Asian/Asian American Studies (AAA)

AAA 201. Intro to Asian/ Asian Amer. (3)

Since the mid-nineteenth century, Americans have viewed Asia as alien, mysterious, alluring, repressed and have alternately been compelled by and frightened by what they have regarded as incommensurable cultural differences between the United States and Asia. In addressing this, we will focus on the following themes: colonialism and nationalism, national and ethnic identities, emigration and immigration, and popular culture and mass media, as a way to put in perspective, if not dispel, prevailing stereotypes of Asian and Asian America and gain a more complex and nuanced understanding of the complex and rich geo-political, cultural and historical terrain of Asia/ Asian America. This course is designed to provide a general introduction to the related disciplines of Asian Studies, and Asian American Studies and to familiarize students with some of the major debates, points of connection and contention. We will consider how "Asia" and "Asian America" are defined, geopolitically and strategically to allow us to develop a critical view about Asian and Asian American studies in a transnational frame. Through an examination of fiction, film and sociological works, students will acquire a better understanding about what is being researched in this field. IC, IIB, IIC, IIIB. PA-2A, PA-3B, PA-4B, PA-4C. CAS-B or CAS-C.

AAA 203. Global Religions of India. (3)

Explores the major religions of India and their growth outside India. Asks how these religions have contributed to the religious pluralism of America. Also asks how Asian American and non-Asian American practitioners of these religions have changed the way that religion in practiced in India and other parts of Asia. IIB, IIIB. PA-3B, PA-4B. CAS-B.
Cross-listed with REL 203.

AAA 207. Asia and Globalization. (3)

The Asian-Pacific region is one of the most dynamic, complex, and challenging focal points of world today. In the past half century, many countries in Asia have undergone significant political, economic, social, and cultural changes, which are tightly intertwined with the concepts and tenets of globalization. With countries such as China and India on the rise, and global superpowers such as Russia and Japan encountering their own modern challenges, the Asian continent has been facing a transformation that is at once a response to globalization and itself a powerful force influencing global community. Accordingly, the course highlights cross-cultural values through a comparative lens of Asia and globalization, and aims to study recent transformations in Asia and their impact on its own future and the world. The study will be framed both in the Asian internal context and in the external context of globalization. The course specifically focuses on, though is not limited to, how external global influence and the internal cultures of major Asian countries interact with each other in ways that uniquely mark and inform the economic, social, religious, educational, and cultural transformations in Asia. IIC, IIIB. PA-2A, PA-4C. CAS-C.

AAA 210. Psychology Across Cultures. (3)

A topics course, focused on the examination of culture and cultural perspectives, within the United States and globally, as frameworks through which theories and findings of the field of psychology may be critically evaluated. IC, IIC. PA-2A, PA-4B. CAS-C.
Prerequisite: PSY 111.
Cross-listed with PSY 210.

AAA 211. Writing with Purpose: Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Communication. (3)

This is an intermediate level course which enables students to investigate and discuss interdisciplinary practices of knowledge creation and dissemination. Students will practice a variety of writing and other communication strategies necessary for the effective dissemination of ideas to interdisciplinary audiences and the general public, and can expect to gain experience in working with a wide spectrum of interdisciplinary research, tools and methods while engaging intellectually in interdisciplinary modes of thinking, reading, listening, and speaking. ADVW. PA-1C.
Cross-listed with AMS/CRE/LAS/WGS.

AAA 248. Asian American Literature. (3)

Survey of Asian American writing (including the novel, poetry, drama, nonfiction, etc.) from the early 20th century to the present. Addresses immigration experiences, growing up in America, and writing as cultural expression. Course uses an interdisciplinary approach to the study of literature, drawing on history, sociology, ethnic studies, and current trends in American literary studies. IC, IIB, IIIB. PA-3B, PA-4A. CAS-B-LIT.
Cross-listed with AMS 248 and ENG 248.

AAA 249. Asian & Asian American Cinema. (3)

Explores films in the contexts of Western colonial influences and legacies in Asia and Asian America. Students will learn how mainstream notions of nation, gender, sexuality, family values, social hierarchies and social change are constructed at the intersection of the audience, visual imagery, political, and economic contexts. We will also explore the role alternative cinema plays in challenging mainstream forms of knowledge production with the overall goal of critically evaluating how cinema creates, recreates, perpetuates and reproduces "Asian" cultures for global and local audiences. IC, IIB, IIIB. PA-3B, PA-4B, PA-4C. CAS-B-Humanities.
Cross-listed with ENG/FST 249.

AAA 269. Colonial & Postcolonial Literature. (3)

Introduction to postcolonial literature and theories of colonial and postcolonial identity. IIB, IIIB. PA-3B, PA-4C. CAS-B-LIT.
Cross-listed with ENG 269.

AAA 277. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)

AAA 334. Transnational Youth Cultures. (3)

Using contemporary social and educational theory, this course introduces the student to the historical construction of adolescence and youth in global context. The course also explores cultural practices of transnational youths as a socio-historical construction that is affected by contemporary conditions of neo-liberalism, neo-colonialism and globalization. IIIB, IC. PA-4B, PA4C.
Cross-listed with EDL.

AAA 351. Cultural Politics of Gender and Sexuality in Asian/America. (3)

Intensive interdisciplinary study of imaginative representations of the encounters between "Asia" and "America," broadly conceived, particularly the entangled relations among their diverse constituencies in the contexts of colonialism and globalization. Key topics include feminist critique of gendered violence and human rights issues; Euro-American militarism and sex tourism; the emergence of new categories of sex, gender, and kinship as lived experiences mediated by transnational consumer culture and institutional structures; masculinity and Asian diasporic nationalisms; pan-Asian movements against racism, colonialism, and neoliberalism both in Asia and the U.S.; and the emergence of new critical, artistic and aesthetic practices. IC. PA-4B.
Cross-listed with ENG/WGS.

AAA 377. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)

AAA 410. Asian/Asian American Studies. (3; maximum 9)

In-depth examination of political-economic relations, historical and socio-cultural formations, ethno-linguistic, rhetorical, and religious practices, and literary and artistic representations connecting and affecting Asia and communities of Asian descent in the U.S. and in the diasporas. Detailed descriptions of topics available from the Director of the Asian/Asian American Studies Program. CAS-B.

AAA 477. Independent Studies. (0-6; maximum 10)