Asian American Studies Major

Asian American Studies

The Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies of the Claremont Colleges (IDAAS) offers a rigorous, multidisciplinary major that emphasizes social justice, critical thinking, and innovative analysis of the history, society, and cultural production of Asians in the United States, within both multiracial American and transnational contexts. The curriculum provides students with a comprehensive grounding in a range of thematic, theoretical, and methodological approaches within Asian American Studies. The major integrates theory and practice through community work, and sustained and focused inquiry in the senior project or thesis. In consultation with an IDAAS adviser, students take core interdisciplinary courses in Asian American Studies and select appropriate courses in a range of disciplines throughout the five colleges.

Learning Outcomes

Majors in Asian American Studies will be able to:

1. understand the history and cultural production of Asians in the United States, within both multiracial American and transnational contexts;
2. understand how race as a social construction functions in the world;
3. understand how race intersects with gender, sexualities, and socio-economic class in the world;
4. understand how to carry out a research, creative project, or community-based project in Asian American communities;
5. understand ethical implications of research, creative projects, or community-based projects in Asian American communities.

Pitzer Advisers: T. Honma, M-Y. Ma, L. Yamane, K. Yep. 

Major Requirements

Eleven graded courses are required for the major.

Required Courses

Core Courses (6)

• Asian American History (ASAM 125 PZ -Asian American Hist: 1850-Presnt  / HIST 125 CM -Asian American Hist:1850-Present  )
• Asian American Contemporary Issues (SOC 150 AA -Contemporary Asian-Amer Issues  )
• Communities course: approved field work in an Asian American community or internship with a Asian American community-based organization (ASAM 090 PZ -Community Studies  )
• Theory and Methods in Asian American Studies (ASAM 115 PZ -Theory and Methods  )
• Senior Seminar (ASAM 190A PO -Asian Amer Studies Senior Sem  )
• Senior Thesis or Project: independent work with senior thesis/project adviser (ASAM 191 PO -Senior Thesis Asian Amer Studies  )

Breadth Requirements and Electives (5)

Five courses in addition to the core courses. These courses should be selected in consultation with the IDAAS major advisor, and they must fulfill all the following requirements. Core courses may not be used to fulfill any breadth requirements, but all other courses may fulfill two or more requirements. For example, a single non-core course might simultaneously fulfill the requirements for social sciences, gender and sexuality, and Asia and migration. If courses are used to fulfill multiple requirements, students must take additional IDAAS courses to make a total of eleven courses for the major. Consult list of approved courses for each requirement.

• At least one IDAAS social sciences course
• At least one IDAAS humanities course
• At least one IDAAS gender and sexuality course
• At least one approved non-Asian American ethnic studies course: e.g. comparative ethnic studies course, Black Studies course, Chicano Studies course
• At least one approved course related to Asia and migration, globalization, and/or imperialism

Asian language courses and ASAM 197 AA  are strongly recommended but not required.