Department of Ethnic Studies & Asian American Studies Program

1. ETHN 14: Introduction to Asian American Studies Professor James Fabionar Department of Ethnic Studies & Asian American Studies Program California State University, Sacramento Week 1 Session 1 Welcome and Course Overview

2. 5-Minute Quick Write Engage these questions (separately or together) in reflective writing: • What is the Asian and Pacific Islander American Experience? • How would you describe your experience as a APIA?

3. Overview • Introductions – Professor, TAs, ISAs • Goals – What are we here to learn? • Organization – How will we learn? • Materials – What texts will we engage? • Assignments – What work will we produce? • Grading – How will our work be evaluated? • Expectations – How can we ensure a positive and successful experience? • Brief History of Ethnic Studies (if time allows)

4. Course Website www.ethn14f15.weebly.com Password: fcp1516

5. Professor Fabionar’s Background • Former high school teacher and administrator • BA Ethnic Studies and Communication, UCSD • History/Social Science Teaching Credential, CSUS • Ph.D. in Educational Policy, UCD • Areas of Research: • Poverty in K-12 Education • Politics of race with focus on educational policy • High school to college pipelines for vulnerable student populations

6. TAs and ISAs Teaching Assistants: • Sherrie Calibo (Sections 80 and 90) – 4th Year FCP • Peter Han (Sections 81 and 91) 3rd Year FCP ISAs • Mary Angela Sarte – 3rd Year FCP • Pakou Her – 3rd Year FCP

7. Course Goals – What will we learn? • Important concepts, themes, and theories in Ethnic Studies and Asian American Studies • Population histories of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans • How race influences politics in the United States (and vice-versa) and how APIAs are positioned in these processes. • About our own experiences and the experiences of others in the context of national and global ethnic diversity • Critical thinking, reading, and writing skills

8. Organization – How will Learn? • Part 1: Important Themes and Concepts (Weeks 1-4) • Goals: To understand the emergence of the field of ethnic studies, nature of its scholarship, and foundational ideas and concepts. • Part 2: Population Histories (Weeks 5-9) • Goals: To compare groups according to crosscutting themes associated with racial and ethnic experiences. • Part 3: Politics of Race and Ethnicity (Weeks 10-15) • Goals: To analyze, using ideas and concepts from Part 1 and histories from Part 2, three contemporary political issues affecting APIAs: media representations, educational opportunity, and immigration.

9. Materials – What texts will we engage? • Three required texts: • Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her Doctors, and a Collision of Two Cultures. (Part I) • Bulosan’s America is in the Heart • Huang’s Fresh Off the Boat • All other materials can be found on the course website. These include links to videos documentaries, short stories, literature, historical documents. • Powerpoint slides of lectures are available on the course website.

10. Assignments – What work will we produce? • In Class Midterm and Final Examinations • Online Book Discussions (OBD) – Online postings with a small group of peers. • Reading Notes (RN) – Each session you are expected to bring one to two pages of notes on the assigned readings. • Notes should include: summaries, questions, and reflections. • These should show that you have given considerable thought to assigned texts in preparation for lecture and discussion. • At random, these will be collected five times this semester and graded as part of your engagement score.

11. Grading – How will we be evaluated? Engagement (Preparation (Reading Notes), Attendance, and Participation) 30% Online Book Discussions 25%                                                                                                                                                               In-class Midterm Exam (Week 8) 20% Take-home Final Exam                           25%   

12. Expectations – How can we ensure a positive and successful experience? • Attendance: Consistent attendance is crucial for success in this class. Students are expected to attend each class session. You may be absent one time before your grade is affected. Please email the instructor in the event that you have an emergency or are ill and cannot attend class. An attendance sheet will be passed around each session.  • Participation: Students are expected to actively and respectfully engage in all course activities. This course is concerned with developing reflexive, concerned, and conscientious thinkers.

13. Expectations continued • Preparation: Students are expected to bring in one to two pages of essay work/readings notes to each class session. • Electronic Devices: Technology can be used to enhance learning. However, cell phones, computers, and other advancements can pull focus and undermine our work together. If your devices are not being used solely for the sake of engaging in the course, they should be turned off and stowed away. • Email: I check email once a day and generally respond within two days. I do my best to be accessible to students via office hours,   before and after class, and by appointment.

14. ETHN 14History and Goals of Ethnic Studies

16. World War II (1939 – 1945) • The victory in Europe and the Pacific elevated the U.S. in status and wealth. • African Americans and other groups who fought for the country abroad but still faced de jure and de facto discrimination at home posed a moral dilemma for the new powerhouse. • The GI Bill provided access to university education for populations that had historically been excluded.

17. Civil Rights Movement (1955 – 1968) • Racial equality was a major national and moral dilemma in the post-WWII era. • De facto and De jure segregation and discrimination limited opportunities for African Americans and other groups. • The Supreme Court case, Brown V. Board of Education, reflects a nation grappling with legacies of discrimination. • African Americans and allies used tactics of civil disobedience.

18. Free Speech Movement (1964-65) • Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, student and faculty political participation was restricted to narrow forms of engagement. • UC Berkeley became an active place of protest. • Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). • Student protests were happening around the world. • Students demanded the right to political protests on university campuses, including free speech areas.

19. War in Southeast Asia • 1968, a year of devastating tragedies, began with the Tet Offense in Vietnam. • Cover up of My Lai massacre (March) • Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (April) and Robert Kennedy assassinated (June). • Presidential election year. • University campuses became sites of political organization, protest and unrest. • Increasingly, there was a convergence of interests among “third world” peoples in the United States.

20. Ethnic Studies: Evolving the University-Community Relationship • Young people played a central role in the creation of ethnic studies. • Protest strategies were inherited from earlier struggles for equality. • College and university campuses were at the center of intense social transformation. • “Third World” groups demanded representation. • Key goal: fundamental changes to curriculum, hiring of women and ethnic minority faculty, and increased service to communities of color.

21. To Prepare for Next Session • Purchase/Rent books. Begin reading the Fadiman book (Ch 1-5 due next week – more on this Wed). • Prepare and bring to Wednesday’s class Reading Notes (RN) of Hu-Dehart (1993) Princeton Report (2013). • Should be At least 500 words words of notes (roughly one single-spaced type written pages of notes) that (1) identifies the argument, (2) provides evidence (quotes or paraphrased passages) that illustrates the argument, and (3) elaboration of these ideas (your opinion or interpretation of these ideas)