Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies 253 - Asian-Pacific American History: 1850 to Present

Offered as HIST-253[AS/US/TC/TE/TR/TS] and AAPI-253. This is an introductory survey course on the history of Asian/Pacific/Americans (A/P/A) within the broader historical context of imperialism in the Asia-Pacific region.  We will compare and contrast the historical experiences of specific groups of the A/P/A community; namely, those of Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Southeast Asian (Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Hmong), Asian Indian, and Pacific Islander descent.  The first half of the course examines the U.S. involvement in the quest for “empire” in Asia-Pacific, spanning the period from approximately 1850 to World War II, focusing on the experiences of the Chinese, Filipinos, and Pacific Islanders in the United States.  The second half examines the experiences of the various A/P/A communities, and relates these with the continuing U.S. imperialist and neo-colonialist policies throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. 

Spring semester. R. Chu.

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Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Close analysis of historical evidence (written documents, images, music, films, or statistics from the historical period under study). Exploration of scholarly, methodological, and theoretical debates about historical topics. Extensive reading, varying forms of written work, and intensive in-class discussions. The grade will be based on the following: attendance and participation, Moodle forum posts, and a final paper. Course includes primary source documents, films and videos, a novel, and a possible visit to Boston’s Chinatown.