Fall 2017 Courses

AMST 128 SC. Race, Space and Difference.
W. Cheng, SC, T 2:45-5:30 p.m.
This course is an introduction to critical scholarship on race and space in the United States. We will consider definitions of race and racism, and how the intertwining of race and differential access to space has shaped patterns of power and inequality. We pay special attention to the making and maintenance of national boundaries; spatial typologies within metropolitan areas; and the differential racialization of Asian Americans, Latinas/os, African Americans, and Native Americans. Readings and discussions are organized around spatial typologies including border, ghetto, suburb, and prison. Assignments provide opportunities to think critically about race, space, and inequality in the landscape.

ASAM NNN: Asian North American Women Writers: Colonial Legacies
G. Nubla, PZ, MW 11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
This interdisciplinary course examines fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction written by Asian North American women that focus on the cultural and politica legacies of colonialism and militarization in Asia, particularly in Burma, Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, and the South Asian diaspora. We will explore themes throughout the quarter, including ethnic/gender formation, family and kinship relations, forms of labor, female sexuality, and gendered violence.

ASAM 094. Community Health.
K. Yep, PZ, T 7:00-9:50 p.m.
This course explores the struggle for social justice and health equality for and with underserved Asian American communities and Pacific Islander communities. Through participatory teaching strategies, the class will examine health care as a basic human right and analyze movements working towards eliminating disparities in health. Fulfills Pitzer social responsibility requirement.

ASAM 125. Introduction to Asian American History, 1850-Present
T. Honma, PZ, TR 9:35-10:50 a.m.
Survey course examines journeys of Asian immigrant groups (and subsequent American-born generations) as they have settled and adjusted to life in the United States since 1850.  Address issues such as the formation of ethnic communities, labor, role of the state, race relations, and American culture, identity, and nation-building.

ASAM 135. Race, Empire, Filipinx America.
T. Honma, PZ, TR 1:15-2:30 p.m.
Examines the interplay of historical, social, political, and cultural factors that have influenced, and continue to influence, Filipin@ American experiences in the U.S., similarities and differences within the Filipin@ American community, as well as with other Asian American and ethnic/racial groups, will be examined. Course includes a community engagement project.

ASAM 160 PZ. Asian American Women’s Experiences.
G. Nubla, PZ, W 2:45-5:30 p.m.
This course is an interdisciplinary examination of Asian and Pacific Islander American women.  It will examine the history and experiences of Asian American women in the United States.  The class will include both lecture and discussion and will cover various issues, such as gender roles, mass media stereotypes, Asian women’s feminism, and the impact of sexism and racism on the lives of Asian American women through education, work, and home life.

ASAM 179E PZ. Asian/Americans and Popular Culture.
G. Nubla, PZ, MW 9:35-10:50 a.m.
This course will examine representations of Asians, Asian Americans, and U.S.-Asia relations in American popular culture (e.g., film, television, fiction, comics and graphic novels, political cartoons, the internet). We will take a historical approach and attend to the tensions between representations of Asians and Asian Americans on the one hand, and Asian American self-representations on the other.

ASAM 190a/190PO. Asian American Studies Senior Seminar: Applications, Analysis, and Future Directions.
S. Goto, PO, TBA
This is the capstone seminar for senior Asian American Studies majors (minors optional). The seminar is designed to bring seniors together to discuss and assess their understanding of Asian American Studies practice and theory at the Claremont Colleges and beyond. We will engage in minor research activities, read & analyze provocative books and articles, and revisit key issues & controversies.

ENGL 161. The Futures of Asian/America.
W. Liu, SC, TR 2:45-4:00 p.m.
This course explores speculative imaginations of Asian/American futures, covering works of classic science fiction, contemporary popular culture (including films), and newer work in “slipstream” or “mainstream” literary science fiction. Central to our exploration will be the question of how Asian/America is imagined as a multiply-contested site of future (hyper)modernity, even as Asia is imagined as place mired in a timeless past. Covering works by authors such as Chang-Rae Lee, Ted Chiang, Karen Yamashita, Charles Yu, Linda Nagata, Larissa Lai, and others, we’ll explore texts that speculate on transnational futures in relation to imperial pasts, on ecological disasters both global and local, on artificial intelligence and the “post-racial” future, and more. The course will pay particular attention to questions of racial formation, gender, sexuality, and the specific material histories of Asian/Americans.

POLI 118. Korea and Korean Americans.
T. Kim, SC, TR 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
This course is an intensive introduction to North and South Korea, with their interlocking histories and greatly divergent economic, political, and social realities. The course pays special attention to the impact of U.S. foreign policy on Korean national formation and Korean American identity and community formation.

PSYC 155. Seminar in Ethnic Minority Psychology and Mental Health.
W. Hwang, CMC, MW 2:45-4:00 p.m.
This course examines the roles and influences of ethnicity, race, and culture on psychology and mental health.  Students will learn about intergroup dynamics, racism and White privilege, ethnic identity development, acculturation and immigration, ethnic differences in the expression of distress, differential patterns and barriers to help-seeking, mental health disparities, and ethnocultural issues that influence treatment processes.

SOC 073. Asians in America: Model Minority and Perpetual Foreigner.
A. Junisbai, PZ, R 1:15-4:00 p.m.
What is the contemporary Asian American experience? How does Asian America look when we take into account differences in ethnicity, class, gender, and generation? This course offers a sociological examination of what it means to be Asian American today. Topics include immigration, assimilation, demographic trends, ethnic identity, discrimination, socioeconomic mobility, gender, and relationships with other groups. By exploring the structures that shape Asian American experiences and Asian American challenges to those forces, the course encourages students to consider their own role in transforming US society.

SOC 126AA. Immigration and the Second Generation.
H. Thai, PO, M 1:15-4:00 p.m.
Analysis of post-1965 children of immigrants, and/or immigrant children in Asia America. Emphasis on variations on coming of age patterns, the course examines diverse childhood experiences, including ‘transnational’ children, ‘refugee’ children, and ‘left-behind’ children. Emphasis on gender, class, ethnicity, intergenerational relations, education, sexuality, popular culture, and globalization, and specifically how young adults negotiate major American institutions such as the labor market and educational systems.

THEA 001G. Acting for Social Change.
J. Lu, PO, MW 1:15-3:45 p.m.
This course is an introduction to the fundamentals of acting, drawing upon different techniques such as psychological realism and physical theatre. Students will perform a self-written monologue, a documentary monologue transcribed from a live interview, and a two or three person scene from a play. They will also be introduced to Playback Theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed, two forms of theater that are applied commonly today to create dialogue, heal conflict and trauma, and build community.