Catalog Description

Hours: 54 lecture
Description: An exploration of Asian American history from the 18th century to WWII. A comparative analysis of issues and perspectives by first wave immigrants from China, Japan, Korea, India, the Philippines with emphasis on colonialism, imperialism, war, Orientalism, discrimination, social inequity, immigration and settlement patterns, labor, community, and political resistance. This course will ask students to challenge the traditional “master” narrative of U.S. history and encourage them to examine how Asian American history transforms U.S. history. This course includes analysis of the U. S. Constitution, Supreme Court Rulings, and California State and local government issues related to the rights of Asian Americans. (CSU, UC)

Course Student Learning Outcomes

  • CSLO #1: Analyze the role of geography in the economic and political development of Asian Americans and its place in a global context.
  • CSLO #2: Apply academic standards to defend a historical perspective/argument using academic citation methods.
  • CSLO #3: Analyze and compare primary and secondary sources and evaluate how each is used to make historical claims and support arguments.\\n
  • CSLO #4: Investigate major political, economic and social changes in the United States with emphasis on the roles of Asian Americans. \\n
  • CSLO #5: Investigate the origins of the American Constitution and its impact on Asian American cultural developments with emphasis on race, class, gender and/or ethnicity.\\n

Effective Term

Fall 2025

Course Type

Credit - Degree-applicable

Contact Hours

54

Outside of Class Hours

108

Total Student Learning Hours

162

Course Objectives

  1. Analyze the impact of the American Constitution on American cultural and political developments with an emphasis on race, class, gender and ethnicity. 
  2. Evaluate California state government within a broad, national context.
  3. Compose coherent, persuasive historical argument using correct academic citation methods
  4. Differentiate primary and secondary sources and how each are used to make historical claims
  5. Investigate major political, economic and social change in the United States with emphasis on race, class, gender and/or ethnicity
  6. Compare and contrast the struggles and contributions of Asian Americans in the formation of the United States and California, with other major groups like European Americans, African Americans, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and Chicanx/Latinx.

General Education Information

  • Approved College Associate Degree GE Applicability
    • AA/AS - Literature & Language
    • AA/AS - Social Sciences
  • CSU GE Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU approval)
    • Cal-GETC Applicability (Recommended - Requires External Approval)
      • IGETC Applicability (Recommended-requires CSU/UC approval)

        Articulation Information

        • CSU Transferable
        • UC Transferable

        Methods of Evaluation

        • Objective Examinations
          • Example: Chinese women who immigrated to America in the nineteenth century were considered a. Equal to men b. Superior to men c. Property of men d. Independent women Write 2-3 sentences explaining your response.

        Repeatable

        No

        Methods of Instruction

        • Lecture/Discussion
        • Distance Learning

        Lecture:

        1. The instructor will assign primary source materials on the Asian American experience in California for students to read prior to class. In lecture/discussion format, the instructor will use these materials as a starting point to compare and contrast historical points of view in either classroom/web-based discussions or in writing assignments.
        2. The instructor will provide material in lecture format (either oral or written) on Supreme Court rulings. The instructor will divide students into groups (either in web-based discussions or in classrooms) and have students summarize and analyze the material. Instructor will monitor and support group discussions as necessary.
        3. The instructor will divide students into small groups and have them compare their summary of assigned reading and their reactions to Executive Order 906
        4. While students discuss the source and their thoughts, the instructor will provide guidance and support as the instructor walks from group to group.

        Distance Learning

        1. The instructor will make a video lecture with a PowerPoint presentation. The instructor will include details of the topic and the historical context. The students will watch this before beginning the Discussion Board. The instructor will assign a Discussion Board assignment in the online course, which requires the students to compare and contrast Japanese and Chinese immigration in the late 19th century in a post. The students must then respond to two students in the discussion board.

        Typical Out of Class Assignments

        Reading Assignments

        1. Based upon reading assignments reflected in the course syllabus, complete the reading "Asian American History: An introduction” by Cathy J. Schlund-Vials and be prepared to discuss the material in class and as part of written examinations. 2. Complete reading in assigned course reader “Contemporary Asian America (third edition): A Multidisciplinary Reader” by Min Zhou (Editor), Anthony Christian Ocampo (Editor), 2016. and be prepared to summarize both orally and in a carefully written paragraph.

        Writing, Problem Solving or Performance

        1. Based upon reading and class discussions, write a 500-word essay contrasting the lives of first and second generation Chinese women in San Francisco. 2. Make a timeline of Asian immigration to the United States and the local, state, and federal laws that allowed or prohibited their rights in both California and the United States.

        Other (Term projects, research papers, portfolios, etc.)

        In ten pages (typewritten) answer the following prompts based on your reading in Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese American Family by Toshiko Uchida” Describe Uchida’s childhood and explain the differences in the experience of Issei and Nisei in Berkeley, California. Analyze the experiences of her mother’s life as a wife and mother. Explain the role of Japanese language and culture in the Uchida home. Explain the aftermath of the bombing of Pearl Harbor and how Mr. Uchida was affected. Describe in detail, what those who were forcibly evacuated experienced. Analyze the legacy and significance of Japanese Internment during WWII.

        Required Materials

        • The First Asians in the Americas: A Transpacific History
          • Author: Diego Javier Luis
          • Publisher: Harvard University Press
          • Publication Date: 2024
          • Text Edition: 1st
          • Classic Textbook?: No
          • OER Link:
          • OER:
        • Asian American History
          • Author: Huping Ling
          • Publisher: Rutgers University Press
          • Publication Date: 2023
          • Text Edition: 1sr
          • Classic Textbook?: No
          • OER Link:
          • OER:
        • Asian American Histories of the United States
          • Author: Catherine Ceniza Choy
          • Publisher: Beacon Press
          • Publication Date: 2022
          • Text Edition: 1sr
          • Classic Textbook?: No
          • OER Link:
          • OER:
        • Desert Exile: The Uprooting of a Japanese American Family (Classics of Asian American Literature)
          • Author: Yoshiko Uchida
          • Publisher: University of Washington Press
          • Publication Date: 2015
          • Text Edition: 1st
          • Classic Textbook?: Yes
          • OER Link:
          • OER:

        Other materials and-or supplies required of students that contribute to the cost of the course.