Teaching history in a literature course is challenging because students are already required to read and analyze a literary texts such as novels, short stories, and poems. At the same time, they are encouraged to make connections to selective information in the novel by conducting research to further understand the political, social, and cultural aspects that are mentioned in the novels. By doing the research and cross-referencing the sources, they are also learning history. In my Asian American Literature course, students are asked to view primary sources and secondary sources to make personal and academic connections to the novel. Here are my questions for teaching history in an Asian American Literature course that focuses on a section about Japanese Americans during WWII:
Q 1: Are my students capable of asking questions to inquire about the historical evidence?
A 1: They are capable of asking questions that allow them to conduct research to help them understand the historical evidence. The historical evidence is usually new for them, and they begin to engage with it by asking various questions.
Q 2: Will they be able to recognize the connections between the various sources in order to reconcile the two contradictory positions between what they already know and what they need to put aside to begin historical thinking?
A 2: They should be able to make connections between the novel, primary sources, and secondary sources and realize that what they have been taught about the historical content is not enough; and they will begin to ask questions to begin their own construction of the historical knowledge. They will begin to see what was hidden or partially hidden from them as students when they were learning about the treatment of Japanese Americans during and after WWII in high school and/or college history courses.
Q 3: Will providing digital forms of the primary sources or digital resources for my students hinder their ability to investigate them to foster their historical thinking?
A 3: The digital sources will not hinder them from investigating them. It will provide another way for students to view and analyze primary and secondary sources that can be out of reach or inaccessible if they were only available in print and/or in a physical museum. Also, it will adhere to the different ways of learning or learning styles.
