Collection Guide
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University of California, Irvine Class Project on the Southeast Asian American Experience
MS.SEA.022
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: The University of California, Irvine, class project on the Southeast Asian American experience
Identifier/Call Number: MS.SEA.022
Physical Description:
6.8 Linear Feet
(11 boxes and 6 oversized folders)
Date (inclusive): 2002-2008
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.
Language of Material: The collection is in English, Vietnamese, and Khmer.
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.
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.
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.
Gift of Professor Linda Vo, 2003-2009.
Additional materials are expected
Processed by Julia Stringfellow, 2005 and Dawn Schmitz, 2009. Processing was supported by a National Endowment for the Humanities
(NEH) grant.
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.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
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.
This collection is arranged in series by year the class was offered, then alphabetically by name of student.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Audiocassettes -- 21st century.
Ephemera -- 21st century.
Photographic prints -- 21st century.
Southeast Asian Americans -- California -- Orange County -- Archives.
Southeast Asians -- California -- Orange County -- Archives.
Refugees -- Southeast Asia -- Archives.
Video recordings -- 21st century
University of California, Irvine -- Archives