This course examines literary works by Asian American, African American, Chicano, and Native American writers in their political and social contexts, focusing on similarities and differences between the experiences of ethnic minorities in the U.S. Emphasis is on literary interpretation and sustained analytical writing. Satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement.

This course explores historical and contemporary issues for Asians/Asian Americans in the United States through race and disability. Drawing upon Asian American studies and Disability studies, we will delve into how social categories of difference shape colonialism, immigration exclusion, public health, and the environment. Our course reflects upon the following questions: What insights can be gleaned by placing Asian American studies and Disability studies in conversation? How can understanding disability help expand and interrogate structures of power that privilege certain social groups over others? As a framework, disability offers ways of interrogating how Asian bodies are imagined and represented in the United States as perpetually foreign, non-normative, impaired, disease-ridden, and disposable. From sterilization and eugenics that policed the “degenerate” Asian immigrant body in the early 1900s to the scapegoating of Asian/Asian Americans as infectious disease-carriers during the COVID-19 pandemic, this course offers ways of examining the politicization of the body and the construction of cultural (mis)representations as they inform perceptions of Asians/Asian Americans and claims for justice in our contemporary moment.

Requisites

• Previously passed an R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Previously passed an articulated R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Score a 4 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Literature and Composition. Score a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition. Score of 5, 6, or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination in English.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills