Autumn 2015

Asian American Studies - core courses

Comparative Studies 2321: Introduction to Asian American Studies
Jian Chen, chen.982@osu.edu
WeFr 3:55PM - 5:15PM, Cockins Hall 218
Class #22651
 
This course will engage with Asian American literature and bio/digital/visual cultures and their relationship to social identities and histories and political mobilization through the lens of technology. How does a rethinking of race, racialization, and racism as technologies contribute to our understanding of racial formation, histories, and futures, especially at this moment in time? How do bio/digital/visual cultures based in performance, film/video, and the Internet as mediating technologies reframe our interactions with Asian American literature and with race, gender, sexuality, class, and migration.

Course materials will also include select film and digital media screenings. Course requirements may include an in-class presentation, regular participation in a course blog, midterm, and final paper project.
 
Prereq: English 1110 (110), or equiv. GE Cultures and Ideas; GE Diversity: Social Diversity in the U.S.
 
Comparative Studies 4921: Intersections: Approaches to Race, Gender, Class, and Sexuality
Rita Trimble, trimble.38@osu.edu
TuTh 3:55PM - 5:15PM, Hitchcock Hall 446
Class #14150

Examines intersections of race, gender, class, and sexuality in various sites within American culture (e.g., legal system, civil rights discourse, social justice movements). Prereq: One course in CompStd, WGSSt, or AfAmASt. Not open to students with credit for 545, AfAmAst 4921 (545), or WGSSt 4921 (545). Cross-listed in AfAmASt and WGSSt.
 
English 4587: Studies in Asian American Literature and Culture
Pranav Jani, jani.4@osu.edu
TuTh 12:45PM - 2:05PM, University Hall 086
Class #32850

This course investigates literature, film and nonfictional texts by and about South Asian Americans, paying special attention to the politics of identity formation. What notions of religion, gender, nation, class, and sexuality govern these identities? Where have South Asian Americans fit in terms of the racial and ethnic dynamics of American society? How have ideas about the “exotic” or “spiritual” East and the “materialist” West shaped the image (and self-image) of this group?

Throughout, our aim will be to see the historical contexts within which these questions have changed – especially since greater immigration from Asia was allowed in 1965. We will specifically discuss how cultural identities have been shaped recently by corporate globalization and the global popularity of everything "Indian," from Bollywood, bhangra, and mehndi to writers and software engineers. The South Asian-British experience will also be referenced by way of comparison. By drawing on literary, cinematic, historical and ethnographic texts, this course seeks to provide students with an interdisciplinary framework for understanding the diverse and often conflicting ways through which the desi experience is portrayed and understood. Writers: Ali, Divakaruni, Hamid, Lahiri, Parekh, Prashad. Films: American DesiChutney PopcornMississippi MasalaMy Beautiful LaundretteMy Son the Fanatic.

History 2079: Asian American History
Bruce Makoto Arnold, arnold.1041@osu.edu
TuTh 3:55 - 5:15 p.m., Enarson Classrooms 258
Class #34936

A survey of how Asian immigrants, their American-born children, and international relations with Asia have shaped U.S. History. Prereq or concur: English 1110.xx. Not open to students with credit for 346.

Fulfills GE in Historical Study; Cultures and Ideas; and Diversity: Social Diversity in the US.


Asian American Studies - additional courses


The following courses can count toward the 9 credit hours of Asian American Studies coursework, provided that students complete a final project on an Asian American topic.

English 4581: Special Topics in US Ethnic Postcolonial Literature
“The Ethics of Comparative Racialization”
Lynn Itagaki, itagaki.3@osu.edu
We Fr 9:35 - 10:55 a.m., Caldwell Labs 220
Class #15595

Are all racial minorities Black? Is Yellow Black or White? Why are Asians considered a model minority and other racial groups stigmatized? Do biracial or multiracial Americans “count”? Why can’t we all get along? What is the racial hierarchy from the past to the present that now determines our future? How is that racial hierarchy gendered in the hypermasculinization and hyperfeminization of groups? The inclusiveness of the term “Black” or “African American” has been contested by multiple diasporic populations of African descent from all over the world. "Asian American," a political category, has itself been contested by Pacific Islanders, South Asians, and those of the multiple Asian diasporas. “Latina/o” is not considered a racial identity by the US Census, and Arab Americans are considered white. What does it mean to be identified as Native American rather than through one’s affiliation to or enrollment in tribes and nations? We’ll talk about the complex histories of US and European imperialisms and international politics that produce uneven and often illogical racial identities in the US. Given that the category of race is an interracial formation, we will examine how writers of color merge forms and genres in order to advance an interracial ethics.

History of Art 4001
Namiko Kunimoto, kunimoto.3@osu.edu
TuTh 11:10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Pomerene Hall 206
Class #16140

This course will teach art history majors and others how to write about art in a clear and compelling manner. Students will also improve their ability to critically engage with texts and do in-depth visual analysis. Through our readings, discussion, and careful looking at images, students will consider the ways the state has been represented, reacted against, and questioned in Asian and North American art. How did events such as the Pacific War impact the art world and how did representation in turn inform competing ideologies of nationhood and gender? How has globalization affected artistic practice? While addressing these issues we will examine various works of modern and contemporary art, including film, installation, photography, painting, and performance art. This course is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the exciting world of avant-garde art in Asia.