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seokweonjeon.bsky.social
Seokweon Jeon
@seokweonjeon.bsky.social
3.8K followers 1.7K following 92 posts
US Religious Historian with focus on MBC (migration, borders, citizenship), Asian America, US Imperialism | PhD Candidate @Harvard Religion & Fellow @Weatherhead | Every Thu.@BOS.Symphony | Reading Now:📚 How Our Days Became Numbered

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seokweonjeon.bsky.social
On July 4, 1917, Henry Ford’s English School held its graduation. Immigrant workers in native dress descended from a mock steamship into a giant cauldron marked “Melting Pot” and emerged in suits, waving US flags. Assimilation staged as public ritual.

Credit: The Henry Ford Collection, THF106481
In 1914 Ford Motor Company established the Ford English School, where the automaker's diverse immigrant employees could learn the English language and take civics lessons in preparation for becoming U.S. citizens. At the graduation ceremony, students wearing clothing from their native countries descended into a large "American Melting Pot" and emerged wearing homogenous suits and waving American flags.
July 2, 2025 at 4:10 PM
seokweonjeon.bsky.social
This has been the hardest week I've had since coming to Harvard. But then these books arrived, one by one, like gifts. They reminded me why I study, why I’m here, and what still calls me forward.

Grateful for the scholarship and spirit of @tomtweed.bsky.social, @judithweisenfeld.com,& Gordon Chang.
May 27, 2025 at 11:56 PM
seokweonjeon.bsky.social
So thrilled to host 2025 Spring Harvard Study of Religion Book Talk with Melissa Borja (U. Michigan) for her multi-awarding-winning book, Follow the New Way: American Refugee Resettlement Policy and Hmong Religious Change.

📅 Wednesday, April 16

🕔 5:00–6:30 PM

📍 Thomson Room at Barker Center
April 4, 2025 at 9:36 PM
seokweonjeon.bsky.social
The AP Style Guide has officially announced in 2022 that they're updating their terminology guidelines around Japanese American history to use the words "incarceration", "Incarcerated", and "detained" as opposed to the old, euphemistic terminologies of internment, "relocation center.”
The image is an AP Stylebook update from May 2022, clarifying the terminology for discussing the forced removal and imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It explains that while "internment" has been widely used, it is inaccurate since two-thirds of those incarcerated were U.S. citizens and thus could not be classified as "interns." The guide recommends using "incarcerated" or "detained" instead and referring to the broader event as the "incarceration of Japanese Americans" to reflect historical accuracy and sensitivity.
February 19, 2025 at 2:16 PM
seokweonjeon.bsky.social
82 years ago today—Feb. 19, 1942—Executive Order 9066 was signed, authorizing the forced removal and mass incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans, 2/3 of whom were US citizens. The incarceration of Japanese Americans revealed how “enemy” and “citizen” are not opposites but shifting categories.
A black-and-white photograph captures Japanese American families at a transportation hub during their forced relocation under Executive Order 9066 in 1942. They are surrounded by piles of luggage, with identification tags attached. Some individuals appear solemn, while others, including children, wait amidst the crowd. * Source: Japanese Americans wait with their luggage at the Santa Fe rail station in Los Angeles for trains that will take them to an internment camp in the Owens Valley. (Russell Lee / Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)
February 19, 2025 at 2:16 PM
seokweonjeon.bsky.social
Religion and Indigeneity in the Pacific and Asian Americas is hosting its third talk on Feb. 5.
Dr. Kathryn Gin Lum (@kginlum.bsky.social) will join to share insights from her 2022 book, Heathen: Religion and Race in American History, and explore its broader implications.

RSVP: tinyurl.com/4pjvk6ff
January 23, 2025 at 6:42 PM
seokweonjeon.bsky.social
I just watched The Brutalist, which ran almost 4 hours.

While its striking cinematography and innovative stylistic flourishes are undeniable, the narrative lacks cohesion, with blunt storytelling choices and underdeveloped threads that fail to fully immerse the audience in László Toth’s journey.
January 22, 2025 at 11:28 PM
seokweonjeon.bsky.social
Call For Papers

The Pasifika Religion & Spirituality Talanoa | Harvard, an interdisciplinary symposium, invites proposals critically engaging Pacific Indigenous spiritualities, Christianity, climate justice, and Pasifika well-being.

📅 Nov. 19-21, 2025
📍 Harvard (Cambridge,MA)
📝 Abstracts due: 3/31
A poster for the Pasifika Religion & Spirituality Talanoa | Harvard, an interdisciplinary symposium to be held November 19-21, 2025, at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The event precedes the American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting in Boston, MA (November 22-25, 2025). The Call for Papers invites proposals that critically analyze the role of Indigenous spiritualities and Christianity in climate crises, gender issues, and the well-being of Pasifika communities. The symposium will focus on talanoa (free-flowing discussion) and interdisciplinary approaches, drawing from Religious Studies, Moana Theology, Moana Biblical Criticism, Pacific Studies, and Indigenous Studies. Papers will be pre-circulated, and discussions will center around participants' short summaries. Submissions are encouraged from Indigenous scholars, cultural knowledge holders, and allies from Oceania, including the Pacific Islands, Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia, and the Pacific diaspora. Suggested topics include Indigenous Methodologies, Pre-Christian Spiritualities, History of Christianity, Moana Biblical Criticism, Moana Theologies, and Rainbow MVPFAFF+ and the Church. Important dates: Abstract submission: March 31, 2025 Notification: May 30, 2025 Paper submission: July 31, 2025 Registration opens: September 2, 2025 Symposium dates: November 19-21, 2025 Harvard University acknowledges its location on the traditional and ancestral land of the Massachusett Tribe. The symposium is facilitated by Therese Lautua, College Fellow in Indigenous Religion, with support from the Harvard University Committee on the Study of Religion. Contact information: Abstracts (500 words max) can be emailed to csrpasifika@fas.harvard.edu, including name, affiliation, paper title, and contact information.
January 17, 2025 at 5:14 PM
seokweonjeon.bsky.social
The only Emily that deserved to go to Paris.
Emily Charlton, a character from the film The Devil Wears Prada, in a three-panel sequence. In the first two panels, she looks visibly stressed, holding her head and rubbing her temples while sitting at her desk. In the third panel, she stares at her computer screen with an exasperated expression, repeating the mantra, "I love my job. I love my job. I love my job," in an attempt to stay composed despite her evident frustration.
December 22, 2024 at 3:02 AM
seokweonjeon.bsky.social
Boston area folks and elsewhere: Great event at Harvard on 10/26 (3pm) with the amazing @janehongphd.bsky.social, Helen Jin Kim, Sandra H. Park speaking on religion and the Korean Diaspora. Open to the public both in-person and online. Come on out & please spread the word!
RSVP: tinyurl.com/mtz3m79b
October 14, 2023 at 8:22 PM
seokweonjeon.bsky.social
It was November, 2022. My ex-roommate visited Boston for work and he said he is now working for a company that sounded like a drug name—Bluesky.

I totally forgot about this app until yesterday. And it turned out I had a invite code since March.

So… Hi, Bluesky! I have just landed on your planet!
October 7, 2023 at 11:31 PM