Asian Pacific American Studies... Courses
Archived Course Lists
Courses for Fall 2006
APA Survey Requirement:
AMST 201/ENMC 355: Intro to American Studies: Asian-American Cultural History (3.0)
Professor Sylvia Chong
1700-1815 TR CLM 201
The historical experiences of Asian Americans--a broad, panethnic
category inclusive of Americans with roots in the Philippines, China,
Taiwan, Japan, North and South Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, India,
Pakistan, Bangladesh and more--shed light on issues of immigration,
citizenship, education, war, labor, and assimilation which have
affected all Americans to differing degrees. This "multi-media"
cultural history will draw heavily on American visual and popular
culture to situate, visualize, and define Asian Americans at various
historical moments against and alongside African Americans, Native
Americans, Latinos, and white Americans. Some of these moments
involve intense conflict and division, while others gesture towards
camaraderie and affiliation. This class will be neither a simplistic
celebration of ethnic pride and diversity, nor a condemnation of
American history as singularly oppressive, although we will
acknowledge both these strands. Rather, the eclectic materials of
this class will replicate the heterogeneous history and make-up of
Asian America, and establish Asian America as a relationship with
itself and with America, rather than a "thing" to isolate and analyze.
This is an introductory course that assumes no prior knowledge of
American Studies or Asian American history. During the semester, we
will concentrate on developing close reading skills for visual,
cinematic and textual materials that may prove useful to future
courses you might take in American Studies, History, English or Media
Studies. We will engage with a number of primary texts from various
genres (fiction, poetry, graphic novel, political cartoon, theater,
narrative film, documentary, news media, sociological texts, Supreme
Court cases), and spanning the mid-19th century to contemporary
times. While obviously not an exhaustive overview of Asian Americans
in American cultural history, we will try to touch upon a diverse
range of historical moments and cultural and political issues, so as
to gain insight into the interconnectedness of multi-ethnic America.
Assignments include weekly homework response papers, two short essays
(4-5 pages), and a final exam. There will be an additional evening
set aside for required film screenings. Finally, there will be a
required class trip to the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival in
October 2006.
This class is a prerequisite to the Asian Pacific American Studies
minor, and recommended for American Studies majors.
NOTE: The course time has been changed to TR 1700-1815, and the enrollment increased. Therefore, there is no longer a waiting list. The course is also being cross-listed as ENMC 355. It is suggested that you enroll under AMST if you are a potential AMST major or APAS minor, and under ENMC if you are an English major/minor.
Theory Survey Requirement:
ANTH 301: Theory and History of Anthropology (4.0)
Professor Susan Mckinnon
0930-1045 TR RFN G004B
Overview of the major theoretical positions which have structured anthropological thought over the past century.
SWAG 381: Feminist Theories and Methods (3.0)
Professor Karlin Luedtke
1530-1645 TR MIN 130
Introduces current feminist scholarship in a variety of areas—literature, history, film, anthropology, and psychoanalysis, among others—pairing feminist texts with more traditional ones. Features guest speakers and culminates in an interdisciplinary project. Cross listed as ENCR 381.
Asian transnational / Asian Diasporic Requirement:
ANTH 363: Chinese Family And Religion (3.0)
Professor John Shepherd
1100-1215 TR CAB 132
Analyzes various features of traditional Chinese social organization as it existed in the late imperial period. Includes the late imperial state; Chinese family and marriage; lineages; ancestor worship; popular religion; village social structure; regional systems; and rebellion.
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
PLCP 351: Chinese Politics (3.0)
Professor Brantly Womack
1530-1645 MW CAB 216
General introduction to Chinese politics in its societal context. Conveys a concrete appreciation of China’s societal reality and how it interacts with the political system. Covers China’s changing role in Asia and the world.
Prerequisite: Some background in comparative politics and/or the history of China.
PLCP 363: Politics in India and Pakistan (3.0)
Professor John Echeverri-Gent
1100-1215 TR GIL 225
Surveys political development in India and Pakistan examining the process of nation-building, the causes of democratization and authoritarian rule, the development of ethnic and religious conflict, environmental politics, the political impact of cultural globalization, and gender-related political issues.
Prerequisite: Some background in comparative politics and/or study of history and society in South Asia.
RELH 344: From Ghandi To Terrorism (3.0)
Professor John Nemec
1300-1350 MW CAB 345
Electives:
AMST 201: Language in the US (3.0)
Professor Ashley Williams
1300-1300 MWF CAU 134
Contrary to popular belief, the U.S. is not (and never has been) linguistically homogenous: from dying and revitalized Native American languages to newly arrived immigrant languages, from regional and social dialect variation to innovation among adolescents and Hip Hop, the American language situation is diverse and changing. This course invites students to investigate this not-quite-melting-pot variety both through readings in current research and through small-scale field research. Topics covered in the course will include the origins and distinctions of American English, language controversies such as Ebonics and the English-Only movement, research in language attitudes and discrimination, topics in bilingualism and education, plus the latest studies in language issues involving different ethnicities, genders, sexualities, ages, and social classes.
AMST 201: American Enclave Communities (3.0)
*CANCELLED*
ANTH 355: Anthropology of Everyday American Life (03.0)
Professor Frederick Damon
1100-1150 MW RFN G004
Provides an anthropological perspective of modern American society. Traces the development of individualism through American historical and institutional development, using as primary sources of data religious movements, mythology as conveyed in historical writings, novels, and the cinema, and the creation of modern American urban life.
Prerequisite: ANTH 101 or instructor permission.
EDLF 555: Multicultural Education (3.0)
Professor Robert Covert
1130-1415 T RFN 241
Prepares students to deal with the increasingly multicultural educational milieu. Emphasizes the process of understanding one’s own bias and prejudices and how they effect the school and classroom learning environment. Included are readings, class discussions, field projects, journal writing, and other methods of directed self explorations.
ENCR 362: The Empires In Literature (3.0)
Professor Mrinalini Chakravorty
1400-1515 MW CAB 340
ENMC 481E Cross-cultural Poetries (3.0)
Professor Jahan R Ramazani
1530-1645 MW BRN 312
In this seminar, we will explore the dynamics of cross-cultural influence and exchange in modern and contemporary poetry in English. One of the most prominent features of modern and contemporary poetry is an intensified cross-pollination across boundaries of nation and ethnicity. To frame our work, we will read essays on modern transnationalism, diaspora, mobility, and intercultural affiliation by James Clifford, Homi Bhabha, Stuart Hall, and Neil Lazarus. We will also pause over Picasso’s appropriation of African art in inventing Cubism. Reading poetry and critical essays, we will then turn to the appropriations by such Euro-modernist poets as Yeats, Eliot, and Pound of East Asian and South Asian cultural forms and genres, asking if these are acts of inventive assimilation or imperial theft. Conversely, we will ask what happens to Euro-modernist texts and forms when African American poets and postcolonial poets from Africa , India , and the Caribbean hybridize them with their indigenous cultural resources. We will consider similar questions with regard to other cross-cultural poetries, including Irish, Native American, Latino, Asian American, and Black British. While tracing cross-cultural mediation within individual poems, we will also ask broad questions about the ethics, aesthetics, and politics of the cross-cultural. Teaching strategies will require active class collaboration, cooperative engagement, and co-leading of discussion. An abstract and a seminar paper will also be required. Our primary texts will be volumes 1 and 2 of The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry, third edition.
ENMC 483: Seminar in Modern Studies (3.0)
1530-1645 MW
Limited enrollment. An interdisciplinary seminar focusing on the interrelationships between literature and history, the social sciences, philosophy, religion, and the fine arts in the Modern period.
Prerequisite: Instructor permission.
ENGN 481C: Asian-american Drama (3.0)
Professor Lotta Lofgren
1230-1345 TR BRN 332
SWAG 365: East Asian Women: (Self) Portrayals in Social Context (3.0)
Professor Ellen Fuller
1230-1345 TR CAB 247
This seminar is a sociological examination of representations of East Asian women in both written (biography, autobiography, and novel) and visual (documentary and film) media. Explored are the changing cultural and social assumptions about women and men in China, Japan and Korea over the course of the 20th century, with emphasis on the post-World War II environment. Recurring themes include the impact of the West on historical developments in each country and the various relationships among the three East Asian countries.
Archive of past semesters' APAS courses
Because APAS is still developing as a program, its course offerings are constantly in flux. Please look at these listings of past courses to get a sense of what classes typically count towards the APAS minor.
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