Date of Award
Spring 6-12-2026
Document Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
M.A. in Anthropology
Organizational Unit
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Anthropology
First Advisor
Bonnie Clark
Second Advisor
Christina Kreps
Third Advisor
Sandra Dixon
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Difficult heritage, Difficult history, History education, Museum education, National parks interpretation, Amache
Abstract
My research aims to understand approaches to teaching difficult histories to children at cultural heritage institutions. To do this, I examined the creation process of the Amache Junior Ranger booklet that launched at the site in the fall of 2025. Amache, a WWII Japanese American incarceration center, presents significant interpretive challenges in balancing the traumatic nature of the site with age-appropriate content as well as highlighting the agency people exercised without losing the gravity of the situation. In addition to how the booklet was made, I use my research to situate the booklet in the social and political climate in which it was created. My research explores why it is important for children to learn about this history and positions the booklet as an introduction to connecting the historical racialized state violence Japanese Americans experienced during WWII with the racialized state violence immigrants are facing today.
Copyright Date
6-2026
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Katelyn Morkovsky
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
226 pgs
File Size
7.7 MB
Recommended Citation
Morkovsky, Katelyn, "Difficult History During Difficult Times: Amache Junior Rangers" (2026). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2731.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2731
Included in
Asian American Studies Commons, Asian History Commons, Japanese Studies Commons, Museum Studies Commons, United States History Commons