Japanese American Incarceration Camp Research Guide
the Japanese-American Incarceration Camp Research Guide features collections of primary and secondary sources which elucidate on the cultural, political, and historical aspects of Japanese-American incarceration during WWII.
How did children cope with the camps?
How did Japanese Americans respond to incarceration?
What was daily life like in the incarceration camps?
What were some of the other perspectives involved?
What are the ten camps?
What are some cultural heritage and political advocacy organizations?
What are some additional resources?
Linda Salem
5200 Campanile Drive
619-594-5148 Office Hours 11-1 Wednesday and Thursday
Purpose of the Guide and How to Use it
(Jack and Peggy Iwata Collection / Japanese American National Museum)
The guide seeks to answer key questions about this event, which can be found on the left side of the page. Each page offers three important primary sources, secondary sources, and media resources on the particular subject. The Additional Resources page provides a wealth of related documents and collections. The purpose of this guide is to provide primary and secondary sources that contain information related to the Japanese American Incarceration Camps during WWII. Between 1942 and 1945, 120,000 Japanese Americans were sent to ten concentration camps.
The guide coincides with the 2020 One Book, One San Diego winner-"They Called Us Enemy" written by George Takei and illustrated by Harmony Becker. It is meant to be used as a starting point for the student interested in this aspect of history who may not know much about it. The materials in the Additional Resources section range from photography collections taken by camp prisoners to U.S. government documents. The guide provides both etic and emic materials to better encapsulate the topic.
One Book, One San Diego 2020: "They Called Us Enemy" by George Takei and Illustrated by Harmony Becker
"They Called Us Enemy" by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott and Illustrated by Harmony Becker
In this graphic novel, George Takei revisits his haunting childhood in American concentration camps, as one of 120,000 Japanese Americans imprisoned by the U.S. government during World War II. One Book One San Diego Winner 2020. NOTE: NOT LOANABLE at SDSU. Also on CSU+.
San Diego's premier literary program, presented in partnership between KPBS and over 80 public libraries, service organizations and educational institutions. Now in its 14th year, the purpose is to bring the community closer together through the shared experience of reading and discussing the same book. This research guide was created to support the 2020 OBOSD winner.
Correct Language
The correct terminology is "incarceration camp" and not "internment camp" or "relocation center." Unfortunately, cataloging has not caught up with modern terminology, so most search results in Library of Congress, Scopus, and other databases will yield most of the results to keywords of "internment" or "relocation."
Densho: Correct Terminology
Updated terminology of Japanese-American Concentration camps.
Forced Removal vs "Evacuation." Incarceration vs "Internment." Japanese American vs "Japanese." Concentration Camps vs "Relocation Centers."
Fred Korematsu Institute: Correct Terminology
Domeside Pickup
If you find a print book from the list of secondary sources that you are interested in checking out, you can use SDSU's domeside pickup feature Mon-Thurs 12-2 or by appointment.
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Last Updated: Aug 9, 2021 11:52 AM
URL: https://libguides.sdsu.edu/JapaneseAmericanIncarceration
Subjects: History
Tags: Asian-Americans, Incarceration, Japanese American, WWII