2026-06-27 –, Room 403 PC Desk (Seats 30)
Teaching history survey courses is often a daunting assignment for specialists, but teaching a region outside one's primary expertise presents unique challenges in balancing coverage with depth. When assigned 'Asian History Since 1600' in Spring 2025, I sought to move beyond a narrative defined solely by a sequence of martial conflicts driven by male actors. I determined that the course needed to include three things: Women, Central Asia, and primary sources. One way that I introduced a gendered lens to the course was through their major assignment, “The Value of a Single Story.”
This presentation explores “The Value of a Single Story” paper and discussion activity, where students choose from four regional texts (Central, South, Southeast, and East Asia) to explore watershed events, including India’s Partition, the Japanese occupation of China, the Vietnam War, and the war in Afghanistan. This year’s options included Wild Swans, Even the Women Must Fight, The Underground Girls of Kabul, and Independence: A Novel. By integrating memoirs, biographies, and historical fiction centered on women and girls, I developed a framework to recenter the historical narrative. This approach hones research and contextualization skills for history majors and non-majors alike, while effectively 'gendering' the wars and revolutions of modern Asia. Students appreciate the balance between freedom to choose one of four texts, with the structure provided through the questions and rubric. The jigsaw discussion ensures that all students learn about each of the historical moments and the women and girls’ experiences, taking the place of research presentations. Finally, students enjoy the readings, expressing that they learn more about how people experienced war, occupation, and revolution.
Participants will receive links to a lesson template and sample assignments.
modern Asia, gender, war, teaching
Monica Ketchum-Cardenas is Professor of History and Sociology at Arizona Western College, and a Lecturer in History and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies at San Diego State University-Imperial Valley. She holds degrees in history, with an emphasis in Latin American and world histories; sociology; global affairs; and college teaching and learning. Her work focuses on teaching innovation and curriculum development in history and sociology, and promoting the adoption of OER. Monica was awarded a Fulbright-Hays GPA scholarship to Central Asia in 2018, was an Engaging Eurasia Teaching Fellow at Harvard University in 2020-21 & 2025-26 and a CSEEES Global Fellow at The Ohio State University in 2023-24 and 2024-25. She has served as a delegate for Soroptimist International to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women annual meeting since 2023, and currently serves as president for the Arizona Council for History Education. When not in the classroom, she is creating art, travelling, and working in the community to address issues related to access to education, human trafficking, and gender-based violence.