Schooling Internment: How Japanese Americans used Education to Revive their Agency in Internment Camps
Major
History
Second Major
Educational Studies
Submission Type
Poster
Area of Study or Work
History
Faculty Advisor
Alyssa Culp
Location
CNS Atrium
Start Date
4-11-2026 8:30 AM
End Date
4-11-2026 9:45 AM
Abstract
On December 7, 1942, exactly one year after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans incarcerated at the Topaz Internment Camp faced a deadline to register for Americanization classes, such as “American Laws and How They Affect Japanese Relocation.” Following Executive Order 9066, more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from their homes and confined in internment camps across the United States. This order “justified” the containment of those deemed potentially disloyal or suspicious. Despite the unjust conditions of internment, daily life continued within the camps. Many internees sought opportunities for self-government and education to maintain structure, dignity, and hope for the future. However, these opportunities raise an important question: Did education within the camps empower Japanese Americans, or did it reinforce the very systems of control and assimilation that rationalized their incarceration? This project examines both the positive and negative impacts of education within Japanese-American internment camps during World War II. Using primary sources such as camp newspapers written by internees and Americanization curricula, this research explores how education functioned as both a mechanism of control and a potential source of empowerment. On one hand, educational programs reinforced assimilation by encouraging internees to demonstrate loyalty and adopt dominant American cultural values, often under coercive circumstances. However, on the other hand, education provided structure, intellectual engagement, and opportunities for self-government. This allowed Japanese Americans to build community and assert agency despite confinement. Education in the internment camps reflects both the oppressive intentions of the Americanization agenda and the resilience of Japanese Americans who used learning as a means of survival, adaptation, and resistance.
Schooling Internment: How Japanese Americans used Education to Revive their Agency in Internment Camps
CNS Atrium
On December 7, 1942, exactly one year after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Japanese Americans incarcerated at the Topaz Internment Camp faced a deadline to register for Americanization classes, such as “American Laws and How They Affect Japanese Relocation.” Following Executive Order 9066, more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly removed from their homes and confined in internment camps across the United States. This order “justified” the containment of those deemed potentially disloyal or suspicious. Despite the unjust conditions of internment, daily life continued within the camps. Many internees sought opportunities for self-government and education to maintain structure, dignity, and hope for the future. However, these opportunities raise an important question: Did education within the camps empower Japanese Americans, or did it reinforce the very systems of control and assimilation that rationalized their incarceration? This project examines both the positive and negative impacts of education within Japanese-American internment camps during World War II. Using primary sources such as camp newspapers written by internees and Americanization curricula, this research explores how education functioned as both a mechanism of control and a potential source of empowerment. On one hand, educational programs reinforced assimilation by encouraging internees to demonstrate loyalty and adopt dominant American cultural values, often under coercive circumstances. However, on the other hand, education provided structure, intellectual engagement, and opportunities for self-government. This allowed Japanese Americans to build community and assert agency despite confinement. Education in the internment camps reflects both the oppressive intentions of the Americanization agenda and the resilience of Japanese Americans who used learning as a means of survival, adaptation, and resistance.