Professor: From the Department

Advisory

Must be eligible for English 151B & 163

Catalog Description:

This course will cover a history of the Asian-American experience.

Groups surveyed will include Korean, Filipino, Asian Indian, Pacific Islanders,

South East Asian, Japanese, and Chinese.

 

 

Course Content:

WEEK
1 Introduction and the history of Ethnic Studies and Asian-American studies

2 Who is Asian-American? (1990 Census) The international context of Asian Immigration

3 The Chinese American Experience

a. The Unwelcome Immigration

b. Life After the Central Pacific

c. Impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act

d. "The Yellow Peril": The Chinese in American Fiction

e. Cantonese and Mandarin: Chinatown vs. Little Taipei

f. Contributions of Chinese Americans

4 The Japanese American Experience

a. "Undesirables": Early Immigration and anti-Japanese Movements

b. "The Gentlemen´s Agreement"

c. World War and Internment

d. Tradition and Transition

e. Contributions of Japanese Americans

5 The Filipino American Experience

a. Immigration, Economics and the Repatriation Movement

b. Anti-Filipino Movements in California

c. Filipino Farm Labor Unionization

d. Contributions of Filipino Americans

6 The Asian Indian Experience

a. Passage from India

b. Canadian Exclusion

c. Parsi Merchants and Ellis Island

d. Building the Railroads

e. Naturalization and the Constitution

f. Contributions of Indian Americans

7 The Korean American Experience

a. 1882 and the First Treaty with the West

b. Emigration to Hawaii: Plantation Life

c. The Korean Independence Movement in America

d. A Country Divided: The Korean War and Korean Americans

e. Post War Immigration

f. Contributions of Korean Americans

8 Early labor history in Hawaii and the U.S. west coast: Plantation economy in Hawaii and
California agriculture

9 Asian American women: gender roles and labor

10 World War II and Asian Americans

11 Post-1965 immigration: Vietnamese and Indochinese immigration

12 Asian Ethnic enclaves: Little Saigons, Koreatown (LA), Chinatown (SF and NY) and Little

Manila (Daly City) and Post 65 "Oldtimers"

13 Asian American contemporary issues: Anti-Asian violence, politics, labor market and media portrayals

14 Asian American culture and identity through cultural expressions: music, film, and literature

15 & Integrate the experiences of Asian

16 American groups into the total American cultural experience

17 Review, evaluation, and final

---

Return to the History & Political Science page.

Questions, Comments, and/or Suggestions: AKirshner@ohlone.edu

Terms and Conditions of Use & Disclaimer