Transformed Courses
Within the Disciplines
Humanities
University
of Michigan
American Culture 210
Winter 1993
Dr. Gail Nomura
Introduction to Asian American
Studies
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The experience of people of color have
shaped and tested the character of the
U.S., its culture, institutions, and
society. This course will examine the
nature of American culture and society
through a study of the Asian American
experience in U.S. history. The Asian
American experience reveals the dynamics
of race relations and economic stratification
in this country as well as the continuing
process of defining America and American.
This course provides an introductory
study of the experience of Asian immigrants
and their citizen descendants in the
United States from the mid-nineteenth
century to the present. The groups covered
include Chinese, Filipino, Japanese,
Korean, Pacific Islander, South Asian,
and Southeast Asian Americans. Topics
for discussion will include international/domestic
relations, immigration policy, ethnic
adaptive strategies, ethnic community
building, constitutional issues, majority/minority
relations, and literary expressions.
The format of the course will be lecture
and discussion.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Students will be evaluated on the basis
of two exams (each worth 30% of the
final grade) and a research paper and
class presentation (worth 40% of the
final grade). The topic for the research
paper must be discussed with and approved
by the instructor. Students are expected
to regularly attend classes and participate
in class discussions.
TEXTS:
- Asian Women United of California,
Making Waves, an Anthology
of Writings by and About Asian American
Women.
- Carlos Bulosan, America
is in the Heart
- Sucheng Chan, Asian Americans,
An Interpretive History
- Nomura, Endo, Sumida, and Leong,
eds. Frontiers of Asian American Studies
- Hune, Kim, Fugita, Ling, ed., Asian
Americans: Comparative and
Global Perspectives
SCHEDULE OF READINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
Week 1
Introduction and Overview of the course.
Discussion of terms.
Class 1 Readings: Chan, Preface
Week 2
Class 2,3 Discussions of stereotypes
and identity.
Readings: Articles in Making Waves:
Renee E. Tajima, "Lotus Blossoms
Don't Bleed: Images of Asian Women,"
pp.308-317. Venny Villapando, "The
business of Selling Mail Order Brides,"
pp. 318-326. Part Five/ Clearing the
Mist: Identity, pp. 239-290. Comparative
and Global Perspectives, pp. 103-112
(Ng), 179-190 (Park).
Week 3
Class 4,5 Discussion of international
context of Asian emigration and patterns
of immigration/migration.
Readings: Chan, Chapter 1.
Week 4
Class 6,7 Discussion of settlement
and early communities.
Readings: Chan, Chapters 3, 4. Making
Waves, pp. 1-22, General Introduction;
pp. 50-60 (Yim); pp. 135-148 (Nomura).
Week 5
Class 8,9 Discussion: Exclusion and
Community resistance
Readings: Chan, Chapters 5, 6. Frontiers
of Asian American Studies, pp. 14-24.
Making Waves, pp. 33-42 (YU). Comparative
and Global Perspectives, pp. 49- 85
(Yu, Liu, and Yung).
Week 6
Class 8, 9 Discussion of Filipino migration
to Hawaii and the U.S. mainland, settlement,
and racial aspects of anti-Filipino
exclusion movement.
Readings: America is in the Heart,
all; Articles from Making Waves: Cordova,
"Voices from the Past: Why they
Came," pp. 42-49; Posadas, "Mestiza
Girlhood: Interracial Families in Chicago's
Filipino American Community Since 1925,"
pp. 273-282. Frontiers of Asian American
Studies, pp. 211-217 (Alquizola). Comparative
and Global Perspectives, pp. 199-209
(Alquizola).
Week 7
Class 10, 11 Discussion of World War
II Internment of Japanese Americans.
Readings: Chan, Chapter 7.
MIDTERM EXAM
Week 8
Class 12, 13 Discussion of the impact
of World War II on Asian American communities,
redress movement.
Readings: Making Waves, pp. 115-126
(Matsumoto). Frontiers of Asian American
Studies, pp. 39-80 (Chin, Emi, and Omura).
Comparative and Global Perspectives,
pp. 87-102 (Choy).
Week 9
Class 13, 14 Discussion of Postwar
resettlement, changes in restrictive
laws, the development of postwar Asian
American communities, "new"
immigrants, Southeast Asian refugees.
Readings: Chan, Chapter 8. Making Waves,
pp. 80-115 (Kim, Kam, Lee, and Oberst);
pp. 347-421 (Part Seven). Frontiers
of Asian American Studies, pp. 98- 150
(Lou, Wong, Chin, and Park). Comparative
and Global Perspectives, pp. 153-167
(Hein).
Week 10
Class15,16 Discussion of Asian American
Literature.
Readings: Section three of Frontiers
of Asian American Studies, pp. 151-247.
Making Waves, pp. 195-235 (Part 4).
Comparative and Global Perspectives,
pp. 191-287.
Week 11
Class 17, 18 Discussion of the model
minority myth, glass ceiling, affirmative
action, politics.
Readings: Chan, Chapter 9, conclusion.
Frontiers of Asian American Studies,
pp. 25-38 (Mazumdar), pp. 85-97 (Cabezas,
et al), pp. 291-304 (Lujan). Making
Waves, pp. 148-194 (Williams, Wrong,
Villones, Lowe, and Woo). Comparative
and Global Perspectives, pp. 137-152
(Lau).
Week 12
Class 19, 20 Discussion of anti-Asian
violence past and present, urban issues.
Readings: Frontiers of Asian American
Studies, pp. 253-270 (Kagiwada and Cacas).
Comparative and Global Perspectives,
pp. 123-135 (Ishi), 169-178 (Chang).
Week 13
SECOND MIDTERM EXAM
PAPER DUE
Week 14, 15 Student Presentations and
Discussion. Concluding Remarks.
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