ASAM0102 - Introduction to Asian American History

Status
A
Activity
LEC
Section number integer
401
Title (text only)
Introduction to Asian American History
Term
2023C
Subject area
ASAM
Section number only
401
Section ID
ASAM0102401
Course number integer
102
Meeting times
MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM
Meeting location
MCNB 286-7
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Eiichiro Azuma
Nainika Dinesh
Description
This course will provide an introduction to the history of Asian Pacific Americans, focusing on the wide diversity of migrant experiences, as well as the continuing legacies of Orientalism on American-born APA's. Issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality will also be examined.
Course number only
0102
Cross listings
HIST1155401
Fulfills
Cultural Diviserity in the U.S.
History & Tradition Sector
Use local description
No

ASAM1300 - Asian American Cinema Movement: Fighting For Representation

Status
A
Activity
LEC
Section number integer
401
Title (text only)
Asian American Cinema Movement: Fighting For Representation
Term
2023C
Syllabus URL
Subject area
ASAM
Section number only
401
Section ID
ASAM1300401
Course number integer
1300
Meeting times
W 5:15 PM-8:14 PM
Meeting location
WILL 723
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Robert V Buscher
Description
Providing a broad introduction to the history of persons of Asian descent living in the United States, this course will specifically examine the Asian American & Pacific Islander American experience as told through the cinematic lens. Equal parts socio-political history and media studies, this course will comprehensively assess factors contributing to the historical under representation of AAPIs in mainstream American media. By contrast, the media texts that we study will reveal a cinematic history that runs parallel to the mainstream, consisting of independently produced films created by and/or starring AAPIs that feature authentic portrayals of the community they represent. Topics will include economics of film production, broadcast television ratings, film festivals as a mechanism of distribution, negative stereotyping, Hollywood whitewashing, cultural appropriation, and media activism. The course will take place once a week and will consist of a brief discussion of the previous week's readings, followed by a lecture, and ending with a full or partial film screening relating to the current week's topic. Additional out of class assignments will be given that involve attending the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, tentatively scheduled November 8-18, 2018. Students will have the opportunity to engage with and learn from AAPI filmmakers in attendance at the festival, with additional volunteer opportunities available for extra credit.
Course number only
1300
Cross listings
CIMS1302401
Fulfills
Cultural Diviserity in the U.S.
Use local description
No

ASAM1000 - South Asians in the United States

Status
A
Activity
SEM
Section number integer
401
Title (text only)
South Asians in the United States
Term
2023C
Subject area
ASAM
Section number only
401
Section ID
ASAM1000401
Course number integer
1000
Meeting times
TR 12:00 PM-1:29 PM
Meeting location
COHN 203
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Fariha Khan
Description
This course investigates the everyday practices and customs of South Asians in America. Every immigrant group has its own history, customs, beliefs and values, making each unique while simultaneously a part of the "melting pot" or salad bowl" of American society. Yet how do people define themselves and their ethnicities living in a diasporic context? By taking into account the burgeoning South Asian American population as our model, this course will explore the basic themes surrounding the lives that immigrants are living in America, and more specifically the identity which the second generation, born and/or raised in American, is developing. South Asians in the U.S. will be divided thematically covering the topics of ethnicity, marriage, gender, religion, and pop culture. Reading and assignments will discuss a variety of issues and viewpoints that are a part of the fabric of South Asia, but will focus on the interpretation of such expressive culture in the United States.
Course number only
1000
Cross listings
SAST1000401
Fulfills
Cultural Diviserity in the U.S.
Use local description
No

ASAM0100 - Introduction to Asian American Studies

Status
A
Activity
LEC
Section number integer
1
Title (text only)
Introduction to Asian American Studies
Term
2023C
Subject area
ASAM
Section number only
001
Section ID
ASAM0100001
Course number integer
100
Meeting times
MW 1:45 PM-3:14 PM
Meeting location
MCNB 309
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Rupa Pillai
Description
According to the U.S. Census, there are approximately 21 million Asian residents in the U.S. that comprise almost 6 percent of the total population. This relatively small number disguises the critical experiences Asian American communities face in both the local and transnational context. Yet, Asian Americans constitute one of the most heterogeneous racial groups within the U.S. Over the course of this semester we will read about and actively discuss the history of Asian immigration to the U.S., the social construction and experience of race in the U.S., and the political, economic, and cultural contributions of Asian Americans. We will also examine how Asian Americans negotiate/deploy their culture and ethnicity to achieve recognition in multicultural America and how the construction of Asian American identity intersects with class, gender, and sexuality.
Course number only
0100
Fulfills
Cultural Diviserity in the U.S.
Use local description
No

ASAM3211 - Modern Chinese Poetry in a Global Context

Status
A
Activity
SEM
Section number integer
401
Title (text only)
Modern Chinese Poetry in a Global Context
Term
2023A
Syllabus URL
Subject area
ASAM
Section number only
401
Section ID
ASAM3211401
Course number integer
3211
Meeting times
M 12:00 PM-2:59 PM
Meeting location
DRLB 2C8
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Chloe Estep
Description
The The tumultuous political and economic history of modern China has been mirrored in and shaped by equally fundamental revolutions in language and poetic expression. In this course, we will take Chinese poetry as a crucible in which we can observe the interacting forces of literary history and social change. From diplomats who saw poetry as a medium for cultural translation between China and the world, to revolutionaries who enlisted poetry in the project of social transformation, we will examine the lives and works of some of China’s most prominent poets and ask, what can we learn about modern China from reading their poetry? In asking this question, we will also reckon with the strengths and limitations of using poetry as an historical source. In addition to poems, the course will include fiction, essays, photographs, and films by both Chinese and non-Chinese artists that place our poets in a broader context. We will pay close attention to how these poets represent China’s place in the world, as well as the role of language in social change. Topics of discussion include: national identity, revolution, translation, gender, the body, ethnicity, and technology. Familiarity with Chinese or related cultural context is beneficial, but not required. This course introduces students to Chinese poetry in English translation. Students will leave the course with an in-depth understanding of the main figures, themes, and techniques of Chinese poetry, and will be introduced to some of the major developments in the history of China. Through a focus on primary texts, students will develop the vocabulary and analytical skills to appreciate and analyze poetry in translation and will gain confidence as writers thinking about literary texts.
Course number only
3211
Cross listings
COML3211401, COML7211401, EALC3211401, EALC7211401
Fulfills
Cross Cultural Analysis
Use local description
No

ASAM1211 - Narrating Survival (SNF Paideia Program Course)

Status
X
Activity
SEM
Section number integer
401
Title (text only)
Narrating Survival (SNF Paideia Program Course)
Term
2023A
Syllabus URL
Subject area
ASAM
Section number only
401
Section ID
ASAM1211401
Course number integer
1211
Meeting times
CANCELED
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Sarah Ropp
Description
This course critically examines the way in which "survival" has been/continues to be defined as individual triumph in the 20th and 21st century. The intent here is to dig deeper into current buzzwords like "resilience," "wellness," "grit," and "care" to ask how such concepts have been constructed in different socio-historical moments, by and for whom, and towards what (social, cultural, political, economic) ends. We will pay special attention to the central role that the child plays in these discourses as an icon of both ultimate vulnerability and idealized resilience, and we'll consider the burdens and privileges that such centering might confer upon real-life children. We engage with a generically diverse body of contemporary multiethnic and transnational literature featuring children and young people in crisis, including texts from Black, Latine, Native, Asian and White U.S. writers as well as Dutch, Argentine, Iranian, Malaysian, and Afghan authors. All non-English texts will be read in English translation, with the option for students to read in the original language if they wish and are able. Learning to dialogue across cultures and learning from such interactions with these texts and one other will be an essential part of our approach to exploring these complex questions.
Course number only
1211
Cross listings
COML2192401, ENGL2192401
Use local description
No

ASAM2100 - Wartime Internment of Japanese-Americans

Status
A
Activity
SEM
Section number integer
401
Title (text only)
Wartime Internment of Japanese-Americans
Term
2023A
Subject area
ASAM
Section number only
401
Section ID
ASAM2100401
Course number integer
2100
Meeting times
T 1:45 PM-4:44 PM
Meeting location
WILL 202
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Eiichiro Azuma
Description
This research seminar will consist of a review of representative studies on the Japanese American internment, and a discussion of how social scientists and historians have attempted to explain its complex backgrounds and causes. Through the careful reading of academic works, primary source materials, and visualized narratives (film productions), students will learn the basic historiography of internment studies, research methodologies, and the politics of interpretation pertaining to this particular historical subject. Students will also examine how Japanese Americans and others have attempted to reclaim a history of the wartime internment from the realm of “detached” academia in the interest of their lives in the “real” world, and for a goal of “social justice” in general. The class will critically probe the political use of history and memories of selected pasts in both Asian American community and contemporary American society through the controversial issue of the Japanese American internment.
Course number only
2100
Cross listings
HIST3150401
Fulfills
Cultural Diviserity in the U.S.
Use local description
No

ASAM3100 - American Expansion in the Pacific

Status
A
Activity
LEC
Section number integer
401
Title (text only)
American Expansion in the Pacific
Term
2023A
Subject area
ASAM
Section number only
401
Section ID
ASAM3100401
Course number integer
3100
Meeting times
MW 3:30 PM-4:59 PM
Meeting location
TOWN 315
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Eiichiro Azuma
Description
This course examines America's expansion into the Pacific with a focus on the colonization of Hawai'i and the Philippines. The class deals with various issues, including the meaning of "frontier," imperialism, development of capitalist economies and trade relations in the region, diplomacy and militarism, migration and racism, and colonial histories of the US West, the Pacific Islands, and East Asia.
Course number only
3100
Cross listings
HIST1785401
Use local description
No

ASAM0115 - American Race: A Philadelphia Story (SNF Paideia Program Course)

Status
A
Activity
LEC
Section number integer
401
Title (text only)
American Race: A Philadelphia Story (SNF Paideia Program Course)
Term
2023A
Syllabus URL
Subject area
ASAM
Section number only
401
Section ID
ASAM0115401
Course number integer
115
Meeting times
M 12:00 PM-2:59 PM
Meeting location
FAGN 216
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Fernando Chang-Muy
Fariha Khan
Description
This course proposes an examination of race with a two-pronged approach: one that broadly links the study of race in the United States with a multi-disciplinary approach and also simultaneously situates specific conversations within the immediate location of Philadelphia, home to the University. The broad historical examination advances key concepts of race and racialization, explores key theoretical methodologies, and highlights major scholarly works. For example, students will engage with the study of race through Africana Studies, Asian American Studies, Urban Studies and through Latin American & Latinx Studies. Readings and methodologies will introduce students to critical issues in education, in literature, in sociology, and with methods in oral history, archival work, and ethnography. Most importantly, this extensive approach highlights the impact of race across multiple communities including Black Americans, immigrant populations, and communities that are marginalized to emphasize connections, relationships, and shared solidarity. Students are intellectually pushed to see the linkages and the impacts of racism across and among all Americans historically and presently. As each theme is introduced a direct example from Philadelphia will be discussed. The combination of the national discourse on race, with an intimate perspective from the City of Philadelphia, engages students both intellectually and civically. The course will be led by Fariha Khan but guest instructors with varied disciplinary backgrounds and guest speakers from local community organizations. Each instructor not only brings specific disciplinary expertise, but also varied community engagement experience.
Course number only
0115
Cross listings
AFRC1115401, LALS0115401, SAST1115401, URBS1150401
Fulfills
Cultural Diviserity in the U.S.
Use local description
No

ASAM1400 - Asian American Gender and Sexualities

Status
A
Activity
SEM
Section number integer
401
Title (text only)
Asian American Gender and Sexualities
Term
2023A
Subject area
ASAM
Section number only
401
Section ID
ASAM1400401
Course number integer
1400
Meeting times
TR 10:15 AM-11:44 AM
Meeting location
PSYL A30
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Rupa Pillai
Description
This course explores the intersection of gender, sexuality, and race in Asian America. Through interdisciplinary and cultural texts, students will consider how Asian American gender and sexualities are constructed in relation to racism while learning theories on and methods to study gender, sex, and race. We will discuss masculinities, femininities, race-conscious feminisms, LGBTQ+ identities, interracial and intraracial relationships, and kinship structures.
Course number only
1400
Cross listings
GSWS1400401, SAST1400401
Fulfills
Cultural Diviserity in the U.S.
Use local description
No