critical minds and organizational wills alongside with the interreligious cooperation with Christianity and new religions. Thus, this dissertation critically examines Japanese Buddhism in three terms; the social critical ethics, the interreligious dialogue, and the trans-national dialogue. It shows why and how Japanese Buddhism lost the Buddha's critical mind, social ethics, the democratic origin of Sangha, as well as the trans-national dialogue with Korean, Chinese and South Asian Buddhists and eventually justified the Japanese imperial aggression against Asia. I hope that my dissertation will help the Japanese Buddhists undertake a self-critical examination of their involvement in World War II, and would set up a good example of self-criticism of religion and nationalism. It could certainly help the current Islamic people's struggles for democracy, nationalism and holy war. Also in case of China's nationalistic expansionism which resembles the Japan of 1930-40's, in the name of nationalism and social harmony, religious freedom was limited to the inner private realm, but its public role in checking nationalism was suppressed. Tibetan Buddhism, Falun Gong and house Christian churches cried out for their freedom. Therefore the self-critical examination of the rise and fall of the Japanese empire in terms of religion, religious freedom and ultranationalism might help Chinese religions and intellectuals as well as other cases involving religion, nationalism and war. / Religion

This work asserts that bureaucratic organization is not only an inevitable part of the modern administrative state, but that a high quality bureaucracy within a strongly empowered executive branch is an ideal mechanism for running government in the modern era. Beginning with a philosophical inquiry into the purpose of American government as we understand it today, this paper responds to criticisms of the role of expanded government and develops a framework for evaluating the quality of differing government structures. Following an evaluation of the current debate surrounding bureaucracies (from both proponents and critics), this thesis outlines the lessons and principles for structuring and managing an efficient bureaucracy. Finally, this paper concludes with two case studies – Puerto Rican bureaucratic failures and Japanese/Chinese national development – to consider the effects of compliance and non-compliance to the lessons outlined in this work. The inquiry finds that principles such as specialization, political autonomy, effective information systems, higher accountability standards, and managerial emphasis on policy implementation are all critical to superior bureaucratic governance.

This thesis addresses how Japanese and Japanese Americans may have lived and been perceived in Virginia from 1900s through the 1950s. This work focuses on their positions in society with comparisons to the nation, particularly during the “Jim Crow” era of “colored” and “white,” and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. It highlights various means of understanding their positions in Virginia society, with emphasis on Japanese visitors, marriages of Japanese in Virginia, and the inclusion of Japanese in higher education at Roanoke College, Randolph-Macon College, William and Mary, University of Virginia, University of Richmond, Hampden-Sydney College, and Union Theological Seminary. It also takes into account the Japanese experience in Virginia during Japanese internment, while focusing on the Homestead, Virginia, as well as the experiences of Japanese students and soldiers, which ultimately showed Virginia was distinct in its mild treatment towards the Japanese as compared to the West Coast.

Admiral Thomas C. Hart And The Demise Of The Asiatic Fleet 1941 – 1942 is a chronicle of the opening days of World War II in the Pacific and the demise of the U.S. Navy’s Asiatic Fleet. Beginning with the background of Four Star Admiral Thomas Hart, this chronicle shows the history of the nearly obsolete ships that fought in the beginning of World War II. The reader will come to realize how and why this fleet ceased to exist within ninety days from the start of the war. Historical evidence will show that the damage inflicted on the Japanese was much greater than what was recorded in popular history. Hart was relieved of his command due to political considerations but not a single ship was lost while he was in command of the Asiatic Fleet. Hart fulfilled his orders to preserve the integrity and safety of the American Asiatic Fleet.

By 1942, the Japanese occupied nearly all of East and Southeast Asia and their influence even spread as far as British controlled India. This occupation, known as The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, was an ideological unity of Asia under the facade of mutual benefit and welfare of Japan and the other nations within the Sphere. However, The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere failed because of the inability of the Japanese to form this mutual benefit between the nations within the Sphere. This work evaluates the events that led to The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, life within the Sphere, and the reasons for its failure.

Explicitly stated the hypothesis that was tested was as follows: The relationship between Presidential action and an increase in public support for the President on matters of Vietnam policy is equal to zero. Presidential action was viewed as any major development in Policy (whether it be military or political) toward the war. Furthermore, any major speech by the President or other high governmental official reaffirming the government's course of action was posited into the category of Presidential action. In order for the speech to be considered "major" it either had to have been broadcast over nationwide television or widely disseminated In the press. American public opinion is here defined as the views expressed by those individuals interviewed by the Gallup Poll. These views will be considered representative of the opinions held by the larger American public.

This study analyzes United States foreign policy toward Communist China in the transitional period since 1966, based on the American China experts' writings in journals dealing with international affairs and their views expressed in Congressional hearings. The contents explain the changing of American policy toward China from "containment without isolation" toward a rapprochement with Peking and progress toward normalization. The achievement of normalization has been a basic policy goal of the United States and has received bipartisan support, but the formula to accomplish normalization still remains obscure, due mainly to the settlement of the "Taiwan question." The essay includes four parts: (1). The introduction provides a general review of United States policy toward Peking since the establishment of the People's Republic of China; (2). Chapter I analyzes and explains the reasons for the Nixon Administration seeking a new approach to Peking; (3). Chapter II reports on American and Chinese signals of their willingness to pursue rapprochement and improve their relations; (4). Chapter III describes the American normalization process with China since the 1972 Shanghai Communique and the obstacles to the development of normalization; (5). Chapter IV concludes with speculation on future United States policy toward China.