Date Thesis Awarded

5-2024

Access Type

Honors Thesis -- Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelors of Arts (BA)

Department

Asian & Pacific Islander American Studies

Advisor

Chinua Thelwell

Committee Members

Deenesh Sohoni

Lin Chunying

Abstract

The emergence of APIA programs within higher education has assisted in posing the question of what should be included in the K-12 history curriculum as it is lacking in Asian American history, African American history, and other marginalized groups’ history and information. In tandem, heritage learning Mandarin classes, while they do attempt to bring the students' writing and reading levels up to their speaking levels, instead focus solely on Chinese history, culture, identity, and societal problems. This is valuable; however, what of the Chinese American identity? There has been a surplus of over 200 years of Chinese American history within this country, yet there is no learning opportunity for Chinese American heritage learners to learn in their mother tongue while also learning about their own Chinese American identity and the significance of this identity unlike Latin American Studies (LAS) which offer this and more. This project’s goal is to set a standard for creating a syllabus that would reflect what is missing for Chinese American heritage learners: a class plan in which Chinese American history is taught in Mandarin. This project aims to provide tools for future Chinese American students to strengthen their ethnic and social identity through not only language education but also through the knowledge of their history.

Note: The last section utilizes Mandarin Chinese.

Keywords: Decolonization, Chinese American, Education, Heritage language

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