Memory plays an essential role in recovering the Asian American past. Since traditional US archives offer scant traces of Asian immigrants, historians have turned to personal recollections to fill in the gaps. In this course, we consider these alternative sources of history, including memoirs, oral histories, personal essays, (graphic) novels, and documentaries. How can these sources help us to reconstruct the lives of Asians in the Americas? What limitations do they hold? And how do they challenge the notion of historical knowledge?
Memoirs, oral histories, personal essays, (graphic) novels, and documentaries help historians to remember forgotten people and reconstruct overlooked moments in Asian American history. In this course, we will consider these alternative sources of history. How can personal recollections help us to understand the lives of Asians in the Americas? What limitations do they hold? And how do they challenge the notion of historical knowledge?