There are still seats available in the following Asian American Studies courses. All are 300 level courses and carry culture studies credit:
AAST A300 Topics in Asian American Studies (3 cr.) CSA
Topic: Social Problems in the Health and Wellbeing of Asian America
RTV 180 at TR 1-2:15 p.m
Instructor: Fernando Ona
The primary objective of the course is to engage students with selected aspects of the emerging
canon of scholarly literature in Asian American Studies, specifically social and health problems
that face Asian America. Students will critically examine the nature and characteristics of social
problems in health and well being that Asian Americans experience, and engage with theoretical
frameworks for understanding such social problems. They will also have the opportunity to
review potential solutions to these issues and discuss current approaches to public health
interventions that attempt to address these challenges. The course adopts a case study approach
and incorporates a community-based participatory research module and process as the basis of a
course research project.
This course will also provide many opportunities for students to link personal experiences to the larger
collective facts of “Asian America,” from the local to the global. Additionally, a service-research
project to examine the experience of Asian Americans in the Midwest will take place during the semester.
This will provide students with the opportunity to conduct a mini-research project that attempt to address
social and health problems that Asian Americans experience. Students will be required to participate in
analyzing and writing reseatch data into a potential peer-review publication to be submitted at the end
of the semester. The course will shed light not only on the multi-faceted nature of the Asian American
experience, but also on the conflicting and simultaneous trends within the field of Asian American Studies.
AAST-A300 Topics in Asian American Studies (3 cr.) (CSA)
Topic: Playing with Difference: Popular Cultures of Asia in America
Instructor: Karen Inouye
Section: 30920
TR 11:15a-12:30p BH233
This course examines how and why Asian cultures have become so prevalent in American popular culture. Topics include Hong Kong cinema, anime, so-called fusion cuisine, video games, martial arts, and yoga. This course is joint listed with AMST A350.
SOC S342 Asian American Communities and Identities (3 cr.) (CSA) (S & H)
Instructor: Jennifer Lee
TR 2:30P-03:45P BH 330
This course takes a sociological approach to examine the histories, experiences, and cultures that
shape Asian American communities and identities. Using materials from academic articles and
books, as well as popular films and novels, students will first review the history of Asian
Americans in the United States in order to situate the Asian American experience within broader
social and historical contexts and to highlight the diversity of Asian American communities and
families. Then, students will examine the experiences of second and higher generation Asian
Americans in order to address questions about who is viewed as American and how Asian
Americans establish and maintain their ethnic identities. For one of the papers, students will get
the option of writing something creative, perhaps a short story or a poem or two. Students will
create their own Asian American literature!
