As part of the Common Literature Experience at Utah State University, students in Connections and English 1010 read a novel about the Topaz relocation camp, Julie Otsuka's When the Emperor Was Divine. The Library has created a digital collection to augment this reading. It consists of letters, government reports, school yearbooks, etc. that offer contemporary descriptions of the War Relocation Program, life inside the relocation centers, and the effects of the relocation on Japanese Americans. Using these digitized primary sources, students can explore issues presented in the novel, beginning with the study questions suggested below.

1. How do these documents explain the reasons behind the relocation of Japanese-Americans during World War II? Do they tell a consistent story? Why or why not?

2. When the Emperor was Divine paints a compelling portrayal of life in the Topaz camp. How do the documents presented here amplify, contradict, or otherwise speak to the image of life at Topaz presented in the novel?

3. In the post-September 11 environment, there has been widespread debate about identifying individuals as potential threats to security on the basis of national original, religion, and ethnicity. What can these documents teach us about security and individual rights during a time of war?

Using Primary Sources in the Classroom

Because primary sources provide firsthand evidence of historical events, they are an essential resource for conducting research. They include written accounts such as photographs, diaries, letters, newspaper articles, and manuscripts; verbal accounts such as contemporary video and sound recordings, and oral histories; and images such as photographs, slides, etc.

Merrill-Cazier Library has many unique collections of primary source materials housed in both the Special Collections and Archives and the Government Documents departments. The Digital Library is selectively digitizing and mounting these for easy access by students and researchers via the Digital Library at http://digital.lib.usu.edu.  The Topaz Japanese American Relocation Center Digital Collection is one of five collections currently available.

If you would like more information about using primary documents as teaching materials in your classes, please contact:

Wendy Holliday, Coordinator of Library Instruction / 797-0731

Brad Cole, Head, Special Collections and Archives / 797-8268

John Walters, Head, Government Documents / 797-2683