Restoring Dignity: Japanese American Incarceration in State Social Studies Curriculum Standards

• In Event: Roundtable Session 45
  In Roundtable Session: Contested Curricula: Race, Democracy, and the Limits of Conscientization

Abstract

On December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan forcing the United States to take actions to protect its citizens. Based on a prejudiced investigation, President Roosevelt called for the incarceration of Japanese Americans because of a perceived threat of sabotage. 40 years after the closure of the internment camps, congress and President Reagan apologized for past injustices and called for an investment in education to ensure the public understands why internment was a violation of civil liberties. This study examines how state educational agencies have implemented the recommendations of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 through a critical review of high school social studies curriculum content and learning standards from all 50 states and Washington D.C.

Author

• Michael Ishimoto, University of California - Los Angeles