Using Digital Archives to Teach Early South Asian American Histories

Using Digital Archives to Teach Early South Asian American Histories

In this article, the author considers the use of Asian American digital archives as sources of critical inquiry for the elementary social studies classroom.It includes a brief overview of early South Asian American history, focusing on Punjabi and Bengali migrations, then orients educators to two note-worthy community archives, the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) and the Pioneering Punjabis Digital Archive. A sample lesson on Bhagat Singh Thind, a South Asian pioneer who challenged exclusionary citizenship laws in the twentieth century, is provided.