Spring 2017 Courses

ASAM 084. Nonviolent Social Change.
K. Yep, PZ, T 7:00-9:50 p.m.
Asian American Studies emerged out of the longest student strike in the history of the United States. The third world liberation front used social protest to call for educational relevance and greater success to higher education. This class takes a comparative racial approach to examine the history, philosophy, and practice of nonviolent social change. Linking the local and global, this course draws from case studies in India, South Africa, Chile, Poland, United States, and Vietnam.

ASAM 085. Health Inequities: Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
K. Yep, PZ, TR 2:45-4:00 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 090. Asian American and Multiracial Community Studies.
T. Honma, PZ, MW 11:00 a.m.-12:15 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 105. Zines, Creativity, Community.
T. Honma, PZ, M 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 106. Asian American Literature.
Staff, SC, TR 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
This course will survey Asian American literature from the late 19th through early 21st centuries. Through memoir, fiction, drama, poetry, and essays by writers from several different ethnic groups (Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and Vietnamese), this course explores key literary and critical issues, such as aesthetics and activism, assimilation and exilic identity, immigration and diaspora, economic and cultural labor, intergenerational and gender conflicts, interethnic relations, and the intersections of race/ethnicity, gender, and sexuality.

ASAM 111. Pacific Islanders and Education.
K.Vaughn, HMC, F 1:15-4:00 p.m.
This course will explore various topics within Indigenous education. Through a variety of mixed methods, this seminar will examine previous and current educational policy and its affects on diverse Indigenous peoples. It will also examine education as a tool for empowerment, resistance, and healing within varied Indigenous communities. Course topics covered include: Native/Indigenous epistemology, decolonizing methodologies, settler colonialism, cultural reclamation, and critical pedagogy. In addition to the course materials, students will engage in service learning by partnering with the Saturday Tongan Education Program (STEP). Participating in STEP will allow students to actively participate in an Indigenous educational initiative that directly relates to the course content and discussions.

ASAM 160. Asian American Women’s Experiences.
Staff, SC, R 7:00-9:45 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 179E. Asian/Americans and Popular Culture.
Staff, HMC, TR 4:15-5:30 p.m.
This course will examine representations of Asians, Asian Americans, and U.S.-Asia relations in American popular culture (e.g., film, television, fiction, comics and graphic novels, political cartoons, the internet). We will take a historical approach and attend to the tensions between representations of Asians and Asian Americans on the one hand, and Asian American self-representations on the other.

ASAM 190b/191PO. Asian American Studies Senior Thesis.
Students will work with one or more faculty on original thesis research toward completion of senior thesis.

HIST 125AA. Asian American History from 1850 to the Present.
T. Venit-Shelton, CMC, TR 9:35-10:50 a.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.

HIST 128. Immigration and Ethnicity in America.
H. Barron, HMC, TR 1:15-2:30 p.m.
A study of the experiences of different ethnic groups in the U.S. from the colonial period to the present, which addresses the meanings of cultural diversity in American history.

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 095. Contemporary Central Asia.
A. Junisbai, PZ, W 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 150AA. Contemporary Asian American Issues.
H. Thai, T 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.