Journal of American History

Asian American History

Scott Kurashige

University of Wisconsin, Madsion

American Culture 314/History 378

History of Asian Americans in the U.S.

Course Overview

This course provides an overview of Asian/Pacific American history from the time of early migrations to the present. Groups to be examined include Korean, Filipino, South Asian, Southeast Asian, Pacific Islander, Chinese, and Japanese Americans. We will place these experiences into a national and international context of comparative race relations and U.S.-Asia relations. Our study will begin with the questions: What does it mean to study history from an Asian/Pacific American perspective? How and why has Asian/Pacific American history become a part of the curriculum?

Angel Island

Angel Island served as a gateway to America for some and a barrier to entry for others. Histories of Asian Americans provide an opportunity to study America as both a multicultural land of opportunity and a nation marked by racial exclusion. Courtesy National Archives and Records Administration.

Readings and lectures will engage the following historical issues and themes: 1) pre–World War II immigration and efforts to build community in the face of racial exclusion; 2) the place of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the construction of the U.S. empire; 3) the changing demographics and community composition created by new patterns of immigration, intermarriage, and international adoption; 4) the impact of the Vietnam War and the resettlement of Southeast Asian refugees; 5) the construction of gender and the experience of women in Asian American communities; 6) the shifting position of Asian immigrant labor in the global economy; 7) the emergence of Asian/Pacific American activism in the fight for social justice.

Required Texts

Course Requirements

Class Participation

Participation is a large percentage of your overall grade and consists of 3 components:

  1. Regular attendance and participation in lecture and discussion are mandatory. Repeated absences and/or tardies will severely lower your grade.
  2. Your ability to engage in an informed and critical discussion of the readings will also weigh heavily upon your grade for participation. You are expected to have assigned readings completed before coming to class that day.
  3. Your GSI will issue oral and/or written assignments related to discussion sections.

Online Discussion

Each week post a one- or two- paragraph response to the weekly question provided by the instructor and GSI. We encourage you read and respond to student postings. These are minimum requirements, but you may write as many posts as you wish. You are encouraged to exercise freedom in expressing your views, but be sure to treat all your classmates with respect.

Angel Island Paper

Due Wednesday, February 8, at the beginning of lecture

15% of final grade

4 pages. Use one or more poems in Island as a basis to create a historical character who spent time in Angel Island. Draw upon readings, lectures and discussion to reconstruct what your subject’s life might have been like. Why did they leave their homeland? What was their image of America before they came? How did their experience in Angel Island change their perspective? What did they do after they left Angel Island (if ever)? The best papers will be those that construct a creative narrative that is also a plausible account solidly backed up by historical research. You are encouraged to discuss your topic during office hours as early as possible.

Format

Objectives

Guidelines and Suggestions

Make sure that you address the following basics as specifically and evocatively as possible in your paper:

The plausibility of the account is central to this project. Use your creativity to create a narrative of an Angel Island immigrant’s experience from his/her perspective, but think carefully about whether or not an immigrant laborer would win the lottery, become president, or fly in a plane over the Pacific at this point in time. Use citations whenever you are using or drawing upon information from the books or lectures.

Research Paper

Due Monday, April 10. 8–10 pages. The research paper is an opportunity to discover new aspects of the Asian American experience. You are encouraged to discuss your topic during office hours as early as possible. Turn in proposal worksheet (we will hand this out) no later than Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Submit work-in-progress for review by Monday, March 27. Final paper due Monday, April 10.

Choose one of the following 2 options:

  1. Oral history. Conduct an interview of any Asian American age 40 or over. Place your subject’s life history into the context of Asian American history by drawing upon course materials and secondary sources.
  2. Research topic. Develop a topic and reading list in conjunction with the instructor. This option is for students wishing to learn more about a specific topic in Asian American history beyond what we cover in class.

In-class Final Exam Thursday, April 20, 4:00–6:00 p.m.

The structure of the exam will be discussed prior to the end of the semester.

Extra Credit

At the discretion of the instructors, you can receive up to 5 extra credit points for attending at least two Asian American campus or community events and writing a 1–2 page report for each event. To qualify, the events you choose must be approved by the professor and/or GSI prior to your attendance. In addition, your report must provide an analysis and not just a summary. It should address questions such as: How does this event provide insight into Asian American history? How could I have enhanced this event based upon what I have learned in this class? Extra credit is only available to students who have satisfied all other course requirements.

Schedule of Class Readings and Lectures

(* denotes coursepack readings)

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Break

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

2007

Diverse Surveys in American History

Introduction

Gary J. Kornblith and Carol Lasser