Advanced Search

Asian American and Pacific Islander studies resources for the classroom

All chapters of Foundations and Futures include lesson plans and curricular tools that are designed for high school students and grounded in ethnic studies pedagogy. Feel free to search our repository of primary sources and material that helps bring Asian American and Pacific Islander histories and experiences into the classroom.  

Multimedia

# of # results

Filters

Resource type
Copyrights
Chapters
  • Headshot of Bangladeshi American author and perfumer Tanaïs dressed in a sparkly blue sheer off-the-shoulder top and metal choker necklace.

    Image

    Headshot of Tanaïs

    Tanaïs, a Bangladeshi American author and perfumer, grew up in Bangladesh, Illinois, Texas, Alabama, and Missouri. “I write from spaces of discomfort, the syncretic spaces of blending cultures.”

    Featured in:

    Bangladeshi Americans, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • Headshot of Bangladeshi author Mahmud Rahman wearing a fleece jacket, smiling in front of sunlit foliage and a brick wall in the background.

    Image

    Headshot of Mahmud Rahman

    Author Mahmud Rahman moved to the US from Dhaka, Bangladesh, as an undergraduate student. His writing reflects on movement and dislocation: from village to the city, from war to peace, from Bangladesh to the US.

    Featured in:

    Bangladeshi Americans, Module 3
    View multimedia
  • Headshot of Bangladeshi American Sharbari Ahmed wearing a red dress and smiling with her long hair partially covering her face.

    Image

    Headshot of Sharbari Ahmed

    Author and screenwriter Sharbari Ahmed is the first Bangladeshi to write for an American network TV show, Quantico, on ABC.

    Featured in:

    Bangladeshi Americans, Module 3
    View multimedia

  • Video

    Tribal Dance Performed at Bangladeshi American Folk Festival

    A tribal dance performance from 2024 at a Bangladeshi American folk festival in New York City celebrates Bangladeshi culture.

    Featured in:

    Bangladeshi Americans, Module 2
    View multimedia
  • Refugees carry their belongings while trekking across a dry riverbed in the Ganges Delta at Kushtia.

    Image

    Refugees Stream Across the River Ganges Delta at Kushtia

    Refugees stream across the delta of the Ganges river in 1971 as they flee the violence in East Pakistan during the ongoing West Pakistani military campaign, known as Operation Searchlight.

    Featured in:

    Bangladeshi Americans, Module 2
    View multimedia
  • A circular, mosaic-patterned flower bed with reds, yellows, and greens in front of a monument.

    Image

    The Shaheed Minar in Dhaka

    The Shaheed Minar (Martyr’s Monument) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, commemorates the lives of students who died fighting for the right to use their native Bengali language.

    Featured in:

    Bangladeshi Americans, Module 2
    View multimedia
  • A map of South Asia that is color coded to show the different countries in the region.

    Image

    Map of South Asia

    A map of South Asia, with Bangladesh between India and Myanmar.

    Featured in:

    Bangladeshi Americans, Module 2
    View multimedia
  • Arab and Muslim Americans wait in line at a polling station in the council chambers. A pink sign sits on a bench that reads "Vote uncommitted".

    Image

    Bangladeshi Americans Voting in Hamtramck

    Immigrant voters, including Bangladeshi Americans, arrive for early primary voting in Hamtramck, Michigan, in 2024.

    Featured in:

    Bangladeshi Americans, Module 1
    View multimedia
  • Bangladeshi American Shamsun Nehar wearing a pink hijab with a polka dot dress puts the finishing touches on the three tiered wedding cake she made.

    Image

    Shamsun Nehar Puts Finishing Touches on Wedding Cake

    Entrepreneur Shamsun Nehar, founder of Cakes by Lucky, shows a wedding cake which she created and decorated. Many Bangladeshi American women run their own small businesses.

    Featured in:

    Bangladeshi Americans, Module 1
    View multimedia
  • Bangladeshi American Mohammed Chishti-Shipu stands on a chair in his office to hang his diplomas on the wall next to the completely filled bookshelf.

    Image

    Mohammed Chishti-Shipu Hangs His Diplomas in His Office

    Mohammed hangs his diplomas in the office of his accounting practice in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York.

    Featured in:

    Bangladeshi Americans, Module 1
    View multimedia

Chapters

# of # results

Filters

  • Cartoon: In a classroom, black-skinned children wearing sashes labeled Philippines, Hawaii, Porto Rico, and Cuba are scolded by Uncle Sam while white-skinned children read at their desks.

    Module

    Module 3: Colonialism, Racism, and Identity

    Mae Ngai and Wena Teng

    Chapter:

    We Are Here Because You Were There: Race, Colonialism, and Migration
    View module
  • An elderly Asian couple in a kitchen. Pots and pans, stacks of papers, and grocery bags cover every surface. Asian art hangs on the wall.

    Module

    Module 4: Decolonization and New Immigration

    Mae Ngai and Wena Teng

    Chapter:

    We Are Here Because You Were There: Race, Colonialism, and Migration
    View module
  • A couple of dock workers lean against a post on the dock. A military ship floats in the background.

    Module

    Module 5: Case Study: Indonesian Sailors During World War II

    Greg Robinson and Jonathan Van Harmelen

    Chapter:

    We Are Here Because You Were There: Race, Colonialism, and Migration
    View module
  • Painting: An Asian woman and a soldier with a blacked-out face sit with their 4 children in front of a map shows bits of Bible verses.

    Module

    Module 2: Anti-Miscegenation Laws and the Emergence of Multiracial People

    Nitasha Tamar Sharma

    Chapter:

    Multiracial Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans
    View module
  • A Punjabi Mexican American couple pose for their wedding photo. The wife stands with her hand on his shoulder. Both have serious expressions.

    Module

    Module 3: Interracial Marriage Patterns and Multiracial Demographics

    Nitasha Tamar Sharma

    Chapter:

    Multiracial Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans
    View module
  • Jet Li holds Aaliyah's wrist while she makes a fist for the 2000 film Romeo Must Die.

    Module

    Module 4: Controlling Images and Self-Representation in Film and Media

    Nitasha Tamar Sharma

    Chapter:

    Multiracial Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans
    View module
  • Cutout images of Iam Tongi, Havana Rose Liu, Olivia Rodrigo, Auli‘i Cravalho, Charlie Bushnell, and Lola Tung on a purple background with stars.

    Module

    Module 5: Multiracial Identity Formation and Expression

    Nitasha Tamar Sharma

    Chapter:

    Multiracial Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans
    View module
  • Bangladeshi American author Diruba Ahmed uses one hand to take off her glasses while holding a pen and the other hand to keep a book open on a table.

    Module

    Module 3: Bangladeshi American Literature

    Nazli Kibria, Elora Halim Chowdhury, Fariba S. Alam, and Sharbari Ahmed

    Chapter:

    Bangladeshi Americans
    View module
  • Bangladeshi Chaumtoli Huq with her husband and three daughters wearing winter coats at the train station.

    Module

    Module 4: Bangladeshi Americans and Political Activism

    Elora Halim Chowdhury, Faiba S. Alam, Nazli Kibria, and Sharbari Ahmed

    Chapter:

    Bangladeshi Americans
    View module
Foundations and Futures Logo

The Asian American Studies Center acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin, So. Channel Islands) and pay our respects to the honuukvetam (ancestors), ‘ahiihirom (elders), and ‘eyoohiinkem (relatives/relations) past, present, and emerging.

© 2025 UCLA Asian American Studies Center

UCLA Institute of American Cultures Asian American Studies Center logo
Accessibility Tools
Reset All Accessibility Tools Reset All
Font Options
Text Resize
Line Height
Color Focus ButtonColor Overlay
Reading Focus ButtonReading Mask

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Accessibility
Translate