HIST/AAS 3877
3 credits/Spring 2006
Tuesdays
4:40-7:10 pm
125 Nicholson

HIST/AAS 3877

Asian American History, 1850-Present

Department of History
Asian American Studies Program

Syllabus

OFFICE HOURS (778 SOCIAL SCIENCES)

Please feel free to talk to me about any issue relating to the course. My office hours for the semester will be: MONDAYS, 1:00-3:00 PM

If you cannot make these hours, please feel free to meet with me before any class to make an appointment or e-mail me at erikalee@umn.edu. E-mail is the best way to contact, but you can also call me at my office at 624-9569. .

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Asian immigrants began to arrive in the United States in large numbers during the mid-nineteenth century, but Asian American history dates back to the colonial era, when Filipinos arrived in what is now Louisiana with Spanish explorers. Today, about half of the people immigrating to the United States are from Asia, and along with other immigrants and people of color, Asian Americans are transforming the face of America. This course will survey Asian American history from 1850 to the present. We will explore the changing experiences of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans within the larger context of immigration and race relations in American history. The first half of the course will focus on the experiences of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Asian Indian immigrants in the U.S. from the Gold Rush (1850s) to World War II, as well as the expansion of the U.S. into the Pacific. Main emphases will be on immigration, imperialism and anti-imperialism, labor, communities, exclusion, and incarceration.

The second half of the course will move on to the great changes within the Asian American community since 1965: civil rights struggles, new immigration from China, the Philippines, Korea, India, war in Southeast Asia and refugee communities of Vietnamese-, Cambodian-, and Hmong-Americans. Lastly, we will focus on contemporary issues facing Asian Americans and how Asian Americans are changing Minnesota. Throughout, we will seek comparisons across group and time, asking how historical patterns shape the present. In turn, we will also consider how our contemporary surroundings affect the way in which we view and interpret the past.

This course is open to undergraduate majors and non-majors. Reading assignments will include novels, autobiographies, historical documents, and scholarly essays and monographs. We will view films and use the internet to compliment lectures and class discussions.

This class fulfills the university’s CLE requirement of the Cultural Diversity Theme and the CLE requirement of Historical Perspective Core.

Lon Kurashige and Alice Yang Murray, eds., Major Problems in Asian American History: Documents and Essays (Houghton Mifflin, 2003) Paperback: ISBN: 0-618-07734-0

Sherri Gebert Fuller, Chinese in Minnesota (St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2003) Paperback: ISBN 0-87351-470-X

C. Harvey Gardiner, (Foreword), Seiichi Higashide, Adios to Tears: The Memoirs of a Japanese-Peruvian Internee in U.S. Concentration Camps (University of Washington Press; 2000) Paperback: ISBN 0295979143

Daniel F. Detzner, Elder Voices: Southeast Asian Families in the United States (Walnut Creek: CA, Alta Mira Press, 2004) Paperback: ISBN 0-7591-0577-4

Tram Nguyen, We Are All Suspects Now: Untold Stories from Immigrant America After 9/11 (Beacon Press, 2005) Paperback: ISBN: 0807004618

Related Internet Reading Assignments as noted on Course and Lecture Schedule

INTELLECTUAL COURSE OBJECTIVES (ideas, theories, approaches)

• to analyze the continuities and changes in the lives of Asian Americans from 1850 to the present through lectures, historical documents, first person accounts, scholarly articles and books
• to relate the experiences of Asian Americans to the histories of migration, race relations, and international relations of the United States
• to compare and contrast the experiences of different groups of Asian Americans according to such factors as ethnicity, class, gender, generation, and immigration status
• to understand the contemporary state of Asian America through its historical roots

METHODOLOGICAL COURSE OBJECTIVES (skills, approaches)

Throughout the course, you should be able to acquire basic skills used by historians to understand, analyze, research, and write history. This includes: critically analyzing primary source documents and writings within their historical context (asking questions of the sources); critically reading secondary sources (historical and other scholarship) and be able to identify an author’s thesis and main points; "doing" history by engaging in historical research; writing logical and coherent papers and exams with an argument of your own

ASSIGNMENTS/EXAMINATIONS

WORK LOAD
Class time: 70% lecture, 30% discussion

• approximately 100 pages of reading per week
• active participation in class discussions

Assignments and Grade Breakdown

• Three 4-5 page papers related to the course readings, lectures, and discussions (15% each; 45% total)
• Oral History Project (35% total)
• Assignments (project description and class presentation) 5%
• Final paper of 8-10 pages (30%)

• Class attendance, discussion, and in-class assignments (20%)

ASSIGNMENTS AND DUE DATES

All assignments must be typed and double-spaced on numbered pages with 1" margins. No hand-written assignments will be accepted. All assignments – except for the final oral history project paper – are due in class on the due date. E-mailed assignments will not be accepted without permission. All papers that are turned in late will be marked down one grade for every day late. For example, a B+ paper turned in late by one day will become a B. If sickness or an emergency cause you to miss class on a paper due date, you must receive prior approval to hand in your work outside of class.

• Paper #1. This paper will ask you to analyze the history of Chinese migration to and exclusion in America. Length – 4-5 pages. Specific questions and guidelines will be handed out in class. Due in class: FEBRUARY 7

• Oral History Project Topic Description. Identify and describe your project: Who will you be interviewing? Why did you choose this person? What do you hope to learn from the project? How does this individual's life connect to some of the themes, patterns, events, and/or groups that we will be reading about and discussing in class? Length – 1 page. Due in class: FEBRUARY 14

• Paper #2. This paper will ask you to analyze World War Two, the incarceration of Japanese Americans, and the debate over civil liberties. Length 4-5 pages. Specific questions and guidelines will be handed out in class. Due in class: MARCH 7

• Paper #3. You will have a choice of topics.
• Refugee Communities. Length 4-5 pages. Specific questions and guidelines will be handed out in class. Due in class:APRIL 18
  
  OR

• The effects of 9/11 on Asian Americans. Length 4-5 pages. Specific questions and guidelines will be handed out in class. Due in class: MAY 2

• Oral History Project Class Presentation – last two weeks of class

• Oral History Paper. Length – 8-10 pages. Due in my office: MONDAY, MAY 8

ORAL HISTORY PAPER

In this course, we will study both personal, national, and sometimes transnational stories of Asian Americans, their lives in the U.S., and their impact on America. As part of this endeavor, the major project of this semester will be an oral history project in which you will choose an Asian American subject to interview, conduct and record an oral history, and write up your subject’s history through the lens of larger trends and patterns in Asian American history. The final paper should be 8-10 pages long. Throughout the semester, we will discuss how to approach an oral history project and you will learn strategies on how to conduct an interview and write the paper.

Although interviewing an Asian American subject is highly encouraged, students may read and write their papers on Asian American autobiographies or write a research paper on a related topic if they so desire. Prior approval from the professor is required.

Since this may be the first time that you have conducted and written an oral history, I strongly encourage you to meet with me early on in the semester to discuss any questions or concerns you may have. I can help you choose a subject and formulate appropriate interview questions and strategies.

Please note that you will also need to get a signed permission form from your interview subject allowing you to use the information gathered in your interview for classroom and educational purposes. Consent forms will be passed out in class.

ATTENDANCE
As an introduction to Asian American history, core components of this course will be based on lectures. Because we will be moving quickly through 150 years of history in 14 weeks, it is imperative that you attend class regularly. Attendance will be taken daily and will make up part of your class discussion grade.

CLASS DISCUSSION
This course has been designed to allow for ample class discussion, which I believe is essential to the overall learning process. 20% of your final grade will measure your attendance and participation in class as well as performance on in-class assignments. This means full participation in both large class discussion and small group activities as well as demonstrating respectful behavior towards all students. In-class assignments may include writing exercises and small group work and presentations. To prepare for class discussions, reading for the assigned date should be done prior to class. You are expected to be attentive during class and to listen respectfully to other students and to me when we are speaking. I will pause periodically to ask if there are any questions during lectures, and no student should hesitate to raise their hands to ask for clarification. Remember, there are no stupid questions!

Every class has a culture influenced by the fact that students come from widely diverse backgrounds and hold different values. This classroom encourages diverse viewpoints. It is especially important that you listen to students whose opinions differ from your own, arguing with the opinions while remaining respectful of the individuals who hold them. In accordance with university policy, I will not tolerate any comments or actions that create a hostile or uncomfortable learning environment for any member of the class. In addition, many class periods will be devoted largely to in-class discussion and interactive learning, which I believe is essential to the overall learning process. Students are expected to participate actively in these discussions. Class discussions of books are especially important. This is meant to be a smaller lecture course, and my intention is to learn students' names and for students to learn each other's names to help create a friendlier classroom atmosphere. To facilitate this, we will establish a seating chart for the entire semester. Beginning the second day of class, you will be expected to take the same seat at each class time.

FILMS
We will watch four films over the course of the semester. It is very important that you attend class to see the films and take notes. They will not be available for viewing at other times and they may appear on the exams.

USING THE INTERNET
This course will rely heavily on the internet, and you should familiarize yourself with the course website: http://www.hist.umn.edu/~erikalee/aahist.html The syllabus and lecture schedule will be on-line and there is an extensive web page of Asian American studies web resources. Moreover, many of the assigned readings for this course are only available on the internet. If you do not have easy access to the internet, please let me know immediately and we can make alternate arrangements. Moreover, many of the assigned readings for this course are only available on the internet. If you do not have easy access to the internet, please let me know immediately and we can make alternate arrangements.Because the nature of the web changes so quickly, I may not be aware of new sites or sites that have become defunct. Please let me know.

EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENTS

There are three opportunities to earn extra credit in this class. All require work outside of normal class times. To earn the extra credit (up to 10 points added to your lowest graded assignment) you must attend one of the following events and turn in a 2-3 page response paper explaining the event and what you learned. The assignment is due the next class period after the event. One extra credit opportunity per student. Extra credit assignments are not a replacement to regular assignments.

FEB. 17, 2006, 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm: ORAL HISTORY WORKSHOP – "Talking Research: Oral Methodologies across Discipline, Time and Space."  A one-day symposium sponsored by the Immigration History Research Center. 120 Andersen Library, West Bank. Free.

Feb. 20, 2006, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm: "Recent Research in Hmong Studies: Presentations of Works from the Hmong Studies Journal"
Location: Nolte Center for Continuing Education, 125. This special session will include presentations of recent research in Hmong Studies from the recently printed Volume 6 of the Hmong Studies Journal, the only peer-reviewed academic journal devoted to Hmong Studies (www.hmongstudies.org). Presentations on "Hmong and Lao Refugee Women: Reflections of a Hmong-American  Woman Anthropologist;" "The Myth of Sonom, the Hmong King;"  “Immigrant Family Strengths: A Comparison of Hmong and Somali  Families;” “Linking Parent-Adolescent Relationships to Adolescent Problem  Behavior in Hmong Families."

Feb. 27, 2006, Noon: Hmong Refugee Resettlement: A Case Study of the International Institute of MN, 1976 –1995, Chia Youyee Vang, Ph. D. Candidate in American Studies
Location: La Raza Student Cultural Center, 211 Coffman Memorial Union

Refugee resettlement often involves many individuals and institutions. Although many voluntary organizations participated in the sponsorship of Hmong refugees beginning in the mid 1970s, this paper examines the politics of refugee resettlement policies and practices through the International Institute of Minnesota’s resettlement case files, which recently were made available at the Immigration History Research Center (IHRC), University of MN. It provides a quantitative overview of the characteristics of those who were resettled in Minnesota as well as the many ways in which refugees are incorporated into American society. This paper argues that the ways in which knowledge is produced about individual refugees in the camps influence resettlement practices as they are frequently used to determine the services refugees receive and the likelihood that such individuals will become “like Americans”, as frequently measured by their employability status.

BUILDING BRIDGES: LEARNING ABOUT THE HMONG: comprehensive workshops for service providers, employers, and community members interested in learning more about the Hmong refugees from Wat Tham Krabok (Thailand) and Hmong Minnesotans in general (Presentations by Txongpao Lee and Mark E. Pfeifer of the Hmong Cultural Center - (scroll down for pdf file)

Friday, February 10, 2006. 10am – 1pm or Friday, March 10, 2006. 10am-1pm @ the Hmong Cultural Center (995 University Avenue, Suite 214, St. Paul) The workshop is $10 per person. Advanced registration is required.

MINNESOTA HISTORICAL SOCIETY: Visit "Open House: If These Walls Could Talk" an exhibit on immigrant families in St. Paul from the late nineteenth century to the present now showing at the Minnesota Historical Society (exhibit opens January 14, 2006) Location: 345 Kellogg Blvd. W, St. Paul (651-296-6126; 1-800-657-3773). $6 admission fee for students.

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF THE LECTURES AND READINGS
Take careful notes during lectures and discussions. Write down important points, examples, and themes of the lectures. Do not take notes only on the things I write on the board. Listen to your classmates as well and note what ideas they might have to share. Because we will often discuss the readings in class, it is important to keep up with the readings as much as possible. The lectures will reinforce what you will read and make it easier to understand the issues we are covering. Take short notes on the reading, including questions that you may have. When you read, it is helpful to ask the following questions of yourself and the reading to make sure that you understand the main themes and points. These questions are also useful guidelines when preparing for your class presentations:

• What are the major points/themes of this reading?
• What is the author trying to express in this text?
• Why is this topic significant?
• How does this reading fit into the larger historical context? (i.e. what is the state of Asian America/the United States during this time period (period of high immigration, anti-Asian sentiment, depression, war, etc.) and how does the text relate to the larger context of the U.S. at this time?
• What do the readings tell me about the United States & the time period in which it was written?
• Is this text written from a particular perspective? If so, what is it? Do I agree with this point of view? How might other people living in the past have interpreted the same era/historical event?
• What are some of the recurring themes in the book? What are some examples that reflect these themes?
• Are the experiences relayed in the text unique to one group or one era of the American past? What kinds of comparisons can be made across group lines and across historical time periods?

Different perspectives and opinions make up the heart of what the study of history is, so do not be shy to offer your own "take" on the readings.

GRADES AND GRADING POLICIES
All grades are tabulated individually. There will be no course curve. All papers that are turned in late will be marked down one grade for every day late. For example, a B+ paper turned in late by one day will become a B. NO EXCEPTIONS.University-wide grading standards are as follows:

• A - achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements
• B - achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements
• C - achievement that meets the course requirements in every respect
• D - achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the course requirements
• S - achievement that is satisfactory, which is equivalent to a C- or better
• F(or N) - Represents failure (or no credit) and signifies that the work was either (1) completed but at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit or (2) was not completed and there was no agreement between the instructor and the student that the student would be awarded an I (see also I)
• I - (Incomplete) Assigned at the discretion of the instructor when, due to extraordinary circumstances, e.g., hospitalization, a student is prevented from completing the work of the course on time. Requires a written agreement between instructor and student
• Academic dishonesty in any portion of the academic work for a course shall be grounds for awarding a grade of F or N for the entire course.

UNIVERSITY POLICIES
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is the practice of representing someone else's intellectual work as your own. Plagiarism can include turning in an assignment that is: written by someone else; written by means of inappropriate collaboration; written by you for another course and submitted without the permission of both instructors; purchased, downloaded, or cut and pasted from the internet.

The most common incidences of plagiarism include written work that do not include proper citations. You must cite:

-direct quotes from other sources

-ideas and interpretations established by other authors  

You can be guilty of plagiarism without intending to do so. An important rule of thumb is to err on the side of caution. Cite, cite, cite!

While I reserve the right to treat cases of unintentional plagiarism, you should be aware that the College of Liberal Arts recommends a failing grade for any plagiarized assignments. A second offense would result in a failing course grade. If you are uncertain about the meaning of plagiarism, please consult me.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY
The University of Minnesota is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, handicap, age, veteran status, or sexual orientation. For further information, contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action in 419 Morrill Hall (624-9547).

SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Sexual harassment is defined as "Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment or academic advancement, (2) submission to, or rejection of, such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions or academic decisions affecting the individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work or academic performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or academic environment." All faculty, supervisors, and administrators are legally and ethically obligated to take appropriate action to prevent sexual harassment. For further information, contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action in 419 Morrill Hall (624-9547).

DISABILITIES
The University will provide accommodation for students with special needs. Please inform me if this may apply to you. For further information, contact the Office for Students with Disabilities.

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