Doctoral candidate Yingying Han successfully defended her dissertation, "Community Archives as Agency: Documenting Chinese American Experiences in the U.S.,” on May 28.
Her committee included Associate Professor Anita Say Chan (chair); Associate Teaching Professor Martin Wolske; Assistant Professor Karen Wickett; Clara Chu, iSchool affiliate professor and Mortenson Distinguished Professor in the University Library; and Michelle Caswell, professor of information studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Abstract: Asian American identities have been shaped by intersecting forces of race, ethnicity, gender, and class. Throughout U.S. history, Asian Americans have faced exclusionary narratives and structural violence. This marginalization is compounded by the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of Asian American histories in mainstream archives, which have historically reproduced the logic of Orientalism, imperialism, and surveillance. This dissertation proposes dialogue-based archives as a relational, participatory framework that complements collection-centered approaches. Grounded in Freire’s theory of dialogue and community-engaged scholarship, it emphasizes building equitable relationships through epistemic equity and critical reflexivity. The framework highlights the reciprocal nature of archival work, extending beyond representation values and highlighting community archives as spaces of care and mutual support through their navigational and educational value. It conceptualizes community archives as boundary objects: dynamic infrastructures situated in communities that connect everyday stories and struggles with broader systems of community support and advocacy.