JAPN307: JAPAN-AMERICAN EXPERIENCE
Course Description:
This course focuses on Japanese-American experience from the 1860s to the present as an ongoing study in ethnographic assimilation, including early immigration and response; immigration and labor laws; property rights; and WWII internment. Students identify and evaluate the issues of the ethics of assimilation, racial and ethnic discrimination, educational opportunity, social justice, and cultural identity. Taught in English.
This course focuses on Japanese-American experience from the 1860s to the present as an ongoing study in ethnographic assimilation, including early immigration and response; immigration and labor laws; property rights; and WWII internment. Students identify and evaluate the issues of the ethics of assimilation, racial and ethnic discrimination, educational opportunity, social justice, and cultural identity. Taught in English.
Reflective narrative
This course on the Japanese American experience was a very structured and well organized course about the trials and triumphs faced by Japanese Americans from the 1800s immigration period to World War II internment times to even modern day generations.
Each class consisted of a lecture based on assigned readings, class discussions, and film/video viewing. Outside of class, we were able to attend online seminars to hear local Japanese American stories, were assigned weekly short essays, and as a final project researched a chosen topic about Japanese American history to present as a final essay and in-class presentation. The course additionally consisted of a midterm exam as well as a final exam to summarize the material from the readings and in-class viewings.
The materials that stood out to me in this class were ultimately the films that showcased the stories, whether fictional or not, of Japanese Americans. Particularly, I enjoyed the films "American Pasttime," "One Big Hapa Family," and "To Be Takei," as all films were relatable as much as they were informing despite the contexts of the Japanese internment and the Japanese American grand narrative.
I not only learned about the treatment of Japanese Americans during immigration times and wartimes, but I also learned about modern day treatment. Asian American racism is not a thing of the past, and continues today as a result of hoaxes of the origins of Covid-19 and disputes surrounding immigration, among other reasons.
I learned a lot about the remaining Japan Towns in California, the history of Japanese Americans in Salinas, Monterey, and Watsonville, and festivals I can attend to celebrate Japanese American culture such as Little Tokyo's Nisei Week and various Obon festivals at Japanese Buddhist Temples.
As this course included a final research paper and presentation, I decided to look at the local history I knew about Salinas. In high school, I took Japanese language courses where I met friends of mine who are Japanese American. I interviewed three of my friends: Noel Umamoto, Michael Uchida, and Emily Dairokuno about their experiences as a Japanese American youth in Salinas and how they view their identity. Ultimately, they all concluded that they feel they identify with both their American and their Japanese heritage, yet growing up it was a struggle to accept. Please read more about my interviews in my essay "Japanese American Youth Identity in Salinas, Ca".
I would like to take what I've learned from this class and my own research into my local areas and celebrate Japanese Americans by re-joining the Japanese American Citizens League in order to promote diversity among the youth as well as making an effort to vote in local, statewide, and countrywide elections for global citizenship, cultural diversity, and more.
Each class consisted of a lecture based on assigned readings, class discussions, and film/video viewing. Outside of class, we were able to attend online seminars to hear local Japanese American stories, were assigned weekly short essays, and as a final project researched a chosen topic about Japanese American history to present as a final essay and in-class presentation. The course additionally consisted of a midterm exam as well as a final exam to summarize the material from the readings and in-class viewings.
The materials that stood out to me in this class were ultimately the films that showcased the stories, whether fictional or not, of Japanese Americans. Particularly, I enjoyed the films "American Pasttime," "One Big Hapa Family," and "To Be Takei," as all films were relatable as much as they were informing despite the contexts of the Japanese internment and the Japanese American grand narrative.
I not only learned about the treatment of Japanese Americans during immigration times and wartimes, but I also learned about modern day treatment. Asian American racism is not a thing of the past, and continues today as a result of hoaxes of the origins of Covid-19 and disputes surrounding immigration, among other reasons.
I learned a lot about the remaining Japan Towns in California, the history of Japanese Americans in Salinas, Monterey, and Watsonville, and festivals I can attend to celebrate Japanese American culture such as Little Tokyo's Nisei Week and various Obon festivals at Japanese Buddhist Temples.
As this course included a final research paper and presentation, I decided to look at the local history I knew about Salinas. In high school, I took Japanese language courses where I met friends of mine who are Japanese American. I interviewed three of my friends: Noel Umamoto, Michael Uchida, and Emily Dairokuno about their experiences as a Japanese American youth in Salinas and how they view their identity. Ultimately, they all concluded that they feel they identify with both their American and their Japanese heritage, yet growing up it was a struggle to accept. Please read more about my interviews in my essay "Japanese American Youth Identity in Salinas, Ca".
I would like to take what I've learned from this class and my own research into my local areas and celebrate Japanese Americans by re-joining the Japanese American Citizens League in order to promote diversity among the youth as well as making an effort to vote in local, statewide, and countrywide elections for global citizenship, cultural diversity, and more.