Fall 2009

HIS 317L • INTRO TO ASIAN AMERICAN HIST

Course Description

This survey course provides a critical introduction to the national and transnational histories of Asian Americans in the United States. Using interdisciplinary scholarship and forms of cultural production - such as works of history, sociology, anthropology, literature, and film – it explores a wide range of themes germane to the Asian American experience. Topics include the first waves of Asian immigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries; the growth of U.S. colonialism and neocolonialism in Asia and the Pacific; the rise of domestic anti-Asian movements; the experiences of Asian Americans and Asian immigrants during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War; the post-1965 immigration wave from Asia and of Asian diaspora populations from the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa; the rise of Asian American activism; and contemporary challenges to generational, religious, class, gender, and heterosexual norms by Asian American youth. No previous experience in Asian American history is required. While concentrating upon the major Asian diaspora groups in the United States – Chinese, Filipino, East Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese – our readings, lectures, and discussions are wide-ranging and include other peoples from Southeast Asia (Cambodians, Laotians, Hmong, Thais), South Asia (Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans), and the Pacific (Guamanians, native Hawaiians).

Grading Policy

Attendance/Participation 15% Map Quiz of Asia 5% Two Papers (5-6 pages each) 30% (15% each) Midterm Exam 20% Final Exam 30%

Texts

Chan, Sucheng. Asian Americans: An Interpretive History. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1991. Daniels, Roger. Prisoners without Trial: Japanese Americans in World War II. New York: Hill and Wang, 2004. Lê, Thi Diem Thúy. The Gangster We Are All Looking for. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003.

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