Current Semester
Spring 2026 courses
ANTH 088. China: Gender, Cosmology, State.
E. Chao, PZ, M 2:45-5:30 p.m.
This course examines the anthropological literature on Chinese society. It will draw on ethnographic research conducted in the People’s Republic of China. Particular attention will be paid to the genesis of historical and kinship relations, gender, ritual, ethnicity, popular practice and state discourse since the revolution.
*ASAM 055AA. Intro to Middle Eastern Studies-Critical SWANA Studies.
N. Shabazian, PZ, T 2:45-5:30 p.m.
This class is an introduction to SWANA studies. SWANA stands for Southwest Asia and North Africa and is a decolonial term for the Middle East. This class will seek to queer traditional Middle Eastern Studies by approaching the ambiguity, liminality, and discrepancies of both the SWANA region and its peoples. Through a focus on SWANA minority groups, students will learn about specific ethno-religious identities and the history of racialization of SWANA people in the U.S. The class will then center on social movements, including for Palestinian liberation, and the broader connection of organizing within multi-racial and collective solidarity building.
*ASAM 086. Social Documentation and Asian Americans.
J. Park, HM, R 1:15-4:00p.m.
Viewing of films and other documentary forms by Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) for critique and discussion. Basic instruction in use of digital video technology to document social issues relevant to Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Community- project.
*ASAM 090. Asian American and Multiracial Community Studies.
Staff, HM, T 7:00-9:45 p.m.
Introduces students to studying and working beside Asian American and Pacific Islander communities through the exploration of the politics of place. Issues to be addressed in the course include ethical considerations of community projects and social topography as it changes in the Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander diasporas. Course will be project-based and working with community-based organizations.
ASAM 105B. Zines in the Asian Diaspora.
T. Honma, W 7:00-9:50 p.m.
This course explores self-published zines as a way to understand Asian diasporic experiences in various regions of the “Pacific World.” We will examine factors involved in transpacific movement and migration and how Asian diasporic communities choose to represent themselves through the medium of zines. By engaging in comparative analysis between creative narration and scholarly texts, we will investigate competing definitions of what it means to be “Asian.”
*ASAM123. Pacific Islander History and Culture Through Life Writing.
A. Flores, HM, TR 9:35-10:50 a.m.
Life writing provides readers with an engaging opportunity to learn about history and its connection to the present. Utilizing the concept of Native survival, this course will examine the history and culture of Pacific Islanders through life writing that includes autobiography, biography, comics, graphic novels, and memoirs. Some of the main themes for this course include colonialism, diaspora, gender, indigeneity, migration, race, trauma, violence, and war. Class discussions, lectures, film screenings, and readings constitute the interpretive lens for this course.
*ASAM/HIST 125AA. Introduction to Asian American History, 1850-Present.
L. Itagaki, CM, MW 9:35-10:50a.m.
This survey course examines the history of Asian immigrant groups and their American-born descendants as they have settled and adjusted to life in the United States since 1850. We will explore issues such as the experience of immigration, daily life in urban ethnic enclaves, and racist campaigns against Asian immigrants. In addition, this course utilizes an ethnic studies framework that requires students to critically explore other themes such as class, community, empire, gender, labor, race, sexuality, settler colonialism, and war from the perspective of Asian Americans.
ASAM 130. Science, Technology, Asian America.
T. Honma, PZ, W 2:45-5:30 p.m.
This course explores the implications of Western science and technology on the Asian American experience. By interrogating how science has been defined in the “West” in relation to “non-Western” peoples, we will explore questions related to epistemology, racialization, migration, education, professionalization, and research, and the political stakes therein.
ASAM 157. US Foreign Policy and Intervention in the Middle East.
N. Shahbazian, PZ, TR 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
In the last several decades, the US has intervened in the region known as the Middle East more than any other part of the world. Considered the most conflict-ridden region, the roots of many of these modern-day crises can be traced back to interventions by the US and other global superpowers. This class will introduce students to the foreign policy decisions that have had lasting consequences for the Middle East, and the world. Students will learn why so much of US foreign policy is oriented towards the Middle East and how this then impacts domestic policy. The readings will focus on the interplay between democracy and authoritarianism, unpacking how these concepts function in different contexts and what can be learned from social movements pushing for collective liberation.
*ASAM 160. Asian American Women’s Experiences.
Rachel Yim, SC, M 2:45-5:30 p.m.
This course is an interdisciplinary examination of Asian and Pacific Islander American women. It will examine the history and experiences of Asian American women in the United States. The class will include both lecture and discussion and will cover various issues, such as gender roles, mass media stereotypes, Asian women’s feminism, and the impact of sexism and racism on the lives of Asian American women through education, work, and home life.
ASAM 179B. Asian Americans and the Law.
E. Ma, SC, R 7:00-9:45 p.m.
Analyze the intersection of Asian American history to American Jurisprudence, especially Constitutional and Immigration law. In many regrettable instances, our legal system has been used to oppress Asians and Asian Pacific Americans. However, Asian Americans have used the courts to fight back for equality and justice, contributing immensely to the formation of Civil Rights in the United States. The class will attempt to tie in current events and contemporary issues to past legal struggles and victories. We will use actual court cases in the same manner that a law school course might to examine issues such as Immigration, Property Rights, Employment, Education, Hate-crimes, Racial Profiling, among others.
*ASAM 179R. Popular Culture and the Pacific Islands.
A. Flores, HMC, TR 1:15-2:30 p.m.
This seminar (discussion-based) course critically examines the relationship between popular culture and the Pacific Islands. Using concepts and theories in cultural studies, history, Indigenous studies, and media studies, students will learn how to analyze aesthetics, form, historical context, meaning, power, and representation embedded in popular culture. Some of the various forms of popular culture that will be explored include fashion, films, graphic novels, music, sports, and television. Additionally, emphasis will be placed on intersecting themes such as capitalism, gender, indigeneity, racism, and settler colonialism.
ASAM 191 PO. Asian American Studies Senior Thesis.
Students will work with one or more faculty on original thesis research toward completion of senior thesis.
*ENGL 096. Transpacific Bodies and Materialities.
O. Lafferty, PO, MW 1:15-2:30 p.m.
How are Asian American and Pacific Islander bodies figured across different texts—in contemporary novels, poetry, and visual culture? How do the transits and residues of US empire across the Pacific inform these representations? This course investigates texts that center Asian American and Pacific Islander bodies and their varying materialities (e.g., paper, digital, textual/textural, watery, and earthy forms). We will attend to literary and visual texts in a post-1898 context, marking the US as a prominent, Pacific imperial power. We will consider how the circuits of colonialism, militarism, environmental devastation, and Indigenous dispossession affect transpacific subjects. At the same time, we will examine the ways these other-than-human bodies push the bounds of race and gender and question national belonging. Course topics include the Indochina refugee crisis following the War in Vietnam, the US militarization of the Philippines and Guåhan, and the rise of tourism in Hawai‘i. Texts may include fiction by Viet Thanh Nguyen, lê thị diễm thúy, and Kristiana Kahakauwila; poems by Rick Barot, Aimee Suzara, Craig Santos Perez, and No’u Revilla; nonfiction and critical essays; and photography, art installations, music videos, and documentary film.
ID 76. Intersections: Race, Gender, Sexuality.
L. Itagaki, CM, MW 11:00am-12:15pm
What assumptions do people address everyday in their lives about gender and sexuality? This introductory course focuses on this question, analyzing topics such as the historical emergence of feminism and feminist critique; social constructions of gender and the family; patriarchy and the state; the politics of gender and sexuality; the relationship between bodies and institutions; representations of gender in art, literature, film, and the media; and intersections with race/ethnicity, class, nation and other identities. Readings engage a broad range of disciplines including contemporary feminist theory, history, sociology, and literary and media studies. The course privileges a collaborative feminist approach to introduce students to social theories.
MUS 126. Music in East Asia and its American Diasporas.
Y. Kang, SC, MW 2:45-4:00 p.m.
This course introduces the “traditional” music of China, Korea, and Japan and explores the ways in which traditional performing arts have been transformed, adapted, and given new meanings in these modern nation-states and the East Asian diasporic communities of the United States. A survey of these musical traditions will be followed by a closer study of pungmul, kabuki, taiko, Chinese opera, and pansori.
POLI 118. Korea and Korean Americans.
T. Kim, SC, TR 1:15-2:30 p.m.
This course is an intensive introduction to North and South Korea, with their interlocking histories and greatly divergent economic, political, and social realities. The course pays special attention to the impact of U.S. foreign policy on Korean national formation and Korean American identity and community formation.
PSYC 114. Asian American Child Development.
H. Park, SC, W 2:45-5:30p.m.
This course will provide a psychological perspective on the nature and meaning of growing up as Asian American in North America. We will examine the diverse experiences of Asian American children, youth, and families, drawing upon primarily psychological theory and research. Furthermore, students will be exposed to interdisciplinary ethnic studies scholarship, memoirs, news articles, and films. Integrating a range of course materials, we will evaluate scientific claims, personal narratives, and everyday portrayals of Asian American children, youth, families, and communities. We will compare and contrast these multiple sources of information to gain a holistic view and identity gaps and future research directions in the field of psychological science. Course topics will include ethnic and racial socialization, ethnic identity development, peer relations, acculturations, biculturalism, model minority myth, parenting, family relationship, and transracial adoption.
PSYC 153AA. Asian American Psychology.
S. Goto, PO, TR 1:15-2:30 p.m.
Introduces students to the salient psychological issues of Asian Americans. Taking into account the social, cultural, and historical context of the Asian American experience, this course addresses values and cultural conflict development, acculturation, marriage and gender roles, vocational development, psychopathology, and delivery of mental health services.
*SOC 126AA. Immigration and the Second Generation.
H. Thai, PO, M 1:15-4:00 p.m.
Analysis of post-1965 children of immigrants, and/or immigrant children in Asia America. Emphasis on variations on coming-of-age patterns, the course examines diverse childhood experiences, including ‘transnational’ children, ‘refugee’ children, and ‘left-behind’ children. Emphasis on gender, class, ethnicity, intergenerational relations, education, sexuality, popular culture, and globalization, and specifically how young adults negotiate major American institutions such as the labor market and educational systems.
*SOC 150AA. Contemporary Asian American Issues.
H. Thai, PO, W 1:15-4:00 p.m.
Survey of contemporary empirical studies focusing on Asian American experiences in the U.S. and globally; major themes include race, class, gender, sexuality, marriage/family, education, consumption, childhoods, aging, demography, and the rise of transmigration. Readings and other course materials will primarily focus on the period since 1965.
*THEA 001G. Acting for Social Change.
J. Lu, PO, MW 10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Acting for Social Change is an introduction to the fundamentals of acting, drawing upon different techniques such as psychological realism and physical theatre. Students will perform a self-written monologue, a documentary monologue transcribed from a live interview, and a two or three person scene from a play. They will also be introduced to Playback Theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed, two forms of theater that are applied commonly today to create dialogue, heal conflict and trauma, and build community.