This interdisciplinary course (with an emphasis in anthropology) will introduce students to the multiple routes/roots, lived experiences, and imagined worlds of South Asians who have traveled to various lands at different historical moments spanning Fiji, South Africa, Mauritius, Britain, Malaysia, United States, Trinidad, and even within South Asia itself such as the Tamil-speaking population of Sri Lanka. The course will begin with the labor migrations of the 1830s and continue up to the present period. The primary exercise will be to compare and contrast the varied expressions of the South Asian Diaspora globally in order to critically evaluate this transnational identity. Thus, we will ask what, if any, are the ties that bind a fifth-generation Indo-Trinidadian whose ancestor came to the New World as an indentured laborer or coolie in the mid-19th century to labor in the cane fields, to a Pakistani medical doctor who migrated to the United States in the late 1980s. If Diaspora violates a sense of identity based on territorial integrity, then could culture serve as the basis for a shared identity?

Full details for AAS 2100 - South Asian Diaspora

An introductory history of Chinese, Japanese, Asian Indians, Filipinos, and Koreans in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century to the 1990s. Major themes include racism and resistance, labor migration, community formation, imperialism, and struggles for equality.

Full details for AAS 2130 - Introduction to Asian American History

This course explores the evolution of Orientalism, focusing on how East Asia has been perceived in the West and in East Asia. By analyzing a range of cultural and literary works spanning the genres of travelogue, poetry, fiction, film, opera, photograph, painting, illustration, etc., the course critically examines the Orientalist dichotomy between the West and the non-West and analyzes the internalization of Orientalism in East Asia in constructing the marginalized other. In addition, through a combination of reading, writing, and in-class discussion, the course investigates the historical conditions surrounding the production and dissemination of Orientalist representations of East Asia and their relevance in the contemporary world. (SC)

Full details for AAS 2295 - Orientalism and East Asia

Independent reading course in topics not covered in regularly scheduled courses. Students select a topic in consultation with the faculty member who has agreed to supervise the course work.

Full details for AAS 4950 - Independent Study

Individualized readings and research for graduate students. Topics, readings, writing requirements, and the number of course credits to be determined through consultation between the student and the faculty supervisor.

Full details for AAS 7200 - Directed Graduate Individual Study

Independent study course in which a small group of students works with one member of the graduate faculty. Topics, readings, writing requirements, and the number of course credits to be determined through consultation between the students and the faculty supervisor.

Full details for AAS 7300 - Directed Graduate Group Study