Spring 2022 Courses

ASAM 056. Intro to Comparative Ethnic Studies.
S. Patel, PZ, Section 01 WF 9:35-10:50a.m.; Section 02 WF 11:00a.m.-12:15p.m.
This course is a study in locating the differential and intersectional formations of power in society and the world. We will explore how race, gender, sexuality, class, religion, and nationality organize our political, economic, and social structures. In doing so, we will trace how these structures have subjected Black, Brown, Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian American communities to varying scales of violence, from enslavement to labor exploitation, land dispossession, and imperial war. While the course focuses on the ways in which power has historically and contemporarily manifested in communities of color, we will also study how these communities resist, if not imagine, alternative ways of being and knowing.

ASAM 082. Racial Politics of Teaching.
K. Yep & C. Fought, PZ, T 2:45-5:30p.m.
This class examines how race and ethnicity are constructed in schooling from sociological, linguistic, and ethnic studies standpoints. Specifically, we will discuss how race and ethnicity are constructed in schooling and ways teachers/educators may refine their pedagogies in relation to race and ethnicity. Students will do a research project.

ASAM 086. Social Documentation.
Staff, HMC, F 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 100a. Asian American Literature: The Korean War in Transcultural Memory.
S. Kim, PZ, MW 9:35-10:50a.m.
This course examines how the Korean War has been remembered transculturally, especially by those who contest the dominant historical narrative of American benevolence. We will consider how writers and filmmakers remember “The Forgotten War” differently, and what these representations say about the positionalities of the people depicted in each work.

ASAM 105B. Zines in the Asian Diaspora.
T. Honma, PZ, T 2:45-5:30p.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.”

ASAM 115. Theory and Methods.
K. Yep, PZ, W 2:45-5:30p.m.
This course will examine a selection of theories and research methods that shape the interdisciplinary field of Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies. Addressing intersections of race, gender, class, sexuality and ability, we will analyze themes including nationalism, imperialism, settler colonialism, subjectivity, politics of representation, modes of resistance and coalitional movement building. We will also explore and practice relevant qualitative and quantitative research methodologies utilized in the field. Students will also reflect on their positionality in their role as researchers to examine their approach to topics of their interest. Students are encouraged to build on their own research ideas, and deepen their analysis through course readings and assignments.

*ASAM 125. Introduction to Asian American History, 1850-Present.
S. Kim, PZ, MW 11:00a.m.-12:15p.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 156. Spirit of Bandung: Third World Internationalism & Decolonization.
S. Patel, PZ, T 2:45-5:30p.m.
Develop an understanding of how the Afro-Asia political project is an insurgent coalitional project. To do this, we will explore the historical and contemporary struggles, insurgencies, and solidarities of Black and Asian peoples. We will learn together how Afro-Asia serves as an insurgent site of critique, resistance, and revolutionary aesthetics that connects distant geographies, diasporas, and Black and Asian peoples to a global anti-racist, anti-imperialist, and anti-colonial political imaginary.

*ASAM 160. Asian American Women’s Experiences.
Staff, SC, TBA
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 175. Asian American Comics: Racial Politics.
T. Honma, PZ, W 2:45-5:30p.m.
This seminar focuses on comics as a form of storytelling within Asian American communities and the politics of racial representation. How do Asian American comic writers situate themselves (and their narratives) within a US settler society structured by capitalism, heteropatriarchy and white supremacy? Readings will include comics and graphic novels by and about Asian Americans from a variety of ethnic and gendered subject positions, as well as works distributed by both mainstream, independent, and do -it-yourself publishers. Theoretical work that examines race and visuality, political economy, positionality and intersectionality, transnationalism, aesthetics, and affect will also be required.

ASAM179B SC. Asian Americans and the Law. (pending approval)
Staff, SC, R 7:00-9:50p.m.
This course will analyze the history and experience of Asian Americans in the legal system, including jurisprudence in Constitutional and immigration law. Laws and policies in the U.S. have been used, by turns, as weapons of oppression, and as tools for justice for Asian American communities. The course will connect current events to past civil rights struggles and victories. As in law school, students will examine pertinent court cases, and other legal materials to deepen their understanding of issues such as immigration, voting rights, racial profiling, and other civil rights issues. The course will explore the role of public interest lawyers and organizing in contemporary social justice efforts.

ASAM 179H. Music in Asian America.
Staff, HMC, R 2:45-5:30p.m.
This course addresses the cultural politics of Asian American music. We will explore the role of diasporic expressive culture in shaping racialized identities and emergent political formations. The “Asian American” will be broadly defined. Expanding the rubric of conventional East Asian American categories, we will examine South/Southeast Asian American musics and cross-racial alliances. Afro-Asian encounters will be of particular focus. This class incorporates a substantial community-based ethnographic research project. No musical training necessary.

ASAM 189C. South Asian American Studies.
B. Nasir, PO, M 1:15-4:00p.m.
This course examines issues relevant to the South Asian diaspora in the United States. With a special emphasis on race and empire, the course will consider historical and contemporary forms of marginalization targeting South Asian American communities. It will also explore the possibilities and limits of emergent Desi social movements forged in contexts of Anti-Immigrant Racism, Anti-Muslim Racism, Anti-Black Racism, Hindutva, and Trumpism.

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

MS 100AA. Asian Americans in Media.
A. Kaneko, PZ, MW 4:15-5:30p.m.
This is a historical survey of Asian American involvement in media production, beginning with the silent film era and ending with contemporary projects in film, video, and new media. In this course, we will focus on the shifting yet continuous participation of Asians in the production of media in North America, and look at how changing political, social, and cultural discourses have shaped media representations of Asians throughout this period.

MUS 126. Music in East Asia and its American Diasporas.
Y. Kang, SC, TR 1:15-2:30p.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 1:15-2:30p.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 153AA. Asian American Psychology.
S. Goto, PO, TR 1:15-2:30p.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, W 1:15-4:00p.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.

THEA 115O: Applied Theatre: Sustained Dialogue in Action.
J. Lu, PO, MW 10:00a.m.-12:30p.m.
This course combines the Sustained Dialogue (SD) process of identifying a community challenge and brainstorming solutions by using applied theatre methods, such as Theatre of the Oppressed and Playback Theatre! Sustained Dialogue was developed by Dr. Harold Saunders, an American diplomat who was instrumental in a number of peace processes in the Middle East in the 1970s onwards. Since then, the work has been used in many countries and educational institutions to examine identity, improve relationships, build community, and create positive change. Pomona College adopted SD in 2020 with the goal of improving the culture and health of relationships across campus. Prof. Lu will facilitate the 10-session SD process with Associate Dean of Students & Dean of Campus Life Josh Eisenberg and then students will develop a performance addressing the issues raised in the dialogues.

THEA 130. Introduction to Directing.
G. Ortega, PO, TR 9:35a.m.-12:05p.m.
This is an introduction to the art and craft of directing for the stage, and related forms that will allow the artist to enhance their vision and eventually formulate their concept into fruition. There will be an emphasis on play selection, detailed script analysis, the director’s concept, collaboration with designers, auditions and casting, actor coaching, rehearsal strategies, and production methods. We will workshop several scenes as well as projects that the students will create. In addition, our student directors will have the opportunity to work with students from a local elementary school to produce a short adaptation of a fairy tale or a fable being taught in their curriculum.

Note: Courses with an asterisk (*) are appropriate for first year students.