SPRING 2002 Course Listing
Asian/Pacific American Community Studies: Theories & Practices
Asian & Asian American Art and Social Issues
Art and Community Formations II
"Chinatown" & the American Imagination
Asian/Pacific American Media and Culture
Race and the City: Multi-Ethnic New York
Global Youth Cultures: Local and Global Trends within the Pacific and Americas
Asian Americans of Mixed Heritage
Comparative Asian/Black American Cinema
Language Courses
Intro to A/P/A Experience
ThuyLinh Tu, Sukhdev Sandhu
V15.0010
Crosslist: V57.0626 History
T 2:00 - 4:45pm
This interdisciplinary course provides a general introduction to the themes of Asian / Pacific / American Studies through readings and class discussions, guest speakers, and visits to community organizations and film/video screenings. The course explores the concepts of "home" and "community," as well as "Asian" and "American" in Asian/Pacific American experiences in the U.S. and elsewhere. Issues covered include Asian diasporas and Asian migration to the U.S., colonialism, Orientalism, labor and work, family and community formation, U.S. law, and international relations and Asian Americans.
syllabus not yet available
Asian/Pacific American Community Studies: Theories and Practices
Angel Shaw
V15.0101
Crosslist: V99.0343 Metropolitan Studies
Prerequisite: V15.0010 Intro to A/P/A Experience
W 11:00am-1:45pm
This course investigates, through class discussion and fieldwork, definitions of Asian American communities based on not only ethnicity and geography, but also gender, class, sexual orientation, religion, and other significant affiliations and identifications. The course introduces the theories and practices of Asian American "community studies" through an interdisciplinary framework which evaluates and draws upon a variety of approaches from Urban Studies and Planning, Sociology, Humanities, Media, and Cultural Arts.
Asian American Art and Social Issues
Margo Machida
V15.0313
R 2:00-4:45pm
This course examines how Asian American visual artists of different ethnic and generational backgrounds, ranging from recent immigrants and refugees to the American born, articulate questions of self and community identification through the visual arts. Utilizing slides, artists' videos and film, themes central to the historical impact of European Orientalism, the experience of traversing cultures, situating oneself in America, speaking to and of Asia and cultural stereotypes will be explored. The course interrogates how "ethnic-specific" work is framed and presented through contemporary exhibitions, curatorial and critical practices. Visits to pertinent art exhibitions and public programs may be arranged.
syllabus not yet available
Art and Community Formations II
Margo Machida
V15.0800.004
Crosslist: V97.0302 Gender & Sexuality
T 2:00-4:45pm
This seminar examines the central role of the arts in community formation, by tracing salient aspects of the emergence of the Asian American arts movement in New York City during the 1970s and 1980s. During this pivotal period, young artists, writers, and activists sought to produce a distinctly "Asian American" culture. The class concentrates on case studies of individuals and cultural organizations that were central to the shaping and articulation of the movement. Students take part in projects intended to gather in-depth information on this cultural movement by identifying and researching key collections of documents, by constructing chronologies, and by interviewing leading figures from the time. Through these efforts, students have the unique opportunity to become directly involved in the formation of new knowledge about this important period in the history of New York's Asian American communities.
syllabus not yet available
"Chinatown" & the American Imagination
John Kuo Wei Tchen
V15.0800.003
Crosslist: K20.1229 Gallatin
R 9:30am-12:15pm
What is a "Chinatown"? The word evokes many images, sounds, smells, tastes from many different sensibilities. For recent immigrants it can be a home away from home, for "outsiders" an exotic place for cheap eats, for male action flick fans Chow Yun Fat (or Mark Walhberg) in The Corruptor, and for you ?!? (fill in the blank). Students will explore the nooks and crannies of Chinatown in the American imagination and in its New York realtime, non-virtual existence. How do we know what we know and not know? What does Chinatown have to do with the formation of normative "American" identities? What are the possibilities (and limits) of crossing cultural divides? Class members individually and/or in groups research, experience, and document a chain of persons, places, and/or events creating their own narrative "tour" of this place's meanings. Novels, history books, tourist guides, films and pop culture will supplement the primary "text" of New York Chinatown. This is a collaborative, discussion-intensive, field research-driven class limited to twenty students. The instructor looks for a mixture of students with a variety of skills and backgrounds. Prospective registrants are required to email the instructor at jack.tchen@nyu.edu before registering for the class.
Asian/Pacific American Media and Culture
Angel Shaw
V15.0305
Crosslist: H72.0488 Cinema Studies
TR 11:00am-12:15pm
R 4:55-7:35pm
Who are Asian Pacific Americans as cultural producers today? How do Asian Pacific Americans imagine themselves? What are some of these images? Discuss Asian Pacific American experiences such as: community formations, migration, assimilation, displacement, generational and class differences, multi-culturalism, transnationalism, identity politics and constructions of race within our respective communities as well as across communities. In this special seminar, participants have the opportunity to explore the diversity of Asian Pacific American cultures through a wide range of film and video screenings, critical cultural writings, and guest artists. Through a combination of theory and practice, we examine a range of Asian Pacific American mainstream experiences from stereotypical Hollywood representations to more complex narratives produced by cutting-edge Asian Pacific Americans. During the second half of the semester, course participants conduct audio/video oral histories with Asian Pacific American media artists in New York City as a course project.
syllabus not yet available
Race and the City: Multi-Ethnic New York
Julie Sze
V15.0310
Crosslist: V99.0349 Metropolitan Studies
M 3:30-6:10pm
This course examines the 20th-century U.S. city in the context of urban space and its relation with spatial / racial identity and formation, with a particular emphasis on contemporary, multi-ethnic New York City. Students look at the topic through a variety of different methods, including historical, sociological, anthropological / ethnographic, spatial / geographic and marxist analyses. A third of the course looks at how "New Immigration" from Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean is transforming New York City and its local neighborhoods. There is potential for fieldwork in, and tours of, multi-racial, immigrant neighborhoods.
Global Youth Cultures: Local and Global Trends within the Pacific and Americas
Anne Marie Tupuola
V15.0800.001
Crosslist: V11.0800.001 Africana Studies
TR 11:00am-12:15pm
The notion of youth culture can imply that youth is a homogeneous group, with shared characteristics, experiences and world views. This course critically analyzes some of the common definitions and perceptions of "youth culture" and questions its relevance to youth of differing socio-cultural, racial, ethnic, generational, gender and political backgrounds. Furthermore, the course refers to multi-media narratives of youth themselves to "react" to the stereotyped and negative connotations commonly associated with "youth culture." Overall, this course invites students to analyze theoretical and personal narratives of youth culture with specific attention paid to youth of Pacific, Asian and American backgrounds. The objective is to highlight the complexities of defining and making sense of youth culture in local and global contexts and to illustrate some of the problems in interpreting youth culture as something static and homogeneous. Furthermore, this course prioritizes the voices of youth themselves in the analytical process and encourage students to be self-reflective of their own biases when exploring youth issues.
Asian Americans of Mixed Heritage
Jennifer Chan
V15.0800.006
Crosslist: V89.0300.004 Psychology
Students explore what it means to be of mixed Asian heritage in 21st-century America. The recent prominence of mixed-heritage Asian / Pacific Americans in the public sphere gestures to the changing demographics of race in America; a reminder that race is not fixed, but is instead socially constructed. To address mixed-heritage identity involves both the specific recognition of particular processes of identity formation, and a radical re-thinking of race. This course addresses the following questions: What is "mixed heritage" and what are the historic and social factors by which it is produced? What implications do mixed-heritage A/PAs have for Asian / Pacific American politics of solidarity? How are mixed-heritage A/PAs fetishized by the media, and in turn, are those stereotypes subverted? Lastly, what are the processes by which we can articulate and shape people of mixed heritage?
Comparative Asian/Black American Cinema
Jason King
V15.0800.002
Crosslist: V11.0800.002 Africana Studies
Focusing primarily on film and television since the 1960s, this course is an introduction to issues in contemporary mass media representation and A/PA and Black racial identity. The struggles of Asian/Pacific and Black American communities for better quality and/or quantity of representation in the mass media speak volumes about the unfolding of Asian / Pacific and Black American identity politics in the last forty years. First focusing some critical attention to the history of visual representation, students consider a myriad of issues in the politics of popular culture that include visibility, accountability, role modeling, minstrelsy, stereotyping and appropriation. Questions of sexuality, gender and class are also prominent discussion points. Students also consider representational interventions in the independent Asian / Pacific and Black American film scene, and how those underground interventions compare and contrast to mass mediated work.
Multiple Realities, Peeling away the Rhetoric in International Arts: The Local in the International, The National in the International, The Superpower in the International
Keng Sen Ong
V15.0800.007
Crosslist: H48.1024 Art and Public Policy
In the last decade, the role of foundations in shaping the future of art making through artistic collaboration, cultural exchange and networking has become crucial. Artists often write proposals to fit certain criteria in order to pursue grants. Through examples of African dance, contemporary exploration of Asian traditional arts, producers' networks in South America, arts festival markets / major exhibitions in Europe and U.S. developments in internationalizing new works in the performing arts, seminar participants turn an investigative eye towards the nexus of agendas and the complex forces which permeate these activities. They analyze and debate the realities which have allowed for an increased understanding of the world, as well as a highlighted the power of economic prowess in pre-selecting the voice in art making. Key foundations will be invited to share their insights with the participants. Finally, participants will draft a new document to request for applications in the field of intercultural exchange laboratories which impact local communities.
Language Courses:
Elementary Tagalog II
Paolo Javier
V15.0402
A continuation of an introduction to Tagalog with
syllabus not yet available
Intermediate Tagalog II
Eric Gamalinda
V15.0404
MW 2:00-4:45pm
This course will focus on translation. By this time,
syllabus not yet available
Elementary Cantonese II
Lap Lam
V15.0411
Crosslist: V33.0411 East Asian Studies
MW 12:30 - 1:45pm
A continuation of an introduction to Cantonese with
Intermediate Cantonese II
Lap Lam
V15.0413
Crosslist: V33.0411 East Asian Studies
MW 3:30-4:45pm
A continuation of Intermediate Cantonese, this is
Elementary Hindi/Urdu II
Gabriela Ilieva
V15.0406
Crosslist: V77.0406 Middle Eastern Studies
MTWR 11:00am-12:15pm
The overall goal of this course, as a part of the
syllabus not yet available
Advanced Hindi
Gabriela Ilieva
V15.0409
Crosslist: V77.0410
Time: TBA
This course offers an overview of Indian culture via
syllabus not yet available
Note: Students cannot enroll in the Metropolitan Studies internship in the same semester.
V99.0353 Metropolitan Studies
T 9:30am-12:15pm (LAB)
V11.0310 Africana Studies
an emphasis on mastering basic skills and working
vocabulary. Linguistic rules will be applied to
enable the student to communicate with more
competence. Lessons will incorporate discussions
on history, current events, literature, pop culture
and native values. Because language is key to
connecting with community concerns, the course
will also include field trips to Filipino
neighborhoods in Queens and Jersey City.
students will have mastered the language to be able to
translate advanced texts, such as short fiction or
poetry. Various readings will be provided in the
intermediate Tagalog courses. The course is designed
to ensure that students will be competent in oral
and written Tagalog and can distinguish between
literary and colloquial Tagalog. To observe and
experience the language at work, the course will
include field trips to Filipino centers in the
New York-New Jersey area as well as invited
guests who will converse with students about their
life and work in Tagalog.
TR 3:30 - 4:45
an emphasis on the spoken and written language. The
course emphasizes oral expression, listening
comprehension and grammar. It is designed to give
beginning students a practical command of the
language. Upon completion of this course, students
can expect to converse in more complex sentences.
Because language is key to connecting with community
concerns, the course will also include field trips
to Chinatown and other Cantonese-speaking neighborhoods.
TR 11:00am-12:15pm
an advanced-level language and culture course. At
this level, when the basic skills and working
vocabulary have been mastered, emphasis will be
placed on the linguistic rules to enable students
to communicate with more competence. The lessons
will not only focus on language, but also will
use a holistic approach and incorporate discussions
on history, current events, literature, pop
culture and native values. Because language is
key to connecting with community concerns, the
course will also include field trips to Chinatown
and other Cantonese-speaking neighborhoods.
two-year-curriculum is to prepare the students to an
intermediate proficiency level of Hindi/Urdu language.
Through a variety of class, small-group and paired
activities, as well as language and computer lab
sessions, the students are expected to have equally
developed reading, speaking, listening and writing
skills at the end of the sequence. The students are
approached individually, since the class typically
consists of students in the various backgrounds and
learning styles by teaching strategies to learn.
The first and second year language sequence relies
heavily on student interaction, partner activities
and group work.
authentic texts and is designed to improve students
' advanced level reading as well as their written
and oral discourse strategies in Hindi. Students
will be guided through linguistically complex and
demanding texts. Emphasis will be placed on the
development of linguistic skills required for a
close reading and in-depth analysis of the texts.
Students will be asked to work on a project with
native speakers from the community, to interview
them on a given subject matter and report before
the class. Students will have a voice in the
selection of the texts and topics for their
presentations. Taught seminar-style, the course
combines classroom discussions, oral reports and
occasional background lectures.