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Countervisions of Postwar Japan
No full textThe story of Japan’s postwar period typically goes something like this: after total defeat comes the American Occupation (1945-1952) and Japan’s subsequent geopolitical incorporation into U.S. global foreign strategy vis-à-vis the Cold War (1947-1991), Korean War (1950-1953), and Vietnam War (1955-1975), which, while triggering Japan’s miraculous economic recovery, also heralds the characteristic countercultural movements of the 1960s, the eventual failure of which is often symbolized by the 1970 renewal of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty and the Osaka Expo.
This dissertation seeks to challenge this timeline by analyzing previously unlooked-at texts and the various ways Japanese and Okinawans tried to work through the question of how to be human in the new postwar society and global order. Drawing from decolonial and black studies theorists that have linked cultural practices to methods of social relation, and the importance of a sociality based in mutual recognition to resistance to the dehumanizing effects of coloniality, this dissertation takes up three mediums of literary and image-making practice—the translation of black literature, kashihon (rental) manga, and the photography of Ishikawa Mao—in an effort to theorize alternative modes of being human proposed in Japan’s postwar period. From the different routes and mediums explored in the cases herein—be they counter-American Studies, counter-mainstream, or counter-mingling—emerge the possibility of alternative narrating, history-making, and reading that can be both recuperated and recuperative.
First, I contextualize the sudden interest of Japanese scholars in the translation of Anglophone black literature beginning in the 1950s. Focusing on Hayakawa Publishing’s thirteen-volume The Complete Works of Black Literature (Kokujin bungaku zenshū, 1961-1963), and its head editor Hashimoto Fukuo (橋本福夫, 1906-1987), Chapter 1 argues that the translation and framing of black literature within the anthology was purposefully aimed at the field of American Studies, openly criticizing Western humanism through the questioning of what it means to write the human in literature. Building upon the collective efforts of the Association of Negro Studies (Kokujin kenkyū no kai), a research collective founded in 1954 and to which Hashimoto and many contributors of the anthology belonged, Hashimoto presents black literature to caution Japanese readers against the seductiveness of two powerful but flawed reading frameworks: the nationalist, race-based one that led to the militarism of the war, and the Communist one that failed to stop it. By presenting black writers’ protest against their dehumanization, whether it be Wright and Ellison’s rupture from the Communist Party, Baldwin’s break with religion, or Hughes’ eschewing of middle-class aspiration, Hashimoto warns the Japanese public of accepting systems that deny them their full humanity and seeks, through compiling black literature, other possibilities of belonging.
I then pivot to the postwar phenomenon of kashihon (rental) manga. Drawing primarily from the scholarship of the Kashihon manga-shi kenkyū-kai (The Research Society for the History of Kashihon Manga, est. 1999), Chapter 2 weaves together firsthand testimony from kashihon manga artists and former owners of rental bookstores to provide a detailed material history of the rental market, attending to its alternative sites of production, distribution, and circulation, as well as the gendered aspects of its labor and readership. As the first in-depth English-language study of kashihon manga, Chapter 2 makes clear the class-based distinctions that defined the rental manga reading economy from that of mainstream children’s magazines and newspapers. From the look and feel of the rental books themselves to the unscrupulous practices of the printing houses that provided them, Chapter 2 demonstrates the stakes of the kashihon market to lay the foundation for understanding the counter-mainstream manga form it fostered.
Chapter 3 introduces the illegitimate spawn of this alternative reading economy: gekiga (lit: “dramatic pictures”). After providing a history of how gekiga came to be, I introduce Ishiko Junzō’s theory of gekiga’s techniques and themes before zooming in on one of gekiga’s progenitors: Satō Masaaki (佐藤まさあき, 1937-2004). While mainstream children’s magazines and newspapers of the early postwar period touted beautiful youth with impervious bodies and democratic ideals, I argue that Satō’s vulnerable and vengeful protagonists, in conjunction with the violent aesthetics of gekiga, present a visual indictment of narratives of the healthy postwar economic and social body. A close reading of Satō’s The Man with a Black Scar (Kuroi kizuato no otoko, serialized from 1961-1962) ultimately reveals the frustrated desires of a class unable to recover from the war, and unwilling to silently accept its new place in postwar society.
Finally, Chapter 4 turns to the photography of native Okinawan Ishikawa Mao (石川真生, 1953-). Including a chapter on Okinawa in a dissertation titled Countervisions of Postwar Japan demands a rethinking of postwar Japanese experience in terms of time, place, and personhood. Ishikawa’s photography, I contend, is oppositional to more famous visual narratives of postwar Okinawa, such as those articulated by Tōmatsu Shōmei, Tokiwa Tokiyo, and Kitajima Keizō. By analyzing Ishikawa’s Akabanaa (“Red Flower”) series, which encompasses her time working at bars in the segregated districts of Koza and Kin Town between 1975 and 1977, I argue that Ishikawa’s photographic praxis strips three particularly entrenched postwar Japanese images— The Black Soldier, the Mixed-Child, and the Prostitute—of their explanatory power, instead reimagining the relationship between Japan, America, and Okinawa as based on something outside of their colonial military history
Individuals’ Exposure to Alcohol Environments: Measurement, Mobility, and Money
No full textAlcohol consumption is a significant issue both globally and domestically in the United States (US). Alcohol outlet density is a modifiable environmental factor that has been the focus of interventions to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harm. With almost 50 years of research on this topic, researchers have not reached a consensus on the true effect of outlet density on alcohol consumption, given the mixed evidence produced by the field in many contexts and populations (positive associations, negative associations, null associations). Despite publications of multiple systematic reviews synthesizing the research, significant empirical doubt remains on the association between outlet density and alcohol consumption. This dissertation proposes three main issues that may be reasons to produce mixed evidence: measurement, mobility, and money. That is, measurement is quite varied in the field, there exists a gap in the incorporation of geographic mobility knowledge in understanding and measuring exposure to alcohol outlets, and lastly, two potential effect modifiers, neighborhood income and individual income (i.e., money), have not been tested empirically as a reason for varying effects. This dissertation aims to explore each of these three concepts.
The three overarching objectives mentioned above are split among three dissertation aims. Aim 1 presents the results of a systematic review of all measurement techniques that have permeated the alcohol outlet density literature (measurement issue). Aim 2 quantifies the impact of various measurement methods using different neighborhood definitions on the estimates of the association of alcohol outlet density and alcohol consumption (measurement issue) and describes mobility in relation to factors related to alcohol consumption (mobility issue). Finally, Aim 3 explores income as an effect modifier of the alcohol outlet density and alcohol consumption relationship (money issue).
Chapter 2 presents the results of a systematic review that summarizes the state of alcohol outlet density measurement methods. Previous reviews focusing on alcohol outlet density summarized findings up to October 2014 without identifying differences in measurement methods that may drive the mixed effects permeating the literature. The aim of this systematic review was to describe the ways alcohol outlet density has been measured over the last 40 years and identify the theoretical justification of chosen measurement methods. In May 2024, literature searches of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science identified articles published after October 2014, the period following the last systematic review on alcohol outlet density. Papers synthesized in the three main systematic reviews prior were also included in this review due to the unique study focus. Studies must have presented alcohol outlet density as the exposure and any alcohol consumption measure or specific acute alcohol-related consequences (e.g., motor vehicle crashes, suicide, intimate partner violence, and violent crime) as outcomes. Three reviewers extracted information on research setting, study design, unit of analysis, measurement method, and whether justification for the neighborhood selection was provided, among other details.
This review identified 209 studies relating alcohol outlet density to alcohol consumption or alcohol-related harm. Container-based methods were the most used method of measuring alcohol outlet density, with 90% of studies using these methods. On average, ecological studies produced more positive associations than individual level studies and individual level studies produced more negative associations than ecological studies. Lastly, less than one-third of papers justified their method of measuring alcohol outlet density. This systematic review underscores wide variation in measurement method in the field, pointing to a potential reason for mixed findings. With the dominance of container-based methods, accompanied by a lack of theoretical justification for their use, and the well-documented spatial biases of container-based methods, future work in the field should look to establish methodological consistency and rigor by moving towards distance- and access-based measures.
Studies examining singular cities have documented the impact of using varying neighborhood definitions to calculate alcohol outlet density on alcohol consumption outcomes; however, it is unclear whether these impacts persist in multiple cities across the United States. Further in the identification of the appropriate neighborhood definition to study alcohol outlet density, understanding the mobility characteristics of populations in relation to factors related to alcohol consumption (e.g., income, age) remains imperative to understand the true exposure area for different individuals.
The study in Chapter 3 aimed to 1) compare residence-based and activity space-based measures of alcohol outlet density and identify differences in their associations with various alcohol consumption measures and 2) explore geographic mobility and neighborhood discordance by individual-level and neighborhood-level factors related to alcohol consumption. This cross-sectional study used data of participants SafeNights study that included GPS information and survey measures (n=147). I constructed on-premise alcohol outlet density measures using activity path buffers of 50m, 100m. and 200m, convex hulls, one standard deviational ellipses, home buffers of 50m, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 805m, 1609m, and administrative units (census block groups, census tracts, ZIP codes, and counties). Friedman tests compared overall differences in measurements using varying neighborhood definitions.
Using negative binomial models, alcohol outlet density measurements were used to predict alcohol consumption, adjusting for individual age, income, education, race, and employment. Lastly, bivariate models reported differences in average daily distance traveled, proportion of activity space outside of the 400m and 800m buffer, and proportion of activity space outside of the 400m and 800m buffer. Lastly, this study quantified neighborhood discordance by comparing ZIP codes of bars visited and homes. This study found correlations between activity path buffers and other activity space-based measures, in addition to correlations between census tract and census block group, 800m, 805m and 1-mile buffers around home. On-premise outlet density was not consistently associated with average number of drinks on each drinking day, maximum number of drinks on each drinking day, drinking at bars or drinking at restaurants. This study found mobility to vary by income, age, and race, and strong evidence of neighborhood discordance between residential areas and bar locations. These findings suggest the use of different neighborhood definitions for different population subgroups in a study, especially when examining access to on-premise outlets that tend to be located away from home neighborhoods.
Chapter 4 explored another potential reason for the mixed findings found in the alcohol outlet density literature. To date, no studies had explored neighborhood income and individual income as effect modifiers of the relationship between outlet density and alcohol consumption. With mechanisms, such as the market potential mechanisms and environmental injustice mechanisms, that place alcohol outlets in the areas nearest to concentrations of individuals who have a greater propensity to drink due to higher personal incomes, and disparate relationships between income and alcohol consumption, I hypothesized that the relationship between on-premise outlet density and alcohol consumption would vary by strata of neighborhood income and personal income. This cross-sectional study of 3,762 SafeNights participants utilized information on local and lagged on-premise outlet density to predict drinking days at bars, restaurants, and home. If negative binomial models produced a significant effect, I then stratified by neighborhood income and individual income. Associations were tested on multiple spatial scales (census block group, census tract, ZIP code, city, and county).
This study did not find a significant association between lagged on-premise outlet density and drinking at bars in the high neighborhood income – high personal income stratum but did find a significant association when examining local on-premise outlet density multiple spatial scales. Further, there was preliminary evidence of a null association between local on-premise outlet density and drinking days at bars on most spatial scales for the low neighborhood income-low personal income group. These findings suggest potential varying effects of the relationship between outlet density and alcohol consumption stratified by different income levels. Future work should test effect modification through multi-scale models to also isolate the spatial scale with the most impact on this association.
This dissertation aimed to disentangle the mixed findings in the research base examining the impact of alcohol outlet density and alcohol consumption. Neighborhood definition varied widely in the literature, preventing comparison of studies and ultimately posing a barrier to understanding the effect of outlet density on consumption. Mobility characteristics also varied by individual-level characteristics that are also associated with alcohol consumption. Lastly, the dissertation produced preliminary evidence for effect modification by income, necessitating future multi-scale models to fully understand on which level the influence of outlets on alcohol consumption behaviors lies
The Puzzle of Leadership in Democratic Theory
No full textThis dissertation challenges the long-standing tendency in democratic theory to neglect, downplay, and, at times, altogether reject leadership as a normative component of democracy. While the topic of leadership is commonplace in empirical analyses of democratic politics, normative democratic theory remains largely silent on the role of leaders. Against this constraining legacy, I argue that leadership should be recognized as a constitutive—in fact, indispensable—element of a democratic regime.
Through a critical examination of the three most influential traditions within postwar democratic theory—realist, participatory, and deliberative—I show that none has succeeded in offering a principled defense of leadership. Realist theorists such as Joseph Schumpeter and Robert Dahl incorporated leaders into their frameworks, but only as a pragmatic concession to the problems of scale and complexity. Writing against what they saw as an elitist turn in democratic theory, the participatory theorists of the 1960s constructed an alternative model centered on the direct participation of ordinary citizens. Yet in disavowing leadership, participators ended up enabling even worse forms of it: informal, opaque, and unaccountable. Deliberative democrats, lastly, neither endorsed nor repudiated leadership; instead, they have largely ignored it. Although mass deliberation presupposes actors who initiate, facilitate, and give shape to collective reasoning, the deliberative tradition offers little guidance on who those actors are or how they ought to be constrained. Under this framework, too, leadership was bracketed, sidelined, or rendered invisible.
To find an alternative and more productive way of thinking about the role of leaders in democratic settings, I turn to classical Athens. Unlike most contemporary theorists, the ancient Athenians did not regard leadership as antithetical to democracy, neither in theory nor in practice. Theoretically, democracy was defined not by the absence of all power inequalities, but by two crucial yet circumscribed principles of equality: isonomia (equal political rights) and isegoria (equal right to address the political assemblies).
While these principles guaranteed citizens equal standing within the formal structures of political decision-making, they did not require the erasure of all political differentiation. On the contrary, Athenian democracy depended on a spirit of competition that presupposed the possibility of distinguishing oneself. In practice, the Athenians recognized that leaders were not only necessary but also beneficial to the functioning of the regime: they contributed technical competence, procedural efficiency, ideological coherence, and political pluralism. Although the Athenian case cannot fully resolve the dilemmas facing modern representative democracies, it offers a more promising foundation for developing a normative theory of democratic leadership—one that views leadership not merely as a force to be constrained, but as one of democracy’s key assets
Physics-Based Modeling for Phenomenological Discovery in Secondary Battery Systems
No full textThis doctoral thesis focuses on leveraging physics-based modeling, in conjunction with advanced electrochemical characterization and parameter estimation techniques, for phenomenological discovery in secondary battery systems. The research addresses critical challenges in understanding and optimizing both established lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and emerging aqueous rechargeable zinc-manganese dioxide (Zn/MnO₂) batteries.
For LIBs, the study investigates the often-overlooked influence of polymer binders (PVDF) on liquid-phase Li-ion transport and tortuosity in NMC111 cathodes. A pseudo-two-dimensional (P2D) model, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) on TiO₂ blocking electrodes, and pulsed-field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (PFG-NMR) was employed. Results reveal that increasing binder content significantly elevates electrode tortuosity beyond traditional Bruggeman predictions, attributed to a "choke-point" mechanism where binder constricts ion pathways. An empirical correlation linking binder volume fraction to tortuosity is proposed.
For aqueous Zn/MnO₂ systems, a multi-faceted approach was adopted to unravel their complex electrochemical behavior.
First, a physics-based continuum model was developed, incorporating three primary reaction pathways: irreversible dissolution of pristine α-MnO₂, reversible dissolution/deposition of a zinc-manganese oxide (ZMO) species coupled with zinc-hydroxide-sulfate (ZHS) precipitation, and reversible Zn₂+ insertion/extraction into ZMO. Parameter estimation against experimental data identified electrolytic zinc depletion, driven by ZHS formation, as a key capacity-limiting factor.
Second, Galvanostatic Intermittent Titration Technique (GITT) was utilized to differentiate "fast" (kinetic/IR) and "slow" (transport/pH-driven) voltage relaxation processes. This analysis highlighted the critical role of pH dynamics, modulated by ZHS precipitation and solvation effects, in controlling cell potential and reaction kinetics, particularly for the ZMO dissolution/deposition pathway.
Third, electrolyte engineering strategies were systematically investigated, focusing on the effects of initial electrolyte pH (via H₂SO₄ addition), ZnSO₄ concentration, and MnSO₄ concentration on the performance and degradation of both -MnO₂ and -MnO₂ based cells. Operando pH measurements and continuum modeling linked capacity fade to the evolution of spatial gradients and potential material redistribution, influenced by ZHS precipitation and non- uniform MnO₂ utilization. Optimal ZnSO₄ levels were found to mitigate Zn²⁺ depletion, while initial acidification offered transient benefits, and increased MnSO₄ appeared to accelerated degradation.
Overall, this work provides significant mechanistic insights into the internal workings of these battery systems. The findings offer actionable principles for electrode design in LIBs and for electrolyte formulation and operational strategies in aqueous Zn/MnO₂ batteries, contributing to the development of more efficient and durable energy storage solutions
Image-making for a Nation: Understanding the tethered trajectories of the Addis Ababa City Corridor Project, foreign influence, and heritage
No full textThis research examines the historical construction and ongoing influence of foreign financial inflows, labor importation, and knowledge transfer on the development practices and aesthetic identity of Addis Ababa. It explores how multi-form foreign investment has been leveraged as part of a modernist urban development agenda that doubles as a nation- and image-building strategy. Such a dynamic mimics the hierarchical patterns of colonialism, despite Ethiopiaís historical resistance to formal colonization, through gradual displacement of indigenous urban vernaculars, and socio-spatial identities that are tethered to place and cultivated over generations.
Focusing on the 21st century China-Ethiopia relationship, the study discusses how Chinese infrastructural investments have shaped Addis Ababaís contemporary urban landscape, building upon a historical lineage of Italian, British, and French interventions. The Addis Ababa City Corridor Development Project (CDP) serves as the central case study, revealing how the pursuit of modernity through large-scale development has reproduced an uneven and dependent relationship, where Ethiopian development practices have now internalized neocolonial dynamics and trace.
In the Piassa neighborhood, one of the first neighborhoods to be overturned for the Corridor Project, this research examines the socio-spatial impacts of Phase 1 of the Project ñ including widespread displacement and erasure of cultural and architectural heritage. Mobilizing tezeta as a conceptual framework ñ an Ethiopian musical and linguistic expression of memory and longing ñ this research documents resident and diasporic reflections on loss, attachment, and place. Further evaluating how the sterilization of Piassaís urban fabric has disrupted collective memory and community identity.
By bridging an analysis of foreign influence with lived experiences connected to heritage loss, this research critically assesses who the Corridor Project truly aims to serve and interrogates the consequences of modernization pursued under the banner of national progress and international recognition
Toward a Preservation-Oriented Study of Nonresidential Cultural Displacement: A Case Study of Times Square’s Male Public Sexual Culture
No full textWithin the field of historic preservation, recent discussions have emerged surrounding the study of cultural displacement, that is, the erosion of long-standing, place-based cultural norms and practices caused partly by the closure of long-operating community institutions. This thesis considers a lesser-studied aspect of cultural displacement, examining how the phenomenon affects nonresidential publics. Such research may reveal histories of places that are absent or excluded from dominant preservation narratives.
This thesis employs two qualitative methods—in-depth interviewing and online forum comment analysis—to establish an augmented preservation-oriented approach for studying nonresidential cultural displacement. The methods were applied to a historical case study, focusing on the erosion and stigmatization of place-based social, cultural, and sexual practices found within the gay male adult theaters of Times Square during the 42nd Street Redevelopment Project between approximately 1970 and 2005. To test both methods, in-depth interviews were conducted with public-facing advocates for the adult theaters in Times Square, and comments on online forums were collected and analyzed for their shared recollections of the same subset of theaters.
The qualitative methods tested in this thesis were evaluated for their efficacy in identifying experiences of nonresidential cultural displacement. In-depth interviews were found to elicit extended narratives, often touching on social-spatial-cultural dimensions of cultural displacement. In contrast, online forum comment analysis more readily identified physically observable neighborhood change. When applied together, the dual methodologies present a robust qualitative approach to assessing nonresidential experiences of cultural displacement. Through the thematic analysis conducted with datasets from both qualitative methods, this research also demonstrates how the study of nonresidential experiences of cultural displacement offers preservationists a nuanced and replicable method to identify, characterize, and interpret (counter)narratives from marginalized publics
Transit Equity for Shift Workers in Hunts Point, NYC: Evaluating Mobility Barriers and Policy Solutions
No full textThis thesis examines transit equity challenges faced by shift workers at the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center (HPFDC), one of New York City’s largest industrial employment hubs. Through surveys with workers and interviews with institutional stakeholders from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and Department of City Planning (DCP), the study explores how limited off-peak transit service, inadequate pedestrian infrastructure, and affordability constraints shape the commuting experiences of workers in this essential sector.
Findings reveal a mismatch between existing transportation systems—often designed for peak-hour, white-collar commuters—and the realities of shift-based, low-income workers. While regional infrastructure investments like the upcoming Metro-North station are framed as equity-oriented solutions, the research finds they may bypass current workers unless complemented by localized improvements such as last-mile connectivity, nighttime bus frequency, and inclusive workforce engagement. The thesis also proposes the creation of a Mobility Management Center to support coordinated, worker-centered transit planning.
Ultimately, this study expands the discourse on transit equity by centering off-peak labor, advocating for multi-scalar mobility planning, and emphasizing the need to integrate the voices of workers into infrastructure and policy decisions
Genoa: A Circular Path Towards Resilience
No full textThe municipality’s planning documents, mainly the “Lighthouse Genoa’s City Strategy” and the “Genoa 2050 Action Plan for a Lighthouse City”, were developed to increase detailed analysis referring to the following impacts and propose actions and plans to mitigate them:
- effects on human health that could increase mortality and morbidity related to heat waves and warm spells stress, diseases and mortality from air pollution, allergic disorders, diseases related in change of vector-borne, water-borne and food-borne disease spreading;
- change on the hydro-geological regime with potentially increased risk of flash-flood in the 65 river basins, and widespread related risk of landslides;
- increased risk of forest fires and wild-urban interface fires in the most critical areas of urban boundaries;
- increased occurrence of extreme weather events combined with sea level rise, and related risk of coastal flooding and coastal erosion;
- losses in key economic sectors, such as energy, tourism, declining productivity in fishery and agriculture, infrastructure, transport and human activities, human settlements and socio-economic activities as a whole.
The Lighthouse Strategy was organized according to the three major assets (green, grey, soft), characterized by key elements and by their own particular themes. Needs were investigated, and solutions, methods, and actions were developed to support and anticipate changes, and to enable the city’s necessary transformation process.
Keywords: Transformative actions, multi-level governance, capacity buildin
Reflective Practice Within The Medical Setting In Saudi Arabia: An Exploratory Qualitative Case Study
No full textReflective practice is a vital component of medical education, fostering self-awareness, critical thinking, and lifelong learning, which are essential for navigating the complexities of fast evolving healthcare. To increase their proficiency, medical practitioners need to be engaged in reflective practice. However, little is known about how faculty, who are medical practitioners, learn to convey the importance and application of reflective practice to their students’ medical practice.
All of the twenty-six medical faculty members teaching in the Personal and Professional Development Theme (PPDT) were recruited for semi-structured interviews. This qualitative case study explored the perceptions of eleven faculty members regarding their personal experiences with reflection in their medical practice and how they learn to convey to their students the relevancy and importance of reflection in their medical practice.
The data was analyzed deductively, drawing on existing theories of reflective practice, and the findings revealed that while all participants recognized the importance of reflection, they struggled to clearly define and apply it in practice. Discussion was identified as the primary method used to encourage reflective practice (82%), although 64% of participants reported resource limitations as a significant challenge. Moreover, 55% of faculty members indicated that reflecting on their own practice helped them overcome these challenges.
The study concludes that medical education policymakers and administrators must provide clear definitions and practical examples of reflective practice to bridge the gap between its theoretical importance and practical application. It also suggests that a variety of instructional strategies should be used to cater to different learning styles, rather than relying solely on discussion. Additionally, providing adequate resources and professional development opportunities for faculty is crucial.
Recommendations for integrating reflective practice into medical education in Saudi Arabia include establishing it as a core competency within the national framework, implementing structured faculty development programs, and incorporating reflection into clinical training and assessments. By making reflection a formal part of the curriculum, Saudi Arabia can enhance critical thinking and lifelong learning skills in medical practitioners, ultimately improving patient care and medical outcomes
A rationally designed scalable thin film nanocomposite cation exchange membrane for precise lithium extraction
No full textPrecise separation of ions of the same polarity and similar valence and size remains a critical need in resource recovery from waste streams. Here, we report the rational design and scalable fabrication of a thin film nanocomposite (TFN) cation exchange membrane to achieve precise selectivity for lithium over competing cations. The precise selectivity is realized by an ultrathin polyamide (PA) layer incorporated with amine functionalized β-monoclinic lithium titanium oxide (N-LTO) nanoparticles using a scalable interfacial polymerization process that allows high N-LTO loading while minimizing interfacial defects. The TFN membrane demonstrates superior Li+ permeability, with Li+/Ca2+ and Li+/Na+ selectivity reaching 173.90 and 13.58, respectively. The Li+/Na+ selectivity is attributed to the Li+-exclusive transport pathway in the layered structure of the N-LTO, while size exclusion by the highly cross-linked N-LTO-PA also contrubutes to the Li+/Ca2+ selectivity. Molecular dynamics simulation shows that the electrical field drives Li+ dehydration and accelerates the migration of the dehydrated Li+ while Na+ is blocked due to its larger size than the Li+ cavity. The high Li+ selectivity and permeability enable energy-efficient, precise, and chemical-free lithium extraction using the electrodialysis process. The TFN membrane architecture also allows simple and scalable fabrication of a multi-functional polymer-inorganic nanocomposite membrane