Asian and Asian American Studies, Interdisciplinary Programs in

Department of Anthropology

College of Natural and Social Sciences

Academic ProgramsOffered:

Bachelor of Arts Degree in Asian and Asian-American Studies

Minor in Asian Studies

PROGRAM OFFICE

King Hall C4077A

Program Director: ChorSwang Ngin

Phone:   (323) 343-2442

E-mail:     asianam@calstatela.edu

Website:     http://www.calstatela.edu/academic/anthro/cngin.htm

The Faculty

Coordinator: ChorSwang Ngin

Bachelor of Arts Degree in Asian and Asian-American Studies

The B.A. Degree Program in Asian and Asian American Studies at CSULA is an interdisciplinary program with an emphasis on the connections between Asian and Asian American Studies. The program is built on a solid foundation of languages, cultures and histories of Asia while emphasizing both the global and the local dimension of social, cultural, economic and political connections between Asia and Asian America.

The primary objectives of the program are to explore and study historical and contemporary transnational links between Asia and Asian America, between diasporas and their homeland, and the flexible and dynamic mutual social, cultural, economic and political influences they have on each other; to provide background on cultural continuity and reconstructions as immigrant and diasporic groups are formed as they settle in new homelands; and to explore interactions and mutual influences as different cultural groups interact within multiethnic, multicultural and multi-religious communities such as the United States.

The total number of units required for the Bachelor of Arts degree in Asian and Asian American Studies is 180 units, of which 68-80 units are in the major.  Consult with an advisor for the specific number of units required in all areas of the degree including GE and free electives.

Requirements for the Major (68-80 units)

This program consists of a single option with 68-80 units required.

Required Core (20 units)
Lower Division Required Courses (12 units)

AAAS/CHS/LAS/ PAS 108

Comparative Ethnic Studies (4)

AAAS 200

Pacific Asian Culture, People, and Society  (4)

HIST 150

Asian American History (4) or

SOC 263

Asian American Experience (4)

Upper Division Required Courses (8 units)

AAAS 300

Interdisciplinary Approaches to Asian and Asian American Studies (4)

SOC  301

Writing for Sociology (4)

Social Science Courses on Asia and The Pacific (12 units)

Select 12 units from the following:

AAAS/HIST 418

Islamic Central Asia (4)

AAAS/GEOG 479

Urbanization in Central Asia (4)

ANTH414

Peoples of Asia (4)

GEOG 424

South and Southeast Asia (4)

GEOG 425

Japan (4)

GEOG 430

China (4)

HIST494A

Traditional China (4)

HIST494B

Modern China (4)

HIST 494C

People's Republic of China (4)

HIST 495A

Traditional Japan (4)

HIST 495B

Modern Japan (4)

HIST 496

History of Southeast Asia

POLS 428

Asia and the Politics of Transnational Migration (4)

POLS 452

Government and Politics of China (4)

POLS 458

Politics of Asian American Immigration (4)

POLS 459

Politics of East Asia (4)

SOC 435

Asian Societies (4)

Languages: Requirement (0-12 units)

Select 12 units or demonstrate proficiency equivalent to satisfactory completion of a one-year course of study in an Asian language.

CHIN 100ABC

Elementary Mandarin (4,4,4) or

CHIN 101ABC

Elementary Cantonese (4,4,4) or

JAPN 100ABC

Elementary Japanese (4,4,4) or

KOR 100ABC

Elementary Korean (4,4,4) or

THAI 100ABC

Elementary Thai (4,4,4) or

VIET 100ABC

Elementary Vietnamese (4,4,4) or

 

Demonstrated Competency (0)

Humanities (Arts. Literature and Culture) - (12 units)

Select 12 units from the following:

AAAS/ML 180

Chinese Written Symbols in Asian and Asian American Communities (4)

AAAS 350

Ancient East Asian Literatures and the Modern World (4)

(may not be double-counted to satisfy Upper Division Theme requirement)

ART 431B

The Arts of Asia: China and Japan (4)

CHIN 430

Chinese Literatures in Translation (4)

ENGL 476

Ethnic Literature in the U.S. (4)

JAPN 307

Japanese Literature in Translation (4)

PHIL 415

Philosophy of Religion (4)

PHIL 436

South Asian Philosophy (4)

PHIL 437

East Asian Philosophy (4)

RELS 410

Asian Religions (4)

Asian American (12 units)

Select 12 units from the following:

AAAS/ANTH 415

Asian American Communities in Southern California (4)

AAAS/ LBS 422

Asian Americans in Science and Literature(4)

AAAS 450

Advanced Seminar in Asian and Asian American Studies (4)

HIST 150

Asian American History (4) (if not taken as part of the core)

POLS 458

Politics of Asian American Immigration (4)  (if not taken as part of the Social Science core)

SOC 263

Asian American Experience (4) (if not taken as part of the core)

Interrelationship with Other Regions and Groups (8)

Select 8 units from the following:

AAAS/CHS/LAS/

PAS  408

Comparative Diaspora Studies (4)

CHS 443

History of the Chicano People in  California (4)

GEOG 432

Metropolitan Los Angeles (4)

HIST 488

California (4)

POLS 428

Asia and the Politics of Transnational Migration (4)

Electives (4)

Select four units from the following:

AAAS 499

Undergraduate Directed Study (1-4)

CHS 111

Cultural Diversity and Chicanos (4)

COMM/MKT 459

Intercultural Business Communication (4)

COMM 489

Intercultural Communication (4)

FIN 431

Multinational Financial Management (4)

GEOG 431

California (4)

HIST 480

Ethnicity and Immigration in American History (4)

HIST 489

Los Angeles (4)

PAS 416

Pan Africanism and World Politics (4)

PSY 439

Race/Ethnic Minority Mental Health (4)

SOC 460

Race and Ethnic Relations (4)

Minor in Asian Studies

Requirements for the Minor (32 units)
Required course  (4 units)

AAAS 200 Pacific Asian Culture, People, and Society  (4)

Electives  (28 units)

With adviser guidance and approval, select a total of 28 units of electives from the following three areas, with no more than 12 units from any one area.  Students are strongly encouraged to take courses that represent at least two different countries.

Area I: Language and Literature

AAAS

350

CHIN

200ABC, 201ABC, 300AB, 408, 410

JAPN

200ABC, 230, 300ABC, 307, 408, 410

Other intermediate or advanced Asian language courses.

Area II: Art, Music, Philosophy, History, and Religious Studies

ART 431B

CHIN 310

HIST 494ABC, 495AB, 496

JAPN 310, 311, 460

PHIL 436, 437

RELS 410

Area III: Anthropology, Geography, Political Science, and Sociology

ANTH 414

POLS 452

GEOG 424, 425, 430, 434

SOC 435

List of Courses (AAAS) - Undergraduate Level

Lower Division Course

AAAS 108 Comparative Ethnic Studies (4) (also listed as LAS, PAS, CHS 108)

Survey course which examines comparatively the notions of race and ethnicity, the exploitation based on these statuses, and the resulting resistance and multi-ethnic social movements in the U.S. and elsewhere.

AAAS 180  Chinese Written Symbols in Asian and Asian American Communities (4) (also listed as ML 180)

Development of Chinese characters, similarity and dissimilarity in their usage among Asian countries, and their impact on Asian's and Asian American's cultural identities.

AAAS 200 Pacific Asian Culture, People, and Society  (4)

Introductory survey of the people, history, society, culture, government, and economies of Pacific Asia.  Focus on similarities and differences that impact understanding of and among various Asian groups. Service learning option available.     GE D

Upper Division Courses

AAAS 300 Interdisciplinary Approaches to Asian/Asian American Studies (4)

Prerequisite or corequisite: ENGL 102.  This course introduces students to the theories and methods of interdisciplinary research in Asian and Asian American Studies. Course content varies depending on the faculty's expertise and research emphasis.

AAAS 348 Class, Race/Ethnicity, and Gender (4) (also listed as CHS 348, PAS 348 and SOC 348)

Prerequisites: Completion of Basic Subjects (Block A) and one course from Block D. Examination of social class, sex/gender, and ethnicity/race as bases of inequality and the processes by which inequalities are maintained or reproduced. Some course sections may require service-learning.  Some course sections may be offered online.                                                            GE Theme H

AAAS 350 Ancient East Asian Literature and the Modern World (4)

Prerequisites: Completion of Basic Subjects (Block A) and one course from Block C.  Meanings of “ancient” and “modern” in East Asian literature; use of Western concepts of modernity to challenge Asian traditions; use of ancient East Asian literature to impact Western “modernity.”      GE Theme I

AAAS 408 Comparative Diaspora Studies (4) (also listed as PAS, CHS, LAS 408)

Prerequisite: any lower division course in AAAS, PAS, CHS or LAS.  The course is a comparative examination of diaspora among principally Africans, Asians and Latin Americans emphasizing the conditions of dispersal, the patterns of settlement, and the formations of global tribes.

AAAS 415 Asian American Communities in Southern California (4) (Also listed as ANTH 415)

The course examines the Asian American enclaves and communities in Southern California by exploring culture, ethnicity, solidarity, political economy, and resistance in their creation and maintenance of communities. Service learning option available.

AAAS 418 History of Islamic Central Asia (also listed as HIST 418 (4)

History in global context of the region encompassing Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikstan, Turkmenstan, and Uzbekistan, from the seventh century to the present, with emphasis on common religious and cultural trends.

AAAS 422 Asian Americans in Science and Literature (4) (also listed as LBS 422)

Prerequisites: ENGL 102, upper division standing. Interdisciplinary exploration of how Asians have been represented, and how Asian Americans have represented themselves, in relation to science and technology.

AAAS 449 Anthropology of Race and Racism (4) (Also listed as ANTH 449, CHS 449, and LAS 449)

This course examines the anthropological ideas of race, its emergence, and its relationship to the constructions of racisms and racializations in comparative settings and in contemporary situations

AAAS 450 Advanced Seminar in Asian and Asian-American Studies (4)

PrerAequisites: AAAS 300. A content variable seminar with writing and oral presentation experiences which explore in depth a selected topic in Asian and/or Asian-American cultures and histories in transnational contexts. May be repeated to a maximum of 8 units as content changes.

AAAS 462 Asian 'Theatre (4) (also listed as TAD 462)

Explores performance practices in a selected region of Asia. Selected topics include: dramaturgical structure staging, gender conventions, performer training, audience, communal and national identity, social and political contexts. May be repeated to maximum of 8 units for credit as content changes.

AAAS 463 Asian American Theater and Performance (4) (also listed as TAD 463)

An exploration of the performance traditions of Asian Americans as understood through their social, political, and historical contexts.

AAAS 479 Hybrid Urbanism: Urban Transformation of Central Asia (4)(also listed as GEOG 479)

This course analyzes the historical evolution of cities in Central Asia, as manifested in their spatial structure, architecture, urban morphology and social geography.

AAAS 499 Undergraduate Directed Study  (1–4)

Prerequisites:  Consent of faculty sponsor, approval of proposed project before registration, ability to assume responsibility for independent research and analysis.  Regular discussion of progress with sponsor before presentation of final written report.  May be repeated to maximum of 8 units.