Asian American Studies Institute Director and Faculty Roger N. Buckley and
Sam Lee working together.

The Institute offers courses whose common thread is the Asian American experience that provide a comparative analysis of race, class, gender and Asian ethnicity.

Spring 2004

AASI 268- Japanese Americans in World War II
Also Offered as HIST 268
TTh 2:00 - 3:15

This course will examine the events that led to martial law in Hawaii after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and the forced removal and confinement of over 100,000 Americans and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry on the U.S. mainland after Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. This course illuminates the wartime experiences of Japanese Americans and assesses some of the consequences of those events for all Americans.
Roger N. Buckley, Professor of History

AASI 221W- Sociological Perspectives on Asian American Women
Also Offered as SOCI 221W
TTh 11:00 - 12:25 WebCT

This course focuses on the social structures affecting the lives of different groups of Asian American women in the US and relates current experiences of this group to larger socio-historical processes. This course also examines the different social hierarchies -- gender, race and class -- within which these women, originally from East, South and Southeast Asia, live their lives. The course will look at different institutions, investigate Asian American women's experiences and explore some organized movements for social change.
Bandana Purkayastha, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies

AASI 216- Asian Medical Systems
Also Offered as AH 216
W 5:00 - 8:00

This course examines traditional medical systems and their prevalence in the US. This course discusses the most popular Asian medical systems: Ayurveda; traditional Chinese medicine; Chinese, Indian and Japanese herbal medicine; and the values and beliefs of the different models.
Usha Palaniswamy, Assistant Professor of Allied Health and Asian American Studies

AASI 201- Introduction to Asian American Studies
MW 10:30 - 11:45

This interdisciplinary course provides a general introduction to major themes in Asian Pacific American Studies through readings and class discussions, guest speakers, group projects, visits to community organizations and video screenings. This course will explore issues of identity, history and community, as well as aspects of what constitutes Asian American contemporary art and culture.
Margo Machida, Assistant Professor of Art and Art History and Asian American Studies

Fall 2004

AASI 215- Critical Health Issues of Asian Americans
Also Offered as AH 215
W 5:00 - 8:00

This course will address health issues affecting Asian American populations; examine gender specific health problems in Asian American populations; review the cultural issues in health and healthcare of Asian Americans; and discuss current trends in medical practices in Asian American populations.
Usha Palaniswamy, Assistant Professor of Allied Health and Asian American Studies

AASI 222 - Asian Indian Women
Also Offered as SOCI 222
TTh 12:30 - 1:45 Web CT Course

This course focuses on Asian Indian Women in the world's largest democracies, India and the United States. It examines how gender, class and race/ethnicity structure the everyday lives of Asian Indian women in both societies. It also examines how Indian women have mobilized to change the social context of their lives. This course will include e-mail and person to person discussions with some activists in India and the US.
Bandana Purkayastha, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies

AASI 274 - Asian American Literature
Also Offered as ENGL 274
TTh 3:30 - 4:45

This course reviews novels, short stories, drama and poetry by and about Asian Americans. It will discuss significant cultural and historical moments for Asian Americans in different regions of the United States. It will also discuss pre and post 1965 "waves" of Asian immigration and exclusion, and how literature explores the difficulties of dislocation and relocation.
Bi-Ling Chen, Ph.D., Adjunct Lecturer in Asian American Studies

AASI 277- Modern India 1500 to the Present
Also Offered as HIST 277
MW 2:00 - 3:15

This course examines the development of India from the Mughal and European invasions of the Sixteenth Century to the present. India's remarkable synthesis of East and West, traditional and new, is the focus. The course comprises a series of lectures drawn from six main sections: India Today; Traditional India; India in the Muslim Period; The Music and Art of India; India in the European Period; and National and Independent India.
Roger N. Buckley, Professor of History

AASI 298 (1) - Asian Americans and the Law
MW 6:30 - 7:45

This course introduces students to American law, jurisprudence and legal institutions that have defined the history of the Asian American experience. This course will inform students about the legal context of Asian American history in the United States, and will introduce them to the literature of this field, teaching them to critically review primary and secondary sources. This course will broaden students' understanding of the history of U.S. minorities and the history of U.S. racism.
Art Smith, J.D., Adjunct Lecturer in Asian American Studies

AASI 298 (2) - Researching Asian American Studies
M 4:00 - 6:30

This course is designed for a dual purpose. First, students will read and discuss some outstanding research in the field of Asian American Studies. Second, students will study and practice social science methodology and techniques in the process of conducting their own research. The basics of qualitative research will be covered and then some of the branching strategies such as ethnography and biography and historiography will be explored, and the emergence of new possibilities will be attended by reference to constructivism, critical theory, the humanities and ethnic epistemology. Students will be encouraged to inform their own research process with these contemporary openings.
Patricia Weibust, Professor Emeritus,UConn, and Adjunct Lecturer in Asian American Studies

Spring 2005

AASI 201- Introduction to Asian American Studies
TBA

This interdisciplinary course provides a general introduction to major themes in Asian Pacific American Studies through readings and class discussions, guest speakers, group projects, visits to community organizations and video screenings. This course will explore issues of identity, history and community, as well as aspects of what constitutes Asian American contemporary art and culture.
Margo Machida, Assistant Professor of Art and Art History and Asian American Studies

AASI 216 - Asian Medical Systems
Also Offered as AH 216
W 5:00 - 8:00

This course examines traditional medical systems and their prevalence in the US. This course discusses the most popular Asian medical systems: Ayurveda; traditional Chinese medicine; Chinese, Indian and Japanese herbal medicine; and the values and beliefs of the different models.
Usha Palaniswamy, Assistant Professor of Allied Health and Asian American Studies

AASI 220 - Asian American Art & Visual Culture
Also Offered as ARTH 220
MW 1:30 - 2:45

This interdisciplinary course explores issues of contemporary Asian American identity in art and visual culture, with emphasis on the need for greater transcultural awareness and understanding in the fluid environment of the post-Cold War world where people, ideas and images swiftly traverse ever more porous national boundaries.
Margo Machida, Assistant Professor of Art and Art History and Asian American Studies

AASI 274 - Asian American Literature
Also Offered as ENGL 274
TBA

This course reviews novels, short stories, drama and poetry by and about Asian Americans. It will discuss significant cultural and historical moments for Asian Americans in different regions of the United States. It will also discuss pre and post 1965 "waves" of Asian immigration and exclusion, and how literature explores the difficulties of dislocation and relocation.
TBA, Instructor

AASI 294 - Asian American Experiences in the U.S.
TTh 11:00 - 12:15

This course is an introductory survey of Asian American experiences in the United States since 1850, when the first "wave" of Asian immigrants arrived in the country of "Golden Mountains." The course examines ways in which Asian Americans have responded to both opportunities and discriminations in the new land. While acknowledging the rich and complex experiences of Asian Americans, the course focuses on one issue: does the history of the so-called "model minorities" substantiate the popular ideal of the United States as a "melting pot?"
Richard Canianes Patrick, M.A., Adjunct Lecturer in Asian American Studies