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Stephanie Douglas

Prof. Kladouris

ENGL111

13 March 2018

MP1 Defense of Teaching History and Memory

There is a well-known adage that says that those “who do not know history are doomed

to repeat it.” Education and recognition of the past support society in moving toward a better

future. However, this instruction should reflect events as well their repercussions, consequences

at the time and continuing in the future. Often, education about the past deals with history as if it

has come and gone. In reality, events of the past continue to impact lives and disrupt the present.

This reality is described in the reading materials of ENGL111, which focus on trauma resulting

from the Japanese American Internment and the Vietnam Diaspora. Stories from the class

illustrate how the past can lead to a child growing up without a parent, or parents being unable to

connect with their children. By discussing the continuing implications of these historical events,

this class provides understanding of how the past lingers in the present and interrupts lives.

Currently, the University of Washington is deeming itself post-racial, and banning the English

111 readings to show that they do not have these racial problems. Sadly, the university cannot yet

qualify as post-racial, as prejudice can still be observed, and this is not the way to move towards

a fully accepting space. Prohibiting education of sensitive topics does not foster healthier racial

dynamics. These events were born from times of immense hatred and fear, and people may

prefer to look away or say that we have moved on. This censorship erases the voices of

individuals who have been impacted by traumatic events, such as being outcast by society and

transported to internment camps. The refusal to acknowledge bleak moments of history gives
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students an insincere and incomplete understanding of the world they are living in. There are

people all over the world that deal with trauma, from these events or from other experiences.

Discussing trauma that stems from the past can ease some of the burden caused by silence that

weighs on survivors, as well as opening eyes toward how trauma is experienced in the present.

An appreciation for the difficulties of others will assist students as they move forward as people

and as future decision makers of society. The University should not ban the English 111 texts, but

should continue to have these conversations about our country’s history so that we are not

“doomed” to repeat it.

While the University of Washington would like to market itself as “beyond” racism, it

still needs advancement in order to acquire such a title. Hateful speech, offensive comments, and

racist stereotypes are still prevalent in society, and our campus is not above the rest of the world.

Recently I met up with a few Asian American friends and they mentioned that on their walk over

someone had jeered at them, yelling “Konnichiwa.” They casually explained how they “are used

to” that sort of action. This normalization of racist language shows how embedded prejudice is in

American culture. The University of Washington still has ground to cover before it claims it is a

prejudice-free environment. A recent news article claims that college campuses are “breeding

grounds” for racism (Hamlin). With universities eager to provide an inclusive space, the article

suggests that some may feel threatened about a loss of their own privilege. White supremacist-

related issues have appeared as certain people feel that “white people are under attack,” leading

them to lash out against other groups of people as a means to secure their perceived position

(Hamlin). With universities maintaining that they are beyond racism, racist incidents can exist

without acknowledgement, thus proliferating the issue. An incident at the University of Alabama

regarding racist rants by a student led other students to call out the claim that “racism is dead,” at
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the university when there is evidence that “says the opposite” (Hamlin). If the issues are not

being dealt with, the problem may worsen, as perpetrators are met with little resistance. The

Defamation League Center on Extremism reports 188 campus-wide racist incidents from 126

colleges in just over a year (Hamlin). Many of these have been related to publically posting

derogatory, racist language around campuses (Hamlin). While I have not witnessed this aspect of

racist vandalism at the University of Washington, I have heard ignorant, racist speech in

conversations around campus. The level of publicity does not diminish the concern behind such

discriminatory antics. And isn’t it better to quell issues before they become more extensive and

aggressive concerns? Universities work to ensure safety and inclusivity on their campuses. While

there are successful programs in place to further this goal, there is always room for improvement,

and it starts with education. Appreciating others’ backgrounds generates an atmosphere that is

supportive of inclusiveness. Materials such as the ENGL111 texts inform students of experiences

that groups of people have experiences and continue to struggle with. Keeping students

cognizant of horrors from the past can affect how they view the present and how they move

forward with interactions. It can be difficult for students to be sensitive and sympathetic towards

situations of which they have no education. The ENGL111 texts are powerful; they depict the

invisible trauma and internal turmoil that many struggle with. These texts cause you to reflect on

the world and ask yourself difficult questions. How did this event transform the lives of various

groups of people? In terms of the Diaspora and the Internment, people were torn from their

homes, forced to flee from desperate war conditions or taken away to government facilities.

Families were broken up and met with death. Stereotypes targeted them while they existed in

society. What obstacles do trauma survivors continue to face? Many survivors have PTSD or

struggle to connect with their peers and their own family. Do I unintentionally perpetuate some
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of these struggles? Prior to this course, I had little education about these events, so these issues

rarely ever crossed my mind. Now I am more aware of my actions as a member of society.

Considering these types of questions may be a catalyst for transforming students into more

perceptive and thoughtful young adults.

Some may argue that not teaching historical racial struggles will allow us to better move

forward toward a post-racial world. If students hear about past injustices, it could inspire future

discrimination. However, I believe that bringing awareness to the issues in a safe environment

like a classroom is the most effective way to deter hateful action. Ignoring what has happened

will not prevent them. There is already hate in the world, and if the past is disregarded, the hate

will fester. The history should be taught and discussed, so that we can move forward to better the

world, instead of leaving things to see how they turn out.

In my experience, I have found that first-hand accounts and emotional testimonies have

been most impactful to my learning. Reading facts from a textbook is informative, but objective

reports make it more difficult to internalize the gravity of the situation. The readings for

ENGL111 are potent, portraying suffering and bringing emotion into the classroom. This carries

humanity with the experiences, and it is easier to see the severity of the events. The reading

materials are eye opening, and allow students to see from others’ points-of-view. Being able to

look at the world in a new perspective aids students in becoming more appreciative of others and

in having positive interactions in place of misunderstandings. Especially because trauma is an

internal struggle, it can be easy to overlook. People may be battling traumatic memories

unbeknownst to people around them. The stories we read in ENGL111 give students a glimpse

into the lives of survivors of traumatic incidents. For example, Andrew Lam’s short story

“Sister” observes the life of a seemingly well-adjusted girl, who is haunted by memories and
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constantly “hears faint cries, wailing voices” (Lam 117). This trauma that she lives with exists

invisible to the world around her. One of the stories I had the strongest response to is “Slingshot”

by Andrew Lam. The story follows a young Vietnamese American named Tammy who works in

her family’s restaurant. She is irritated with a customer that “made his sorry ass part of our

family, and Mamma insisted that me and Pammy call him Uncle Steve, but I wouldn’t…I called

him U.S. for short” (Lam 39). Her attitude toward U.S. is reasonable; she is reluctant to allow an

outsider to fill the void left by her father’s death. Tammy, a stubborn teenager reluctant to

change, is a character that many students may be able to relate to. Because of this, it is easier for

the reader to step into the story and imagine that they are in Tammy’s place. With more

investment into the story, the reader is more sympathetic to the story’s struggles, and more

impacted by Tammy’s pain. With more emotional attachment, it is easier to understand the

difficulties and nuances of trauma. On the other side of the story, U.S. is also a dynamic and

impactful character. He is also plagued with trauma. U.S. is an American war veteran that fought

in the Vietnam War. He is left with trauma and without any sense of belonging; he is unable to

reintegrate into life in the United States, and he cannot connect racially or culturally with the

land that was so transformative to his life, Vietnam. The character U.S. illustrates the inability to

resume normal life in the wake of a traumatic experience. The end of the story is heartbreaking,

with Tammy shooting U.S. with a jawbreaker from her slingshot, causing him to drop the present

he has brought back for her from Vietnam, an urn with her father’s ashes. Tammy stops laughing

when she sees his face, “in such pain and hurt that it took [her] breath away” (Lam 52). About

the pain in his eyes she says, “it felt like I’d been staring at it all my life” (Lam 52). Tammy and

U.S. have very different backgrounds, but pain and trauma exist in both. “Slingshot” displays

effects of the Vietnam War with Tammy’s family and with “Uncle Steve.” Tammy lost her father
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to the war, and is struggling to adjust to life in a new country. She experiences a loss of identity

due to the sudden transition, which is a struggle that many in world face, unacknowledged by the

general public. Education about these types of experiences can foster a more understanding and

supportive environment. U.S. is a loner that travels from place to place with no sense of home.

Feeling outcast from society or unaccepted in any one place is difficult way to live, and people

deal with this struggle to this day. There are refugees migrating to new countries that are met

with resistance. Bicultural children may not feel completely accepted into either community. The

ENGL111 texts concern trauma due to certain historical events, but they can be applied to

modern situations as well. This is why education about the past is so important; we must learn

from the past instead of pretending that it didn’t happen or that we’ve moved on.

Another story that demonstrates the impactful nature of the class texts is Andrew Lam’s

“Hunger,” which features a man and his daughter that were “boat people” from Vietnam. His

daughter is malnourished and “miserable-looking” because she refuses to eat most foods, only

accepting rice and steamed tofu (Lam 79). We later find out that on the trip to the United States,

his wife was killed and cannibalized by the shipwrecked crew and passengers (Lam 88). The

grimness of the situation conveys the sense of trauma to those who have not gone through

traumatic experiences. As a reader, I experienced a figurative punch in the gut with the

realization of why the father and daughter have such small appetites. It caused me to imagine

myself in that situation, and I felt slightly queasy. While this is in no way comparable to going

through the actual experience, this visceral reaction communicates a small taste of what trauma

survivors go through. The story continues to dive into issues of trauma when Mr. Nguyen’s

account is trivialized when brought to the media, with most of “what he told…cut” (Lam 91). It

is made into a spectacle, a flashy display that turns a horrific life experience into something akin
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to a spooky ghost story. Spectacle diminishes the trauma of an event, downplaying the severity

of the experience. It is used to disengage the audience, distracting viewers from the horror and

lasting impact of traumatic moments, and it desensitizes the public to horrific events because

they are being told the story in a way that downplays its significance. This is a device that has

been employed throughout history, for example with the media propaganda during the Japanese

American Internment. In “Hunger,” Mr. Nguyen “becomes confused” watching the segment

because the reporter responds to questions “as if she knew the story by heart, telling it with many

details and with so much animation that Mr. Nguyen feels that it is no longer his story” (Lam

91). The United States has a history of using spectacle to silence stories, which adds to the

trauma felt by victims. Trauma survivors find themselves in a world that forces them to bottle up

emotions, worsening the trauma and increasing the difficulty of a normal life. Not teaching these

powerful texts will deprive students of a chance to gain humility and sympathy in regards to

these historic events. Banning the texts contributes to silencing the stories of trauma survivors.

The class material and discussions are also important as we consider issues occurring in

the present. The course examines topics that are relevant to contemporary society. The

generalization of Asian ethnicities, for example, is still rampant in the United States. Emily

Roxworthy opens her article “The Spectacle of Japanese American Trauma” with a passage that

illustrates this generalization of Asian Americans. The passage takes pace during the Vietnam

War, about a wounded American that is ignored by his fellow: “I kept screaming, ‘I’m an

American, I’m a Japanese American, I’m not a VC.’ But they wouldn’t pick me up. They walked

right past me” (Roxworthy). We see this in Strawberry Fields when Irene’s teacher repeatedly

calls her Kim (Strawberry Fields). Being called Kim represented to Irene that she was not

respected as an individual, not even enough to be called by her name. These textual examples
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show Asian Americans being treated as though all Asian ethnicities were the same. Treating

Asian cultures as one homogeneous culture invalidates and demeans each individual culture.

Sadly, it is still very common. This is the same approach that drove the stranger to yell

“Konnichiwa” to my friends. The greeting is specific to the Japanese language, and therefore not

applicable toward all Asian cultures.

Aside from generalization of culture, there are other themes discussed in the class that

can be seen in contemporary times. Another contemporary topic deals with the American Dream.

In Lam’s “Hunger,” Mr. Nguyen hears of his cousin’s success in America, who has a happy life

in a “two-story house in the suburb with an apple tree” and a “sparkling pool” (Lam 82). But

when he arrives he is met with poverty and crushed dreams. In today’s world the American

Dream seems more difficult than ever to achieve, especially for immigrants facing increasing

entry resistance and nationalist attitudes. Problems discussed in the class are not going away, and

having a space to discuss issues is beneficial for young adults that are joining the “real world.”

Even if racism was greatly diminished, banning controversial literature does not

contribute to an inclusive community. Hiding controversy does not lead to everyone agreeing,

but only ignorance about issues, which is no way to address problems. Last school year a

controversial speaker, political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, came to the UW campus.

President Ana Mari Cauce defended her decision to let him speak on campus, saying, “canceling

the event would have sent the message that a risk of disruption…can be used to overwhelm our

rights” and goes on to say that banning that speech would lead to “silence, with all the real

discussion happening underground where arguments could not be examined, or critiqued openly”

(Cauce). Banning the ENGL111 texts would similarly silence discussion. The topics of the

Japanese American Internment and the Vietnam Diaspora may lead to differing opinions on these
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sensitive matters, but moving those conversations outside of a space leads to much more

uncertainty in how the topics will be addressed. Or they may go unaddressed, disregarding

immense historical occurrences that shaped the lives of many people around the world and in the

community. And, like President Cauce said, we should not abandon rights in fear of disruption.

Freedom of speech should not be discarded in order to give the university the illusion that

everyone agrees.

The University of Washington is a facility that aims to prepare students for their futures.

Banning the controversial ENGL111 texts will harm that goal, as it blinds us from important

issues of the past and takes away the voices of trauma survivors. Giving students a space to

become educated about sensitive matters and discuss themes such as the Japanese American

Internment and Vietnam Diaspora is a way for students to become well-informed adults ready to

tackle the challenges of the future. We do not want to doom ourselves to repeat a traumatic past.
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Works Cited

Cauce, Ana Mari. “Violence Has No Place at Our University and No Role in Our Democracy.”

21 January 2017. E-mail.

Hamlin, Clarissa. “College Campuses are Breeding Grounds for Racism.” News One, News One.

17 January 2018. Web.

Lam, Andrew. Birds of Paradise Lost. Red Hen Press, 2013. Print.

Roxworthy, Emily. The Spectacle of Japanese American Trauma: Racial Performativity and

World War II. University of Hawaii Press, 2008, pp. 1-19.

Strawberry Fields. Rea Tajiri, 1997. Film.