Update: this program is now full.
Join historian Tracy Lai and art historian Melanie King for an exploration of Japanese American Incarceration through an examination of first person accounts, visual culture, and literary expressions. Taking place over three sessions, this program will center around Traci Chee’s We Are Not Free and will include the work of other Japanese American artists, authors, poets, and activists as we interrogate the effects of Executive Order 9066. In solidarity with the National Day of Remembrance (February 19), we will begin with the period leading up to World War II and the diverse wartime experiences of Japanese America and the legacy of this history through the present day.
This program will take place on Zoom. Participants will be required to complete advance readings and a brief assignment prior to joining the live session each week.
About the book
* NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * PRINTZ HONOR BOOK * WALTER HONOR BOOK * ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR LITERATURE HONOR BOOK *
From New York Times best-selling and acclaimed author Traci Chee comes We Are Not Free, the collective account of a tight-knit group of young Nisei, second-generation Japanese American citizens, whose lives are irrevocably changed by the mass U.S. incarcerations of World War II. Fourteen teens who have grown up together in Japantown, San Francisco. Fourteen teens who form a community and a family, as interconnected as they are conflicted. Fourteen teens whose lives are turned upside down when over 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry are removed from their homes and forced into desolate incarceration camps. In a world that seems determined to hate them, these young Nisei must rally together as racism and injustice threaten to pull them apart.
Dates and Time
Thursday, February 6, 2025; 4:00 to 6:00 PM (Pacific Time)
Thursday, February 13, 2025; 4:00 to 6:00 PM (Pacific Time)
Thursday, February 20, 2025; 4:00 to 6:00 PM (Pacific Time)
This program will take place on Zoom.
Program benefits
- A physical copy of the book We Are Not Free by Traci Chee.
- Online Resources.
- Free Washington State OSPI clock hours.
- Participants who attend all sessions and complete all requirements will receive an additional classroom resource (such as a book) or a stipend after the program.
Registration
This program is now full and registration has closed.
This program is sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington and funded by a Freeman Foundation grant in support of the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA).