STUDY GUIDES: REFERENCES FOR EDUCATORS

   (Source: University Professors and Their Courses)

 

To Educators worldwide:

 

I want to express my deep gratitude to the university professors and high school teachers who have made When Broken Glass Floats a part of their courses, and to the book clubs that have chosen it for discussion. Thank you for helping me give voice to those who no longer have one. 

 

In addition, I want to thank all of you for the important role you have played in educating students, particularly Americans, on the pain and suffering that the U.S. government inflicted on Cambodian citizens in the name of all Americans.  This story needs to be told.

 

I have spoken at many universities across the U.S., including my alma mater, the University of Oregon.  In post-lecture discussions, over and over students expressed frustration and disbelief that they had learned little or nothing about the Khmer Rouge genocide in high school.   Moreover, they knew nothing of how terribly Cambodians had suffered from the decisions made by their leaders in Washington, D.C., while many Americans live a sheltered life.

 

I can attest to their experience.  In the early 80s, I attended Cleveland high school in Portland, Oregon.  You can imagine my dismay when I, as a child survivor, found only one paragraph in our history book about the U.S. role in Cambodia's destruction.

 

Thus, I strongly urge university professors and high school teachers here in America and abroad to consider using my memoir in their classes.  This is a story that must be told if we Americans are to prevent our government and military from running amok behind the curtain of government process. 

 

Classes that have used my book include Comparative Genocide, Anthropology: Cultures of Asia, Asian-American History, American Pluralism, Writing, Literature, World Studies, World Issues, World Literature, Politics, Philosophy, Conflict Resolution in Deeply Divided Societies, Social Studies, and Humanitarian Challenges.

 

Institutions such as PeaceWoman, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, (a project of the U.N. in New York City), Amnesty International, Human Rights, and the CIA library have all made my memoir a part of their library collection.

 

Below are potential study guide questions for classes, provided compliments of Dr. Mark A. Ashwill, former Director & Fulbright Program Advisor at the State University of New York at Buffalo and Dr. Bunkong Tuon, professor at Union College in Schenectady, New York. 

 

Dr. Ashwill created his study guide questions for When Broken Glass Floats for his American Pluralism class.

 

 

 

 

Over the years, Professor Tuon has developed a list of reading/discussion questions for When Broken Glass Floats.  He has taught the book at three different institutions: (1) Union College, Department of English, “Asian-American Literature, Film, and History” and "First-Year Preceptorial", (2) Smith College, American Studies Program, “Introduction to Asian American Studies”, (3) the University of Massachusetts, Department of Comparative Literature, “Good & Evil” .