In the College of Arts and Sciences .
Course Offerings
The Asian American Studies Program is a university-wide, inter- and multi-disciplinary academic program housed administratively within the College of Arts and Sciences. Its aim is to promote teaching, research, and educational activities related to Asians in the Americas and to serve as a resource to campus and regional communities. The program’s undergraduate courses, offered within the program and cross-listed with departments in various colleges, meet distribution requirements and count toward a minor in Asian American Studies. The program does not offer a graduate course of study, but students can undertake graduate work in Asian American Studies within selected disciplines of the university.
Website: asianamericanstudies.cornell.edu/index.cfm
Faculty
D. Chang, V. Munasinghe, S. Wong
Undergraduate Minor
The program’s undergraduate minor affords students an opportunity to develop an inter- and multi-disciplinary approach to the study of Asians in the hemispheric Americas. The course of study stresses developments not only within the United States, but also underscores the transnational and comparative contexts of Asian America and the field’s connections with African American, American Indian, Latino, and Feminist, Gender & Sexuality Studies. Students must work with a faculty advisor from among the program’s affiliated faculty and must complete at least 15 units of credits as follows: (1) AAS 1100 and two additional courses in Asian American Studies; (2) one course in African American, American Indian, U.S. Latino Studies, or Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies*; and (3) one course in East Asian, South Asian, or Southeast Asian Studies.* (*These courses must be approved by the student’s faculty advisor, and they should address issues of race, gender, or the histories and cultures of Asian peoples.) Students must file an application for the minor with the Asian American Studies Program.
Resource Center
The program’s Asian American Studies Resource Center, located in 420 Rockefeller Hall, provides meeting space for undergraduate student organizations. It also holds a modest print collection of books, periodicals, and newspapers; a current news clipping file; a comprehensive database of publications on Asian Americans since 1977; and a sizable collection of videotapes and DVDs as well as music CDs on the Asian American experience. Resource Center staff also maintain the Program and Resource Center website, which includes a national database of Asian American/Pacific Islander-related internships.
Research
The program encourages faculty and student research on Asian Americans by sponsoring guest lectures, conferences, film festivals, readings, and exhibits. It also funds research projects and student travel to conferences and research sites.