Academic Catalog

Asian and Asian American Studies (AAAS)

AAAS 1000.  Pathways to Asian American Studies.  (3 Credits)  
Keywords, themes, and career paths in Asian American Studies; critical and historical perspective on Asian diasporic peoples in the United States within a global framework. Topics may include popular culture, history, social justice, and activism. CA 1. CA 4.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4: Diversity & Multicultural  
AAAS 1001.  Pathways to Asian Studies.  (3 Credits)  
Keywords, themes, and career paths in Asian Studies. Topics may include geography, languages, international relations, intercultural communication, and geopolitics. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 2010.  Introduction to Refugee Studies.  (3 Credits)  
Introduction to concepts, theories, and histories of refugees based on their lived experiences and engagement with local refugee communities.
  
AAAS 2020.  Introduction to Critical Muslim Studies.  (3 Credits)  
Survey of Muslim cultures across Asia and the Pacific with an interdisciplinary focus on their transnational diasporas and the historical practice of Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Racism. Students gain knowledge of local Muslim communities in Connecticut and explore diverse ways of being Muslim.
  
AAAS 2030.  Art, Politics, and Propaganda.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as ARTH 2030.) Asian art and propaganda in the Cold War era (1949-1991) and its relation to Europe, the Soviet Union, and the United States. May include analysis of visual arts, film, photography, and multimedia.
  
AAAS 2136.  Asian Theatre and Performance.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as DRAM 2136.) Asian theatre, opera, dance, and other performance forms and their elaboration, reworking, and dissolution in modern and contemporary times, examined in relation to changes in society, politics, religion, and culture. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 2136W.  Asian Theatre and Performance.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as DRAM 2136W.) Asian theatre, opera, dance, and other performance forms and their elaboration, reworking, and dissolution in modern and contemporary times, examined in relation to changes in society, politics, religion, and culture. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011 or 2011.  
  
Skill Codes: COMP: Writing Competency  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 2200.  Introducing India: Diversity and Dynamism.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as SOCI 2200.) An introduction to the historical, political, social, economic, and cultural diversity of India. Topics may include: cultural diversity in languages, religions, and regions; socio-political challenges; power relations that construct patterns of privilege and marginalization; and contemporary human rights issues.
Recommended preparation: One introductory AAAS or SOCI course.  
  
AAAS 2200W.  Introducing India: Diversity and Dynamism.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as SOCI 2200W.) An introduction to the historical, political, social, economic, and cultural diversity of India. Topics may include: cultural diversity in languages, religions, and regions; socio-political challenges; power relations that construct patterns of privilege and marginalization; and contemporary human rights issues.
ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011 or 2011. Recommended preparation: One introductory AAAS or SOCI course.  
  
Skill Codes: COMP: Writing Competency  
AAAS 2201.  Introduction to Asian American Studies.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as AMST 2201.) A multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary introduction to major themes in Asian American Studies. Concepts of identity and community, migration and labor histories, Asians and the law, representations of Asians in visual and popular culture, gender issues, interracial and interethnic relations, and human rights. CA 1. CA 4.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4: Diversity & Multicultural  
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just  
AAAS 2210.  Sociological Perspectives on Asian American Women.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as SOCI 2210.) An overview of social structures, inter-group relations, and women's rights, focusing on the experience of Asian American women. Formerly offered as AAAS/SOCI 3221. CA 4.
  
Content Areas: CA4: Diversity & Multicultural  
AAAS 2210W.  Sociological Perspectives on Asian American Women.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as SOCI 2210W.) An overview of social structures, inter-group relations, and women's rights, focusing on the experience of Asian American women. CA 4.
ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011 or 2011.  
  
Skill Codes: COMP: Writing Competency  
Content Areas: CA4: Diversity & Multicultural  
AAAS 2220.  Asian Indian Women: Activism and Social Change in India and the United States.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as SOCI 2220.) How gender, class, and ethnicity/race structure everyday lives of Asian Indian women in both India and the United States. Formerly offered as AAAS/SOCI 3222/HRTS 3573.
  
AAAS 2222.  Race, Gender, Sexuality, and the Power of Looking.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as AFRA 2222.) A beginning investigation into the issues of what constitutes visual culture and how race, gender, and sexuality are seen and not seen. The goals of the course include engaging with the history and scholarly dialogues around visual studies, becoming more active and critical visual consumers and critics, and understanding personal stakes and diverse positions in dialogues about visualizing gender and race. CA 1. CA 4.
Not open for credit to students who have passed ARTH 2198 when offered as "Race, Gender, and the Power of Looking."  
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4: Diversity & Multicultural  
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI3: Div, Equity, Soc Just  
AAAS 2225.  The Pacific in World History.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 2225.) The Pacific Ocean as a lens for thinking about modern history. Topics include the flow of people, ideas, goods, elements of nature (such as whales and bird guano), and technology among the nations and peoples of the Pacific World; and the impact of colonialism, war, decolonization, and the Cold War on the history of the region and the fortunes of indigenous peoples. Sources include scholarly works, government documents, diaries, and literature. Formerly offered as AAAS/HIST 2101. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
Recommended preparation: HIST 1201 and 2100. Not open for credit to students who have passed AAAS 3998 or HIST 3098 when offered as The Pacific in World History.  
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 2305.  Modern Japanese Literature.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as ENGL 2305.) Japanese literature across genres from 1868 to the present, studied in English translation. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011 or 2011.  
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 2530.  Asian American Experience Since 1850.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 2530.) Survey of Asian American experiences in the United States since 1850. Responses by Asian Americans to both opportunities and discrimination.
  
AAAS 2811.  Early Modern India: From Muslim Rulers to British Raj.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 2811.) History of India from the 1200s to the 1800s, including the rise and fall of the Muslim-dominated Mughal Empire and the advent of British colonialism. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 2812.  Modern India.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 2812.) History of India from the 1800s to the contemporary era, including colonialism under the British crown, the movement for independence, economic development, and ethnic and religious conflict. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 2821.  Early Modern China: From Mongols to Manchus.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 2821.) Survey of Chinese history from 1200 to 1800. Topics include economic growth, imperial expansion, ethnic diversity, relations with foreign countries, intellectual currents, and state-society relations. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 2822.  Modern China.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 2822.) Survey of patterns of modern China since 1800. Topics will include reforms and revolutions, industrialization and urbanization, and family and population growth. CA 1. CA 4-INT. Formerly offered as AAAS/HIST 3822.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 2841.  Empire and Nation in Southeast Asia.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 2841.) Major themes in modern Southeast Asian history from the 17th century to the present: growth of global commerce; western imperialism; nationalism; emergence of independent nation-states; challenges of the post-independence period. Emphasis on the region's largest countries: Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 2842.  History of Vietnam.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 2842.) Introduction to the history of the Vietnamese from the late Bronze Age to the present: the ancient culture of the Red River delta, the millennium of Chinese rule, the independent kingdom of Dai Viet and its successors, French colonialism, the Vietnam War, and postwar Vietnam. Formerly offered as AAAS/HIST 3842.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 2866.  China and the West.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 2866.) Survey of China's political and cultural encounters with the West from the sixteenth-century to 1949. Situates these encounters within the context of world history and a dialogue among civilizations. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 2868.  Foreign Relations of China Since 1949.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 2868.) A survey of China's foreign policy from the Cold War to the present, including its domestic politics, Communist ideology, economic reforms, and changing role in global affairs. Formerly offered as AAAS/HIST 2688. CA 1.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities  
AAAS 2868W.  Foreign Relations of China Since 1949.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 2868W.) A survey of China's foreign policy from the Cold War to the present, including its domestic politics, Communist ideology, economic reforms, and changing role in global affairs. Formerly offered as AAAS/HIST 2688W. CA 1.
ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011.  
  
Skill Codes: COMP: Writing Competency  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities  
AAAS 3212.  Asian American Literature.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as ENGL 3212.) Literature, theatre, film about Asian American communities and culture in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. CA 4.
ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011 or 2011; open to juniors or higher.  
  
Content Areas: CA4: Diversity & Multicultural  
AAAS 3220.  Asian American Art and Visual Culture.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as ARTH 3020.) Topics in contemporary Asian American art and visual culture, 1960's to present.
Open to sophomores or higher.  
  
AAAS 3271.  Topics in Chinese Literature.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as CHIN 3271.) Social and political issues in Chinese modernity and postmodernity. Taught in English.
CHIN 1121 and 1122 or instructor consent.  
  
AAAS 3282.  Women in Chinese Literature and Film.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as CHIN 3282.) Critical study of representations of women in Chinese film and literature from the early twentieth century to the present. Development of feminist movements in China and gender issues. Taught in English.
Recommended preparation: CHIN 1121 and 1122 or equivalent.  
  
AAAS 3295.  Special Topics in Asian American Studies.  (1-6 Credits)  
Credits and hours by arrangement.
Prerequisites and recommended preparation vary by section; open to juniors or higher.  
May be repeated for credit  
AAAS 3375.  Indian Art and Popular Culture: Independence to the Present.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as ART 3375.) An interdisciplinary lecture/studio art course introducing diverse forms of Indian Art from the traditional through the contemporary. Students complete either research or studio art assignments responding to the course content. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
Open to juniors or higher.  
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
Topics of Inquiry: TOI1: Creativity: Des,Expr,Inn  
AAAS 3473.  Asian-Pacific American Families.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HDFS 3473.) Overview of social, cultural, educational, demographic and economic characteristics of Asian-Pacific American families. Examination and critique of values, customs, traditions and beliefs that distinguish families of this heterogeneous ethnic population.
  
AAAS 3531.  Japanese Americans and World War II.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 3531.) The events leading to martial law and executive order 9066, the wartime experience of Japanese Americans, and national consequences. CA 1. CA 4.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4: Diversity & Multicultural  
AAAS 3554.  Immigrants and the Shaping of American History.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 3554.) The origins of immigration to the United States and the interaction of immigrants with the social, political, and economic life of the nation after 1789, with emphasis on such topics as nativism, assimilation, and the "ethnic legacy." CA 1. CA 4.
Recommended preparation: One course in American history.  
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4: Diversity & Multicultural  
AAAS 3712.  The Middle East Crucible.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 3712.) Twentieth-century developments in the Middle East, focusing on political Islam/Islamism, Orientalism, imperialism, the history of struggles for representative government, nationalism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, super-power rivalries, and the search for identity, independence, and peace with justice. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 3808.  East Asia to the Mid-Nineteenth Century.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 3808.) The major problems and issues of traditional Chinese and Japanese history and historiography. Special emphasis on the "Great Tradition" in ideas of both civilizations.
  
AAAS 3809.  East Asia Since the Mid-Nineteenth Century.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 3809.) The reactions of East Asia to the Western threat, and the rise of Asian nationalism, communism, and fascism. Special attention to the tensions caused by the conflict of ideas.
  
AAAS 3820.  History of Modern Chinese Political Thought.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 3820.) Survey of Chinese political ideas and ideologies since the nineteenth century, examining the influences of Confucianism and Western conceptions on the revolutionary changes in political thought in China over the last 100 years, including Marxism, liberalism, anarchism, authoritarianism, and democracy. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 3823.  History of the People's Republic of China.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 3823.) Survey of the political, social, economic, and cultural history of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since 1949, with focus on social struggle, state-building, and economic development. CA 1. CA 4-INT.
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 3830E.  Environmental History in East Asia.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 3830E.) Interactions between humans and the natural world in East Asia, with attention to the environmental impact of politics, economics, and culture. Topics include natural resources, energy, ideas about nature, pollution, and environmentalism. Geographical coverage may include one or more of the following: China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. CA 4-INT.
  
Skill Codes: COMP: Environmental Literacy  
Content Areas: CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
Topics of Inquiry: TOI2: Cultural Dimen Human Exp, TOI4: Environmental Literacy  
AAAS 3845.  The Vietnam War.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 3845.) Origins, evolution, and aftermath of the Vietnamese conflict: the prewar history of colonialism, nationalism, communism, and anticommunism; the formation and development of the three main Vietnamese belligerents; American intervention; culture and politics in wartime Vietnam; escalation and de-escalation of the war; the postwar legacy. CA 1. CA 4 INT.
Open to sophomores or higher.  
  
Content Areas: CA1: Arts & Humanities, CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 3846.  Genocide and Mass Killings in Asia.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 3846.) Case studies of historical and/or contemporary genocide and mass killings in Asia. May focus on any time period and any part of the continent. CA4-INT.
  
Content Areas: CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 3846W.  Genocide and Mass Killings in Asia.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 3846W.) Case studies of historical and/or contemporary genocide and mass killings in Asia. May focus on any time period and any part of the continent. CA4-INT.
ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011.  
  
Skill Codes: COMP: Writing Competency  
Content Areas: CA4INT: Div & Multi Intl  
AAAS 3875.  Asian Diasporas in the Americas.  (3 Credits)  
(Also offered as HIST 3875.) Transnational history of migration and settlement of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and South Asian diasporas across South, Central, and North America and the Caribbean, colonial through national period. Emphasis on political economy, racial formations, and constructions of national identity.
Open to sophomores or higher. Recommended preparation: HIST 3607, 3609, 3610, 3635, 3660W, or 3674. Not open to students who have passed HIST 3995 Asian Diasporas in the Americas.  
  
AAAS 3998.  Variable Topics.  (3 Credits)  
Prerequisites and recommended preparation vary.
Open to juniors or higher.  
May be repeated for a total of 6 credits  
AAAS 4100.  Experiential/Service Learning Seminar.  (4 Credits)  
(Also offered as AFRA 4100.) Interdisciplinary examination of the history of social justice organizing in the U.S.; theories, strategies, and practice of community organizing movements such as those for immigration, environmental, reproductive, and racial justice. Includes practice in community organizing and political advocacy.
  
AAAS 4999.  Independent Study.  (1-3 Credits)  
Credits, not to exceed three per semester, and hours by arrangement. With a change of subject, this course may be repeated for credit.
Open to juniors or higher.  
May be repeated for credit