Community archives as agency: documenting Chinese American experiences in the U.S.

Han, Yingying

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130027 Copy

Description

Title

Community archives as agency: documenting Chinese American experiences in the U.S.

Author(s)

Han, Yingying

Issue Date

2025-07-10

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Wolske, Martin

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Chan, Anita

Committee Member(s)

• Wickett, Karen
• Chu, Clara
• Caswell, Michelle

Department of Study

Information Sciences

Discipline

Library & Information Science

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• community archive
• Chinese American
• immigrants
• intersectionality
• dialogue-based archives

Abstract

Background 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. Research Gap and Questions This study is situated at the intersection of critical archival studies, Asian American studies, and community-engaged scholarship. It addresses two gaps: (1) a lack of archival scholarship on the heterogeneous, intersectional representation of Asian Americans and (2) limited research on how archival work can build equitable and reciprocal relationships with marginalized communities for transformative change. Focusing on Chinese Americans, one of the largest Asian American groups, I explore three questions: (1) What is the community members’ understanding of their identities, and how do these experiences reflect broader social inequalities? (2) What community archival records do Chinese Americans want to preserve to address these inequalities? (3) How can community archives act as instruments of agency? Methods Using a community-based participatory design, I conducted two rounds of interviews and two community workshops with seventeen Chinese American participants of varied ages, professions, and immigration backgrounds in Champaign, Illinois. I employed thematic analysis to examine narratives of identity, inequality, and archival representation. Key Findings Findings are organized into three areas: documenting racialized experiences, documenting gendered experiences, and community engagement to activate archival potential. First, participants described both overt and subtle forms of racial discrimination and emphasized the importance of documenting these experiences alongside positive migration stories and community contributions to counter racism narratives. They also expressed plural, situated understandings of identity labels such as “Asian” and “Chinese American.” They envisioned archives as spaces for solidarity with other racial minorities while calling for participatory practices that respect contextual understandings of identity. They also highlighted the harmful effects of Orientalist portrayals and proposed using archives to humanize Chinese communities and present dynamic, living cultural narratives. Second, the study mainly draws on narratives from Chinese American women to examine how Confucian patriarchy, immigration policy, and socioeconomic barriers intersect to marginalize their labor and constrain agency. Participants called for documenting not only struggles but also everyday resistance, joy, and intergenerational wisdom. They envisioned community archives as not only memory repositories but also relational infrastructures embedding resistant, aspirational, and navigational capital. Finally, the study argues that activating archival agency depends on meaningful engagement with marginalized groups. A community workshop using archival materials related to the theme of “perpetual foreigners” surfaced collective concerns and fostered critical reflection. This case demonstrates how community engagement can transform archives into tools for dialogue and collective empowerment. Contributions 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.

Graduation Semester

2025-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/130027

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2025 Yingying Han

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