This is an archived copy of the 2012-14 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.utexas.edu/.

Center for Asian American Studies

Asian American Studies: AAS

Lower-Division Courses

AAS 301. Introduction to Asian American Studies.

Introduces the interdisciplinary study of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans in the United States. Explores key concepts, including immigration history, identity and community formation, cultural representation, and the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Only one of the following may be counted: American Studies 315 (Topic: Introduction to Asian American Studies), Asian American Studies 301, Sociology 308 (Topic: Introduction to Asian American Studies).

AAS 310. Introductory Topics in Asian American Studies.

An introduction to Asian American studies through a variety of disciplines. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Some topics partially fulfill legislative requirement for American history; these are identified in the Course Schedule. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Varies with the topic and is given in the Course Schedule.

AAS 312. Introduction to Asian American History.

Same as History 317L (Topic 4: Introduction to Asian American History). Introduces students to the national and transnational histories of Asian Americans in the United States. Explores a wide range of themes related to the Asian American experience. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Partially fulfills legislative requirement for American history.

AAS 314. Asian American Literature and Culture.

Same as English 314V (Topic 2: Asian American Literature and Culture). Explores how authors and artists over the course of the past century have imagined what it means to be Asian American. Covers a diverse range of Asian immigrant histories and the formation of Asian American identities according to ethnicity, gender, sexuality, class, and citizenship. Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Prerequisite: English 603A, Rhetoric and Writing 306, 306Q, or Tutorial Course 603A.

AAS 318Q. Supervised Research.

For Asian American studies majors only. Supervised, student-derived research in Asian American studies. Individual instruction. May be repeated for credit when the research projects vary. Prerequisite: Rhetoric and Writing 306 and consent of the director of the Center for Asian American Studies.

Upper-Division Courses

AAS 320. Topics in Asian American Culture, Literature, and Media Studies.

Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Varies with the topic and is given in the Course Schedule.

Topic 1: Immigrants, Amusements, and Consumer Culture. Same as American Studies 370 (Topic 25: Immigrants, Amusements, and Consumer Culture). Studies the growth of consumer capitalism as it coincides with the migration and integration of immigrants into American society. Examines the emergence of consumer culture as a force that defines modern American society and traces its developments and current manifestations throughout the world. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
Topic 2: Comparative Cultures of Beauty. Same as American Studies 370 (Topic 24: Comparative Cultures of Beauty) and Women's and Gender Studies 345 (Topic 45: Comparative Cultures of Beauty). Examines fashion and beauty as discourses, and cultural practices affecting identity, body politics, race, gender, sexuality, and class. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
Topic 3: Contemporary Asian American Novels. Same as English 376M (Topic 5: Contemporary Asian American Novels). Only one of the following may be counted: Asian American Studies 320 (Topic 3), English 376M (Topic 5), 379N (Topic: Contemporary Asian American Novels). Prerequisite: Nine semester hours of coursework in English or rhetoric and writing.

AAS 325. Topics in Asian American Economics, History, and Government.

Three lecture hours a week for one semester. Some topics partially fulfill legislative requirement for American history; these are identified in the Course Schedule. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Varies with the topic and is given in the Course Schedule.

Topic 1: Filipinos in the United States. Same as History 357F. Only one of the following may be counted: Asian American Studies 325 (Topic 1), History 357F, 365G (Topic: Filipinos in the United States), 366N (Topic: Filipinos in the United States). Partially fulfills legislative requirement for American history. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
Topic 2: The Chinese in Diaspora. Same as History 350L (Topic 65: The Chinese in Diaspora). Explores narratives of migration, race, ethnicity, and a wide range of experiences of acculturation and assimilation from the perspective of a sending society--China--which has one of the longest and most diverse histories of sending people overseas. Over the last millennia, Chinese have migrated around the world and made homes under a great range of adversity and opportunity, producing many stories of human differences and commonalities. Only one of the following may be counted: Asian American Studies 325 (Topic: Chinese in Diaspora), 325 (Topic 2: The Chinese in Diaspora), Asian Studies 361 (Topic: Chinese in Diaspora), 361, 461 (Topic 28), History 350L (Topic: The Chinese in Diaspora), 350L (Topic 65: The Chinese Diaspora). Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
Topic 3: The Chinese in the United States. Same as Asian Studies 340S and History 340S. A lecture and discussion course on the history of the Chinese in the United States from their first arrival in significant numbers during the California Gold Rush of the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Only one of the following may be counted: Asian American Studies 325 (Topic: Chinese in the United States), 325 (Topic 3), Asian Studies 340S, History 340S. Partially fulfills the legislative requirement for American history. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
Topic 4: Taiwan: Colonization, Migration, and Identity. Same as Asian Studies 340T and History 340T. Explores issues of ethnicity, empire, and modernization in East Asia from the sixteenth century to the present, as seen through encounters between Taiwan and aborigines, Han Chinese, Dutch, Portuguese, the imperial Qing, Japanese, mainland Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and the United States. Only one of the following may be counted: Asian American Studies 325 (Topic 4), Asian Studies 340T, 361 (Topic: Taiwan: Colonization, Migration, and Identity), History 340T, 364G (Topic: Taiwan: Colonization, Migration, and Identity). Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.
Topic 5: Asian American Jurisprudence. Same as American Studies 321 (Topic 5: Asian American Jurisprudence) and Government 357M (Topic 9: Asian American Jurisprudence). Introduction to the study of Asian Americans and the law. Examines the historical development of United States law and its relationship to Asian Americans, and of Asian American jurisprudence as an independent field of legal scholarship. Additional prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

AAS 330. Topics in Asian American Anthropology, Geography, and Sociology.

Three lecture hours a week for one semester. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary. Prerequisite: Varies with the topic and is given in the Course Schedule.

Topic 2: Racism and Anti-Racism. Same as African and African Diaspora Studies 374D (Topic 10: Racism and Anti-Racism). Course examines the few theories/definitions of racism across several fields: anthropology, sociology, psychology, cultural studies, postcolonial studies, gender/sexuality studies. The second half of the course, focuses on anti-racist activism, particularly within people of color and immigrant communities. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing.

AAS 335. Topics in Asian American Studies.

AAS 358Q. Supervised Research.

For Asian American studies majors only. Supervised, student-derived research in Asian American studies. Individual instruction. May be repeated for credit when the research projects vary. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing, Rhetoric and Writing 306, and consent of the director of the Center for Asian American Studies.

AAS 379. Conference Course in Asian American Studies.

Supervised individual study of selected problems in Asian American studies. Conference course. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: Upper-division standing and consent of the director of the Center for Asian American Studies.

AAS 679H. Honors Tutorial Course.

Supervised individual reading for one semester, followed by a semester of research and writing to produce a substantial paper on a specific topic in Asian American studies. Conference course for two semesters. Prerequisite: For 679HA, upper-division standing and admission to the Asian American Studies Honors Program; for 679HB, Asian American Studies 679HA.