ASIA 102 - Introduction to Asian American Studies

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

(Same as AMST 102) Why are Asians in America? What does it feel like to be Asian in America? Who counts as Asian in the first place? This introduction to Asian American Studies explores the different systems of power that shape Asian migration, racialization, and resistance in the US. 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 and ideas can reveal how modes of difference-making emerge and endure within and across local contexts. Students engage in articles, legal cases, policy reports, film, art, music and poetry to understand how the experiences of Asians in America are tied to 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