This assignment pushes students to think critically about the life stories of everyday people in relation to the larger themes, topics, and historic events we discuss in class. Students will write a p
Oral History Paper Proposal
I plan to write an oral history paper on the theme of living in Hawaii during the early 20th century, using the online database Densho and Densho Digital Repository. The primary source for my paper is the recorded interview of Grace Sugita Hawley, who was born in Honolulu in 1931, which will provide valuable insights into what life was like in Hawaii during this period. I aim to examine the social dynamics, economic situations, and cultural traditions, especially of Americans of Japanese descent, who made up a significant section of the population during this time.
Life in Hawaii: An Autobiographical Memoir by Dr. Edward Turner Perkins, 1901–1941, published in 1982, is one of the pertinent scholarly works I want to study. As he discusses the discrimination and segregation that ethnic communities in Hawaii, notably Japanese Americans, endured, Perkins' book will provide my paper historical perspective and backdrop. According to Hawley, who grew up in a Honolulu neighbourhood where the majority of the residents were Japanese Americans and had to deal with anti-Japanese prejudice during World War Two, Perkins' observations about the "racial obstacles" that existed in Hawaii are consistent with Hawley's account of those same obstacles.
The interview with Hawley offers a first-hand account of the lives of Asian Americans in Hawaii at this period. For instance, Hawley recounts how the FBI first detained her father, a U.S. Army veteran, in a camp and arrested him for supposed treason because of his Japanese heritage. This incident brings to light the prejudice and imprisonment that Japanese Americans endured during World War Two, a topic that Perkins also covers. These sources contend that historical occurrences like American imperialism and the civil rights movement shaped Asian Americans' lives in Hawaii at this time.
The paper will examine how historical occurrences, social dynamics, economic conditions, and cultural traditions influenced the lives of Asian Americans in Hawaii. Moreover, it will look at how these encounters have affected their sense of self and how they have developed the ability to speak out against injustice. The paper will also emphasise how important these concerns are to modern society.
Interview source
https://ddr.densho.org/interviews/ddr-densho-1000-246-1/
Book source that was use in class for references
https://archive.org/details/makingofasianame00leee/mode/2up
2 samples papers
https://anonfiles.com/x9rbJ7nfz1/Sample_paper_rar
You can find source from csulb
https://csu-lb.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=01CALS_ULB:01CALS_ULB&mode=advanced
Work Cited
Hawley, Grace Sugita. Interview by Tom Ikeda. Densho Digital Repository, 1999. https://ddr.densho.org/media/ddr-densho-1000/ddr-densho-1000-246-transcript-4944bc87d0.htm.
Perkins, Edward Turner. Life in Hawaii: An Autobiographic Sketch by Dr. Edward Turner Perkins, 1901-1941. Honolulu, Hawaii: The Hawaii Newspaper Agency, Ltd, 1982.
Asian-Nation.org. https://www.asian-nation.org/index.shtml.
