Unlocking the Silence of Asian American Cultural Histories in Curriculum Knowledge: Memory-Work as Educational Equity

• In Event: Asian Diaspora Cultural Studies: Epistemologies of Historical Exclusion, Political Activism, and Curriculum Possibilities

Abstract

Contextualized within the United States, in this study, I use Densho, as an analytical framework for examining oral histories, archival images and records, literary works, and academic scholarship to trace the history of terms such as Asia/East, Asians, and Asian American as a way of exploring diaspora identity, knowledge, and experience within curriculum conversations in K12 schools and teacher education. Densho is a Japanese concept meaning “to pass on to the next generation,” or to remember, not forget, for in remembering is equity (Young 2021, p. 16). As a teacher educator, identifying with the Asian Diaspora in the US, my aim is to remember, therefore, contest the monolithic construction of ‘Asian’ as the cultural ‘other’ and position the collective, diverse, and heterogenous Asian Diaspora Cultural Studies its rightful place in curriculum theory, research, and practice.

This study also highlights the continued colonial disenfranchisement and cultural exclusion of Asians from curriculum conversations manifested in their lack of representation in K12 school curricula and relegations to Asian Studies as a minor in most college curricula. Resisting colonial practices against people of color have made it necessary for Asian diaspora scholars to advance curriculum renewal by positioning their histories, experiences, and knowledges at the heart of curriculum. Using Densho as a theoretical framework for exploring Asian diaspora cultural knowledge, this study uses memory work as a methodology to delve into the following questions: How has knowledge about Asian diasporas been produced historically and in contemporary times? How do the testimonials and memories of Asian diasporas create curriculum possibilities for equity and inclusion? How might Asian Diaspora Cultural Studies as a field of study continue the complicated conversations on memory work in the production of alternative and situated knowledges as a move toward educational equity and curriculum renewal?

Data from the study consist of archival oral histories, photographs, documents, newspapers, letters and other primary sources that document the testimonials, memories and histories and experiences of Asian diasporas in the US. Memory work as a methodology for recovering silenced experiences consists of a) decoding oral histories and pictorial archives to reclaim and celebrate diaspora experiences silent in curriculum conversations; b) deconstructive analyzing of diasporic histories and testimonials to intervene in colonial suppression and received knowledge; c) connecting multiple strands of diasporic cultural studies as a dynamic field of ongoing curriculum knowledge production; and, d) continuing the work of memory as a move toward equity in the present.

The study reveals the rich and diverse histories of dispersal from homeland, memories of the old and ongoing complex negotiation of new socio-cultural formations, testimonials of alienation, networks of diasporic cultural collaborations that validate memory work, and complex curriculum conversations of equity, renewal, and inclusion. Results also indicate that memory work of Asian Diaspora Cultural Studies is not a static epistemological notion or an ontological given defined within colonial terms; rather, they constitute the voices and knowledges of diverse peoples from multiple locations signifying movement, collectivities, divergences, and activism for curriculum renewal and change.

Author

• Suniti Sharma, Saint Joseph's University