专业描述

The undergraduate program in the Department offers a Bachelor of Arts degree for students who major in Asian American Studies, and an Asian American Studies minor for students from other departments. The goals of our education are: 1) to mount teaching missions that enable students to learn, to think, and to perform in a nurturing and intellectually stimulating environment; 2) to equip students with theoretical and practical knowledge, as well as analytical and communicative skills that reflect the multi-disciplinary strengths of our faculty; and 3) to serve student needs for personal enrichment by preparing them either for advanced graduate studies or for life after college as citizens, employees, and entrepreneurs. As a multi-disciplinary field, our undergraduate program examines the histories, contemporary realities, and diverse experiences of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. The topical range of such examination includes immigration and diaspora; community work and development; race, gender, and generational dynamics; social activism; cultural activity and production (including creative expression); political participation; and transnational engagement. The teaching and research methods used by faculty in the Department have been interdisciplinary and comparative from the inception of the field, which combine quantitative, qualitative, interpretive, and applied approaches. These methods point to our understanding of Asian American experiences as inherently diverse and multi-dimensional, as well as faculty’s creative incorporation into their work of scholarly gains from disparate disciplines, professional practices, and epistemological traditions.