Asian American Studies, Spring 2008

Listed below are Asian American Studies courses for the upcoming Spring semester (we have a ton!--finally). For more information about the prerequisites, distribution credits, and units for each course, check out the course catalog.

Unfortunately, I haven't figured out how to do those post-behind-a-cut thingies yet so you're just going to have to scroll on down.

AMST 151 The Asian American Experience
T 12:30-2:40; Creef
An interdisciplinary introduction to the study of Asian Americans, the fastest-growing ethnic group in North America. Critical examination of different stages of their experience from the "coolie labor" and "yellow peril" to the "model minority" and struggles for identity; roots of Asian stereotypes; myth and reality of Asian women; prejudice against, among, and by Asians; and Asian contribution to a more pluralistic, tolerant, and just American society. Readings, films, lectures, and discussions.

PSYC 246 Asian American Psychology
W 2:15-4:45; Charmaraman
This course is an introduction to the psychological experience of Asian Americans including historical, socio-political, educational, and cultural influences that shape personality and mental health. Asian Americans consist of different groups with diverse cultural customs, languages, acculturation experiences, and histories in the U.S., yet they are often lumped together as one racial group in mainstream psychological research. Using psychological theory and research as a guiding framework, we will explore the foundational concepts of culture, ethnicity, and race as they relate to East Asian as well as South and Southeast Asian Americans. Topics to be addressed include family relationships, identity development, acculturation, model minority stereotypes, racism and discrimination, media images, gender and sexuality, psychopathology and other issues affecting Asian American communities.

ANTH 220 Identity and Community Formation: Asian American Perspectives
T 1:30-4:00; Chu
This course offers analytic tools for grappling with the historical and contemporary complexities of Asian American identification and community formation. Each section of this course introduces students to different theoretical frames for exploring the meaningful contours of the term "Asian American" in relation to other racialized and ethnic groups in the U.S. We will pay particular attention to the historical conditions and ongoing processes for the social formation of persons and collectivities under the rubric of "Asian American" as well as examine multiplicities, contradictions, and gaps of Asian American identifications and politics. Students will learn to critically think about Asian American identification in the wider contexts of orientalism, U.S. imperialism and nationalism, racialization and racism, state governmentality, economic restructuring, transnationalism and other social processes.

EDUC 216 Education, Society, and Social Policy
TF 1:30-2:40; Hong
In this course, we will examine some of the main educational policy issues of recent decades as well as the social, political, and economic forces that have shaped those policies over the years. We will study the development and interaction of policies at the federal, state, and local level, tracing policy trends that are law-, market-, and accountability-driven, analyzing how the motivations and interests of political actors and various stakeholders influence those trends. While we may discuss the technical aspects of some educational policies, the primary goal of this course is to analyze and begin to understand the different—and sometimes conflicting—goals, motivations, and outcomes of educational policies. Who designs educational policy and for whom? Whose interests are served and whose interests are unmet? These questions, among others, often lie at the heart of why school reform is such a complex issue and why certain educational policies may or may not be successful. To this end, understanding the racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and cultural forces that shape policy is fundamental to this course and will frame course curriculum and discussion.

WRIT125/AMST150 Defining Asian American Literature
M 2:50-5:20, Th 2:50-4:00; Iwanaga
The question we will pose at the outset, and which we will revisit frequently, is “What defines Asian American literature?” The writer’s ethnicity? The topic? The intended audience? Authors studied may include Maxine Hong Kingston, Patti Kim, Jhumpa Lahiri, R.O. Butler, Peter Ho Davies, Sandra Tsing Loh, Moniqute T.D. Truong. Students will also read essays on the power of creativity and the imagination. As students refine their definitions of Asian American literature, spurred on by texts that challenge their initial ideas, they will work toward defining American identity itself. This course satisfies the Writing 125 requitement and counts as a unit towards the Asian American Studies concentration within the American Studies major. Includes a third session each week. Mandatory credit/non-credit.

WRIT125 New Voices in American Literature: Jhumpa Lahiri & Ha Jin
M 2:50-5:20, Th 2:50-4:00; Schwartz
In 1994, Ha Jin and Jhumpa Lahiri were classmates in a fiction writing workshop at Boston University. Six years later, in 2000, Ha Jin won the National Book award for his novel, Waiting, and Lahiri was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her book of stories, The Interpreter of Maladies. Despite the similar label both share---Asian-American immigrant writer---their fictional words are very different: Ha Jin's fiction is set in China and Lahiri's stories chronicle the experiences of South Asian immigrants and their first generation American children in the United States. Nevertheless, both writers have mined their "outsider" status to produce an extraordinarily rich and important body of fiction.

WRIT125 Mothers and Daughters in Asian American Literature
MTh 9:50-11:0, Lee
The site of rebellion, resistance, identification, and desire, the mother-daughter relationship has been a crucial one in works of Asian American literature from the 40s and 50s to the present. Through their silences and their stories, their labors and their lunacies, mothers seem to hold the key to their daughters' selves. What can account for this overwhelmingly consistent pattern? Why are mothers so often seen as the bearers of culture and history? Why are the protagonists of so many Asian American novels and poems daughters rather than sons? This course will explore these and other questions in reading the works of writers such as Maxine Hong Kingston, Joy Kogawa, Cathy Song, and Nora Okja Keller.

WRIT125/EDUC 115 New Immigrants, Education, and Social Mobility
M 11:10-12:20, Th 11:10-1:20; Richards
This course examines the extent to which race, ethnicity, and social class of new immigrants shape their educational and economic trajectories. Students will read and write about texts that analyze and critique conventional wisdom regarding immigrant success in American society. Next, we take a closer look at theoretical explanations for why some groups of Asian, Latino, and West Indian national origin might be more successful in school, and thus in the labor market, than others. In addition to studying the prospects for social mobility among today's immigrant groups, we will identify writing strategies that work, explore ways to improve areas of weakness, and learn the conventions of academic writing that will be especially useful in improving research and writing skills in the social sciences. This course satisfies the Writing 125 requirement and counts as a unit toward the Teacher Education or Eduation Studies minor. Includes a third session each week.