Critical Social Inquiry 0141 - From Sugar Plantation Laborers to Gangnam Style: Transnational History of Korean Americans

This course examines the transnational history of Koreans in the United States and beyond in the context of larger global labor migrations. The topics we will consider include racialization of Korean immigrants against the backdrop of Anti-Asian movement in California, Japanese colonization of Korea and its impact on the development of Korean American nationalism, changing dynamics of gender and family relations in Korean American communities, the Korean War and the legacies of U.S. militarism in Korea, the post-1965 "new" wave of Korean immigrants, Asian American movement, Sa-I-Gu (the 1992 Los Angeles Koreatown racial unrest), the myth of model minority, and the birth of "Korean cool" through K-pop. The focus will be on the transnational linkages between Korea and the United States and the connections between U.S. foreign policies and domestic issues that influenced the lives and experiences of Korean Americans. Paying particular attention to personal narratives through Korean American autobiographical and biographical writing, art, novels, and films, we will examine issues of historical imagination, empathy, and agency. KEYWORDS:Race, migration, gender, Korean Americans

In/Justice The content of this course deals with issues of Race and Power Students are expected to spend a minimum of 6-8 hours of work outside of class time per week