Course Description – Introduction to Asian American Studies: Race and War

Course Description:

The current political climate is marked by seemingly endless war as well as ongoing conversations about “race,” “privilege,” and “power.” This course will offer an introduction to Asian American studies that enables us to investigate all of these issues. We will work from the premise that multiple racial projects—including Orientalism, Islamophobia, anti-Black racism, and settler colonialism—contribute to Asian racial formation, and that warfare plays a central role in these projects. With an emphasis on militarism in the Pacific region, the class will explore the intersections of race, indigeneity, class, and gender, and the possibilities for forging solidarity across variegated groups. Exploring Asian Americanism through archives, personal narratives, and other texts, we will focus on the role of history in producing current conditions and our understandings of them. In these tasks, we will pay particular attention to racism, antiracist movements, and war.

In the field of Asian American Studies, scholars increasingly employ global frameworks to interrogate Asian Americanism. Supplementing existing course offerings at Princeton, this course employs comparative, transnational approaches to histories of race and war. It additionally offers critical perspectives of the Pacific and the intersections of race and indigeneity. Integrating these objectives with historical analyses, this course will include the following units: 1) Asian Americanism and the Problem of the Color Lines; 2) Histories of War; and 3) Geographies of Imperialism, Proximity, and Resistance.

Class time will emphasize group discussion, guest speakers, and films to advance collective learning. Students are expected to attend class and actively participate in discussion. You will complete readings and weekly online reflections before each class. Assignments include two analytical reading reflections, a personal profile of an Asian whose life has been shaped by race and war, a popular education presentation on a topic of your choice, and a final written assignment.

Course Expectations:

This syllabus constitutes one of the materials for the course, so please read it carefully and thoroughly. The syllabus places on you the responsibility for clearing up early any questions or doubts you might have about taking this course and/or completing course requirements. If you have questions, see me after class, stop by during office hours, make an appointment, or raise your concerns in class. Note: The syllabus is subject to revision, as needed.

Assigned reading is approximately 120 pages of reading on average per week to be completed before the class for which it is assigned. See the reading guidelines on page 8 the syllabus.

Princeton expects you to attend every class for the entire class, and I share those expectations. For the duration of the semester, you have joined a community of scholars, all of whom depend on your preparation and participation in class for an enriching, collective learning process. If you find yourself dealing with a crisis that prevents attendance, please let me know so that I can make accommodations for you.

Course participation and class discussion is an essential part of the class experience. This course offers a space for collective learning, in which students learn from the instructor and students learn from each other. (As the instructor, I also learn a great deal from students.) As such, it is imperative that everyone participates actively and with humility. Here is the protocol for class discussion:

Have your readings ready. We will often refer to quotes from texts in class, so please bring printed copies of the readings or have a device ready to quickly access texts.

*No cell phone or computer use in class.* (An exception is to briefly refer to your device for a particular quote from an assigned text. Also, please email me or see me if you require accommodations.) You are welcome to step out of the classroom momentarily for an emergency text or call. When students use their computers in class with the intention of taking notes, they often unwittingly drift online. This is distracting to everyone. For this reason, take notes by hand.

Step up/step back: If you’re speaking a lot, it’s time to hear what others have to say. If you’re speaking less, give others a chance to hear what’s on your mind.

Generous reading and thinking: Not only do I ask you to read the texts generously, I also ask you to listen to your classmates and the instructor with the same mindset. Disagreements make class discussion interesting, however, for disagreements to be productive, it is necessary to listen and pay attention to multiple viewpoints, and to think critically and carefully about multiple ideas.

Note: Students sometimes find material covered in a course questionable or disagreeable as it pertains to their personal and/or political belief systems. As previously indicated, questions and disagreements can provoke interesting class discussions and illuminate important issues. Even in these circumstances, students still must meet the expectations for the class. This means listening carefully to different opinions in class discussions, completing all readings and assignments, and reading to understand the authors’ argument(s) and the basis for such ideas.

When you speak, please address other students by making eye contact them, as opposed to looking solely at the instructor.

Broader collective expectations: When exploring deep-rooted historical problems, Princeton students are sometimes eager to identify “solutions.” We will approach the notion of “solution” with skepticism and instead ask critical and actionable These questions include (but are not limited to): How have historical projects shaped current conditions? How are these historical projects shaped by contestation to war and violence? What forms of social movements and contestation have been most effective? What lessons can we learn from social movements and other efforts contesting war and racism?

Plagiarism: Plagiarism—using other people’s ideas and words as your own—is an academic violation that will result in zero credit for assignments and can result in course failure. Princeton’s rules regarding plagiarism states that cases of plagiarism may be reported to the Faculty-Student Committee on Discipline, who will conduct hearings, investigate the infraction, and assign appropriate penalties. If you have ANY questions about plagiarism, please see me.

Requirements for acknowledgement of sources in academic work:

http://www.princeton.edu/pub/rrr/part2/index.xml#comp246

Examples of plagiarism:

http://www.princeton.edu/pub/rrr/part2/index.xml#comp249

Grades: Please keep track of your grades throughout the semester. If you are concerned about your grade, please discuss it with me. It is not the professor’s responsibility to calculate your grade for you before the semester has finished. I will not offer incompletes.

Policy for late assignments and missed assignments:

Late Policy: In the event of a personal emergency, email me 24 hours before the deadline or earlier to request an extension. A personal emergency could include an illness or three papers due on the same day. If you do not request an extension, I will deduct 1 point/day for late papers.

Missed Assignment Policy: If an assignment is weeks overdue, it is up to you to speak to me about options for making up your work. It is the professor’s job to teach and to grade—it is not the professor’s job to remind students to submit missed assignments.

Email policy: It is professional courtesy to include a subject, “Dear Dr. L,” an explanation about what’s attached and/or a specific message or request, and sign off with your name. I do not accept assignments or any other requests emailed without any text in the body. Make sure to allow 48 hours for an email response on weekdays and a longer response time on weekends. It is important to note that I am only on email during work hours on weekdays (and am online irregularly during these hours) and do not check email on Saturdays.

Similar assignments in your other classes: If you have a similar assignment for another class, please discuss it with me. It is okay if a small portion of the work overlaps, but please make it clear which work overlaps and which work is unique to this class.

Appointments outside of office hours: If we have scheduled an appointment outside of office hours, it is professional courtesy to show up or to cancel with 24-hour notice.

Assignments:

Online reflections and short responses: Posted Mondays, 9 AM before most classes

Note: You may post a reflection OR respond to a reflection of one of your classmates.

A significant part of your participation grade entails posting two reflections by 9am on the day of most classes. One reflection (approximately 150-200 words) should respond to thoughts that emerged from the previous week’s class. The second reflection (approximately 150-200 words) must respond to all of the assigned readings for that day and must address at least two of the questions posed in the reading guidelines on page 9 of the syllabus. You will post this on the course website. You are expected to make 10 posts over the course of the semester out of 11 opportunities, each worth 1 point.

In-class go-arounds: (Each class)

Your participation grade will also be determined by “go-arounds” on the readings or completed assignments at the start of almost every class, so please come to class on time. This means that at the beginning of class, every student will say a few words about the assigned texts, and/or present at least one question for class discussion. This will kick off class for the day. You will earn one point for each satisfactory go-around, and can receive one pass.

Analytical Papers: Fridays March 2, 2018; March 30, 2018

Length and other requirements: 3 pages double-spaced; must refer to at least 3 assigned texts

This paper invites you to develop an argument based on concepts and themes from three readings, analyze some common threads amongst the texts, and reflect upon how the readings challenge and/or affirm your view of the world. Also, include separate from the rest of your paper, a couple of sentences evaluating the quality of your participation in the class thus far. (This last piece goes toward the miscellaneous portion of your participation grade.)

Personal profile of a person whose life has been shaped by race and war: Draft due April 13, 2018, final profile due April 20, 2018)

Length and other requirements of profile: approximately 5-6 pages, double-spaced. Must cite from at least 2 assigned texts, 2 additional academic texts (1nbook), and include a works cited section using an official academic citation style.

Interview and spend time with someone whose history has been directly or indirectly shaped by race and war. They don’t have to be a veteran; the connection could be distant or indirect. Then write a profile modeled after profiles published in the New Yorker magazine. In your profile, contextualize who they are in relation to historical processes we have discussed in this class, and conduct independent research to supplement your excavation of the historical events that have shaped their life. Approach the person you’re profiling as a living embodiment of history. (Any of their words put in quotes must be a verbatim representation of their utterings. Otherwise, put their word in italics.)

The draft should describe your conversations with your interlocuter, and reflections regarding how their life connects with course material.

Popular Education Presentation: April 30, 2018

Requirements: Approximately 20-minute presentation for pairs, 25 minutes for groups of three or more.

The purpose of the presentation is to apply lessons from the class to an issue or topic of your choice, and to share these ideas through interactive teaching led by you. You may present in pairs or groups of three. Issues or topics can include, but are not limited to:

Asian American popular culture
The Spanish American War
World War I
World War II martial law
The Cold War
The War on Terror
Nuclear Testing in the Pacific
Indigeneity in Asia and/or the Pacific
Asian American feminism and/or feminism in Asia and/or the Pacific
Queer Asian American movements and/or queer movements of Asia and/or the Pacific
Asian American masculinities
Asian/Black/Latino/Indigenous/Arab/etc. intersections
Another topic of your choice

Final Assignment: May 18, 2018

To be determined, subject to student feedback.

GRADING:

Participation 25

Breakdown for participation grade

Online Reflections (1 pt each): (10)

In-class Go-arounds (1 pt each): (10)

Miscellaneous participation (5)

Analytical Papers (8 and 12 pts respectively) 20

Personal Profile: 20

Breakdown

Draft (5)

Final profile (15)