Radical Empathy in the University Archives: Examining Archival Representations of Chinese Students from 1906 to 1920

Abstract

AbstractWith the increase in Anti‐Asian hate crimes in the United States in 2020, it is essential for information institutions to reflect on how they are confronting the oppression of Asian communities. Guided by the concept of radical empathy, we conducted an analysis on how historical Chinese students at the University of Illinois were documented and described in the university's archives. Relevant archival materials, descriptive metadata, and additional archives‐generated materials were examined to identify potential representation issues. The preliminary findings include: (1) Chinese students are mostly visible in registers and yearbooks, with some well‐known alumni also appearing in newspapers and correspondence; (2) Some culturally insensitive terms occasionally appeared in historical student newspaper articles; (3) Name variations related to Chinese “courtesy names” and hyphenations can lead to challenges in creating descriptive metadata and affect the discoverability of Chinese students in the archives.