The poster will use a horizontal timeline template that displays information chronically from the left to the right to highlight the evolution of Chinese American associations from the Gold Rush to the present. The timeline will incorporate only selected associations that can illustrate Chinese American associations' significant features and development. The content will be presented with brief descriptive texts and carefully selected images. To put the history of Chinese American associations in context, the poster will also include two parallel descriptive timelines: philanthropy trends in the United States and the brief history of the United States. An QR code will be put in the bottom right corner of the poster so that readers can scan it to access an annotated bibliography of the project. The visualization of the poster is inspired by a poster created by the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies.
What will the poster argue intellectually?
Voluntary associations have substantially sustained Chinese American communities and significantly shaped Chinese American identity since the late nineteenth century. The poster initially seeks to illustrate the evolution and breadth of Chinese American voluntary associations over time. It will sketch how Chinese Americans voluntarily organized to tackle the challenges and needs they faced over time, to express their cultural and social values, and to contribute to greater well-being and social justice in the United States. In this sense, Chinese American associations have served as "alternative power structures (Hammack 1998, 221-223)" for Chinese Americans.
Additionally, the poster will also showcase how the development of Chinese American voluntary associations fits into a larger picture of philanthropy and social movements in the United States. On the one hand, Chinese American associations, shaped by the priorities and experiences of Chinese American community since the late nineteenth century, have remained fundamental characteristics of Chinese philanthropic tradition, such as a focus on mutual aiding and a sense of responsibility to give back to the communities; on the other hand, they have reflected the larger development trends and patterns of philanthropy in the United States, such as the increasing of focus on strategic philanthropy and the growth of the diversity of philanthropy.
The poster's information was initially researched for co-renewing the Philanthropy Timeline of the United States, which was collaborated by Learning to Give, the Council of Michigan Foundations, and Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy.