Elementary Students Grappling With Difficult Knowledge of World War II in the Philippines

• In Event: Moving Critical Asian American Studies Into the Forefront of K–12 Education

Abstract

The study stems from two pressing needs: teaching war as difficult knowledge so as to stop endless US wars; and teaching Asian American history as part of US history so as to stop persistent anti-Asian violence. WWII in the Philippines is one of countless counterstories that debunk the dominant narrative of U.S. wars as always moral and just as well as the dominant narrative of Asian American as forever foreigners. This study looks at an elementary classroom where a teacher and students are engaged with an inquiry into the long history of US imperialism and white supremacy that shaped Filipinos’ lives as colonized subjects of the US prior to and during WWII.

Author

• Sohyun An, Kennesaw State University