Trinh Mai, Seeds (2022)

Asian American Studies Program

The Asian American Studies Major and Minor offer students interdisciplinary analytical tools to actively study and research Asian American experiences. Asian American Studies classes cover a broad selection of topics and are offered in departments ranging from History to English to Music and Politics representing the breadth of interests among our diverse faculty members.

Stephen M Sano

Stephen M Sano

Director of Asian American Studies

Whether you are a declared Asian American Studies major or simply interested in learning more, we hope you will find some useful information on what we are, who we are, what we teach, and what some of our alumni have done with a degree in Asian American Studies.

Asian American Studies (AAS) provides an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the historical and current experiences of persons of Asian ancestry. AAS faculty recognize that the term seeks to name a rapidly developing, complex, and heterogeneous population and that there is neither a single Asian American identity nor one community that comprises all Asian Americans. Asian Americans include those with ancestral ties to countries or regions in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, or the Philippines, among others.

AAS brings together courses that address the artistic, historical, humanistic, political, and social dimensions of Asian Americans and is an appropriate course of study for students interested in a variety of concerns related to Asian Americans, including: artistic and cultural contributions; current social significance; historical experiences; immigration, intellectual, and policy issues; relationships with other social groups; and the construction of the notion of Asian American as it addresses important theoretical and practical issues.

Major Requirements

In order to earn a B.A. in Asian American Studies, students must complete at least 60 units toward the major.

  • 15 Units of Core Curriculum 
  • 4-5 Units of a Major Core Course
  • 3-5 Units of a Methodology Course 
  • 6-10 Units of Interdisciplinary Breadth Courses 
  • 3-5 Units of an International Dimension Course
  • 20-28 Units of Asian American Studies Electives
  • Community Engaged Learning

Core Curriculum (15 Units)

Majors must take three CSRE core curriculum courses including:

  • CSRE 196C - Introduction to Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (5 units)
  • 1 Comparative Core Course (5 units)
    • SOC 19N - The Immigrant Experience in Everyday Life
    • CSRE 21N - How to Make a Racist 
    • CSRE 32 - Theories in Race and Ethnicity: A Comparative Perspective 
    • CSRE 51Q - Comparative Fictions of Ethnicity 
    • PSYCH 75 - Introduction to Cultural Psychology 
    • CSRE 55N - Black Panther, Hamilton, Díaz, and Other Wondrous Lives
    • CSRE 103B - Race, Ethnicity, and Linguistic Diversity in Classrooms: Sociocultural Theory and Practices 
    • CSRE 142 - The Literature of the Americans
    • CSRE 149 - The Laboring of Diaspora & Border Literary Cultures
    • CSRE 245 - Understanding Racial and Ethnicity Identity Development
    • CSRE 189 - Race and Immigration 
    • CSRE 246 - Constructing Race and Religion in America
    • CSRE 253C - Histories of Racial Capitalism 
    • CSRE 293 - Black and Brown: American Artists of Color
    • CSRE 398A - Race, Ethnicity, and Language: Racial, Ethnic, and Linguistic 
  • 1 Capstone course (5 units)
    • CSRE 200X - CCSRE Senior Seminar 
      • Asian American Studies majors draw upon their interdisciplinary expertise and training in race studies to design and complete a public-facing research project or research paper. 
    • CSRE 201X, 201Y, & 201Z - CCSRE Honors Seminar
      • The Honors Thesis Seminar is a year-long research- and writing-intensive sequence designed to support students as they apply their skills, knowledge, and political commitments to the investigation of a focused research question. 

Major Core Course (4-5 Units)

Majors are required to take ASNAMST 100 - Introduction to Asian American Studies. 

Methodology Course (3-5 Units)

Majors are required to take a course focused on research methods relevant to their disciplinary approach as a student in Asian American Studies. Methodology Courses can be found on Explore Courses by using CSRE::Methodology as the search key.

Interdisciplinary Breadth (6-10 Units) 

Majors are required to fulfill the Interdisciplinary Breadth Requirement by taking one course in a Social Science category, and one course in an Arts & Humanities category. Both Interdisciplinary Breadth classes must center issues of race and ethnicity. Categories of classes can be found on the School of Humanities & Sciences Bulletin Page.

International Dimension (3-5 Units)

Majors are required to take one course that explores issues of race and ethnicity outside of the United States. 

Asian American Studies Electives (20-28 Units)

Majors are required to complete all additional courses in Asian American Studies. 

Community Engaged Learning

All Asian American Studies majors must participate in a community engaged learning experience. The CEL requirement may be fulfilled by a CEL course, fellowship, Alternative Spring Break, Honors Thesis, Senior Project, and/or internship. 

 

To find a more detailed overview of this major please visit our Bulletin Page.

If you are ready to declare, please visit the How to Declare Page

Minor Requirements

In order to earn a Minor in Asian American Studies, students must complete at least 30 units toward the minor.

  • 5 Units of a Core Curriculum Course 
  • 5 Units of a Major Core Course
  • 20 Units of Asian American Studies Electives 

Core Curriculum (5 Units)

Minors must take CSRE 196C - Introduction to Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity.

Major Core Course (5 Units)

Minors are required to take ASNAMST 100 - Introduction to Asian American Studies.

Asian American Focus (20 Units)

Minors are required to complete their additional courses in Asian American Studies. 

 

To find a more detailed overview of this minor please visit our Bulletin Page.

If you are ready to declare, please visit the How to Declare Page

Talk to a Peer Advisor

Stanford Journal of AAS

How to Declare

Courses

Autumn
Code Title Instructor Quarter Day & Time
ASNAMST 16N Behind "Swingposium:" Activism in Performing Arts (MUSIC 16N) Uyechi, L. (PI)
Sano, S. (PI)
Autumn
2022 - 2023
Monday
3:00 PM- 4:20 PM
ASNAMST 105 Vietnamese American Cultural Studies (AMSTUD 105B) Dinh, T. (PI) Autumn
2022 - 2023
Tuesday Thursday
12:00 PM- 1:20 PM
ASNAMST 163 Movements and Migrations: Understanding the Movements of People (ANTHRO 134C, ARCHLGY 163) Lau-Ozawa, K. (PI) Autumn
2022 - 2023
Tuesday Thursday
10:30 AM- 11:50 AM
ASNAMST 186B Asian American Art (AMSTUD 186D, ARTHIST 186B) Kwon, M. (PI)
Choi, H. (GP)
Holton, D. (GP)
Autumn
2022 - 2023
Monday Wednesday
3:00 PM- 4:20 PM
ASNAMST 224 Asian American Racialization in Education (CSRE 224, EDUC 224) Park, E. (PI)
Melgarejo Vieyra, V. (TA)
Autumn
2022 - 2023
Wednesday
1:30 PM- 4:20 PM
Spring
Code Title Instructor Quarter Day & Time
ASNAMST 104 Sexual Violence in Asian America (FEMGEN 116) Dinh, T. (PI) Spring
2022 - 2023
Tuesday
12:00 PM- 2:50 PM
ASNAMST 118 Asian American and Settler Colonial Entanglements (ANTHRO 118W, ARCHLGY 138, HISTORY 258C) Lau-Ozawa, K. (PI) Spring
2022 - 2023
Tuesday Thursday
10:30 AM- 11:50 AM
ASNAMST 139 Refugees, Race and the Greco-Roman World (CLASSICS 139, CSRE 139) Nguyen, K. (PI) Spring
2022 - 2023
Monday Wednesday
1:30 PM- 2:50 PM
ASNAMST 169D Contemporary Asian American Stories (ENGLISH 169D) Tanaka, S. (PI) Spring
2022 - 2023
Tuesday Thursday
3:00 PM- 4:20 PM
ASNAMST 261 Introduction to Asian American History (AMSTUD 261W, HISTORY 261E) Wang, Y. (PI) Spring
2022 - 2023
Monday Wednesday
1:30 PM- 2:50 PM
ASNAMST 268 Tackling Asian-American Health Challenges (MED 268) Palaniappan, L. (PI)
Lin, B. (PI)
Spring
2022 - 2023
Wednesday
5:30 PM- 7:20 PM
ASNAMST 284 Material Metonymy: Ceramics and Asian America (AMSTUD 284, ARTHIST 284, ARTHIST 484) Mabuchi, H. (PI)
Kwon, M. (PI)
Spring
2022 - 2023
Wednesday
9:30 AM- 12:20 PM
Winter
Code Title Instructor Quarter Day & Time
ASNAMST 91A Asian American Autobiography/W (AMSTUD 91A, CSRE 91D, ENGLISH 91A) Lee, C. (PI) Winter
2022 - 2023
Wednesday
5:30 PM- 7:50 PM
ASNAMST 100 Introduction to Asian American Studies (AMSTUD 100) Dinh, T. (PI) Winter
2022 - 2023
Tuesday Thursday
12:00 PM- 1:20 PM
ASNAMST 110 The Development of the Southeast Asian American Communities: A comparative analysis (AMSTUD 110A) Do, H. (PI) Winter
2022 - 2023
Monday
3:00 PM- 5:50 PM
ASNAMST 193F Psychological Well-Being on Campus: Asian American Perspectives (EDUC 193F) Lin, O. (PI)
Hsu, H. (PI)
Winter
2022 - 2023
Thursday
12:00 PM- 1:20 PM
ASNAMST 272 Science and History of Traditional Chinese Medicine (MED 272) Ring, H. (PI)
Lin, B. (PI)
Winter
2022 - 2023
Wednesday
3:30 PM- 4:20 PM