Brett J Esaki

Interests

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Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Books

• Slominski, B. J. (2016). Enfolding Silence: The Transformation of Japanese American Religion and Art under Oppression. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Chapters

• Esaki, B. (2022). Bronislaw Malinowski. In Field Notes: Revisiting the Classics in the Study of Religion.
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  Invited book chapter for teaching edited volume. Each chapter tackles evaluates questions in the field of religious studies. Book to be used as a supplement for undergraduate-level religious studies theory courses. 
• Esaki, B. J. (2019). Attack on the Spirit by the “Rational World” (and Spiritual Recovery from It). In Fight the Tower: Asian American Women Scholars’ Resistance and Renewal in the Academy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
• Esaki, B. J. (2019). Religious Nones? Increasing Unaffiliated and Christian Religiosity among Japanese American Millennials. In Japanese American Millennials: Rethinking Generation, Community, and Diversity. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
• Esaki, B. J. (2015). Arts and Cultural Production. In Asian American Religious Cultures(pp 3-13). ABC-CLIO.
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  Volume 1 of encyclopedia, edited by Jonathan H.X. Lee, Jane Naomi Iwamura, Fumitaka Matsuoka, Edmond Yee, and Ronald Nakasone5,000 words
• Esaki, B. J. (2014). Japanese American Appropriation of Folkloric Symbols through Origami and Hip Hop. In Asian American Identities and Practices: Folkloric Expressions in Everyday Life. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.
• Esaki, B. J. (2012). Huston Smith. In The Encyclopedia of Global Religion(pp 1187-88). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
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  Encyclopedia, Edited by Wade Clark Roof and Mark Juergensmeyer500 words
• Esaki, B. J. (2012). Religion and American Ethnicity. In Immigrants in American History: Arrival, Adaptation, and Integration(pp 1743-61). ABC-CLIO.
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  Vol. 4. of encyclopedia, Edited by Elliott Barkan10,000 words
• Esaki, B. J. (2011). Japanese American Artists. In Encyclopedia of Asian American Folklore and Folklife(p. 610). ABC-CLIO.
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  Encyclopedia, edited by Jonathan H.X. Lee and Kathy Nadeau500 words

Journals/Publications

• Esaki, B. (2021). Spirituality Countering Dehumanization: A Cypher on Asian American Hip Hop Flow. Journal of Hip Hop Studies, 8(1), 35-62. doi:10.34718/tfjd-r717
• Esaki, B. J. (2021). Ted Chiang’s Asian American Amusement at Alien Arrival. Religions, 11(56), 1-19. doi:10.3390/rel11020056
• Esaki, B. J. (2019). Japanese American Spiritual Ambiguity and Arts of Silence. CrossCurrents, 67(4), 668-80. doi:DOI: 10.1111/cros.12289
• Esaki, B. J. (2019). Reaching Southern African Americans’ Interest in Asian Religions. Teaching Theology and Religion, 22(3), 208-12. doi:10.1111/teth.12497
• Jeung, R., Esaki, B. J., & Liu, A. (2015). Redefining Religious Nones: Lessons from Chinese and Japanese American Young Adults. RELIGIONS, 6(3), 891-911.
• Esaki, B. J. (2013). Multidimensional Silence, Spirituality, and the Japanese American Art of Gardening. JOURNAL OF ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES, 16(3), 235-65.
• Slominski, B. (2013). Embodied Performance of Folklore in Japanese American Origami. AMERASIA JOURNAL, 39(2), 71-90.
• Esaki, B. J. (2007). Desperately Seeking Silence: Youth Culture’s Unspoken Need. CrossCurrents, 57(3), 379-90.

Presentations

• Esaki, B. (2024). Fred Ho’s Multiracial Spiritual Legacy. Asian Pacific American Religions Research Initiative Annual Meeting. University of California, Berkeley.
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  Paper Presentation. Requirement of grant award. 
• Esaki, B. J. (2023, February). Grace Lee Boggs's Post-Industrial New Age. International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture. Tempe, AZ.
• Esaki, B. (2022, April). Miyazaki’s Two Contradictory Facts in Spirited Away. Concert Celebrating Japanese Music and Culture: Featuring Film Music from Studio Ghibli. UA Wind Ensemble, Crowder Hall.
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  Introduced music from _Spirited Away_ by explaining environmental and spiritual messages of the director (Miyazaki).
• Esaki, B. (2022, Spring). 80 Years of Remembrance: Umbrella Birthday. Panel, "Day of Remembrance: A Panel Discussion on Japanese Incarceration”Asian Pacific American Student Affairs.
• Esaki, B. J. (2022, Fall). Mojo Jojo: Oriental Conjurer and Sushi Chef. Association for Asian American Studies Annual Meeting. Denver, CO.
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  Presented in panel “Asian American Religions On-screen and Online.”
• Esaki, B. J. (2022, March). Overview of History of Anti-Asian Violence: USA and AZ. Asian American and Pacific Islander Awareness Campaign, Invent2Prevent. MKTG 425, “Applied Marketing,” Eller College of Management.
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  Introducing and consulting about Asian American history to help develop program to prevent anti-Asian violence at the University of Arizona. Sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security.
• Esaki, B. (2021, October). Intro to Representation of Pacific Islanders in US Pop Culture. AZAANHPI MeetingAZAANHPI (Student organization).
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  Student organization focused on Pacific Islander issues. Formal presentation on images of Pacific Islanders in United States popular culture and introduction to the APA Studies minor and how it addresses Pacific Islander issues.
• Esaki, B. (2021, Spring). EO 9066: Origins and Trajectory. Panel, "Day of Remembrance: A Panel Discussion on Japanese Incarceration”. Global Experiential Learning: Asian Pacific American Student Affairs.
• Esaki, B. (2021, Spring). History of Anti-Asian Violence. Panel, "#StopAsianHate: An Anti-Asian Hate Crimes and Bias Talk"Filipino American Student Association.
• Esaki, B. (2021, Spring). Host and Moderator. Duncan Ryuken Williams, “A Remembrance of Names: A Buddhist Monument to the WWII Japanese American Incarceration,”. Dept. East Asian Studies: Center for Buddhist Studies.
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  Host and moderator of invited talk by Duncan Williams. Involved in outreach to secure speaker and with coordinating talking points.
• Esaki, B. (2021, Spring). WWII Internment of Japanese Americans and Expansive Solidarity. Tea Time: Executive Order 9066 & Arizona. Pima Community College.
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  Virtual Event with international students from Pima Community College. Speaking planned, prepared, slides submitted for presentation. Event started but cancelled due to technical difficulties.
• Esaki, B. (2021, Summer). Integration of Independent and Interdependent Selves. Virtual Invited Talk. Virtual event: Pan-Asian Owls (faculty group), Western Governors University.
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  Virtual invited talk. Pan-Asian Owls is a faculty group and they were preparing for review by their university.
• Esaki, B. J. (2021, Fall). Oriental Conjurer: Inverse of the Oriental Monk. American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting. San Antonio, TX.
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  Presented in panel “Jane Iwamura’s Virtual Orientalism, Ten Years Later: Reflections and Response.” Asian North American Religion, Culture, and Society Unit
• Esaki, B. (2020, Fall). Towards Silence in Justice. The Humanities Festival. Virtual Event: College of Humanities.
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  PechaKucha presentations and panel, "Toward Justice for All: The Global Impact of Humanities Research"
• Esaki, B. (2020, Fall). Viral Peril: Persistent Fear of Asian Pacific Americans. Panel, "Pandemic Blues and Blame Games: Anti-Asian Rhetoric and the Realities of US-China Antagonism”. Department of East Asian Studies.
• Esaki, B. (2020, Spring). Healing Spiritual Roots through Racial Borrowing. Virtual invited talk, University of Michigan. Virtual event, University of Michigan: Asian / Pacific Islander American Studies, Department of American Culture.
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  Virtual invited talk. Was scheduled to speak at University of Michigan, but pandemic blocked travel. Held virtually instead, along with a graduate workshop after the lecture.
• Esaki, B. (2020, Spring). Turning Your Interdisciplinary Dissertation into a Book. Graduate Student Workshop, Asian / Pacific Islander American Studies, University of Michigan. Virtual Event, University of Michigan: Asian / Pacific Islander American Studies, Department of American Culture, University of Michigan.
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  Led graduate student workshop at the University of Michigan. Extension of invited talk. Was scheduled to present in-person, and pandemic changed to virtual event.
• Esaki, B. (2020, Summer). Spirit of Resistance and Change. Virtual book panel, “Fight The Tower and the Current Political Unrest with COVID-19 and #BlackLivesMatter.”. Virtual event, hosted by fighttower.com.
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  Virtual book panel. Was scheduled for in-person, but pandemic changed location.
• Esaki, B. J. (2019, February). "Religion," a Cactus, and Divine Presence. East Asian Studies Graduate Student Colloquium, "Object-Oriented Methodologies".
• Esaki, B. J. (2019, February). Asian American Religion & Hip Hop. Unifying our Aspirations: Asian/Pacific Islander College Day. Tucson, AZ: Asian Pacific American Student Affairs.
• Esaki, B. J. (2019, March). Grace Lee Boggs: Spiritual Role Model of Multiracial Resistance. American Academy of Religion Western Region. Tempe, AZ.
• Esaki, B. J. (2019, Spring). Enfolded Ideologies of Origami: Kindergarten, Weddings, and Atomic Bombs. Invited Lecture for Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. Iowa State University.
• Esaki, B. J. (2019, Spring). Grace Lee Boggs’s Mantras of a Multiracial Coalition. Invited Lecture for Department of Religious Studies. University of Denver.
• Esaki, B. J. (2019, Spring). Introduction to Asian and Asian American Hip Hop; panel: “Hip Hop Beyond: Hip Hop culture in Food, in Asian Continents and in Cinema. Africana Studies Hip Hop Festival. Tucson, AZ.
• Esaki, B. J. (2018, Fall). Flow, Marginalization, and Asian American Epistemological Exploration. American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting. Denver, CO.
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  Presented in panel “Still Getting By: Margin and Boundary in Black Theology and Hip Hop Culture.” Co-sponsored by Black Theology Unit and Critical Approaches to Hip-Hop and Religion Unit
• Esaki, B. J. (2018, Fall). Legacy of Dominance in Japanese American Monuments. Invited Lecture for Department of Philosophy and Religion. Middle Tennessee State University.
• Esaki, B. J. (2018, Fall). Ted Chiang’s Comedic, Moral Universe. American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting. Denver, CO.
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  Presented in panel “Mythos, Morality, and Made-Up Worlds.” Religion and Science Fiction Unit
• Esaki, B. J. (2018, September). Affiliate Research Presentations. East Asian Studies Grad Colloquium.
• Esaki, B. J. (2018, September). Panelist: The State of Asian Pacific American Studies at UofA. Let's Talk: Tackling Asian American Issues in Today's Society.
• Esaki, B. J. (2018, Spring). Monuments to Disaster: Religious Transformation in Japanese American Monuments. Invited Lecture for Department of Philosophy and Religion. University of Mississippi.

Reviews

• Esaki, B. (2024. Article Review:
  Hip Hop Geographies: Grounded Optics of Chinese Restaurant Life from Chinese Hip Hop YouTube Videos.
• Esaki, B. (2024. Article Review: Second, full review.
  Makin’ somethin’ out of nothin’: the origin of Hip Hop culture viewed from the Taoist conceptual framework of actualization and potentiality.
• Esaki, B. (2024. Erika Doss, Spiritual Moderns: Twentieth-Century American Artists & Religion (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2022)(pp 123-125). American Religion 6, no. 1.
• Esaki, B. (2022. Review: John Kessler, Between Hearing and Silence: A Study in Old Testament Theology. http://readingreligion.org.
• Esaki, B. (2021. Review: Russel M. Jeung, Seanan S. Fong, and Helen Jin Kim, Family Sacrifices: The Worldviews and Ethics of Chinese Americans(pp 623-626).
• Esaki, B. J. (2009. American Inquisition: The Hunt for Japanese American Disloyalty in World War II(pp 97-98).

Creative Productions

• Esaki, B. (2021. New Asian Pacific American Studies Minor Launches at "Vital Time in Our History". University of Arizona News. Interviewee for article by Eric Swedlund, College of Humanities. https://news.arizona.edu/story/new-asian-pacific-american-studies-minor-launches-vital-time-our-history?utm_source=uanow&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=
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  Published article for The Daily Wildcat.
• Esaki, B. (2021. Racist Attacks Revive Asian American Studies Program Demand. Associated Press. Interviewee for AP article by Terry Tang, Reporter, Race & Ethnicity Team. https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-health-coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-education-75e52566e991e492d60b55ec7c38830a
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  Published article for The Daily Wildcat.
• Esaki, B. (2020. “‘Our Pearl Harbor Moment": A Call for Asian Pacific American Studies. The Daily Wildcat. Guest Column, Opinion Section, The Daily Wildcat.
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  Published article for The Daily Wildcat.
• Esaki, B., & Thomas, J. B. (2020. Interview: Jolyon Thomas, Faking Liberties. Religious Studies Project podcast. San Diego, CA.
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  Interview of Jolyon Thomas about his book, Faking Liberties: Religious Freedom in Occupied Japan. International podcast on books in religious studies.

Creative Performances

• Esaki, B. (2021. Guest DJ, “Introducing UA’s Asian Pacific American Studies Minor and The Humanities Festival: Renee Tajima-Peña. interview by Hannah Levin, "The Home Stretch". KXCI Community Radio.

Other Teaching Materials

• Esaki, B. J. (2018. Whiteness Studies—Why Not to Teach It (As an Untenured Professor). American Academy of Religion Spotlight on Teaching.
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  Blog on teaching anti-racism in a religious studies classroom. Readership across the profession.
• Esaki, B. J. (2014. Asian American Music and Religion: Scaffolding to Teach Hybridity and to Reduce Anxiety. American Academy of Religion Spotlight on Teaching.
  More info

  Blog on teaching anti-racism in a religious studies classroom. Readership across the profession.