AMST 102 - Introduction to Asian American Studies

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

(Same as ASIA 102) Why are Asians in America? What does it feel like to be Asian in America? Who counts as Asian in the first place? Asian American scholar Victor Bascara argues that “we are here because you were there” referring to the long history of empire, militarization, and war that “brought” Asians to America. This introduction to Asian American Studies traces the logics of power that shape Asian migration, racialization, and resistance in America through the lens of empire. We focus on sites of encounter–the plantation, the internment camp, the military base, the interrogation room, the refugee camp, the orphanage, the spa, and the protest–where the meeting of bodies, labor, and ideologies can reveal how modes of difference-making emerge and endure within and across local contexts. Students engage in texts, archives, podcasts, film and poetry to understand how the experiences of Asians in America are tied to larger historical systems of power and the ways in which Asians have grappled with their experiences on their own terms. Amy Chin.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS