Asian American Studies Program — Courses

Courses preceded by an “L” are cross-listed with another department or program, as indicated by the parentheses in the course title: for example, “ASAMST L221 (ENGL L221),” which is cross-listed with the Department of English.

Repeatable Courses

ASAMST Z220 (Special Topics) is a repeatable course with different content each time it is offered.

Please contact the program director for updated information about courses or any other aspects of the program.

Courses

ASAMST 200
Introduction to Asian American Studies

This collaboratively taught course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to issues and methods relevant within the field of Asian American Studies. Possible areas of exploration may include: particular ethnic and geographic communities (e.g. South Asians and Cambodian Americans or Dorchester and Chinatown neighborhoods), women and gender, history, civil rights, media portrayals, literature, art and performance, and health or mental health issues.
Distribution I Area: Humanities.
Diversity Area: United States.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Ms Suyemoto

ASAMST Z220
Special Topics

Various courses in Asian American Studies are offered experimentally under this heading. Topics and faculty sponsors are announced before the beginning of each semester.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

ASAMST L221 (ENGL L221)
Introduction to Asian American Writing

A study of prose works by American writers of East Asian, Southeast Asian, and South Asian descent. In discussing texts and current issues within the field of Asian American literary studies, students will consider the ways in which discourse determines identity and the responsibilities of writers—to themselves as artists and to their communities, whether defined by race or gender.
Distribution I Area: The Arts.
Diversity Area: United States.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Ms Iwanaga

ASAMST L223 (AMST or SOCIOL L223)
Asians in the US

This multidisciplinary course examines the social, historical, and structural contexts defining the Asian American experience from 1850 to the present. Topics include immigration, labor, community settlement, ethnicity, stereotypes, and race relations.
Distribution I Area: Historical and Cultural Studies.
Diversity Area: United States.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Mr Kiang, Mr. Leong

ASAMST L225 (AMST or SOCIOL L225)
Southeast Asians in the US

This course examines issues arising from the resettlement of more than one million Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Lao refugees in the US since 1975. Topics include resettlement policies, adjustment and acculturation, changing roles of women and family, and the continuing impact of international politics. Media presentations and lectures by local Southeast Asian community leaders highlight the course.
Distribution I Area: Historical and Cultural Studies.
Diversity Area: United States.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Ms Tang, Mr Kiang

ASAMST 226
Becoming South Asians

This course examines the history and contemporary issues of people in the US with ancestry from countries such as Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Through course readings, films, guest lectures, and student projects, the course explores global migrations and immigrant patterns, the formation of diverse South Asian communities, and cross-cutting issues of race, ethnicity, class, and gender.
Distribution I Area: Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Diversity Area: International.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Ms Hasnain

ASAMST L228 (AMST or SOCIOL L228)
Asian Women in the US

Drawing on women’s voices in literature, sociocultural research, and historical analysis, this course examines the experiences of Asian women in the US from 1850 to the present. Topics include the transformation of traditional cultural roles as part of the acculturation process; exclusion; changing roles within the family; resistance to oppression as defined by race, gender, class; and the continuing impact of global relations.
Distribution I Area: Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Diversity Area: United States.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Ms Chowdhury, Ms Kim, Ms Arai, Ms Tang

ASAMST L238 (PSYCH L238)
Asian American Psychology

This course is an introduction to the psychological experience of Asian Americans, including the historical, socio-political, and cultural influences that shape personality and mental health in community, family, and individual contexts. The course also explores prevention and intervention possibilities through specific examples, such as trauma and intergenerational conflict, that are relevant for Asian American populations. Distribution I Area: Social and Behavioral Sciences.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Ms Suyemoto, Ms Kim

ASAMST L265 (POLSCI L265)
World War II Internment of Japanese Americans

The US Government in 1942 commenced the internment of 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry. This course considers political, economic, legal, sociological and historical matters in the examination of this chapter in American life. The course encompasses experiences beyond the internment, including early Japanese immigration, the battle for redress and reparations, and the current status of Japanese and Asian Americans.
Distribution I Area: Historical and Cultural Studies
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Mr Watanabe

ASAMST 270
Cambodian American Culture and Community

This course explores significant themes from the cultural and historical past of Khmer/Cambodian Americans, and examines issues concerning their cross-generational realities as refugees, immigrants, and racial minorities, including their development of communities in the U.S. and their continuing diasporic relationships to Cambodia. Local student/community examples from Lynn, Revere, and Lowell will be highlighted.
Distribution I Area: Social and Behavioral Sciences.
Diversity Area: International.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

ASAMST 294
Resources for Vietnamese American Studies

This course introduces students to the field of Vietnamese American Studies — what theories, methods, resources, and voices are helpful to examine the migrations and reconstructions of identity, culture, and community for Vietnamese in the U.S. and their diasporic relationships to Viet Nam and around the world. The course will feature presentations by local Vietnamese American researchers, writers, and community leaders.
Distribution I Area: Social and Behavioral Sciences.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Mr Bui

ASAMST 333
Asian American Politics and Social Movements

Students examine the historical development and contemporary dimensions of political and social movements in Asian American communities. Through directed readings, lectures, and critical case studies, students analyze ways in which Asian Americans have organized politically through electoral participation, ethnic/ cultural forms, neighborhood-based organizing, labor unions, multi-racial coalitions and virtual forms to affect issues in their communities, their homelands, and in US society.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits

ASAMST 345
Asian American Cultures and Health Practices

Students examine critical health issues among diverse Asian cultures and communities, including cultural influences on health behaviors and practices of Asian Americans, and the relationships between health of Asian Americans and social, political, and economic contexts. A field work component enables students to develop culturally sensitive health intervention strategies or policies for individuals, families, and communities.
Prerequisites: Any approved Diversity course or permission of instructor
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Ms Visvanathan

ASAMST L350 (ENGL L350)
Asian American Literary Voices

An advanced study of poetry, fiction, drama, and autobiography by Asian American writers to explore the complex interplay between constructions of ethnic identity and literary expression. Students will engage with the highly diverse face of contemporary Asian America, probing its literature for emerging themes like diaspora, transnationalism, and sexuality and analyzing their impact on the US literary landscape.
Prerequisites: ENGL 200, ENGL 201, ENGL 206, ENGL 221 or permission of instructor
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Ms Srikanth

ASAMST L355 (PHILAW L350)
Asian Americans and the Law

How has the US legal system affected Asian Americans? How have Asian Americans individually and collectively had impact on the US legal system? This course critically examines historical and contemporary issues of immigration policy, affirmative action, bilingual education, civil rights, and community control of development from local and national perspectives.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Mr Leong

ASAMST 370
Asian American Media Literacy

This course will analyze media in three ways: media content (the message); the political and economic structure of mass media; and the impact of the media on culture, identity, and group relationships, particularly in relation to dynamics of race and gender for Asian Americans. The course will enable students to develop a critical eye toward images and representations in media, to examine thoughtfully how their media use has affected their own identities, and to explore the possibilities of creating alternative media which can express their voices more fully or effectively.
Prerequisites: Any approved Diversity course or permission of instructor
Diversity Area: United States
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Ms Tang

ASAMST 390
Asian American Community Internships I

This seminar course supports students involved with internships and projects working with Asian American populations and issues. Students carry out specific activities that support the development and enhance the capacity of organizations, agencies, and projects focusing on critical issues and needs in Asian American communities in the Boston area. Students also are expected to reflect critically on what they learn in the process both about themselves and about the organizational and community contexts in which they work.
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor
3 Lect Hrs, 3-6 Credits
Ms Visvanathan

ASAMST 391
Asian American Community Internships II

See ASAMST 390

ASAMST 397
Applied Research in Asian American Studies I

This course enables qualified undergraduates to participate in applied research projects directed by a faculty member affiliated with the Asian American Studies Program. Students engage in the research process through clarifying questions and reviewing relevant literature, designing appropriate methods for data collection and analysis, and sharing findings and recommendations. Project topics and faculty sponsors are announced before the beginning of each semester.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Ms Tang, Ms Suyemoto

ASAMST 398
Applied Research in Asian American Studies II

See ASAMST 397

ASAMST L423 (SOCIOL L423)
Boston’s Asian American Communities

This advanced research seminar examines the dynamics of ethnicity and community change in Asian American communities. Using theories of community development and methods of community research, students analyze Boston’s Asian American communities as case studies of complex social systems. The course also looks at current research on immigrant acculturation, ethnic enclave economies, and the community control movement.
Prerequisites: prior course work in Asian American Studies or permission of instructor
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Mr Kiang

ASAMST 478
Independent Study I

This course offers individuals and groups of students the opportunity to work with a specific faculty member on an approved project or plan of study in the field of Asian American Studies.
Hrs by arrangement, 3 Credits

ASAMST 479
Independent Study II

See ASAMST 478

ASAMST 497
Teaching and Learning in Asian American Studies I

This seminar course enables advanced undergraduates, by invitation of the program, to develop conceptual approaches and directed practice relevant to pedagogy and curriculum design in the field of Asian American Studies. Students design and implement semester-long projects that address critical issues of teaching and learning with Asian American Studies content and/or Asian American student populations.
3 Lect Hrs, 3 Credits
Mr Kiang, Ms Kim

ASAMST 498
Teaching and Learning in Asian American Studies II

See ASAMST 497