AAAS 103
Introduction to Asian American Studies
- Institution
- Binghamton University
- Taught
- Fall 2026
Description
This course is an introduction to the subject and field of Asian American studies. We will consider how the idea of “Asian America” (and “Asian American”) relates to the United States, the Americas, and the world. Using the sociological, historical and literary perspectives, we will examine issues of race, ethnicity, and nationality on the one hand and migration and diaspora on the other – or to put it in plain terms, who we are, where we’ve come from, and how we see/define ourselves. We will pay particular attention to when and how migrants from East, South, and Southeast Asia came to seen as belonging to the general category “Asian American” – as well as whether Arab Americans and other Middle Eastern peoples similarly do today. We will also explore how Asian American issues intersect with other significant geopolitical concerns and how their historical presence influenced social and cultural considerations from language and food to artistic expression in a variety of media.
Topics that we will address include geography, geopolitics and empire; global capitalism, diaspora, and labor migration; race, ethnicity, and culture; gender, family, and community; nationalism and citizenship; literary, film, and media representations of Asian/Americans in commercial and popular culture; and the idea of “Asian American” in the civil rights and post-civil rights eras.