This is really exciting, Eric. I am looking forward to seeing the responses.

Your choice of literature and photography is could that can lead to a thought provoking and deep discussion for the student ages you suggest.   My experience is that the Manzanar photos are often a surprise to the graduate students I teach; once they start looking at them closely the discussion becomes very rich.  Incorporating George Takei makes the approach more appealing. 

When viewing the images provided through the memoirs, graphic novels, and the Library of Congress, it is evident that these resources serve as a powerful means to tell a more personalized story to well-known historical events. Utilizing such images paints a deeper picture of the social, cultural, and relational experiences that are often missed when learning through a more traditional setting (i.e. lecture, textbook, etc.). Spiegelman’s memoirs provide an excellent example of how a well-known tragedy (The Holocaust) can be articulated and illustrated in a new way; in turn, readers will likely walk away with a new and deeper understanding of the atrocities committed from 1939-1945. Images from the Manzanar Relocation Center achieve the same goal: telling a story that allows students to personally connect to the topic at hand.  By utilizing these memoirs as a means of educating students, teachers are also effectively differentiating their means of instruction, while enhancing their opportunity to engage students in a meaningful way. By using such resources, both students and teachers can gain a greater appreciation of the historical time period, while walking away with a more comprehensive knowledge of the era of study.

It has been challenging for me to connect with history when events are described in a dry, textbook-like language. Primary (and primary-source based secondary) sources have helped me contextualize many more human lives throughout the years. When I am curious, my go-to is to enter the topic into loc.gov search bar and to ask librarians in my life to help me make further connections. 

What I learned through the study of primary sources is that I have been imagining many historic events in a one-dimension. WWII was bleak and hungry, the Suffrage movement was noble. Primary sources and graphic novels based on primary sources help paint layered pictures of our world. There is a shocking beauty in the mountains over Manzanar, there is warmth in a home of a family devastated by the Depression, and there are jokes in the trenches of WWI. The humanity lost when reciting important dates comes back in full force when we engage the 5 senses while analyzing primary sources, and we feel closer to our fellow humans - even separated by hundreds of years. This is how we remember, internalize, and learn from our history. 

Before this class, I had little knowledge about the world of graphic novels and its potential to serve as a lens for political commentary. However, after reading about the impact of Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” on the literary genre, I realized graphic novels can reveal human suffering in a way that resonates better with people who may not traditionally be drawn to history or politics. In particular, “Maus” appeared to draw people in by tying them to the characters and the story in a “safer” medium using rats and mice but was still able to emphasize larger themes such as genocide. As educators, we understand that some people are more visual learners and it appears that graphic novels can guide those visual learners towards key historical lessons without sacrificing the essential content.

When exploring the comics connected to The New York Times, I read “Enemies Among Us” and was fascinated about how the story of Nazi spies who infiltrated New York City in 1942 resembled terrorists who have orchestrated recent attacks on U.S. soil such as 9/11. Andy Newman, who wrote the article connected to the comic, made the argument that terrorism has been a threat to national security since the early 1940s and, like then, it presents serious challenges today. I don’t think most people would have made the connection between Nazis and modern-day terrorists, but it is clearly outlined in a creative way in this comic. There are many ways to use this story to begin conversations about national security, American civil liberties, and “Islamaphobia”; not to mention, it proves that the problems of today are not always that different from the problems of the past.  

    As a teacher of elementary-aged students, I find that pairing information along with imagery makes the content both easier to understand as well as easier to retain for young learners.  Especially when the students are not yet readers themselves.  This makes using the comic book format a no-brainer to use in the classroom.  One such example is when teachers use "social stories" containing pictures to lead a child through a difficult social task, such as: making friends, learning how to share, or the right way to apologize to a peer after you hurt their feelings.  These are not unlike the nursery rhymes and fables of old that ended with a moral for the young readers to learn.  Here is an example of a one-panel nursery rhyme teaching children not to steal called, "Fingers and Thumbs They Stole My Plums" found in the Library of Congress collection. https://www.loc.gov/item/2018695164/

    I also really enjoyed reading and exploring the articles relating to the graphic novels listed above.  At first, I had a difficult time expanding my personal definition of what a comic or graphic novel is to include characters and subjects that discuss tragic events in history.  However, I very quickly realized that by using the graphic novel format to explore these topics, it makes them more accessible and easier to discuss.  The one in particular that interested me was, "Maus" by Art Spiegelman.  I immediately made a connection in the way that Spiegelman used cat and mice to represent the Nazis and Jews during the Holocaust, to George Orwell's use of pigs in "Animal Farm" to symbolize communists.  Here is an illustration from Orwell's novel found in the Library of Congress collection. https://www.loc.gov/item/2012637843/

Looking at Ansel Adams' powerful photographs of Manzanar makes me want to dive deeper and deeper, and I believe that is a response my students would have as well.  I went into the photo collection, read part of Ansel Adams' book, and began maker other connections to put together some narratives.  In the Manzanar photo collection, I was intrigued by men standing in a field of what appeared to be grass.  (guayule field photo) The explanation said it was guayule, an important venture in Manzanar.  Googling guayule, I found that it was a potential source of synthetic rubber.  An article in 2015 in Chemical & Engineering News said that guayule was ready to hit the market (with adequate funding), and is needed due to the effects of climate change on rubber plants (guayule article).  The reader comments included one which referenced work done with guayule in Manzanar!  I also looked for companion fiction for my English Language Learners and found a great list, along with lesson plan suggestions on Colorin Colorado: young adult books.  In short, this rich resource opens doors to so many possibilities.  The challenge is to be able to curate a collection that is provocative yet manageable.

 Visual storytelling has a great impact on us because people are more likely to believe something if they see it. An image acts as a first person account. In the twenty-first century, we, especially our students, are more likely to view and post images on the internet than to read a lengthy article. They're on Instagram the most (at least my students are). Images are approachable because they are quick, do not require a reading level, and have no language barriers. Current social media also promotes self, the importance of the individual. Visual storytelling also promotes the power of an individual's story. A textbook is written through layers or "filters" or a series of eyes. There is so much distance from what happened that students past events as things you're just supposed to memorize or wonder "How does this affect me?" An individual? Visual storytelling provides that first-person connection.

Also, anyone can publish a book now; anyone can post anything online. We live in the era of what is real and what is "fake news". Images are generally accepted as higher proof than the words that can be twisted and altered. However, even images are now being questioned because of the technology available to alter them - filters, photoshop, etc. People do not yet consider often, but it is a growing concern that we need to consider more.

As for graphic novels, I believe they help make stories and first-person accounts more approachable, and photos help recreate an time, place, event, etc. in any medium, whether it is comics, texts, art, drama, etc. It helps emphasize words when they are used and fill time and space when words are difficult to use or create the same effect. However, like mentioned in class, due to the stigma that surrounds comics due to their past, I do not know how much people, students, would remember comics and graphics novels could go beyond the purpose of entertainment. Like any type of reading, it will take practice and learning how to read this type of text, just like reading nonfiction often requires a different mindset than fiction. I would also have to teach students how to study one image for a length of time, which is no different than how I normally emphasize how important it is to read a text multiple times for deep reading. For this reason, I do not know if I believe it is more or less effective than other models used to tell stories. It is just different, like every other media. As a writer/cartoonist/artist/whatever one may be, it is up to that creator to decide what is most effective to send his/her message, and for us as readers/viewers to decide if we think that model was most effective for that message for us as individuals. This is a question commonly asked to students: Why did the author choose to do this rather than something else?