Asian American & Pacific Islander Perspectives within Humanities Education

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.9. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.3. Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.6. Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.

NCSS. D1.5.6-8. Determine the kinds of sources that will be helpful in answering compelling and supporting questions, taking into consideration multiple points of views represented in the sources.

NCSS. D2.Civ.2.9-12. Analyze the role of citizens in the U.S. political system, with attention to various theories of democracy, changes in Americans’ participation over time, and alternative models from other countries, past and present.

NCSS. D2.Civ.14.9-12. Analyze historical, contemporary, and emerging means of changing societies, promoting the common good, and protecting rights.

NCSS. D2.Geo.2.9-12. Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their political, cultural, and economic dynamics.

NCSS. D2.His.3.9-12. Use questions generated about individuals and groups to assess how the significance of their actions changes over time and is shaped by the historical context.

NCSS. D3.3.9-12. Identify evidence that draws information directly and substantively from multiple sources to detect inconsistencies in evidence in order to revise or strengthen claims.

NCSS. D4.6.9-12. Use disciplinary and interdisciplinary lenses to understand the characteristics and causes of local, regional, and global problems; instances of such problems in multiple contexts; and challenges and opportunities faced by those trying to address these problems over time and place.

NAEA. Responding: 7. Perceive and analyze artistic work; 8. Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work; 9. Apply criteria to evaluate artistic work.

Before embarking on an inquiry driven examination of Asian American and Pacific Islander history and culture in the U.S., it is important to reflect upon and unpack one's perspective and understanding of who, what, and where is bound up in these terms. To begin, construct a list of terms, places, events, people, and other associations you make when you:

• Think about Asian American history, arts, and culture?
• Think about Pacific Islander history, arts, and culture?
• Imagine Asia and the Pacific?

Reflect on your perspective regarding how the world is organized. In this case, do you envision the world and think of history with an Atlantic or Pacific centered perspective? View this map that places the Pacific Ocean at the center and consider what a Pacific-centered perspective and chronology of history might change, add, or remove from the telling of U.S. history. 

Events, concepts, and topics to investigate as part of a Pacific-oriented approach to U.S. history include, but are not limited to: Angel Island, Bainbridge Island, Port Townsend, labor used to mine for gold and construct railroads, Chinese Exclusion Act (1882), United States v. Wong Kim Ark (1898), Hawai'i becomes a sate (August, 1959), American Samoa, Guam, North Mariana Islands, Filipino Grape Workers (1965).

Activity 1. AAPI and Civic Engagement

Chronicling America offers access to more than two centuries of U.S. newspapers and is easily searchable by year, topic, and other queries. Based on the responses generated during the opening activity on imagining Asia and a Pacific-centered perspective, develop inquiry questions you can pursue in order to answer the question: How have AAPI individuals and organizations engaged as civic actors in U.S. history? 

Begin with the article entitled "Citizens if born here" that was published in the March 29, 1898 edition of the Kansas City Journal. Based on this article, design inquiry questions to learn more about what is presented. Consider topics such as citizenship, nationality, and anything else you deem related to a more complete telling of the causes and effects of the history of AAPI individuals discussed in the news article. 

Use the inquiry questions you created to construct a digital timeline that focuses on a specific topic that preceded or came after the news article. Draw upon primary sources and for your timeline, it is important that you:

• Engage in a change over time analysis by examining what happens between events noted on your timeline. Think about the process that led to and came as a result of an event, new law, court ruling, newspaper article, or something else you deem significant enough to include.
• Include multiple perspectives on items included on your timeline and evaluate outcomes from those perspectives.
• Ensure that the evidence you collect and the argument you construct positions you to respond to the guiding question for this activity (noted above). 

Compare timelines to develop a well-rounded understanding of what AAPI individuals and organizations experienced during the history captured on the timelines. Construct new inquiry questions as you review other timelines as if you were going to examine more closely certain items on a timeline or in the interest of continuing beyond the end of the timelines to make contemporary connections. 

Activity 2. Arts, Literature, and AAPI Perspectives

Who designed the Vietnam War Memorial (Washington, D.C.), La Pyramide du Louvre (Paris, France), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland, OH), and the Civil Rights Memorial (Montgomery, AL)? 

How does the answer to the above question connect with the opening reflection activity on what and where we imagine when we think about AAPI history and culture?

This activity asks you to consider a new compelling question: How do art and literature provide windows, mirrors, and sliding doors to AAPI perspectives and experiences?

What aspects of AAPI culture, arts, and entertainment are you interested in learning more about? Based on your answer to this question, design inquiry questions to guide the beginning of your research in the interest of crafting a response to the compelling question above. If you need assistance with a starting point, consider artists Yun Gee and Yasuo Kuniyoshi, authors Monica Stone, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Lawrence Yep, the poet Adrienne Su, and actors Anna May Wong and Mako Iwamatsu. 

As you pursue your inquiry, think analytically about the medium and topic you have chosen. What influenced the artist, author, or performer? Who has the artist, author, or performer influenced? Did place and time play a role in the kind of art this person created? What symbols and perspectives does their work reflect and mirror? What about this artist, type of art, or other aspect of their life and work should be noted in the telling of U.S. history?

Activity 3. AAPI and the Digital Humanities

Based on your research and initial responses to the above mentioned compelling questions, create a digital artifact that answers the compelling question for this lesson: How have Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders engaged civically and contributed to U.S. culture? Your digital artifact can take on one of the following forms:

1. Digital map. Construct a map that marks the life journey of a person you have focused on and that identifies who, what, and/or where influenced their work. For example, the art Yun Gee's created in San Francisco focuses on different topics and reveals different influences than those of the work he produced in Paris and New York City. Map his journey and annotate the map with art, primary sources, and digital media to tell his story in relation to the CQ.
2. Digital storyboard. Use digital storyboard software to put together a narrative that includes audio, visual, and textual artifacts that illustrate your response to the CQ. Craft an introduction and address how the person or topic was influenced and the extent to which the person or topic have been influential in U.S. history or culture. 
3. Digital media. Write an interactive blog, illustrate a comic strip, record a podcast, curate a digital art exhibit, create a digital book, or produce a vlog on the topic you have focused your inquiry and research on to answer the compelling question. Your creation will incorporate multiple perspectives, analysis of significance and influence, and an evaluation of the short and long term contributions or consequences.  

As a final reflection on what you have learned and created, discuss how you can ensure that these and other perspectives and experiences are not relegated to the past or limited to only certain months of the school year?

“Citizens if born here” article from Kansas City Journal (1898)

“I hear the locomotives” (EDSITEment lesson)

Adrienn Su’s “Peaches” (EDSITEment lesson)

NEH Fed/State Humanities Connections

“Outside the Frame” (NEH article, 2009)