Asian American Studies (ASAMST)

This is an archived copy of the 2014-15 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu/.

Courses

ASAMST R2A Reading and Composition 4 Units

Through the study of the literary, political, social and psychological dimensions of representative works of Asian American literature, this course introduces students to close textual analysis, fosters critical judgment, and reinforces academic writing skills. Satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement.

ASAMST R2B Reading and Composition 4 Units

This course examines literary works by Asian American, African American, Chicano, and Native American writers in their political and social contexts, focusing on similarities and differences between the experiences of ethnic minorities in the U.S. Emphasis is on literary interpretation and sustained analytical writing. Satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement.

ASAMST 20A Introduction to the History of Asians in the United States 4 Units

Introductory comparative analysis of the Asian American experience from 1848 to present. Topics include an analysis of the Asian American perspective; cultural roots; immigration and settlement patterns; labor, legal, political, and social history.

ASAMST 20AC Asian American Communities and Race Relations 4 Units

This course will be a survey of contemporary issues affecting the Asian American community. We will look at the different theories that explain the current status of Asian Americans and the interrelationship between the Asian American community, nation, and world. The course will focus on the issue of race relations, the commonalities and differences between Asian Americans and other race and ethnic groups.

ASAMST 20C Cultural Politics and Practices in Asian American Communities 4 Units

Analysis of social, intellectual, and artistic currents in Asian American communities. Focus will be on social practices, popular culture, the arts and expression (e.g. language and literature), and the historical and political contexts in which they are produced and consumed.

ASAMST 97 Field Studies in Asian American Communities 1 - 3 Units

University organized and supervised field program involving experiences in schools, school-related activities, community and community-related activities.

ASAMST 98 Supervised Group Study 1 - 3 Units

Group study of selected topics which will vary from semester to semester.

ASAMST 99 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

Individual research on a topic which leads to the writing of a major paper. Regular meetings with faculty sponsor.

ASAMST 121 Chinese American History 4 Units

Chinese American history, 1848 to present. Topics include influence of traditional values, Eastern and Western; patterns of immigration and settlement; labor history; the influence of public policy, foreign and domestic, on the Chinese individual and community.

ASAMST 122 Japanese American History 4 Units

This course will be presented as a proseminar with selected topics in order to give students an opportunity to participate in the dynamics of the study of Japanese American history. Topics include immigration, anti-Japanese racism, labor, concentration camps, agriculture, art and literature, and personality and culture.

ASAMST 123 Korean American History 4 Units

Koreans in America from 1876 to the present. Topics include comparative immigration and settlement patterns; labor and socio-economic life; political activities; community organization; and issues related to the contemporary population influx.

ASAMST 124 Filipino American History 4 Units

Topics include consequences of the Spanish-American War on Filipino emigration; conditions in Hawaii and California and the need for Filipino labor; community development; changing relations between the U.S. and the Philippines; effects ofthe independence movement and World War II on Filipino Americans; and contemporary issues.

ASAMST 125 Contemporary Issues of Southeast Asian Refugees in the U.S 4 Units

This course will introduce students to the sociocultural, economic, educational, and political issues facing Southeast Asian refugees in the U.S. While the course focus is on the Asian American experience, references will be made to the pre-migration experiences and histories of the Southeast Asian refugee groups. The processes and problems in the formulation of refugee programs and services in the U.S. also will be addressed in their implications for refugee resettlement and adaptation experience. Emphasis will be placed on comparative analyses of the Southeast Asian refugee communities.

ASAMST 126 Southeast Asian Migration and Community Formation 4 Units

This course will examine Southeast Asian migration and resettlement in the U.S. in the context of the United States involvement in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia during the Vietnam War. It will also address the post-war "legacies" and their impact on the societies and politics of the three countries as well as neighboring states in the region. Asylum politics and refugee camp experiences will be addressed in the discussion of the formation of U.S. resettlement policies and of the adaptation of Southeast Asian refugees.

ASAMST 127 South Asian American Historical and Contemporary Issues 4 Units

Examines immigration and social history of South Asian Americans from the early 20th century to present. Development of South Asian American communities within the social, political and economic contexts of South Asia and the U.S.

ASAMST 128AC Muslims in America 4 Units

The course traces Islam's journey in America. It will deal with the emergence of identifiable Muslim communities throughout the U.S. and focus on patterns of migration, the ethnic makeup of such communities, gender dynamics, political identity, and cases of conversion to Islam. The course will spend considerable time on the African American, Indo-Pakistani, and Arab American Muslim communities since they constitute the largest groupings. It also examines in depth the emergence of national, regional, and local Muslim institutions, patterns of development pursued by a number of them, and levels of cooperation or antagonism. The course seeks an examination of gender relations and dynamics across the various Muslim groupings, and the internal and external factors that contribute to real and imagined crisis. The course seeks to conduct and document the growth and expansion of mosques, schools, and community centers in the greater Bay Area. Finally, no class on Islam in America would be complete without a critical examination of the impacts of 9/11 on Muslim communities, the erosion of civil rights, and the ongoing war on terrorism.

ASAMST 131 Asian Diaspora(s) from an Asian American Perspective 4 Units

Analyzes the global presence of an Asian group with a significant U.S. population: migration/settlement history, transnational economic/political/cultural interactions between diasporic communities and with land of origin, impact on Asian American community/identity formation. Instructor selects group(s).

ASAMST 132 Islamaphobia and Constructing Otherness 4 Units

This course will examine and attempt to understand Islamophobia, as the most recently articulated principle of otherness and its implications domestically and globally. The course will also closely examine the ideological and epistemological frameworks employed in discourses of otherness, and the complex social, political, economic, gender-based, and religious forces entangled in its historical and modern reproduction.

ASAMST 132AC Islamophobia and Constructing Otherness 4 Units

This course will examine and attempt to understand Islamophobia, as the most recently articulated principle of otherness and its implications domestically and globally. The course will also closely examine the ideological and epistemological frameworks employed in discourses of otherness, and the complex social, political, economic, gender-based, and religious forces entangled in its historical and modern reproduction.

ASAMST 138 Topics in Asian Popular Culture 4 Units

Topics in Asian popular culture. Analysis of historical and contemporary issues addressed in popular media in Asia, such as 1990s Hong Kong cinema, fifth generation Chinese films, films of China and Taiwan, Japanese and Korean anime, South Asian and Bollywood cinema, and South Korean film and television drama. Course topics will vary with the expertise of the particular instructor.

ASAMST 141 Law in the Asian American Community 4 Units

Course will examine the nature, structure, and operation of selected legal institutions as they affect Asian American communities and will attempt to analyze the roles and effects of law, class, and race in American society. May be taken with 197.

ASAMST 143 Asian American Health 3 Units

This course examines the state of Asian American health, the historical, structural, and cultural contexts of diverse Asian American communities, and the role of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status in the production of unequal outcomes between Asian Americans and other racial/ethnic groups as well as across different Asian American subgroups.

ASAMST 144 Religions of Asian America 4 Units

This course will examine how Asian American communities engage religion and how, in turn, they are shaped by the different facets of religious life. Religion is examined in the form of major traditions-Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Christianity-and readings will introduce students to key concepts, practices, and institutions which help to define these trajectories.

ASAMST 145AC Politics, Public Policy, and Asian American Communities 4 Units

An examination of the purpose, power, and function of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of the federal government and their relationship to the Asian American community. The course presents a range of contemporary issues to illustrate how government institutions and the Asian community define issues and respond to political challenges.

ASAMST 146 Asian Americans and Education 4 Units

This course examines the historical and contemporary issues which shape the educational experiences of Asian Americans. Critical issues such as bilingual education, university admissions, and the education of Asian immigrants as well as theoretical models of Asian American academic success will be explored and critically analyzed.

ASAMST 150 Gender and Generation in Asian American Families 4 Units

The influence of cultural legacy, ethnic background, immigration history, community structure, class and economic status, and racism on gender and generational relations in the Asian American family.

ASAMST 151 Asian American Women: Theory and Experience 4 Units

Examines the historical and contemporary experiences of Asian American women in relation to work, sexuality, intellectual and artistic activity, and family and community life as well as the development of Asian American feminist thought and its relation to cultural nationalism.

ASAMST 151AC Asian American Women: Theory and Experience 4 Units

Examines the historical and contemporary experiences of Asian American women in relation to work, sexuality, intellectual and artistic activity, and family and community life as well as the development of Asian American feminist thought and its relation to cultural nationalism.

ASAMST 165 Research Methodologies in Asian American Communities 4 Units

Approaches to research in the Asian American community with emphasis on the San Francisco Bay Area. Problems of research design, measurement, and data collection, processing ,and analysis will be considered.

ASAMST 171 Asian Americans in Film and Video 4 Units

Introduces students to films and videos by and about Asian Americans; presents an overview of the development of the Asian American media arts field in relation to current cultural theories and American film history and theory.

ASAMST 172 Asian American Literature 4 Units

Introduces students to representative works of Asian American literature by writers from the major ethnic subgroups; examines the works in their sociohistorical context; analyzes thematic and formal elements intertextually to form a coherent understanding of the Asian American literary tradition.

ASAMST 173 Creative Writing 4 Units

Instruction and practice in forms and techniques of prose, verse, drama or other writing as an expression of Asian American experiences and a contribution to evolving Asian American culture; may focus on specific genres or tasks depending on instructor.

ASAMST 175 Contemporary Narratives on the Philippines and the United States 3 Units

The course will examine the various strategies of (re-)narrating colonial/neocolonial history in three genres: literature (novels, short fiction, poetry), essays, and films from the Philippines and the United States. Notions such as imperialism, nation, narration, history, nationalism, memory, ethnicity, language, power, gender, and subject formation will be discussed.

ASAMST 176 Genre in Asian American Literature 4 Units

Investigates specific genres in Asian American literature (e.g., autobiography, biography, drama, etc.) in terms of formal characteristics, innovations, comparisons of works from various subgroups in relation to counterparts in dominant Anglo-American tradition.

ASAMST 177 Asian American Art: Remapping Modernity: Art and Artists in the 20th Century 3 Units

Seminar in contemporary Asian American visual art, with focus on the politics of production and reception. Works by such artists as Y. David Chung, Hung Liu, Yong Soon Min, Long Nguyen, and Manuel Ocampo will be studied.

ASAMST 181 Chinese American Literature 4 Units

Analyzes literary representations of contemporary and/or historical experiences of Chinese Americans; genre, formal, and stylistic features; definition of cultural identity and development of literary tradition. Primarily English-language works, some translations from Chinese.

ASAMST 183 Korean American Literature 4 Units

Critical readings of major Korean American literary work, including autobiography and personal memoir, autobiographical fiction, poetry, short stories and novel, with attention to conditions surrounding the production and consumption of these writings.

ASAMST 190 Seminar on Advanced Topics in Asian American Studies 4 Units

Advanced seminar in Asian American Studies with topics to be announced at the beginning of each semester.

ASAMST 190AC Seminar on Advanced Topics in Asian American Studies 4 Units

Advanced seminar in Asian American Studies with topics to be announced at the beginning of each semester.

ASAMST 195 Senior Thesis 4 Units

Writing of a thesis under the direction of member(s) of the faculty.

ASAMST H195A Senior Honors Thesis for Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies Majors 3 Units

Course for senior Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies maors designed to support and guide the writing of a senior honors thesis. For senior Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies majors who have been approved for the honors program.

ASAMST H195B Senior Honors Thesis for Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies Majors 3 Units

Course for senior Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies maors designed to support and guide the writing of a senior honors thesis. For senior Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies majors who have been approved for the honors program.

ASAMST 197 Field Study in Asian American Communities 1 - 3 Units

University organized and supervised field program involving experiences in schools, school-related activities, community, and community-related activities.

ASAMST 198 Supervised Group Study 1 - 3 Units

Group study of selected topics which will vary from semester to semester.

ASAMST 199 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

Individual research on a topic which leads to the writing of a major paper. Regular meetings with faculty sponsor.

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