Happy Campers: The Performative Citizenship of Girl Scouts in World War II Japanese American Incarceration Camps

Abstract:

My thesis argues that the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) represented the transformation of an American childhood leisure activity into a performative labor of citizenship. The GSUSA played a pivotal role in the War Relocation Authority’s PR campaign to convince the American public that Japanese American incarceration was constitutional and civilized. My thesis uses primary source material from archives and historical sites in Utah, California, Massachusetts, and across the UK—specifically London, Scotland, and various regional British Girl Guide archives. Though I completed my thesis this past October, I hope to expand on this project next year to investigate the role of the Boy Scouts in GSUSA activity in the incarceration camps. By focusing specifically on girlhood, this project would provide a more intersectional perspective on my previous work. Additionally, though my thesis utilized a lot of already documented oral histories, I hope to conduct further oral history interviews and on-site research to focus on the role of memory in this very recent history. I would love insight into any of these topics or themes!