This is a survey course of Asian American history from the founding of the United States to the present day. We will explore the histories of Asian Americans within regional, national, and global contexts. Central questions that we will address are: What forces have driven Asians to migrate to the United States? How have Asians figured in U.S. racial formations? What factors have unified and stratified Asian American communities? How have Asian Americans struggled for democracy and justice?
Rather than focusing on a particular set of facts or truths to be memorized, this course emphasizes the development of skills central to the work of historians: comprehension and integration of multiple historiographical perspectives; critical thinking about evidence; effective written and oral communication; and media literacy. The goal of this course is to train students to think critically about how the past is told while inspiring students to continue learning beyond this classroom and after our semester together comes to an end.
- Teacher: Anna Nguyen