This archived information is dated to the 2011-12 academic year only and may no longer be current.
For currently applicable policies and information, see the current Stanford Bulletin.
Asian American Studies
Director: David Palumbo-Liu
Asian American Studies (AAS) provides an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the historical and current experiences of persons of Asian ancestry in the United States. In using the term Asian American, the AAS faculty recognize that the term seeks to name a rapidly developing, complex, and heterogeneous population and that there is neither a single Asian American identity nor one community that comprises all Asian Americans. Asian Americans include those with ancestral ties to countries or regions in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, or the Philippines, among others.
AAS brings together courses that address the artistic, historical, humanistic, political, and social dimensions of Asian Americans and is an appropriate course of study for students interested in a variety of concerns related to Asian Americans, including: artistic and cultural contributions; current social significance; historical experiences; immigration, intellectual, and policy issues; relationships with other social groups; and the construction of the notion of Asian American as it addresses important theoretical and practical issues.
BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES
A total of 60 units of course work is required for the major.
- Core CurriculumAsian American majors must take the 15-unit CSRE core curriculum including two core courses and a senior seminar taken in Autumn Quarter of the senior year. One foundational course that focuses on a non-Asian ethnic group may be counted toward the 15-unit core requirement.
- Foundational CourseMajors are required to take one foundational course in Asian American Studies. This may be either ASNAMST 59/HISTORY 59, Introduction to Asian American History, ASNAMST 146S/COMPLIT 146/ CSRE 146S, Asian American Culture and Community, or ENGLISH 43C/ENGLISH 143C, Introduction to Asian American Literature.
- Area StudyMajors must complete an additional 40 units of course work from an approved list. One course must have an international dimension, preferably a focus on Asia. Five other courses must have an Asian American focus and must be selected from social science and humanities departments.
- Language Study (optional)Students may obtain credit for their study of a related Asian language towards their degree. If students take 15 or more units of an Asian language relevant to Asian American Studies, they may apply 5 of those units toward their Asian American Studies degree.
- Senior Paper or Honors ThesisAll Asian American Studies majors complete a culminating research paper under the supervision of a faculty adviser.
ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES MINOR
A total of 30 units of approved course work is required for the minor. One CSRE core course and at least one foundational course are needed to fulfill the requirements for the minor. Proposals must be approved by the director.
Students in Asian American Studies may find the following courses useful in fulfilling course requirements in the major or minor.
- ANTHRO 32. Theories of Race and Ethnicity (5 units)
- CSRE 196C/ENGLISH 172D/PSYCH 155. Introduction to Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (5 units)
- COMPLIT 149/CSRE 149. The Laboring of Diaspora and Border Literary Cultures (3-5 units)
- CSRE 200X. CSRE Senior Seminar (WIM; 5 units)
- EDUC 245/CSRE 245. Understanding Racial and Ethnic Identity Development (3-5 units)
- HISTORY 64. Introduction to Race and Ethnicity in 20th Century America (5 units)
- HISTORY 255D/CSRE 255D. Racial Identity in the American Imagination (4-5 units)
- POLISCI 125V/CSRE 125V. Minority Representation and the Voting Rights Act (5 units)
- PSYCH 75. Introduction to Cultural Psychology (5 units)
- SOC 147A. Comparative Ethnic Conflict (5 units)
- ASNAMST 59/HISTORY 59. Introduction to Asian American History (5 units)
- ASNAMST 146S/COMPLIT 146/ CSRE 146S. Asian American Culture and Community (5 units)
- ENGLISH 43C/ ENGLISH 143C. Introduction to Asian American Literature (5 units)
- ASNAMST 144/CSRE 144. Transforming Self and Systems: Crossing Borders of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Sexuality, and Class (5 units)
- ASNAMST 159: Introduction to Contemporary Asian American Poetry (5 units)
- ASNAMST 161. Asian American Immigration and Health (3-5 units)
- ASNAMST 295F/HISTORY 295F. Race and Ethnicity in East Asia (4-5 units)
- COMPLIT 41Q. Ethnicity and Literature (3-5 units)
- EDUC 181. Multicultural Issues in Higher Education (4 units)
- EDUC 193F. Psychological Well-Being on Campus: Asian American Perspectives (1 unit)
- ENGLISH 261B. Bright Lights, Global Cities: Reading Transnational Asia/Pacific Spatial Geographies (5 units)
- ENGLISH 362S. Phantoms That Follow: Trauma and Disillusionment in Asian American Literature (5 units)
- HISTORY 54S. America's Cold War in Asia from Korea to Vietnam, 1945-1975 (5 units)
- HISTORY 166B. Immigration Debates in America, Past and Present (3-5 units)
- HISTORY 256. Writing Asian American History (5 units)
- MUSIC 17Q. Perspectives in North American Taiko (4 units)
- PSYCH 217. Topics and Methods in Cultural Psychology (1-3 units)