AAST - Asian American Studies
AAST420 Asian American Women: The Social Construction of Gender (3 Credits)
Examines the intersection of gender, race and class as it relates to Asian American women in the United States; how institutionalized cultural and social statuses of gender, race, ethnicity and social class produce and reproduce inequality with implications for Asian Americans and the broader society.
Restriction: Must not have completed WMST420. Cross-listed with: WGSS420.
AAST421 Asian American Public Policy (3 Credits)
Using Asian Pacific Americans as a case study, this course will analyze the development of public policy in America. Each week, topics such as community development, voting rights, and the movement to redress the wartime internment of Japanese Americans will serve as backdrops for discussion. We will explore the policy-making roles of legislators, judges, local and national political leaders, journalists, writers, unions, social movements, and community organizations.Cross-listed with: AMST418N.
Credit Only Granted for: AAST421, AAST498M or AMST418N.
Formerly: AAST498M.
AAST422 Asian American Women and Gender (3 Credits)
Examines Asian/American cultural production along with theories of gender and sexuality in the field of Asian American Studies. We consider how Asian American femininities/masculinities are conceived and circulated, drawing from a diverse selection of twentieth-century and contemporary texts, films and images that connect Asian American bodies to ideas of absence, danger, inscrutability, hyper- or hypo-sexuality, and virulence. Beginning with early to mid-twentieth century representations, the course attends to theories that clarify the contested relationship between the East/West and Asia/U.S. Also examined are the methods through which bodies differentiated by sex, gender, and race are managed, surveilled, and rehabilitated, with close attention to the enduring legacies of American expansionism and conquest, anti-immigration policies in the U.S., and twentieth-century wars and occupations in Asia. The course engages Women of Color feminisms, queer theory, and disability studies.
Credit Only Granted for: AAST498G or AAST422.
Formerly: AAST498G.
AAST424 Sociology of Race Relations (3 Credits)
Encourages sociological thinking about US racial and ethnic minority populations, with a focus on African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. The central concern is to understand and explain racial/ethnic inequality. A wide array of topics are discussed, including prejudice and discrimination, slavery, residential segregation, cultural inequality, skin tone stratification, economic and educational disparities, and assimilation/generational processes.
Prerequisite: 6 credits in SOCY courses; or permission of the Sociology department. Cross-listed with: SOCY424.
AAST440 South Asian American Literature and Culture (3 Credits)
Examines writing by South Asian American authors and authors writing about South Asian American issues. It explores major South Asian diaspora themes, considering how migration, war, the events of 9/11, global capitalism, and the changing socio-political and racial scene have affected South Asians in the United States. We will use a transnational approach to consider how writers and filmmakers explore gender, class, religious, caste, and other differences amongst South Asian Americans. We will also examine the place of South Asian Americans in relation to other Asian American populations. We will consider how South Asian American texts disrupt traditional literary classifications based on national identities by reflecting the complex global conditions, imperialistic and capitalistic expansion, and interconnectedness of peoples, nations, and cultures that have transformed American literature and conceptions of American identity.
Credit Only Granted for: AAST440 or AAST498W.
Formerly: AAST498W.
AAST443 Asian American Politics (3 Credits)
Students will gain a greater understanding of 1) the role of Asian Americans in US politics, 2) the political attitudes and behaviors of Asian Americans and 3) how to conduct research on Asian American politics. Though the class will concentrate on Asian Americans, issues related to Asian American politics will be examined within the larger context of America's multicultural political landscape.Cross-listed with: AMST498J, GVPT368C.
Credit Only Granted for: AAST498T, AAST443, GVPT368C or AMST 498J.
Formerly: AAST498T.
AAST498 Advanced Topics in Asian American Studies (3 Credits)
Advanced study of the cultural and historical antecedents of contemporary Asian American society. Emphasis on the social, political, economic, and behavioral factors affecting Asian Americans and their communities.
Repeatable to: 6 credits if content differs.
AAST499 Senior Thesis (3 Credits)
Under the supervision of faculty, research regarding a specific topic of the Asian American experience will be completed.
Prerequisite: AAST201 and AAST200.
Restriction: Permission of UGST-Undergraduate Studies; and must be in Asian American Studies program.
Repeatable to: 6 credits if content differs.