Professor Aquino at the Asian American Fair, May 2006. (Photo: Ryan Purugganan)
Asian American Studies offers offers a wide variety of courses to meet both the needs of the university's general education requirements as well as those pursuing a major, double major or minor. Please note that not all courses are available every semester and that many of our upper-division courses are only offered on a rotating basis or based on student demand.
LOWER DIVISION
AAS 097 DEVELOPMENTAL READING (3 units; no credit toward graduation)
Intensive study of basic reading skills, focusing on the type of reading students will do in college. Designed for English as a Second Language students whose reading score on the English Placement Test requires them to complete this course before taking AAS 098 or the equivalent. Available on CR/NC basis only.
AAS 098 DEVELOPMENTAL WRITING (3 units; no credit toward graduation)
Intensive study of basic writing skills with special focus on English as a Second Language students. Students whose scores on the English Placement Test indicate serious deficiencies must take this course or its equivalent. Grade of Credit is required to enter AAS 155 or its equivalent. Available on a CR/NC basis only.
AAS 100 INTRODUCTION TO ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES (3 units)
Survey of research on Asians in America, including: history, community life, language experience, arts, education, politics, and economics. The course will emphasize research on Americans of Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Southeast Asian, South Asian, and Pacific Island ancestry. (Available for General Education, Comparative Cultural Studies and available for Section B of the Multicultural Credential Requirement for Credential Candidates.)
AAS 155 FRESHMAN COMPOSITION (3 units)
Prerequisite: EPT score of 151 or better, or EPT and a grade of Credit in 097 and/or 098, if appropriate. Expository prose writing with a focus on both content and form. Specific emphases shall include the exercise of logical thought and clear expression, the development of effective organizational strategies, and the appropriate gathering and utilization of evidence. Includes instruction in diction, syntax, and grammar, as well as the elements of prose style. Students receive credit for only 1 course chosen from AAS, CHS, ENGL, and PAS 155 (Cross-listed with CHS, ENGL, and PAS 155) (Available for General Education, Section A.1 BasicSubjects)
AAS 201 RACE, RACISM, AND CRITICAL THINKING (3 units)
Preparatory: Completion of GE Section A.1 (Composition) and GE Section A.3 (Math). Introduction to the process of critical thinking through the lens of race-based theories and selected historical and contemporary discourse of African-Americans, Asian Americans, European Americans, and Latinos on race relations and multiculturalism in American society. Examines contemporary social issues through the use of scholarly studies and a range of cultural “texts” in order to explore the effects of race and racism on the relationship between language and logic, processes and form of reasoning, and practices of critical reflection. Also examines intersection of race, gender, and class. (Available for General Education, Section A2: Critical Reasoning, Basic Subjects)
AAS 210 HISTORY OF ASIANS IN AMERICA (3 units)
Introduction to the history of Asian Americans in the United States from the 1800s to the present. Students will review the historical forces affecting immigration of the following communities: Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Asian Indian, Southeast Asian, and Pacific Islander. Students will analyze the problems resulting from limited access to the social, political, and economic institutions of American society. (Available for General Education, Social Sciences.)
AAS 220 SURVEY OF ASIAN AMERICAN LITERATURE (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Survey of Asian American literature from the late Nineteenth Century to the present. An introductory study of prose fiction and non-fiction, poetry, and drama written by Americans of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Southeast Asian, South Asian, and Pacific Island ancestry. Regular writing assignments required. (Available for General Education, Humanities.)
AAS 230 ASIAN AMERICANS AND THE MEDIA (3 units)
Study of the effects of mass media on the history and development of Asians in America. Particular attention to Asian American images in film, television, and advertisements. (Available for General Education, Applied Arts and Sciences.)
AAS 296A-Z Experimental Courses in Asian American Studies (1-3 units)
Experimental courses in Asian American Studies with course content to be determined.
UPPER DIVISION COURSES
AAS 310 METHODOLOGIES IN ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower-division writing requirement. Introduction to research methodologies in Asian American Studies. Utilizes interdisciplinary approach to teach students historical documentation, archival research, oral history, participant observation, government documents and statistics, survey date analysis, and writing of research conclusions.
AAS 321 ASIAN AMERICAN FICTION (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Study of Asian American fiction written by Americans of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, South Asian, and Southeast Asian ancestry. Regular writing assignments will be required. (Available for General Education, Humanities.)
AAS 325A ASIAN AMERICAN CREATIVE STUDIES WORKSHOP: LITERARY ARTS (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower-division writing requirement. Intensive practice in the writing of poetry and prose fiction. Includes analysis of published Asian American writings and a series of writing exercises and/or writing assignments that culminate in a portfolio of no fewer than 4,000 words. Offers perspectives on the shifting definitions of “Asian American” and on the Populist/Activist and Academic/Literary approaches that have helped shape the contours of Asian American creative writing. Students participate in the written and oral critiques of each others work.
AAS 325B ASIAN AMERICAN CREATIVE STUDIES WORKSHOP: PERFORMANCE ARTS (3 units)
Involves the study and practice of Asian American performance with particular emphasis on adapting, scripting, and performing personal, family, and community-based narratives. Students gain competencies in the analysis, performance, and criticism of Asian American dramatic and non-dramatic, non-traditional texts, including (auto) biographies, memoirs, diaries, oral histories, and narrative accounts drawn from everydaylife. Asian immigration, and cross-cultural comparisons of other world groups. Regular writing assignments required. (Available for General Education, F.2, Comparative Cultural Studies)
AAS 340 ASIAN AMERICAN WOMEN (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. A multidisciplinary analysis of women in the diverse Asian American communities. The study of the historical, social, political, and economic factors which have impacted the role and status of Asian women in American society. Regular writing assignments required. (Available for General Education, Comparative Cultural Studies and available for Women's Studies Minor, Minority Women.)
AAS 345 CONTEMPORARY ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Critical analysis of contemporary issues confronting Asian Americans in the United States. Emphasis will be placed on social and economic issues such as immigration, education, employment, health, and inter-ethnic and intra-Asian conflict. Regular writing assignments required. (Available for General Education, Comparative Cultural Studies and available for Section B of the Multicultural Requirement for Credential Candidates.)
AAS 347 ASIAN AMERICANS: LEGAL AND POLITICAL HISTORY (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower-division writing requirement. Advanced course on the legal and political history of Asian Americans. Examines immigration exclusion, segregation, civil rights reform laws, and contemporary legal and political issues affecting Asians in America .
AAS 349 FILIPINO AMERICAN EXPERIENCE (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower-division writing requirement. Examines the nexus between historical events and contemporary issues facing Filipino Americans; focuses on waves of Filipino migration and immigration to the U.S. and their experiences in various sectors of American society: labor, family, military, politics, education, and community formation; interrogates Filipino American identity in the U.S.A.
AAS 350 ASIAN AMERICAN PERSONALITY AND MENTAL HEALTH (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Analysis of psychological issues from an Asian American perspective. Specific topics include the impact of minority status on personality development, cross-cultural comparisons of Asians and Asian Americans, and introduction to problems in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health problems in Asian Americans. (Available for General Education, Social Sciences and available for Section B of the Multicultural Requirement for Credential Candidates.)
AAS 355 BIRACIAL AND MULTIRACIAL IDENTITY (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower-division writing requirement. Interdisciplinarily studies the socio-historical realities, identities, and political maintenance of people with multiple racial and ethnic heritages; examines the binary racial structure of the U.S., social and legal customs of racial designation and membership; focuses on multiracial populations such as Creoles, mulattos, mestizos, Black-Indians, Eurasians, Afroasians, Amerasians, Black-Chinese,etc.
AAS 360 ASIAN AMERICAN IMMIGRATION - WORLD PERSPECTIVE (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Examines Asian immigration to the U.S. from a world systems perspective. Examines immigration process and the implication of this process for contemporary interest in the Pacific Rim. Topics include origins of Asian immigration, major U.S. immigration legislation, demographic structure of contemporary Asian immigration, and cross-cultural comparisons of other world groups. Regular writing assignments required. (Available for General Education, Comparative Cultural Studies.)
AAS 390 ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES: FIELD PRACTICUM (3-3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower-division writing requirement. Recommended Co-requisite or Preparatory: Concurrent enrollment in AAS 345 or other related course. Field study, observation, and participation in selected community institutions and agencies to be conducted under supervision and after preparatory instruction to acquaint the student with field and service learning techniques. Some sections of this course may offer a community service opportunity with activities relating to concepts and theories presented. Check the schedule of classes for the CS designation. May be repeated once for credit. (Available for General Education, Section E, Applied Arts and Sciences).
AAS 396A-Z ADVANCED EXPERIMENTAL COURSES IN ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES (1-3 units)
Experimental courses in Asian American Studies with course content to be determined.
AAS 417 EQUITY AND DIVERSITY IN SCHOOL (3 units)
Prepares teacher candidates to examine principles of educational equity, diversity, and the implementation of curriculum content and school practices for elementary/secondary students. Focuses on the history and culture of a specific ethnic experience and a comparative analysis is made with other ethnic groups in California. Engages students to examine, critique, and reflect on their personal biases regarding children of color. (Cross listed with ELPS, PAS, CHS, ARMN 417)
AAS 420 ASIAN AMERICAN LITERARY SELF-REPRESENTATIONS (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower-division writing requirement. Preparatory: AAS 100. Examines self-representations in Asian American literary studies. Addresses how self-representations in Asian American literature commonly work within and across a variety of literary genres. Attention paid to the aesthetic, cultural, socio-historical, and publishing factors that have shaped non-fictional self-representations.
AAS 430 ASIAN AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower-division writing requirement. Preparatory: AAS 100. Critical analysis of representations and images of Asian Americans and popular culture, emphasizing the production, consumption, and use of popular culture by and about Asian Americans in the U.S. Surveys theories and methods for studying popular culture, especially in terms of the differential impact of race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.
AAS 440 URBANIZATION AND ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES (3 units)
Preparatory: Completion of the lower-division writing requirements and AAS100. Examination of the development of Asian American communities in the United States from 1850 to present. Particular attention to the impact of Asian American communities on the economic, social, cultural, and political development of urban Southern California and on the relationship between Asian American communities and other ethnic communities.
AAS 450 ASIAN AMERICAN CHILD AND THE SCHOOLS (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower division writing requirement. Study of the development of the Asian American child with particular emphasis on bicultural and bilingual issues which may influence educational progress. Culturally relevant socialization patterns of children from Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Southeast Asian backgrounds will be examined. This course is intended for students interested in teaching and the human services. Regular writing assignments required. (Available for Section A of the Multicultural Requirement for Credential Candidates.)
AAS 453 ASIAN AMERICAN FAMILIES (3 units)
Prerequisite: Completion of the lower-division writing requirement. Overview of the demographic, social, cultural, structural, and historical aspects of Asian American families in the United States. Comparative family features among Asian American ethnic groups and other cultural and ethnic groups in America examined. Parenting styles, communication styles, values, traditions, and beliefs examined across ethnic backgrounds, class, and immigration histories. Available for SectionB of the Multicultural requirement for credential candidates.
AAS 455 ASIAN AMERICAN SEXUALITY (3 units)
Preparatory: Completion of the lower-division writing requirement. Explores the personal, social, and political identities of Asian Americans as expressed form the lens of sexuality; interdisciplinarily examines current topics in Asian American sexuality, such as gender roles, cultural beliefs and sexual mythology, sexual practices, media images, literary representations, sexual violence and abuse, sex-related health, sex work and commodification, and sexual orientation.
AAS 495A-Z SELECTED TOPICS IN ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES (3 units)
Preparatory: AAS 100 or 210 or instructor consent. Intensive study of selected themes and issues in Asian American Studies. Topics change from semester to semester. May be repeated for credit with instructor consent.
AAS 496A-Z SENIOR EXPERIMENTAL COURSES IN ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES (1-3 units)
Experimental courses in Asian American Studies with course content to be determined.
AAS 497 SENIOR THESIS (3 units)
AAS 499 INDEPENDENT STUDY (1-3 units)
Enrollment is limited to upper division students with written permission from the department chair and the sponsoring faculty person. No more than 3 units of Independent Study may be applied to the Minor in Asian American Studies.