Department of Asian American Studies
Division of Social Sciences,
Humanities and Social Sciences 5044;
Telephone (805) 893-8039
E-mail: guerrero@asamst.ucsb.edu
Website: www.asamst.ucsb.edu (will open in a new browser window)
Department Chair: Xiaojian Zhao
Contents:
Julie Cho, M.F.A., UC Los Angeles, Lecturer (film, video, and media production and screenwriting)
Diane C. Fujino, Ph.D., UC Los Angeles, Associate Professor (Asian-American. social movements, Third-world radicalism, Asian-African political connections, Japanese-American history, biography, race, class and gender studies)
Ambi Harsha, M.A., UC Santa Barbara, and M.Phil. and M.A., University of Madras, Lecturer (plays, playwriting, and performances)
James K. Lee, M.A. and Ph.D., UC Los Angeles, Associate Professor (Asian-American literature, urban studies, modern social movements, U.S. political economy)
erin Khuê Ninh, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Assistant Professor (Asian American literature, comparative literature, gender and family)
John S.W. Park, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, M.P.P., Harvard University, Associate Professor (immigration law and policy, race theory, political theory and public law)
Celine Parreñas Shimizu, Ph.D., Stanford University, MFA, UC Los Angeles, Associate Professor (film and performance theory and production, Asian American cultural studies, sexuality, feminist post-colonial theory, and social theories of power, difference and inequality)
Xiaojian Zhao, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Associate Professor (history, women’s history, Asian-American families, Chinese-American experience)
Sucheng Chan, Ph.D., UC Berkeley, Professor Emerita (immigration history, contemporary community issues)
Michael Berry, Ph.D. (East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies)
Rudy V. Busto, Ph.D. (Religious Studies)
Jesus M. Casas, Ph.D. (Education)
Jon D. Cruz, Ph.D. (Sociology)
G. Reginald Daniel, Ph.D. (Sociology)
Lawrence K. Fulbeck, M.F.A. (Art)
Shirley Lim, Ph.D. (English and Women’s Studies)
Jin Sook Lee, Ph.D. (Gevirtz Graduate School of Education)
Paul Spickard, Ph.D., UC Berkeley (History)
John Wiemann, Ph.D. (Communication)
Mayfair Yang, Ph.D. (Religious Studies and East Asian)
The Department of Asian American Studies was one of the very first autonomous academic departments in the United States completely devoted to the study of Asian Americans. The department was founded by Professor Sucheng Chan, a pioneer in our field. Over the years, the department has consistently offered students the opportunity to study and understand the experiences of Asian Americans, particularly their histories, communities, and cultures. Our students learn to evaluate the existing literature on Asian American communities, to analyze a variety of data on Asian Americans, and to conduct original research. Professors in the department offer courses informed by approaches from the traditional disciplines, including sociology, law, education, psychology, and literature, as well as from interdisciplinary scholarship in women’s studies, law and society, public policy, global studies, cultural studies, and film and media studies.
Although the department offers a wide range of courses through multiple approaches, we share a common commitment to progressive scholarship of the highest caliber. We also share a commitment to engaging directly issues of inequality, both in United States history and in our own time. To that end, the lower-division courses offer a thorough introduction to Asian American history and culture, primarily to show how migration from Asia has profoundly shaped life in the United States at least since the mid–nineteenth century. The upper-division courses further explore Asian American contributions to literature, art, culture, film, and performance, in addition to Asian American struggles for political equality, opportunity, and fairness. These courses also highlight contemporary issues facing Asian American communities, issues that require leadership and meaningful intervention. As Asian American communities continue to grow and develop, we hope that our students will be better prepared to play an active role in confronting the many challenges faced by all of us living in a multiracial, multicultural world.
Students with a bachelor’s degree in Asian American Studies may pursue a wide range of career choices. As interdisciplinary majors, students will be exposed to several substantive areas of knowledge and multiple approaches to learning. These should provide a substantial basis for success in any number of careers immediately after graduation. In addition, students are encouraged to consider further graduate studies in literature, history, sociology, and other traditional disciplines. Students are also encouraged to consider professional programs, such as in film production, law, public policy, public health, education, business, and social welfare. Please consult with individual faculty members who work in these fields for any additional advice.
Undergraduate Program
Bachelor of Arts - Asian American Studies
Preparation for the major. Asian American Studies 1; 2, 3, or 6; 4 or 5; 8.
Upper-division major. Forty upper-division units from Asian American Studies and related departments are required, with 8 units from Area A, 8 units from Area B and 24 units from Area C.
Area A. Two Asian American Studies courses from: 100AA-ZZ, 107 110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 118, 119, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 161, 171AA-ZZ, 175, 183AA, 191AA, 192A-B, 193A-B.
Area B. Two Asian American Studies courses from: 120, 121, 122, 125, 127, 128, 129, 141, 142, 143, 144, 146, 147, 148, 149, 170AA-ZZ, 175.
Area C. Six additional Asian American Studies courses except 195H, 197, 199, 199RA. In Area C, up to two courses (8 units) may be taken from upper-division courses outside the department. Courses from the Department of Women’s Studies, Black Studies, or Chicana and Chicano Studies will apply without petition. Courses from other departments may be substituted by petition when course content is relevant. Please consult the department for additional information.
Minor - Asian American Studies
All courses to be applied to the minor must be completed on a letter-grade basis. This includes both courses offered in Asian American Studies and those offered by other departments and applied to the minor.
Preparation for the minor. Two courses (8 units) from the following: Asian American Studies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 8.
Upper-division minor. Five courses (20 units), distributed as follows, with at least one course from area A and one course from area B.
Area A. One Asian American Studies course from: 100AA-ZZ, 107,110, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 118, 119, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 161, 171AA-ZZ, 175, 183AA, 191AA, 192A-B, 193A-B.
Area B. One Asian American Studies course from: 120.121, 122, 125, 127, 128, 129, 141, 142, 143, 144, 146, 147, 148, 149, 170AA-ZZ, 175.
Area C. Three additional upper-division Asian American courses from Area A or B above.
Note: Substitutions and waivers are subject to approval by the chair of the department. Please see "Academic Minors" for special conditions governing minors in the College of Letters and Science.
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Asian American Studies Courses
1. Introduction to Asian American History, 1850-Present
(4) Zhao
Historical survey of Asian Americans in the United States from 1850 to the present. Topics include: Immigration patterns, settlement and employment, race and gender relations, community development, and transnational connections.
2. Asian Americans and Contemporary Race Relations
(4) Park
A comparative analysis of race relations in the United States after 1964, with special emphasis on Asian Americans. Topics include immigration trends,changing socio-economic patterns, and on-going debates about race, law, and public policy in a multiracial context. (F)
3. Asian American Personality and Identity
(4) Staff
Cultural values and behavioral norms; ethnic identity development; process of acculturation; family patterns of communication; stressors and social support systems; tokenism; symbolic racism; academic achievement; interpersonal effectiveness; and culturally-responsive mental health treatment and service delivery.
4. Introduction to Asian American Popular Culture
(4) Shimizu
A historical survey of how Asians and Asian Americans have been represented in American popular culture, with an analytical focus on the social contexts and symbolic contents of examples in journalism, literature, theatre, and television.
5. Introduction to Asian American Literature
(4) Ninh
Selected major themes in literary texts from Asian American communities, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and Southeast Asian Americans: dislocation/relocation; finding/inventing a usable past; poetics/politics in language; identities/ethnicities.
6. Sociology of Asian America
(4) Staff
Survey of contemporary sociological theories and empirical studies focusing on Asian American experiences in the U.S. and globally; major themes in the sociological imagination including race, class, gender, sexuality, marriage/family, education, consumption, childhoods, aging, demography, and the rise of transmigration.
8. Introduction to Asian American Gender and Sexuality
(4) Fujino
Examination of relations between Asian American women and men from sociological, psychological and historical perspectives. Topics include: social construction of gender and race, effects of racism and sexism, mediarepresentations, gay and lesbian experiences, education, reproductive labor, Anti-Asian and sexualized violence.
100AA-ZZ. Specific Asian Ethnic Groups
(4) Staff
May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 12 units provided letter designations are different.
The historical and contemporary experiences of specific Asian ethnic groups:
AA. Chinese Americans
BB. Japanese Americans
CC. Filipino Americans
DD. Korean Americans
EE. Vietnamese Americans
FF. South Asian Americans
HH. Southeast Asian Refugees and Immigrants in the United States
107. Third World Social Movements
(4) Fujino
Prerequisite: consent of instructor.
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American studies.
Comparative analysis of Third World social movements. Examines the protest activities of Asian, Black, Chicano, Indigenous, and Puerto Rican communities, primarily in the United States but also how these movements connect to global struggles.
112. Intimacies in Asian America
(4) Staff
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
Considers varieties of “intimacies” in Asian America; deconstructs non-Western formulations of experience and lifestyle. Theories/empirical studies of love, emotions, sexualities, gender, and interracial/interethnic experiences; institutions like the state, marriage, and culture. Sources include ethnography, film, testimony, and memoirs.
113. The Asian American Movement
(4) Fujino
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
The history of Asian American social movements during the twentieth century. Examination of early immigrant resistance; Japanese American World War II protest; rise of Asian American Movement - student, labor, feminist, anti-war, and yellow power movements - during the 1960s-70s; contemporary social issues.
115. Asian American Communities and Contemporary Legal Issues
(4) Park
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
Examines several contemporary developments in American law where Asian Americans have played an important role. These include: changes in immigration rules; affirmative action law; emerging criminal defenses based on cultural background; political districting; and rules about race-based violence.
116. Asian Americans and the Law
(4) Zhao, Park
Prerequisite: a prior course in Asian American Studies, or history, or law & society.
Laws impacted the lives of Asian Americans and Asian Americans’ contributions of the legal system in the United States. Review of landmark court cases with opportunities for students to analyze legal documents.
118. Asian Americans in Popular Culture
(4) Shimizu
A historical survey of how Asians and Asian Americans have been represented in American popular culture and an analysis of alternative models of popular culture. Texts include literature, theater, television, film.
119. Asian Americans and Race Relations
(4) Fujino
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
Examination of the development of racial ideology and racism, theories of race relations, effects of racism and discrimination against Asian Americans, and contemporary race issues.
120. Asian American Documentary
(4) Cho
Analysis of modes of documentary production to negotiate issues of Asian American history, culture, class, and personal identity. Critical readings and discussion of filmic strategies, combined with introduction to documentary preproduction, culminates in the production of a documentary proposal.
121. Asian American Autobiographies and Biographies
(4) Staff
Asian American autobiographies and biographies, their socio-political reflections and expressions inscribing the subject in and against culture, relations between intention and form. Readings may include Pardee Lowe, Jade Snow Wong, Monica Sone, Jeanne Houston, Carlos Bulosan, and Maxine Hong Kingston.
122. Asian American Fiction
(4) Lee
Recommended preparation: Asian American Studies 5.
Examination of the ways in which Asian American writers create fiction in order to reflect on pertinent issues concerning Asian Americans, such as race, class, gender, and sexuality. Texts include short stories and novels.
125. Asian American Plays
(4) Harsha
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
An examination of plays by first-, second-, and third-generation Asian Americans that demonstrate divergent yet expanding vitality in Asian American theater; works by Ping Chong, David Henry Hwang, Frank Chin, Genny Lim, Wakako Yamauchi, Philip Kan Gotanda, and Velina Hasu Houston.
127. Asian American, Television, and Digital Media
(4) Shimizu
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
Formal, historical, and cultural issues in the study of Asian American film, television, and digital media practices in independent, Hollywood, and transnational contexts. The role of cinema and visual technology in the understanding of Asian Americans in modern and contemporary culture.
128. Writings by Asian American Women
(4) Ninh
Asian American women’s writings covering a variety of genres and cultural communities; emphasis on literary analysis of works in relation to central themes of race, family and gender.
129. Representations of Asia in Asian American Narratives
(4) Lee
Course traces the emergence of an American discourse about Asia by examining literary and non-literary texts. Post 1960’s Asian American narratives will also be analyzed in terms of their relationship to the earlier discursive frameworks.
130. Colonialism and Migration in the Passage to America
(4) Park
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
Examines Asian migration to the United States by looking at the influence of Western nation-states on Asian nations and peoples. It studies theories of colonialism and imperialism as well as Asian nations’ contract with the West.
131. Asian American Women’s History
(4) Zhao
Prerequisite: a prior course in Asian American Studies or history or women’s studies.
The lives and changing status of Asian immigrant women, past and present; Japanese and Korean “picture brides;” American-born girls of Asian ancestry; Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Filipino war brides; adopted Asian girls; and diverse life-styles of Asian American women today.
132. Asian/Asian American Women in the Global Economy
(4) Fujino
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
Examination of economic and political systems that affect Asian women’s labor in the United States and internationally. Topics include: the intersection of race, class, gender, and sexuality; the garment industry; sex industry; and Asian and Asian American women’s resistance.
134. Asian American Men and Contemporary Men’s Issues
(4) J. Chan
Recommended preparation: Asian American Studies 8.
An interdisciplinary study of Asian American male identities, masculinities, and bodies; emphasis on literary, sociocultural, cinematic, and popular culture representations; Asian American masculinist discourses as complements to Asian American feminist discourses. Texts include literatures, films, photos, comic books, and essays.
135. Asian Pacific American Queer Issues
(4) Staff
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American studies.
An interdisciplinary survey of the histories, experiences, and identities of Asian Pacific American gays, lesbians, and bisexuals; coming out issues,family and community pressures, and socio-political representation in Asian Pacific American communities and in the mainstream gay movement.
136. Asian American Families
(4) Zhao
Prerequisite: a prior course in Asian American studies or history or women’s studies.
The importance of the family in the East and Southeast Asian cultural heritage; family formation in the United States; contemporary Asian American family dynamics; interracial families; changing gender roles and relationships; the family and the life cycle.
137. Multiethnic Asian Americans
(4) Staff
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
The history, identities, and social relations of multiethnic Asian Americans. Uses fiction, autobiography, sociological and psychological studies of people of mixed racial or ethnic parentage. Considers cognate issues such as interracial marriage.
139. The “New” Second Generation Asian Americans
(4) Staff
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
Analysis of post-1965 Asian American children of immigrants and/or immigrant children. Examination of diverse childhoods such as “brain drain” children, “refugee” children, and “parachute” and “transnational” children. Emphasis on gender, class, ethnicity, intergenerational relations, education, sexuality, popular culture, and globalization.
140. Theory & Production of Social Experience
(4) Shimizu
Open to non-majors.
Theory and video production of social experience course focused on performance studies and ethnography in the context of Asian American studies. Central texts in these fields as well as production of performances and ethnographies in video are covered. (W)
141. Asian American Creative Writing
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: Writing 2 or 2E or 2LK; and, English 10 or Writing 50 or 50E or 50LK or 109AA-ZZ.
A creative writing workshop focusing on Asian American themes. Different genres are emphasized depending on the instructor’s preference and expertise.
142. Introductory Asian American Performance Workshop
(4) Harsha
Recommended preparation: Asian American Studies 147 or another prior course in Asian American Studies.
An introductory performance workshop focusing on Asian American themes. Students write original pieces, learn the basic techniques of stage performance, and participate in presenting a public performance at the end of the quarter.
143. Television Production
(4) Shimizu
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
Introduces students to television production and critical studies focused on the melodrama and comedy of race and the racialized experience. Completion of two short video works visualizing and dramatizing Asian American life in a professional three-camera studio.
146. Racialized Sexuality on Screen and Scene
(4) Shimizu
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
Explores race and sexuality in Asian American moving image visual cultures, with particular attention to the production of the hypersexual “Asian Woman” in film and performance. Theories of visuality and perception in the contexts of racial, gendered, and queer representation and visibility.
147. Asian American Play Writing
(4) Staff
Open to non-majors.
Recommended prepration: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
Examination of various dramatic techniques, dialogue construction, and character development used in writing for the theater. Students create an original short play or performance piece. Some pieces may be developed for a staged presentation.
148. Introduction to Video Production
(4) Cho
Prerequisite: a prior course in Asian American studies.
Not open for credit to students who have completed Asian American Studies 170QQ.
Introduction to video pre-production, production, post-production and distribution of Asian American independent video. Covers fundamentals of production planning, budget, lighting, sound recording and design, editing, and the film festival and distribution requirements for race and independent media projects. Examples of various practices by Asian American independents are explored.
149. Screenwriting
(4) Cho
Not open for credit to students who have completed Asian American Studies 170RR.
Writing intensive course focuses on the craft of screenwriting in the short film, television and feature film format. Attention to development of visual language, story, structure, plot, conflict, and other alternative modes of storytelling deployed by various Asian-American filmmakers. Students complete scripts in various formats.
161. Asian American Religions
(4) Busto
Same course as Religious Studies 123.
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American studies.
Historical and interdisciplinary approach to the themes and issues in the religious traditions of Asian Americans. Topics: the civil religious context, the transplantation of “Asian” traditions into the U.S., Asian American Christianity, Asian American theology.
170AA-ZZ. Special Topics in Asian American Studies - Arts & Humanities
(4) Staff
May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 12 units (provided letter designations are different) but only 8 units may be applied to the major.
Recommended prepataration: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
Courses focusing on various arts and humanities topics not offered in other Asian American studies courses.
171AA-ZZ. Special Topics in Asian American Studies - Social Science & History
(4) Staff
May be repeated for credit to a maximum of 12 units (provided letter designations are different) but only 8 units may be applied to the major.
Recommended prepataration: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
Focuses on various social science and history topics not offered in other Asian American studies courses.
175. Theory and Method in Asian American Studies
(4) Lee
Open to all majors.
Exploration of the main theoretical orientations that have shaped Asian American studies: race and ethnicity, diasporas, international labor migration, etc. introduction to several methodologies, including historiogaphy, quantitative social science, literary criticism, and ethnography.
183AA. Asian-Americans and the Black Radical Imagination
(4) Fujino
Prerequisites: a prior course in Asian American Studies or Black Studies or upper-division standing.
Not open for credit to students who have completed Asian American Studies 171EE.
Recommended preparation: Asian American Studies 113; Black Studies 102, 103, 104; Chicano Studies 175, 176; Sociology 118M, 134, 134LA, 134R, 157; Political Science 109.
An analysis of the political, economic, geographic, biographical, methodological, and/or racial/ethnic comparative contexts in which Asian and African grassroots politics and social movements arose and influenced one another in the United States and globally.
191AA. Research Seminar in Asian American History
(4) Zhao
Prerequisite: Asian American Studies 1 or 2, or one lower-division course in History; uppdivision standing.
A research seminar exploring historical approaches to studying Asian American experiences. Students have the opportunity to collect, analyze, and evaluate historical documents and manuscripts. Students will carry out a research project and produce a research paper.
192A-B. Research Seminar in Asian American History
(4-4) Zhao
Prerequisite: upper-division standing.
A two-quarter in-progress sequence course with grades for both quarters issued upon completion of Asian American Studies 192B.
Exploration of Asian American history from 1850 to present. Students collect, analyze and evaluate primary sources and work closely with the instructor to write research papers on selected aspects of Asian American history.
193A-B. Research Seminar in Asian American Social Movements
(4-4) Fujino
Prerequisites: Asian American Studies 113 or Black Studies 103 or Chicano Studies 168E or Chicano Studies 170A or 177 or Sociology 118M or 134 or 134LA or 134R; upper-division standing (for 193A): Asian American Studies 193A (for 193B).
A two-quarter in-progress sequence course with grades for both quarters issued upon completion of Asian American Studies 193B.
Exploration of the study of Asian American social movements and research methodologies. Students work closely with the instructor to conduct original research and write a research paper on selected aspects of Asian American social movements.
195H. Senior Honors Project
(4) Staff
Prerequisites: Open only to Asian American studies majors who have completed at least six upper-division courses in Asian American Studies.
Must have a 3.0 overall grade-point average and 3.5 grade-point average in courses in the major.
Offers an opportunity to students who meet the prerequisites to do independent research and to write an honors thesis or produce an honors film/video or performance.
196. Career Development Seminar in Asian American Studies
(1) Staff
May be repeated.
Recommended preparation: prior coursework in Asian American Studies.
Course is for majors and other interested students who wish to explore career options under the supervision of a faculty member. (W)
197. Field Studies
(1-4) Staff
Prerequisites: upper-division standing; completion of two upper-division course in Asian American Studies.
Must have a 3.0 overall grade-point average for the preceding three quarters.
Students will conduct independent field work in Asian American communities. Specific projects include working with community agencies and organizations to evaluate programs, implement new or modified services, and develop community resources.
199. Independent Studies
(1-4) Staff
Prerequisites: upper-division standing; one lower-division course and two upper-division courses in Asian American Studies.
Must have a minimum 3.0 grade-point average for the preceding three quarters. Maximum of 4 units per quarter or a total of 12 units in Asian American studies. Students are limited to 5 units per quarter, and 30 units total in all 98/99/198/199/199AA-ZZ courses combined.
Independent study of topics not covered in the regular curriculum under the guidance of an approved faculty member.
199RA. Independent Research Assistance in Asian American Studies
(1-4) Staff
Prerequisites: upper-division standing; two upper-division courses in Asian American studies; consent of instructor and department.
Must have a minimum 3.0 grade-point average for the preceding three quarters. Students are limited to 5 units per quarter and 30 units total in all 98/99/198/199/199AA-ZZ courses.
Students will assist faculty in the latter’s research under the personal supervision of the faculty.
218. Asian American in Popular Culture
(4) Shimizu
Critical and historical approaches to popular culture representation of Asian Americans in the United States in films, theater, performace, print media, sports, and music.
227. Asian American Television and Digital Media
(4) Shimizu
Asian-American film, video, and new media produced within Asian-American framework life, culture, and politics or “socioaesthetics.” Moving image production, criticism, and theory is reviewed in order to formulate one’s analyses of production, authorship and spectatorship of various forms. Peter Feng, E. Franklin Wong, Eve Oishi and others reading are a must.
238. Asian American Sexualities
(4) Shimizu
Prerequisite: graduate standing.
Graduate students required to write a research paper, or weekly assignments.
Recommended preparation: a prior course in Asian American Studies.
Examines the critical lens of sexuality in studying Asian American culture, history, and politics. Survey of interdisciplinary texts on concepts of sexuality in Asia and America, constructions of sexual difference, denaturalizing heterosexuality and queer theory. (S)
246. Race, Sex, and Cinema
(4) Shimizu
Prerequisite: a graduate-level course in theory and production.
Twentieth-century western film and video representations of Asian/American women through ethnic, film and feminist studies. Examines why the legibility of Asian/American women on screen has consistently depended on hypersexuality, or the production of perverse and non-normative sexuality.
500. Laboratory for Teaching Assistants
(4) Staff
Prerequisite: departmental approval; appointment as a teaching assistant in a lower-division Asian American Studies course.
No unit credit allowed toward advanced degree.
Supervised teaching of Asian American studies lower-division courses.
594. Special Topics
(4) Shimizu
Prerequisite: a graduate level seminar in theory and production.
Graduate-level theory and video production course focussing on performance studies and ethnography in the context of Asian American studies. Central texts in these fields as well as production of performances and ethnographies in video are covered.
596. Directed Reading and Research
(1-4) Staff
Prerequisites: graduate standing and consent of instructor.
Reading and research in special topics in Asian American studies.
