AAS 495GS: ASIAN AMERICAN Genders and sexualities

Course Information Overview

Professor Gina has one section of AAS 495GS:

• #18156, Tuesdays 4 to 6:45 PM, SH 224

Click the following link to download a PDF version of the full syllabus. Please note that the downloaded version may be older than the web version (latest version 01-19-2010).

We will use Moodle in this class and you need to have a CSUN email account in order to be able to log into Moodle to view the class schedule and to participate in the course's Web Discussion Board.

Furlough Notice

Dear CSUN students,

For the past 10 years the CSU system has suffered chronic under-funding.  This year, because of the state economic crisis, the budget cuts are draconian, $584 million, the worst ever in decades.  The CSU administration is attempting to manage these cuts by dramatically increasing student fees and by furloughing almost all University employees, including faculty, staff, and administrators.   A furlough means mandatory un-paid days off for employees; there are 18 of these this year for the faculty, nine per semester.

For students this means that on some days the campus will be closed.  The library will have shorter hours and many campus support services will be decreased or eliminated. It will, for example, be more difficult to get signatures to meet deadlines. Additionally, many classes you need have been cut from the class schedule or are full.  These cuts have consequences, especially for you. 

As a professor, the days and assignments when I’m forced to cancel class because of the furloughs are marked on your syllabus schedule in red.  These days off are not holidays; they are a very concrete example of how budget cuts have consequences for education.

Let's talk about this in class.

In Solidarity,

Prof. Gina Masequesmay

Course Description

Catalog Description

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. Fulfills AAS senior capstone.

Instructor's Course Description

Using a constructionist approach that views race, class, gender and sexuality as socially constructed, this course exposes students to theories on sex, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and race by examining issues of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexual, and queer (LGBTIQ) Asian Pacific Americans (APAs).  Given the current controversy over same-sex marriage, this course requires a research project on attitudes of the Asian Pacific American communities.  Students will be divided into groups by subtopics (ethnicity and religion) to collect survey and focus group data on current attitudes of APAs on LGBTIQ matters.  A final research paper is required to demonstrate student’s comprehensive understanding and application of the course materials and can serve as the student’s senior thesis.  This course requires group work and one’s ability to cooperate and multi-task. This course fulfills the AAS senior capstone requirement and can serve as an elective for AAS double majors and minors. Recommended Prerequisite: AAS 100 or AAS 210 or Instructor’s consent.

The Course's Student Learning Objectives

1. Understand the social construction of race, gender and sexuality in a capitalist system.
2. Critically reflect the nexus between knowledge and power, the link between social structure and agency, and between the personal and the political.
3. Apply the matrix of domination approach to understand the issues of LGBTIQ APAs.
4. Carry out social surveys and focus groups including refining questionnaires.
5. Critically analyze collected qualitative and quantitative data to assess contemporary APAs’ attitudes on sexuality and gender and sex.
6. Propose an intervention model on social justice for LGBTIQ APAs.
7. Produce a research paper to reflect student’s comprehensive understanding of course materials.
8. Gain skills in cooperative learning, leadership, planning and time-management

Course Format and Requirements

The course format consists of short lectures, films (4), group activities based on homework assignments, group presentations and report of data, and class discussions. Students should read the assigned material(s) BEFORE coming to class. I expect students to be prepared and ready to engage in class discussion based on the readings. Group presentations require that students are fully prepared for class discussion to be engaging and meaningful.

Attendance & Participation account for 10% of your grade or 40 points. You earn 1 point for attendance and one point for participation. Assuming that you have to be present to participate, you usually get an automatic 2 points when I take attendance. The 15 meetings will earn you 30 points. If you arrive late or leave early, you will lose 1 point. If you are absent, you will lose 2 points per meeting. If you have an emergency situation that leads to absence or tardiness or leaving early, then bring me proof to be excused. The remaining 10 points is based on your class participation. If I know your name and can recall your positive participation in class discussion, then you will get the 10 points. If I do not know your name by the end of class, then you have not participated enough in class discussion and will earn less than 10 points. 

Homework research assignments are assigned to help students to process class materials or to start working on the research project. An assignment is either for individual or group work.  Homework research data will be used in class discussion so you will need to do the homework assignment in order to be able to participate in class discussion and activities. Homework assignments make up 40 points or 10% of your grade.

Group work on a focus group report and a social survey report will be near the end of the research project and each will count for a maximum of 60 points or 15% of your grade.

Group presentations are required throughout the course including in the final presentation. Points will vary depending on assignments. These group presentations total 100 points or 25 of your grade.

A final research paper is due on final day and is worth 100 points or 25% of your grade.  This final paper is to assess students’ comprehension, and ability to apply and integrate class materials. The assignments and discussion throughout the course will help in writing up this final paper where students will report back on the theories discussed and the research carried out and the data collected and assessed, and conclusion made (literature review, research question, methods, data results, data discussion, policy recommendation in conclusion). A guide will be given later.

Grading

Grading Breakdown

Required Components	Points	Percent
Attendance & Participation	40	10
Homework research assignments	40	10
Focus Group Report	60	15
Social Survey Report	60	15
Group Presentations	100	25
Final Paper	100	25
Total	400 points	100%

 

Grading is based on a strict scale of 400 points.

Grading Summary Table

380-400 points is an A	293-308 is a C
360-379 is an A-	280-292 is a C-
349-359 is a B+	269-279 is a D+
333-348 is a B	253-268 is a D
320-332 is a B-	240-252 is a D-
309-319 is a C+	Below 240 is an F

Additional Advice from Your Professor

Let’s humanize our experience! I highly encourage you to see me during office hour or by appointment at least once so that I will have a chance to know you and that you can ask me questions about class, majoring/minoring, graduate school, and career options. If you have any struggles (e.g., financial difficulties, family obligations, learning disability), please let me know ahead so we can work around them. However, scheduling in work or a doctor appointment during class time is not excusable unless it is life threatening.  If you are really shy, you can bring along another classmate to make the experience less intimidating.

To get the most out of this class, you should:

• actively engage in the course materials (do the assigned work on time)
• listen mindfully to thoughts, experiences, and emotions shared by others (to understand; not to judge)
• accept that there are usually more than two ways of viewing the world and that your perspective is shaped by your limited experience in the world
• remain open to new ideas that may conflict with your own for it is in conflict that we can learn and grow
• avoid ad hominem arguments at all times

Because the issues discussed in this class can be controversial and can evoke strong emotions, please temper your questions, answers and comments with respect for others' differences in opinions and with patience for others' unskilled expressions so that we can create a safe environment for learning issues of which we might be ignorant or misinformed. The best way to do this is to first see our common humanity with our strengths and weaknesses in a struggle to survive and to be accepted/loved. Once we can see this, we can become more open to differences and can always remember to return to this commonality when we are frustrated, angry, confused, condescending, hurt, etc. As a class, if we can be mindful that what we know and feel are based on our limited experiences in the world, then we can try to be less judgmental and more aware of how our reactions and emotions to differing ideas are based on our own limited interaction in the world. While logic and social scientific evidence can help us through muddy thinking, our strong emotions can steer us in other ways. Hence, be thoughtful, self-reflexive and committed to fostering a safe space in the classroom to discuss difficult issues that will encourage each of us to grow and expand our mind, and in the process, hopefully to also open our heart. 

This class has a weekly schedule on Moodle where updates are made at the end of the week and students are encouraged to view it to stay on top of things they might have missed when absent. You will need to befriend your classmates for help in catching up when you are behind and to collaborate on some class assignments.

Weekly Schedule

Please go to the class Moodle page for the updated weekly schedule.