Pacific Crossings: Asian American and Pacific Islander Histories, 1870 to the Present

Within the broad study of Asian American and Pacific Islander history, the theme of the program will center on the expansion of the US Pacific region. The institute’s Pacific framing will accomplish the following intellectual and pedagogical goals:

• Reveal the importance of US expansion and empire in the Pacific and American militarism in shaping US migration and ethnic/racial histories
• Complicate the traditional understandings of race in America through a Black–White racial binary, which have become increasingly ill-suited to the complex demographics of a multiracial America, and examine how the histories of AAPI people were inextricably linked with each other and the histories of Latino/a, Native American, Black, and White Americans across different periods of US history

The lectures and readings will also interrogate the coupling of Asian American and Pacific Islander histories and experiences under the category of “AAPI.” Taking a bird’s-eye view, the institute will address how and why these two fields of academic study became connected and elucidate the entanglement and the fundamental distinctions between the experiences of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Topics are organized chronologically, beginning with the formal abolition of slavery and Reconstruction, continuing to US expansion and the Spanish-American War and World Wars I and II, addressing Cold War topics including the Korean and Vietnam wars, and culminating with the post-9/11 War on Terror. The institute will model how educators might integrate AAPI history and experiences into their US history curricula by changing the framework and orientation of familiar topics to look toward the Pacific.

The activities combine rich content with teaching strategies based on the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Teaching Literacy through History™ (TLTH) pedagogy, which will help participants become more effective American history educators. TLTH is a hands-on, multi-modal approach that integrates primary sources and nonfiction historical texts in the classroom and enhances student literacy.

The following book will be provided to participants at no cost prior to the institute.

• Catherine Ceniza Choy, Asian American Histories of the United States (New York: Beacon Press, 2022)

The two-week institute consists of ten days of discussions, pedagogy sessions, and field trips (with breaks for lunch and office hours). Participants will have the weekend between the first and second week off. Each day focuses on key primary sources and the latest interpretations of major historical events and periods relating to AAPI history. View a draft of the full schedule here.

Activities are subject to change. A final schedule will be provided to the participants.

The in-person aspect of the institute allows for place-based and object-based learning opportunities at museums and archives in the greater Los Angeles area. A tentative list of sites includes the Chinese American Museum, the Japanese American National Museum, and the Southeast Asian Archive at the University of California-Irvine.

• Chinese American Museum. On the second full day of the institute participants will visit the Chinese American Museum to view exhibits that celebrate the growth and development of Chinese American enclaves across Los Angeles and greater California. All of the exhibits are wheelchair accessible.
• Japanese American National Museum. To conclude the first week of the institute, participants will visit the JANM to tour collections chronicling 130 years of Japanese American history, from the “early days of the Issei pioneers through the World War II incarceration to the present.” During the visit, Karalee Nakatsuka, the institute’s master teacher, and museum staff will lead teachers in a 45-minute session on how to teach the history of Japanese American incarceration—with an emphasis on community resilience and resistance—through the use of primary source documents. All of the floors of the JANM are accessible by wheelchair.
• Southeast Asian Archive at the University of California-Irvine. To supplement Professor Thuy Vo Dang’s morning session on post-Vietnam refugee migrations, participants will learn about the history of the Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, and Vietnamese diaspora through an online visit to the Southeast Asian Archive at UC Irvine. The visit will also include a short pedagogical session and discussion on the UCI campus introducing teachers to the digital sources available in the archive. 

Before applying for the institute, please ensure that you have read all of the information about the program.

When does the application open?

The application opened on December 15, 2023.

When is the application deadline?

The application closed at 11:59 p.m. PT on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. This date is the same across all NEH Institutes.

What do I need to submit in my application?

Those interested in applying will need to explain in 500 words or less what they hope to gain from this program and how it could affect their classroom practice.

Where do I apply?

The application has closed.

Am I eligible?

Click here to read the full participant eligibility criteria set by the NEH. 

Who should apply?

While all current K–12 educators are eligible for this program, the content is curated for middle (6–8) and high school (9–12) educators. Educators who have not previously participated in an NEH Professional Development Program are highly encouraged to apply. Eight spaces will be reserved for educators who have been teaching for five years or fewer.

Who is on the selection committee?

The selection committee will consist of the Project Director, a K–12 teacher, the Gilder Lehrman Director of Curriculum Development and Instructional Design, and a Gilder Lehrman Project Consultant.

What will the selection committee consider when evaluating applications?

• The applicant’s effectiveness and commitment as a teacher/educator
• The applicant’s intellectual interests as they relate to the topic of the institute
• The applicant’s special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the program
• Evidence that participation will have a long-term impact on the applicant’s teaching
• Special qualifications, such as foreign language proficiency, that may pertain to the topic

How many people will be accepted?

The Gilder Lehrman Institute will accept only thirty-six participants.

When will I learn if I’ve been accepted?

Those who are accepted will be notified on April 5, 2024. Those who are waitlisted or declined will also be notified on April 5, 2024. Applicants who are accepted will have until April 19, 2024, to accept or decline their spot.

Is there anything I should know if I accept the offer?

While applicants can apply to a maximum of two NEH Institutes or Landmarks programs, they can only participate in one program. Once an applicant has accepted an offer to attend any NEH Summer Program (Institute or Landmark), they may not accept an additional offer or withdraw in order to accept a different offer.

Participants will earn 70 credit hours for participating in the NEH Institute. Upon completing the NEH Institute, participants will receive a certificate with their name and the number of credit hours earned. 

Gilder Lehrman professional development programs are generally eligible for CEU and PDP credits, but it is the responsibility of the participant to verify eligibility with their school administration or state PD office. The Institute is an approved provider of professional development in Massachusetts, Montana, New York, Texas, and Washington State, and in Michigan through a partnership with the Michigan Council for History Education. Please email us at seminars@gilderlehrman.org for more information regarding eligibility.

Can I stay at Occidental College?

Participants are highly encouraged to accept housing from Occidental College. If participants choose to stay at the dorm, a portion of their stipend will be used to cover the cost. This cost will be significantly cheaper than lodging alternatives in the surrounding area.

Note this event is not sponsored by or otherwise endorsed by Occidental College.

Can I stay somewhere else?

Participants who wish to arrange their own accommodations should be aware that hotels in the immediate area can cost up to $300 per night. Accommodations at Occidental College will be substantially less.
 

Where can I eat?

Participants who stay on campus will have the opportunity to take advantage of Occidental College’s dining halls and Los Angeles’s wide variety of fine and casual dining options. Participants will receive more detailed information about housing, dining, and travel.

What is the stipend?

Those who are selected for the Pacific Crossings Institute will be awarded a stipend of $2,200 to help cover the cost of housing, meals, and travel.

Can I apply my stipend towards housing and dining?

As stated on the Housing and Dining pages, participants who elect to stay at Occidental College will have their stipend reduced to cover that cost. The stipend balance will then be issued to participants at check-in on July 7, 2024. For those who choose to arrange their own lodging, the entirety of the stipend will be issued at check-in on July 7, 2024. Stipends are taxable as income.

What if I need to leave early?

If a participant is obliged through special circumstances to depart before July 20, 2024, they will only be entitled to a pro-rata share of the stipend, and the balance must be returned.

Endowment programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or age. For further information, write to the Equal Opportunity Officer, National Endowment for the Humanities, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024.

TDD: 202-606-8282 (this is a special telephone device for the Deaf).
 

NEH Institutes and Landmarks programs are intended to extend and deepen knowledge and understanding of the humanities by focusing on significant topics, texts, and issues; contribute to the intellectual vitality and professional development of participants; and foster a community of inquiry that provides models of excellence in scholarship and teaching.

NEH expects that project directors will take responsibility for encouraging an ethos of openness and respect, upholding the basic norms of civil discourse. Institute and Landmarks presentations and discussions should be:

• firmly grounded in rigorous scholarship, and thoughtful analysis; 
• conducted without partisan advocacy; 
• respectful of divergent views; 
• free of ad hominem commentary; and 
• devoid of ethnic, religious, gender, disability, or racial bias. 

NEH welcomes comments, concerns, or suggestions on these principles at questions@neh.gov.

Applicants who accept an offer to participate are expected to remain during the entire period of the program and to participate in its work on a full-time basis. During the institute, participants may not undertake teaching assignments or professional activities unrelated to their participation in the program. Participants will be asked to submit an evaluation at the end of the institute.

Click here to read all of the participant expectations set by the NEH.