Welcome to the web site for the Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies (IDAAS) at the Claremont Colleges. At the heart of our work is innovative pedagogies and rigorous intellectual engagement. Established in 1998, IDAAS has a core of thirteen faculty and we offer over eight Asian American Studies courses per semester.

We provide a variety of programs to strengthen critical inquiry and community engagement. Our 1st-annual Margo Okazawa-Rey Social Justice Fellow, Leora Aquino, created an innovative short film on Pilipino farmworkers. A recent Asian American Studies senior project explored environmental justice and worked alongside Southeast Asian Community Alliance in Los Angeles. In April 2010, Mamo Kim’s play about empowerment, voice, and Hawai’ian sovereignty will be staged by Dr. Joyce Lu.

Asian American Studies as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry emerged from the 1968 Third World Strike at San Francisco State University. Asian American Studies at the Claremont Colleges emerged from sustained mobilization by students, staff, and faculty. We build upon this legacy of transformation to strengthen education for critical consciousness and social responsibility. As Frantz Fanon wrote in Wretched of the Earth: “Each generation, coming out of obscurity, must define its mission and fulfill or betray it.”

I hope you enjoy our web site. I invite you to participate in the IDAAS community as we transform society together.

Best wishes,
Kathleen S. Yep

Spring 2010 course list is now available online.
Here is a snapshot of the courses:
ASAM 90 Asian American and Multiracial Communities
ASAM 160 Asian American Women's Experiences
ASAM 188 Teaching as Social Change
ASAM 190b Asian American Studies Senior Thesis
ASAM 197 Asian American Labor
POLI 128 Race and American Capitalism
PSYC 153 Asian American Psychology
RLST 116 Asian American Religions
SOC 095 Contemporary Central Asia
SOC 124 Global Asia/Asian America

Grandmothers and Grandaughters: Asian American and Pacific Islander Women's Voices - 8 weekly writing workshops (Applications Due 12/1/2009)

Click here for the list of events.

Stay informed with IDAAS events. Send an e-mail to idaas@pomona.edu to be included in our mailing list.