Asian American Studies Program — Program Requirements

The CLA-based interdisciplinary program of study in Asian American Studies requires 9 credits each of lower-level and upper-level course work, including introductory and culminating courses and one comparative course, for a total of 18 credits. Many courses are cross-listed with other departments in CLA; most courses are also linked to specific CPCS-based competencies in conjunction with a CPCS-based concentration in Asian American Studies (contact the program director for more information).

I. The required introductory course is ASAMST/AMST/SOCIOL L223 (Asians in the US) or ASAMST 200 (Introduction to Asian American Studies).

II.  Two additional courses at the 100 or 200 level and two at the 300 or 400 level must be taken from an approved list that includes Asian American Studies topics and methods courses. One of these four courses must have a comparative focus (described in greater detail below).

 A. Lower-level Asian American Studies courses introduce students to a particular Asian American population (e.g., Southeast Asians, South Asians, women, etc) or a particular thematic or disciplinary focus (literature, media, etc). Regularly-offered lower-level Asian American Studies courses include:

• ASAMST/ENGL L221 (Introduction to Asian American Writing)
• ASAMST/AMST/SOCIOL L225 (Southeast Asians in the US)
• ASAMST 226 (Becoming South Asians)
• ASAMST/AMST/SOCIOL L228 (Asian Women in the US)
• ASAMST/PSYCH L238 (Asian American Psychology)
• ASAMST/POLSCI L-265 (WW II Internment of Japanese Americans)
• ASAMST 270 (Cambodian American Culture and Community)
• ASAMST 294 (Resources for Vietnamese American Studies)

 B.  Upper-level Asian American Studies courses provide students with either a more advanced approach within a discipline or professional field (for example, literature, law, health, politics, media) or an in-depth thematic focus that requires previous Asian American Studies course work as a foundation. Upper-level Asian American Studies courses include:

• ASAMST 333 (Asian American Politics and Social Movements)
• ASAMST 345 (Asian American Cultures and Health Practices)
• ASAMST/ENGL L350 (Asian American Literary Voices)
• ASAMST/PHILAW L355 (Asian Americans and the Law)
• ASAMST 370 (Asian American Media Literacy)
• ASAMST 397/398 (Applied Research in Asian American Studies I/II)
• ASAMST/SOCIOL L423 (Boston’s Asian American Communities)

 C. Among the two lower-level and two upper-level courses required for the program of study, one course must offer a comparative focus either on dynamics of race and culture for other groups in the US or on issues of history and culture in Asia. Students interested in the diasporic cultural backgrounds of Asian immigrants, for example, will benefit from taking a course focusing on Asian philosophies or religions. Students interested in Asian American community development will benefit from understanding the similarities and differences in needs and priorities within Black, Latino, or Native American communities. The comparative course can be at any level. Examples include (but are not limited to):

• AFRSTY 101 (Intro to Africana Studies)
• AMST G110 (US Society and Culture Since 1945)
• AMST 201 (Latinos in the US)
• AMST/AFRSTY L350 (Race, Class, and Gender)
• ANTH 274 (Peoples and Cultures of the Caribbean)
• EASIAN/RELSTY L358 (Psychology, Politics, and Philosophy in East Asia)
• ENGL Z284 (Language, Literacy and Community)
• ENGL 353 (Multiethnic American Literature)
• HIST 388 (20th Century Vietnam)
• PSYCH 234 (Cross-Cultural Relations)
• SOCIOL G211 (Race & Power in the US)
• SOCIOL 321 (Race and Ethnic Relation

III. The program’s culminating course requirement asks students to integrate theory and practice developed from prior course work in Asian American Studies through conducting a substantive research project or by participating in a supervised community-based or classroom-based internship. This capstone course requirement can be fulfilled in three ways, each requiring the instructor’s approval. Students who complete more than one of these culminating options can use the additional course(s) to satisfy the upper-level course requirement described above in Part IIB. The three options are:

1. ASAMST/SOCIOL L423 (Boston’s Asian American Communities) or ASAMST 397/398 (Applied Research in Asian American Studies).
2. ASAMST 390/391 (Community Internships I/II) Asian American Studies internship opportunities are available each semester in a variety of settings such as neighborhood health centers, school-based bilingual programs, multi-service agencies, ethnic newspapers, and community-based research and advocacy projects. A supervised internship in another department or program such as or AMST 490 or SOCIOL 460 or ENGL Z285 with an Asian American focus and faculty approval can also fulfill this requirement.
3. ASAMST 497/498 (Teaching and Learning in Asian American Studies) or ASAMST 478/479 (Independent Study I/II) Students using this option are expected to submit project proposals and to give final public presentations of their work. An independent study (with a proposal and final presentation) sponsored by another department (such as AMST 478/479) on an approved topic with a program faculty member may also be used to fulfill this requirement.