Founded in 2004, the minor in Asian Pacific American Studies (APAS), housed in the American Studies Program at the University of Virginia, is an interdisciplinary program that familiarizes students with the cultural and political contours of Asian Pacific America. In the minor, students will learn about the histories of diasporic and immigrant populations from East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands, in the American context. Our courses draw from both the humanities and social sciences, dealing with community-based and individually-lived Asian Pacific American experiences, and also with social, historical, political and economic trends that impact Asian Pacific Americans on a U.S. domestic and transnational level. By being situated in the American Studies Program, students in APAS will also develop a comparative basis for understanding American race relations.

Objectives of the Minor
The interdisciplinary minor will familiarize students with the following:

1. Asian Pacific America, encompassing peoples from East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands;
2. Social, historical, political, and economic trends, both transnational and domestic American, that impact Asian Pacific Americans
3. Community-based and individually-lived Asian Pacific American experiences
4. Cultural and textual production of and by Asian Pacific Americans, such as literature, film, visual and plastic arts, digital media, music, and performance
5. A comparative basis for understanding American race relations

Contact Information
Asian Pacific American Studies
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400708
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4708
phone 434-924-7133
fax 434-924-3889
apas-program@virginia.edu