Module 2, Oral History Strategies: Finding and Telling the Story
Module 2 equips students with the tools and critical frameworks needed to conduct their own oral histories. Students will explore best practices in interviewing, examine how oral history aligns with the goals of Ethnic Studies, and engage with counter-narratives that challenge stereotypes such as the model minority myth. Students will apply what they've learned to collect and share stories from their own communities.
Just in case you haven’t read the introduction to Module 1, here’s a quick summary of the resources on this page—they include slides designed for student engagement, a detailed lesson plan for instructors, and a webpage overview that summarizes key readings.
Learning Objectives
- What is an oral history?
- Methods: What are some best practices for conducting an oral history?
- How do oral histories connect to Ethnic Studies as a discipline?
- How has the story or stereotype of the model minority impacted Asian Americans?
- What are some counter-narratives to the model minority stereotype?
Assessment
- Oral history interview with at least one person associated with each group’s assigned place.
Lesson 1: What is oral history?
Students will be introduced to important principles and best practices for conducting oral histories. They will also engage with oral histories of Asian American Studies as examples for their own oral history projects.
Recommended Readings and Videos
- Oral History Association
- California History Center, “Oral History Recordings.”
- Lee, Mae and Karen Wang. (2025). “Storytellers of Santa Clara Valley: Asian American Oral Histories.”
- East Bay Yesterday podcast
Lesson 2: The model minority myth
Students will be introduced to the stereotype of Asians as the “model minority” and how this narrative has shaped race relations in the United States. They will look at how contemporary (2023) Asian Americans respond to the stereotype and how statistical survey data can be a resource for crafting narratives.
Recommended Readings and Videos
- Densho. (2021). "Inventing the ‘Model Minority’: A Critical Timeline and Reading List."
- Brand, David. (1987). “Education: The New Whiz Kids.”
- PBS, “The Model Minority Myth.”
- Pew Research. (2023). Asian Americans and the "Model Minority" Stereotype (whole resource is good!)
Lesson 3: Understand counter-narratives
Using the case study of Southeast Asian refugees in the US, students will further deconstruct the narrative of Asians as the “model minority.” Students will also be introduced to the basic elements of narrative as a genre in preparation for creating their oral history narratives.
Recommended Readings and Videos
- Thrupkaew, Noy. (2002). “The Myth of the Model Minority.”
- So, Anthony Veasna. (2018). “Superking Son Scores Again.”