Asian American Studies ASIANAM

39 courses · UC Irvine · 2026-2027 Catalog

Classes: Fall 2026

ASIANAM 50 Asian American Histories

Units
4

Same as HISTORY 15C, SOC SCI 78A

((III or IV) and VII.)

Examines and compares diverse experiences of major Asian American groups since the mid-nineteenth century. Topics include origins of emigration; the formation and transformation of community; gender and family life; changing roles of Asian Americans in American society. Formerly ASIANAM 60A.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 51 The U.S. and Asia

Units
4

Same as HISTORY 15B

((III or IV) and VIII.)

Explores the historical and contemporary transnational linkages between the U.S. and regions in Asia and their resultant flows of people, goods, and ideas. Attention given to the role of militarism and processes of globalization, and the histories of cultural contact/conflict.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 52 Asian American Communities

Units
4

Same as SOC SCI 78B

(III and VII)

Examines the renewal of Asian immigration following World War II. Explores contemporary Asian American populations and communities in the U.S., and the impact of contemporary Asian immigration on the U.S. political economy and social order.

Offered: Fall 2026 (7 sections)

ASIANAM 53 Asian Americans and Race

Units
4

Same as SOC SCI 78C

(III and VII)

Analyzes the Asian American experience in comparative perspective, which includes comparisons of different ethnic and racial groups, and across gender and class. Possible topics include labor, economy, politics, migration, nation, popular culture, gender, family, sexuality, and multiraciality.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 54 Asian American Stories

Units
4

(IV and VII)

Examines stories from Asian American communities through literary texts and other media. Selected themes may include the following: dislocation/relocation, finding/inventing a usable past, poetics/politics in language, identities/ethnicities.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 55 Asian Americans and the Media

Units
4

(IV and VII)

Investigates popular representations of and cultural productions by Asian Pacific Americans and Asians in the Americas from the late-19th century to the present. Cultural media may include political cartoons, film/television, popular music, visual art, blogs/Web sites, and performance.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 100W Research Methodologies for Asian American Studies

Units
4
Prerequisite
Satisfactory completion of the Lower-Division Writing requirement

(Ib)

Explores various research methodologies for Asian American Studies combining theoretical knowledge with field research. Goals: conduct field research about immigrants and refugees from Asia. Topics vary: migration and labor, assimilation and cultural preservation, cultural expressions in the diaspora.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

ASIANAM 110 Asian American Writers

Units
4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Literary analysis of Asian American writers' representations of issues of identity, class, history among others. Variety of literary forms—novel, poem, drama, essay—included in a study of a variety of Asian American ethnic groups.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 111 Asian American History

Units
4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Introduction to important themes in the history of people of Asian ancestry in the United States from the nineteenth century to the present.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

ASIANAM 112 Asian American Art History

Units
4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Investigation of Asian American experience expressed by art and visual culture throughout the twentieth century. Art by Asian Americans of diverse backgrounds as well as the history of cultural visualization of Asian identities in American art/visual culture.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 114 Topics in Asian American Film and Video

Units
4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Topics include histories of Asian American film and video, including documentaries, experimental, short subjects, feature-length independent film, and other forms of cinematic expression. Explores issues of identity (national, racial, gendered, among others).

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

ASIANAM 116 Asian Americans and Popular Culture

Units
4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Focuses on Asian Americans' relationship to popular culture as both producers and consumers. Topics include consumer cultures and subcultures, cyberspace and public space, popular music, indy comics and other print media.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 130 Undocumented Immigrant Experiences

Units
4

Same as CHC/LAT 164A, SOCIOL 177C

(III and VII)

Examines the experiences of undocumented immigrants and the policies that structure their educational, economic, social, and political participation.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 132 Comparative Minority Politics

Units
4

Same as AFAM 151, CHC/LAT 147

Examines the political experiences of Blacks, Latinos, and Asian Americans in the United States from roughly 1950 to the present. Focuses on how each group has pursued political empowerment via both conventional political channels and social movements.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 137 Asian American Labor

Units
4

Same as HISTORY 152A

Explores history of Asian Americans and work from the nineteenth century to the present. Areas of study include migration, colonialism, family, social organization, and work culture.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 138 Race and Urban Space

Units
4

Examines how ethnic and racial processes shape and structure interactions in urban settings, such as schools, housing, employment, and public spaces, with attention to the international impact of globalization and postcolonial forces.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

ASIANAM 142 Arabs and Muslims in the US

Units
4

Same as ANTHRO 125Z

Offers a critical academic study of Islam in America, focusing on the core tenets of belief, the diversity of practices, and historical transformations that have taken place since the arrival of Muslims in the United States.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 144 The Politics of Protest

Units
4

Same as POL SCI 124A

(VII)

Examines the Civil Rights, Black Power, and women’s movements in relationship to the Asian American movement. Uses social movement theories to illuminate the cases, and the cases to critique and revise the theories.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 150 Special Topics in Asian American Studies

Units
4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Analyzes a variety of themes in Asian American Studies—identity, history, culture—from various interdisciplinary perspectives in humanities, arts, social sciences.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

ASIANAM 151C Korean American Studies

Units
4

Same as SOC SCI 178C

Explores the factors that have distinctly shaped the Korean American experience, including patterns of racial domination, the profile of immigrant flow, immigrant roles in the urban political economy, politics in Korea, and the role of the church.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 151D Vietnamese American Studies

Units
4

Same as SOC SCI 178D

Studies the resettlement of Vietnamese in the United States following their exodus from Southeast Asia. Topics include the Vietnam War, the 1975 evacuation, boat and land refugees, the shaping of Vietnamese communities, and Vietnamese American literature.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 151E Japanese American Studies

Units
4

Same as SOC SCI 178E

Studies the settlement of Japanese in Hawaii and the continental United States since the late 19th century. Topics include sugar plantations, development of rural Japanese America, World War II internment, post-War community development, and persistence of Japanese American identity.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 151F South Asian American Studies

Units
4

Same as SOC SCI 178F

Restrictions: Asian American Studies majors and Social Policy and Public Service majors have the first consideration for enrollment

Examines and compares the experiences of South Asian immigrants in the U.S. over time. Looks at the economic, political, and social positions of the immigrants, with special emphasis on religious changes and the changes in the second and later generations.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

ASIANAM 151H Southeast Asian American Studies

Units
4

Same as SOC SCI 178H

Analyzes experiences of refugees and immigrants from Southeast Asia, which may include those from Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Examines political and economic factors for their exodus and how they reconstruct their identities, histories, and communities.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 151K Filipina/Filipino American Studies

Units
4

Same as SOC SCI 178K

Explores the experience of Filipina/Filipino Americans from the era of Spanish colonization of the Philippines to present-day community formations in the United States, with special emphasis on the 20th century. Topics include colonialism, nation, migration, gender, and culture.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 162 Asian American Women

Units
4

Same as SOC SCI 177B

Examines the representations and experiences of Asian American women from diverse perspectives. Explores the commonalities and differences among various groups of Asian American women, with particular focus on history, culture, values, and family roles.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

ASIANAM 164 Topics in Intersectionality

Units
4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Topics include intersectional analysis of various themes related to ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and race within Asian American communities.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 166 Race and Citizenship

Units
4

Explores historical and contemporary patterns of racialization in relation to citizenship. Topics may include racial categorization, immigration, and comparative racialization.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 168 Politics of Animal Rights

Units
4

Same as POL SCI 126F

Restrictions: Political Science majors and Asian American Studies majors have the first consideration for enrollment

Examines animal rights/welfare movement’s efforts to transform moral, practical, and legal standing of nonhuman animals in contemporary U.S. Explores intersection of racism, sexism, and speciesism informed by theories of race and ethnicity, including Asian American Studies.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 199 Independent Study

Units
1-4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times

Directed reading and research in consultation with a faculty member. Substantial written work required.

Offered: Fall 2026 (4 sections)

ASIANAM 200A Theory and Methods in Asian American Studies

Units
4

Introduction to the intersection of the social sciences, humanities, and other fields that constitute the theory and methodology of Asian American Studies. Focuses on the interventions and contestations within Asian American Studies that have transformed the discipline in recent years.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

ASIANAM 200B Contemporary Issues in Asian American Studies

Units
4

Examines the interrelations between history, theory, and race in the aftermath of the twentieth-century decolonial movements, offering an account of race through postcolonial and postnationalist approaches in comparative contexts. Considers the interventions made by transnational feminist and racialized queer critiques.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 200C Leadership and Social Change in Asian American Communities

Units
4

Introduces students to models of community-engaged learning and leadership that are central to the field of Asian American studies. Designed to expose students to histories and models of organizing in Asian American communities and forms of community-based research.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 200D Introduction to Asian American Studies Research

Units
4

Introduces students to research topics and methods within the field of Asian American studies. Aims to expose students to core and affiliated faculty to help them identify possible advisors for master's research projects or members of doctoral committees.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 201 Graduate Topics in Asian American Studies

Units
4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Seminars on various topics in Asian American Studies.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 250 Advanced Topics in Asian American Studies

Units
4

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times as topics vary

Seminar covering various areas of research within Asian American Studies as an interdisciplinary field. Recommended for advanced graduate students.

Not on the Fall 2026 schedule.

ASIANAM 290 Directed Research

Units
4-12

Repeatability: May be taken for credit for 24 units

Directed graduate study/research in Asian American Studies.

Offered: Fall 2026 (4 sections)

ASIANAM 291 Directed Reading

Units
4

Repeatability: May be taken for credit for 12 units

Readings focused on specialized topics in consultation with, and with the consent of, a faculty member.

Offered: Fall 2026 (4 sections)

ASIANAM 399 University Teaching

Units
4

Grading Option: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory only

Repeatability: May be taken unlimited times

Restrictions: Emphasis in Asian American Studies graduate students only

Limited to teaching assistants.

Offered: Fall 2026 (1 section)

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