The University of California, Irvine, class project on the Southeast Asian American experience, 2002-2008

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Summary

Abstract:

The collection is comprised of student projects from the Southeast Asian American Experience class (course number 151H) taught by Linda Vo. The class was first offered in 2003 within the Asian American Studies Program at the University of California, Irvine. Students' projects reflect cultural and social issues of Southeast Asian American communities in Orange County. Materials include artifacts, photographs, sound and video recordings, newsletters, ephemera, and the students' written assessment of each project.

Extent:

6.8 Linear Feet (11 boxes and 6 oversized folders)

Language:

The collection is in English, Vietnamese, and Khmer.

Preferred citation:

The University of California, Irvine Class Project on the Southeast Asian American Experience. MS-SEA022. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.

For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection is comprised of student projects from the Southeast Asian American Experience class (course number 151H) taught by Linda Vo. The class was first offered in 2003 within the Asian American Studies Program at the University of California, Irvine. Students' projects reflect cultural and social issues of Southeast Asian American communities in Orange County. Materials include students' written assessment of each project, artifacts, photographs, sound and video recordings, newsletters, and ephemera.

Students signed release forms giving permission for their projects to be open to the public.

Biographical / historical:

The Southeast Asian American Experience class was first offered in winter quarter 2003 within the Asian American Studies Program at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Professor Linda Vo created the class to provide a comparative overview of the ethnically, culturally, and historically diverse Southeast Asian people from Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam who relocated to the United States as refugees and immigrants. The class analyzed the resettlement process and refugees' economic adaptations, educational experiences, and social conditions. The focus of the class was on the individual voices of refugees and their experiences in order to understand how they construct their identities, negotiate cultural challenges, recreate communities, and engage in acts of resistance. An interdisciplinary approach was used, drawing upon theoretical frameworks and scholarship from anthropology, education, history, political science, psychology, social work, cultural studies, and sociology.

As part of the class, each student completed a project designed to both utilize resources from the Southeast Asian Archive about Southeast Asian American communities, and to teach the students what it means to collect, research, display, and preserve histories. Before choosing a topic for their project, students were required to visit the archive and see what materials were available, look at its web page, and read a copy of the newsletter. Student projects ranged from focusing on businesses in Little Saigon to Southeast Asian American organizations. Students worked in groups to identify areas in which the Southeast Asian Archive lacked documentation. They then considered ways to direct outreach efforts to a particular group and publicizing the archive in these communities. Students did this through attending local events in the Southeast Asian American communities and contacting organizations about their resources. A group presentation explaining the project was given at the end of the quarter, as well as a 2 page assessment from each member of the group discussing their collaborative project and their role in the project.

Acquisition information:

Gift of Professor Linda Vo, 2003-2009.

Processing information:

Processed by Julia Stringfellow, 2005 and Dawn Schmitz, 2009. Processing was supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged in series by year the class was offered, then alphabetically by name of student.

Accruals:

Additional materials are expected

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:: Southeast Asian Americans -- California -- Orange County -- Archives.
Southeast Asians -- California -- Orange County -- Archives.
Refugees -- Southeast Asia -- Archives.
Audiocassettes -- 21st century.
Ephemera -- 21st century.
Photographic prints -- 21st century.
Video recordings -- 21st century
Names:: University of California, Irvine -- Archives

Access and use

Restrictions:: The collection is open for research. Original compact discs, audio cassette tapes, and video cassette tapes materials may not be used. Researchers must request that duplicate use copies be made for access.
Terms of access:: Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Southeast Asian Archive Librarian.