303 Ingraham Hall, 1155 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706; 608/263-2976; http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/aasp
Professors Oliver, Shah, Thornton; Associate Professors Bascara, Bow (Director), Hong, Huang, Nakamura, Uttal; Assistant Professor Cheng; Lecturers Cullinane, Choy, Miyasaki
Undergraduate advisor: Leslie Bow, 304 Ingraham Hall, 608/265-8023
Asian American Studies, an interdisciplinary program begun in September 1991, focuses on Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States, both historically and in contemporary society. Courses offered by the program and those of other departments crosslisted with the program shed light on Asian American experiences and concerns from the perspective of a variety of traditional disciplines: literature, dance, history, journalism, theatre, film, sociology, political science, popular culture, psychology, anthropology, education, and visual arts.
Course offerings depend on available faculty. Many program courses fulfill the ethnic studies requirement and breadth requirements in the appropriate divisions.
The certificate program provides students with an opportunity to develop a sustained intellectual focus on Asian American racial formation, communities, and culture. Interdisciplinary in nature, the certificate can be obtained by completing 15 credits of course work.
All classes listed in the course descriptions section will be offered regularly unless otherwise noted. Please check with the department office for information on specific courses.
101 Introduction to Asian American Studies. I, II, SS; 3 cr (e-S-E). Introduction to the historical, sociological, anthropological, political, and cultural study of Americans of Asian ancestry. P: Open to Fr.
153 Asian American Movement. (Crosslisted with Dance) I, II; 3 cr (e-E). Techniques of exercises and movement forms derived from several Asian cultures as taught in the United States. Studied in the context of the construction and expression of ethnic and cultural identity. P: Open to Fr.
160 Asian American History: Movement and Dislocation. (Crosslisted with History) I or II; 3 cr (e-H-E). Examines the impact of colonialism, war, and capitalism on the movement of Asians to the U.S. Considers how racial, gendered, class, sexual, and national formations within the U.S. structured Asian immigration to North America. P: Open to Fr.
161 Asian American History: Settlement and National Belonging. (Crosslisted with History) I or II; 3 cr (e-H-E). Examines the social, cultural, and political citizenship of Asians in the U.S. with particular emphasis on diaspora, transnationality, and place. P: Open to Fr.
210 Asian American Popular Culture. Alt yrs.; 3 cr (e-H-I). Representation of Asians in American popular culture including film, print culture, tourism, music, advertising, internet, gaming, cartoons, cuisine. P: Open to Fr.
220 Ethnic Movements in the United States. (Crosslisted with Soc) I or II; 3-4 cr (b-e-S-I). Sociological analysis of historical and recent ethnic/racial conflict and movements in the U.S., including the relations between European Americans, African Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, and Asian Americans, with additional material on other groups and relations. P: So st.
230 Topics in Comparative Asian American Studies. Alt yrs.; 3 cr (e-H-I). Comparative exploration of specific issues in Asian American studies with an emphasis on Asian culture or the racial formation of minority groups in the U.S. P: Open to Fr.
240 Topics in Asian American Studies. I or II; 3 cr (I). An examination of specific themes in Asian American life and culture. Topics may include comparative analyses of Asian American communities, contemporary Asian American experience, and the specific concerns and histories of individual Asian groups in America, such as Korean, Hmong, South Asian, Southeast Asian, Chinese and Japanese. P: So st or cons inst.
252 Gender and Sexuality in Asian American Literature and Culture. (Crosslisted with English, Women St) I or II; 3 cr (e-L-I). Study of Asian American literature with emphasis on gender and sexuality. This course may also contain a limited amount of discussion of other media. P: 6 cr of intro lit. Open to Fr.
260 Topics in Asian American Culture. I or II; 3 cr (e-I). Themes in Asian American arts. Topics may include drama, dance, film, creative writing and visual arts.
270 A Survey of Asian American Literature. (Crosslisted with English) I or II or SS; 3 cr (e-L-I). Survey of Asian American literature from 1880 to present. P: 6 cr of intro lit or cons inst.
369 Ethnic and Minority Religions in America. (Crosslisted with Relig St, LCA) I or II; 3 cr (e-H-I). Overview of major world religions and diversity of religion in America from colonies to present with focus on late-20th-century U.S. Comparative studies of selected minority religions using historical, anthropological, and sociological perspectives. P: So st.
430 Asian American Cultural Studies. Alt yrs.; 3 cr (e-H-I). Develops a critical methodology for analyzing Asians in the U.S. with an emphasis on law, history, political economy, art, literature, and education.
443 Mutual Perceptions of Racial Minorities. (Crosslisted with Afroamer) I; 3 cr (e-S-D). Survey course on the mutual perceptions of primarily people of African and Asian ancestry. It focuses on how these groups evaluate perceive and interact with one another and others such as Native Americans, whites and Hispanics. Social psychological perspectives are highlighted as is an international overview. P: Afro-Amer 151 or 673.
470 Asian Americans in U.S. Schools. (Crosslisted with Ed Pol) I or II; 3 cr (e-D). This course examines the historical and contemporary experiences of Asian Americans in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools in the United States. P: Jr st.
540 Special Topics. I or II or SS; 3 cr (e-I). Social science themes in Asian American studies. Topics may include the family, economics, poverty, inter-racial conflicts and cooperation, South Asian Americans.
560 Humanities Topics. I, II; 3 cr (e-H-I). Topics in the arts and humanities that illuminate the Asian American experience.
595 Asian American Women Writers. (Crosslisted with English, Women St) I or II or SS; 3 cr (e-L-D). A study of major texts by Asian American women writers. P: 6 cr of intro lit or cons inst.
662 Mass Media and Minorities. (Crosslisted with Journ) I, II; 4 cr (e-A). Representations of minority groups in U.S. news and entertainment mass media. Historical, social, political, economic, and other factors influencing the mass mediated depictions of minorities. P: Jr st.
699 Independent Study: Directed Readings in Asian American Studies. I, II, SS; 1-4 cr (A). An independent studies course to allow students at an advanced level to pursue individual projects/subjects. P: 9 cr in Asian American studies.