HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT - Essay Assignment: "Autobiography & History"

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Essay Assignment:

"Autobiography & History"

(due by Friday, Jan. 17)

In both his activism and his work as an historian, the late Professor Yuji Ichioka was influenced by the ideas of sociologist C. Wright Mills. Writing in the 1950s, Mills emphasized the importance of connecting our lives to history and turning "personal problems into social issues." According to Mills, when each person gains insight into their life’s intersection with history, this discovery is "in many ways is a terrible lesson; in many ways a magnificent one." Moreover, based on this new understanding, each person can become an active agent to create social change. According to Mills, the U.S. educational system robs people of this understanding by separating the study of history from deepening insight into their lives – i.e., in most classrooms, the study of "history" is isolated from each student’s autobiography. As a result, most Americans see history as something that is outside of them rather than as something embedded in their lives.

Professor Ichioka adopted Mills’ ideas to uncover the "buried past" for Asian Americans and to create a new approach showing the ways that Asian immigrants not only were shaped by historical forces but also shaped America’s history. In other words, Professor Ichioka overturned the traditional perspective of historians who until then had studied Asian immigrants as "Orientals" acted upon by the racism of Whites. In its place, he pioneered a new perspective: that of "Asian Americans" as -actively responding to racism, asserting their rights, and uniting with others to promote democracy and justice. Professor Ichioka coined the term "Asian American" to represent this new political and historical consciousness. Moreover, Professor Ichioka defined as integral to his role as a scholar his responsibilities as an educator to share his knowledge with others, especially in off-campus communities, and as an activist to fight for peace, equality, and justice.

For this Essay Assignment, each student will write a three-to-five page autobiography linking their life to history. Provide some background information about yourself (where you were born, where you live, what are the important things in your life, what are your life aspirations, etc.). However, in the spirit of Professor Yuji Ichioka, focus your essay on three main questions: 1) How does your life intersect with history? (Have certain historical events, such as war, immigration, etc. shaped their lives or influenced your life plans?) 2) Why is the discovery of the intersection of your life with history "in many ways a terrible lesson; in many ways a magnificent one"? 3) And like Professor Ichioka, how can you use your consciousness about the intersection of your life with history to shape the future and create a new history for future generations of Asian Americans?

Vanessa Bransburg, "Surviving 'The Dirty War' in Argentina"

William Gow, "California Dreamin': Autobiography as History"

Kristy Le, "Flight to Freedom"

Michael Li, "Being Pulled from the Matrix of Western-centric Education"

Suzan Luu, "Consequences of a War"

Allan Lo, "My Life and History"

Thanh Nguyen, "My American Dream"

Minh Han Phan, "An Encounter with History"

Bryant Tan, "For a Better Life"

Julie Vo, "Intersectionality: Autobiography and History"