Topaz and the Japanese American Incarceration - Spring 2026

This is a two (2) credit, eight (8) week online course specifically designed for elementary and secondary teachers who desire to learn more about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Particular attention will focus on the Topaz internment site located 16 miles northwest of Delta, Utah. Participating teachers will be presented with a wealth of resource materials about the Japanese internment camps, the racist laws and propaganda that, along with Pearl Harbor, resulted in the exclusion of more than 110,000 Japanese Americans from their homes along the West Coast. We will also compare what happened on the West Coast with what happened to ethnic Japanese in Hawaii. The resources will provide you with the basic facts regarding Topaz as well as more nuanced history, including activities of every day life, the art school, the 442 Regimental Combat Team, interesting people and tensions at Topaz, and the current efforts to preserve the Topaz site now that building the Topaz Museum is finished. I encourage you to take a trip to the Topaz Museum while you are taking the class.  Let's see if we can make that happen. 

The Topaz Museum's mission statement is to preserve the Topaz Internment site, interpret the impact of Topaz on the internees, their families, and the citizens of Millard County, and to educated the public in order to help prevent a recurrence or similar denial of American civil rights.

The history is complex and sometimes is contradictory to what is commonly thought. There is so much to explore that this course is only a beginning. I urge you to explore on your own and report back to the class what you find.