Mennonite
Central
Committee

Canadian Japanese-Mennonite Scholarship Recipient for 2004

Mennonite Central Committee of Canada (MCCC) is pleased to announce that Sheena Wilson, a PhD candidate from Sherwood Park, Alberta has been named the Canadian Japanese-Mennonite Scholarship recipient for 2004.

The scholarship was established in 1985 as a tangible expression of regret for the injustices suffered by Japanese-Canadians during World War II.

Wilson will be using the $2,000 award to complete her doctoral program and thesis in Comparative Literature & Film/Media Studies at the University of Alberta. Her research will examine films and writings by Japanese Canadian women which discuss the effects of internment during World War II. Following the war, shame and poor public opinion of the community were internalized, negatively affecting the individual and community identity of Japanese Canadians.

Recently, Japanese Canadian women writers and filmmakers have been trying to address the struggles and negative images of previous generations through their work. Wilson says that if the works of these lesser-known artists are not examined, "the cultural product of the Japanese Canadian community will not become embedded in Canadian cultural memory and the valuable message presented will be lost."

She proposes that the Japanese Canadian identity is "at the forefront of a new stage of representation and re-configuration because of both external political forces and a creative impetus from within the community."

Wilson believes her work can be applied to the study of other communities affected by government wartime policies and has already published work on the internment experience of the Italian Canadian community. Wilson hopes her doctoral work will stress the "inherent danger of 'Othering' ethno-cultural groups... (for example, by) outlining the similarities between the historical representation of Japanese Canadian 'Enemy Alien' and the present Muslim Canadian 'Person of Interest'," especially in the post-September 11th era.

The Canadian Japanese-Mennonite Scholarship is jointly sponsored by MCC and the National Association of Japanese Canadians. The purpose of the scholarship is to assist research in the protection of minority and human rights in Canada. It also seeks to reduce the potential for abuse of minority groups, such as was suffered by Japanese-Canadians during the war.