Spring 2015 Courses
ASAM 085. Health Inequities: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
K. Yep, PZ, TR 1:15-2:30 p.m.
This interdisciplinary course explores select issues in Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community health from a socio-ecological perspective. Through participatory teaching strategies, we will explore contemporary issues affecting health of underserved Southern California AAPIs through presentations from local physicians, policy makers, and community activists. Community project.
ASAM 086. Social Documentation and Asian Americans.
K. Mak, HMC, W 1:15-4:00 p.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 102. Fieldwork in Asian American Communities (1/2 credit).
K. Yep, PZ, T 7:00-9:50 p.m.
The goals of this class are for students to understand the difference between service-learning and social justice education and to understand the roles of power, privilege, and positionalities in working in partnership with community members. The college students will provide English conversation support or provide coaching one-on-one with adult immigrants who have naturalization exam dates.
ASAM 105. Asian American and Queer Zines.
T. Honma, PZ, W 2:45-5:30 p.m.
This course examines do-it-yourself (DIY) politics through independently produced zines. We will focus on Asian American and queer zine subcultures to understand various aspects of contemporary media, including: production and consumption, representation and self-expression, identity-construction and place-making, creativity and resistance, and the relevance of print in an increasingly digital world.
ASAM 130. Science, Technology, Asian America.
T. Honma, PZ, TR 2:45-4:00 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 160. Asian American Women’s Experiences.
E. O’Brien, SC, F 1:15-4:00 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.
M. Sugihara/B. Yang, HMC, M 7:00-9:50 p.m.
The purpose of this class is to explore how Asian Pacific American history has been an integral part of American history. The class will look at past discrimination and oppression of Asians and Asian Pacific Americans, but also, simultaneously study how the Asian Pacific American community has used the legal system to fight for equality and justice. The lectures and readings are meant to show that we have not simply let things happen to us, that we have not simply been reactionary. We have fought hard for and have contributed immensely to the formation of civil rights jurisprudence in our great nation. In addition, the class will attempt to tie in current events and contemporary issues to the past. From this critical analysis, students should leave the class with a better understanding of the current state of the Asian Pacific American community, although each student may (and probably will) have a different opinion on how the community should address current issues and concerns. The goal of the class is to instill critical thinking and historical understanding, not to impose one perspective on the law and public policy. We will use actual cases to examine the issues, in the same manner that a law school course might. Often, the cases will be supplemented with articles, discussion, and other materials to illuminate the issues.
ASAM 187. Art, Activism, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders.
E. O’Brien, SC, R 7:00-9:50 p.m.
This course will focus on the role that different artistic forms including but not limited to music, fine arts, street art, and poetry, have played in social justice work. The participatory course analyzes the transformative power and potential of art within the context of Asian American social movements seeking transformative social and political changes. The course will put students directly into contact with the performance and display of Asian American art events, and seek to integrate their active participation in these events as a means to develop both creative outlets as well as critical thinking.
ASAM 188. Decolonizing Education.
Staff, PZ, W 7:00-9:50 p.m.
This project-based seminar will explore theoretical work on decolonizing education drawing from Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander scholar/activists. For this upper-division seminar, students should have familiarity with theories of coloniality, intersectionality, and racial formations. Work-load is high. Community teaching. Pre-requisite: One (1) Asian American Studies course.
ASAM 190b/191PO. Asian American Studies Senior Thesis.
TBA
Students will work with one or more faculty on original thesis research toward completion of senior thesis.
ENGL 189J. Topics in Asian American Literature.
J. Jeon, PO, TR 2:45-4:00 p.m.
This course is a general introduction to Asian American literature that tracks the major historical events, ideological problems, and social movements of Asians in America since the nineteenth century. We will examine a number of literary forms (fiction, memoir, drama, poetry) and investigate writing by authors from a number of different ethnic immigrant groups (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indian). Through these engagements, this course aims to introduce students to the major issues in this field of study; to explore overlaps with adjacent critical fields–such as postcolonial, queer, and gender studies—and to consider new directions for a literature and discourse that is often described as on the cusp of significant change.
HIST 125AA. Asian American History from 1850 to the Present.
T. Venit-Shelton, CMC, MW 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.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. We will explore issues such as the experience of immigration, daily life in urban ethnic enclaves, and racist campaigns against Asian immigrants. Throughout the course, we will ask how these issues relate to a larger history of American nation-building and diplomatic relations with Asia.
SOC 095. Contemporary Central Asia.
A. Junisbai, PZ, M 2:45-5:30 p.m.
In this course, students will learn about the five Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The “Stans” are majority Muslim, were part of the Soviet Union until 1991, and are ruled by authoritarian leaders today. The course will start out with a brief overview of the region’s history before, during, and after the USSR. Topics will include social and economic stratification, gender, interethnic relations, political inequality, and religion.
SOC 126AA. Immigration and the Second Generation.
H. Thai, PO, TR 2:45-4:00 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.
