Session A (May 23-July 1)
AAS R2A: Reading and Composition
Asian American Studies R2A is a course in critical thinking and writing in which students will gain a basic introduction to contemporary issues in the work of Asian American writers. For this semester we will focus loosely on the theme of “war.” Under what circumstances, if any, can war be justified? How might Asian Americans stand in a unique position when evaluating America’s military engagements? More than anything, this course is devoted to your writing, so there will be a strong emphasis on learning to identify essay topics that interest you. You will write extensively in order to give power to your voice through the written word. You will spend a great deal of time reading and revising student work, as well as considerable attention to the mechanics of argumentative prose. To this end, you will learn how to analyze, with care and precision, such varied forms of writing as short stories, poetry, and novels.
AAS R2B: Reading and Composition
Asian American Studies R2B is a course in critical thinking and writing in which students will gain a basic introduction to contemporary issues in the work of Ethnic American writers. For this semester we will focus loosely on the theme of “love.” We will address many questions that have no predetermined answers. For example, when we look at Asian American relationships in comparison to relationships of other ethnic groups, do we find specific patterns of behavior or conflicts? What might these conflicts reflect in terms of Asian American/Ethnic American identity? Are they influenced by immigration, national boundaries and/or culture? More than anything, this course is devoted to your writing, so there will be a strong emphasis on learning to identify essay topics that interest you. You will write extensively in order to give power to your voice through the written word. You will spend a great deal of time reading and revising student work, as well as considerable attention to the mechanics of argumentative prose. To this end, you will learn how to analyze, with care and precision, such varied forms of writing as short stories, poetry, and novels.
AAS 138: The Bollywood Whore & Terrorist (Huma Dar)
In this class, we will explore the cinematic representations of the “whore” and the “terrorist” in the nation with the largest film industry in the world: India. We will pay special attention to the discourses of race and ethnicity, gender and sexuality, religion and nationality, class and caste while analyzing Urdu-Hindi films produced in Bombay[Mumbai], India — usually considered the “national cinema” of India. These are now commonly called Bollywood films. Through careful readings of these films using critical interdisciplinary methods, we will unpack the trope of the “tawa’if” or the courtesan/whore, and deconstruct the cinematic “terrorist,” contextualized by national and transnational discourses pre- and post 9/11. During the course of our interrogation of Bollywood films and their national and transnational reception(s), we will develop a critical framework to help us discuss ways in which media representations of disempowered and marginalized ethno-racialized groups could be made more just.
AAS 141: Law in the Asian American Community (Tom Fleming)
In this class, we will seek to understand and critically analyze the law and how it affects Asian American communities. We will examine selected legal principles in the United States Constitution as well as in state and federal statutes, and the case law interpreting such principles. Further, we will explore racialization vis-à-vis certain legal areas such as national security, immigration, profiling, hate speech/crimes, criminal law, labor and employment, education, and affirmative action. We will investigate not only the relationship between law and race, but also that of law and class, gender, politics and economics.
AAS 144: Religions of Asian America (Christopher Chua)
The approach of this course is interdisciplinary, and we will employ tools from the disciplines of sociology, history, and religious studies, among others, in our attempt to construct an understanding of the religions of Asian America. In addition, the approach is rooted in an ethnic-studies perspective, which foregrounds the agency of racial/ethnic communities. As we explore the varieties of Asian American religious communities, we will challenge the commonly held view of an American religious landscape dominated by white mainline Protestantism and will revisit three recurring themes related to Asian American religion in each of our units of study: variety, imbrication in a range of social formations and social dynamics, and dynamism.
EALC 181: Translating the Monstrous-Other: East Asian Horror Cinema and Hollywood (Daniel O’Neill)
The recent translation of East Asian Horror to the Hollywood Big Screen will prompt our exploration of the various ways the figuration of the supernatural emerging out of Asia are absorbed into Hollywood filmic conventions in their efforts to delight audiences with the shock of the new (and the thrills of endless renewal). We will focus our critical attention on the fixed features of ghosts and monsters, haunted houses and possessed women as well as their translation to the Hollywood screen in order to better understand 1) the cinematic styles of East Asian horror films and 2) the significant role played by transnational cinematic cultures in shaping our evolving notions of racial, sexual, and national difference. Course materials will be drawn from primary sources in film and film criticism. All class materials will be in English translation. This course is offered through the EALC department and can be used to fulfill the culture course requirements of the AAADS major.
Session C (June 20 – August 12)
AAS R2A: Reading and Composition
Asian American Studies R2A is a course in critical thinking and writing in which students will gain a basic introduction to contemporary issues in the work of Asian American writers. For this semester we will focus loosely on the theme of “war.” Under what circumstances, if any, can war be justified? How might Asian Americans stand in a unique position when evaluating America’s military engagements? More than anything, this course is devoted to your writing, so there will be a strong emphasis on learning to identify essay topics that interest you. You will write extensively in order to give power to your voice through the written word. You will spend a great deal of time reading and revising student work, as well as considerable attention to the mechanics of argumentative prose. To this end, you will learn how to analyze, with care and precision, such varied forms of writing as short stories, poetry, and novels.
AAS R2B: Reading and Composition
Asian American Studies R2B is a course in critical thinking and writing in which students will gain a basic introduction to contemporary issues in the work of Ethnic American writers. For this semester we will focus loosely on the theme of “love.” We will address many questions that have no predetermined answers. For example, when we look at Asian American relationships in comparison to relationships of other ethnic groups, do we find specific patterns of behavior or conflicts? What might these conflicts reflect in terms of Asian American/Ethnic American identity? Are they influenced by immigration, national boundaries and/or culture? More than anything, this course is devoted to your writing, so there will be a strong emphasis on learning to identify essay topics that interest you. You will write extensively in order to give power to your voice through the written word. You will spend a great deal of time reading and revising student work, as well as considerable attention to the mechanics of argumentative prose. To this end, you will learn how to analyze, with care and precision, such varied forms of writing as short stories, poetry, and novels.
Session D (July 5 – August 12)
AAS 171: Asian American Cinema (Elaine H. Kim)
Roughly chronological introduction to cinematic works by and about Asian Americans and to social and cultural issues viewers might infer from them. The first one-third or so of the course will provide opportunities to analyze Hollywood narratives about Asians and Asian Americans from the silent film era to the present, with some attention to the roles Asian Americans have played in them. The rest of the course will attempt to trace the parameters and topographies of Asian American cinema from the 1970s to the present. What stories do Asian American filmmakers tell? Why and how do they tell them? How might we become more thoughtful and perceptive visual media viewers? What would we like to see on the silver screen, and what part might we play in bringing forth these images and stories?
AAS 172: Asian American Literature (Sau-ling Wong)
“Tiger Mothers” and Others: Asian Parents and Parenting in Asian American Literature
This course examines accounts of Asian parents and parenting written by writers of various of ethnicities and from a range of historical periods, with the aim of understanding Asian American subject formation in historical and cultural contexts. We begin with Amy Chua’s controversial Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, whose catchy title provides the most visible label about Asian parenting in the United States. The other readings, some autobiographical, some fictional, can be read as confirming, challenging, subverting, or otherwise complicating the “Tiger Mother” story. Our approach emphasizes the importance of analyzing Asian parents and parenting not as something purely individual and idiosyncratic, but as a practice influenced by not only “cultural differences” but also other extra-familial factors (racial/ethnic, economic, public policy, etc.). Readings include: Amy Chua, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother; Christina Chiu,Troublemaker and Other Saints; Kao Kalia Yang, The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir; Lac Su, I Love Yous Are for White People; Brian Ascalon Roley, American Son; David Mura, Where the Body Meets Memory; Jane Jeong Trenka, The Language of Blood.
