Asian American History: “What a test never taught me…”

Faculty Instructor: Soniya Munshi
Artist: Melissa Liu
ASN 114, Asian American History
Borough of Manhattan Community College

Melissa Liu, Red Envelope Oral Histories, multimedia installation W.O.W Project’s 店面 Storefront Residency, Chinatown, Manhattan, 2017. Photo: Eric Jenkins-Sahlin, courtesy of the artist, Wing on Wo & Co., and The W.O.W Project.

About the Project

This course will examine Asian American History through the lens of education, to include topics such as multiracial organizing for Ethnic Studies in schools; struggles for affirmative action; the role of higher education in immigration policy inclusions and exclusions; and class and economic disparities within Asian American communities. We will pay special attention to the issue of “testing” as a site of racial production and educational (in)access in order to unpack myths of meritocracy, culture, and success. We will also envision alternative and holistic assessments of learning and growth that value our full selves.

Artist-pedagogue Melissa Liu will facilitate a process of creative experimentation around student research of their individual and community histories of educational testing. Together, Melissa and students will use visual graphics, multimedia, and interactive installation design for both digital sharing and a physical exhibition Through the threads and themes that result from their findings, students will collaboratively create visual components that will become conversation pieces for a participatory public installation about testing and education justice.