This interdisciplinary course offers an introduction to the study of Asian/Pacific Islanders in the U.S. This course will examine, through a range of disciplines (including history, literary studies, film/media, performance, anthropology, sociology), issues and methods that have emerged from Asian American Studies since its inception in the late 1960s, including the types of research questions and methods that the study of Asians & Pacific Islander peoples in the U.S. as well as politics and historical relations in the Asia/Pacific region have to offer. In this course, we will pay particular attention to the role of culture and its production in documenting histories, formulating critical practices, and galvanizing political efforts. Topics and themes include: war & empire; queer & feminist lives and histories; refugee, adoptees, transnational families, and other forms of kinship & belonging; anti-Asian violence; settler colonialism and postcolonial critique.

Full details for AAS 1100 - Introduction to Asian American Studies

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. (ASIAN-SC)

Full details for AAS 2295 - Orientalism and East Asia

This course introduces students to community-engaged research within the Asian American community, exploring ethical, collaborative approaches to working with community members, organizations, and cultural institutions. Students will examine oral history, heritage preservation, archival research, and other methods while considering questions of representation, reciprocity, and community ownership of knowledge. Through case studies and hands-on activities, students will develop strategies for conducting research that is responsive to community priorities and contributes meaningfully to ongoing efforts in education, preservation, and cultural revitalization.

Full details for AAS 2350 - Asian American Community Engaged Research

The lives of Japanese Americans have been structured by movement, first settling in the United States beginning in the late 1800s at a time of immigration restriction, being forcibly removed and incarcerated during World War II, and then resettled and dispersed throughout the country. These movements have had a profound effect on the way that the community has developed and continues to impact generations who did not directly experience these events. Social and political movements have sought to address and counter the trauma that this process has had on the community. This course explores the experiences of Japanese in the United States, focusing most specifically on their mass incarceration during World War II, specifically engaging with scholarly works created by members of the Japanese American community.

Full details for AAS 3260 - Japanese American Experiences

Across twentieth-century history, race and war have been dynamic forces in shaping economic organization and everyday livelihoods. This course will approach labor and working-class history, through a focus on global war as well as 'wars at home.' Racial and warfare events often intersect-in the histories of presidents and activists, business leaders and industrial workers, CIA agents and police, soldiers and prisoners, American laborers abroad and non-Americans migrating stateside. In this course, we'll consider how race and war have been linked-from the rise of Jim Crow and U.S. empire in the 1890s, to the WWII 'Greatest Generation' and its diverse workplaces, to Vietnam and the civil rights movement, to the Iraq wars and immigrant workers, to debates about what has been called a 'military-industrial complex' and a 'prison-industrial complex'. (HIST-HNA)

Full details for AAS 3885 - Race and War in History: Workers, Soldiers, Prisoners, Activists

The Pacific Horizon is a long one; it stretches from Chile west across the world's largest ocean to places such as Australia and Japan, and then back across the ocean again to North America. All the while it beckons to oceanian islanders, from Rapa Nui to Oahu, from Chuk to Vanuatu. In this class we will look at the Pacific as a unitary whole, as well as through the sum of a number of its component parts, often classified as regions. Yet always, the sea connects -- and we will try to get at connection with nearly every turn in this course. We are interested in looking at the breadth and width of this ocean through historical time, and how connections were made across wide, maritime spaces. (ASIAN-SC) (HIST-HTR)

Full details for AAS 3980 - The Pacific Horizon: Oceania, Asia, and the Americas

We will examine cultural productions by East and Southeast Asians and their diasporas that imagine speculative, science fictional, magical realist, weird realist, or otherwise non-realist worlds. Paying particular attention to the legacies of militarism and empire, we will consider how imaginaries of East Asia are entangled with the U.S.-led Cold War system, the post-Cold War dominance of finance capitalism, and climate change. Tracking connections between diverse regions and peoples, we will explore how Asians and Asian diasporas dovetail in their visions of historical memory, present-day crisis, and future possibilities. These speculative worlds will prompt us to reflect on the world we live in now and the histories we have inherited. (ENGL-GLS, ENGL-LOA, ENGL-PST)

Full details for AAS 4567 - Speculative East Asias

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