Asian American Studies

Effective: Fall 2020
Certificate of Achievement Program Map
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This program map from the 2024-2025 catalog year represents one possible pathway to complete this program. Your pathway may vary depending on your transfer plans and also previous college credit, including AP Test scores, concurrent enrollment courses and high school articulated courses.

I'm ready to get started. What do I do next?

  1. Review this program map to get an overview of the required courses
  2. Meet with a counselor to develop your customized student education plan www.chabotcollege.edu/counseling
  3. Use DegreeWorks, an online student education planning tool, to track your progress toward graduation www.chabotcollege.edu / admissions / degreeworks
Program Description

Asian American Studies was born out of student-led strikes for relevant education in the 1960s, along with other Ethnic Studies programs. Today, it furthers the understanding of diverse Asian American histories, cultures, and contemporary experiences, using an intersectional lens. The program emphasizes interdisciplinary and socially engaged scholarship, research, community service, and activism as they can be applied to addressing injustices and empowerment of the Asian American community.


What can I do with this major?

A degree in Asian American Studies can support work in diverse Asian American communities and can lead toward any of the following career pathways, including:

  • Education
  • Law
  • Social Work
  • Immigrant Rights
  • Civil Rights
  • Journalism
  • Public Health
  • Community and Union Organizing
  • Non-profit/social justice work
  • Government
  • Public Policy
  • Community Development/Urban Planning
  • International Relations. 

Learning and Career Pathway
  • Social Sciences, Humanities & Education

Icon Key

= Critical Course = Prerequisite for Other Courses = Prerequisite Required = Required for Major GE = General Education

Semester 1

12 units

Asian American History: 18th Century to 1945 (Choose one)

3 units

ES 42
Asian American History: 18th Century to 1945

3 units
An exploration of Asian American history from the 18th century to WWII. A critical and comparative analysis of the impacts of race, racialization, white supremacy, orientalism, colonialism, imperialism, war, social inequity, and migration on the first wave of immigrants from China, Japan, Korea, India and the Philippines. Special emphasis will be placed on labor and immigration policies, citizenship, community, social and political resistance, solidarity, and on the intersection of race, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, and class. This course will ask students 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.
Course Details:
Terms Offered: Fall
or

HIS 42
Asian American History: 18th Century to 1945

3 units
An exploration of Asian American history from the 18th century to WWII. A critical and comparative analysis of the impacts of race, racialization, white supremacy, orientalism, colonialism, imperialism, war, social inequity, and migration on the first wave of immigrants from China, Japan, Korea, India and the Philippines. Special emphasis will be placed on labor and immigration policies, citizenship, community, social and political resistance, solidarity, and on the intersection of race, ethnicity, immigration status, gender, and class. This course will ask students 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.
Course Details:

List A Course

3 units
Choose 1 course (3 units) from List A below.
See the full list: (Click here)

List B Course #1

3 units
Choose one course from List B below.
See the full list: (Click here)

General Education Course- see a counselor to choose the appropriate general education pattern and general ed course option for this term.

3 units
GE

Semester 2

9 units

Asian American History: Early 20th Century-21st Century (Choose ES 43 or HIS 43)

3 units

ES 43
Asian American History: Early 20th Century - 21st Century

3 units
A historical survey and critical comparative analysis of the impacts of race, racialization, white supremacy, imperialism, war, social inequity, and migration on Asian Americans from the early 20th century to the present. Major topics will include wars, refugees, immigration policies and settlement patterns, citizenship, laws, labor and socioeconomic class, decolonization, anti-racist struggles, resistance and solidarity, education, discrimination, and social identity. An intersectional frame will be applied, examining the role of race, ethnicity, immigration status, religion, language, gender, sexuality, and class. The course will interrogate the term “Asian American” and apply comparative analysis among diverse groups including Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, South Asian, and Southeast Asian. 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.
Course Details:
Terms Offered: Spring
or

HIS 43
Asian American History: Early 20th Century - 21st Century

3 units
A historical survey and critical comparative analysis of the impacts of race, racialization, white supremacy, imperialism, war, social inequity, and migration on Asian Americans from the early 20th century to the present. Major topics will include wars, refugees, immigration policies and settlement patterns, citizenship, laws, labor and socioeconomic class, decolonization, anti-racist struggles, resistance and solidarity, education, discrimination, and social identity. An intersectional frame will be applied, examining the role of race, ethnicity, immigration status, religion, language, gender, sexuality, and class. The course will interrogate the term “Asian American” and apply comparative analysis among diverse groups including Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, South Asian, and Southeast Asian. 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.
Course Details:
Terms Offered: Rotating

List B Course #2

3 units
Choose one course from List B below
See the full list: (Click here)

List B Course #3

3 units
Choose one course from List B below
See the full list: (Click here)

List A

Introduction to Asian American Studies (Choose one)

3 units

ES 10
Introduction to Asian American Studies

3 units
An examination of the experiences and perspectives of Asian Americans from mid-1800's to the present. Major topics will include immigration, law, citizenship, racialization, colonialism, imperialism, war, family, political involvement, social movements, education, and employment. Provides a comparative context for understanding the panethnic movement.
Terms Offered: Summer
or

SOCI 10
Introduction to Asian American Studies

3 units
An examination of the experiences and perspectives of Asian Americans from mid-1800's to the present. Major topics will include immigration, law, citizenship, racialization, colonialism, imperialism, war, family, political involvement, social movements, education, and employment. Provides a comparative context for understanding the panethnic movement.
Course Details:

ENGL 25
Asian-American Literature

3 units
Introduction to literary works of fiction, poetry, drama and the essay that reflect and explore the diversity of the Asian-American experience. Analysis of literature in the context of the historical growth of Asian-American identities with a focus on the 20th century.
Terms Offered: Fall

List B

ES 1
Introduction to Ethnic Studies

3 units
An introduction to Ethnic Studies: an interdisciplinary and comparative study of race and ethnicity with a special focus on four historically defined racialized core groups: Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latina/o/x/e Americans. The course will review core concepts and frameworks from Ethnic Studies disciplines, such as racism, white supremacy, settler colonialism, imperialism, self-determination, liberation, decolonization, intersectionality, abolition, anti-racism, and more. Students will apply theories and knowledge produced by communities of color and typically studied in: African American/Black Studies, American Indian/Native American Studies, Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies, and Chicana/o/x/e and Latina/o/x/e Studies. The course will also examine examples of struggle, solidarity and resistance while engaging in current justice and equity movements focused on dismantling white supremacy, colonialism, imperialism, and other forms of oppression targeting communities of color.
Course Details:
  • Transfers to CSU
    • Terms Offered: Spring, Summer, Fall

    ES 2
    Contemporary Ethnic Minority Families in the U.S.

    3 units
    Examination of the diversity of contemporary United States ethnic minority families with an emphasis on comparison and contrast. Family dynamics and processes will be the primary focus within the context of ethnicity. Adaptation and responses to dominant group social constructs and social structures will also be examined. Groups to include: African American; Asian American; Mexican, Central and Latin American; Native American; Middle Eastern American. This course is no longer being offered.
    Course Details:

    ES 3
    Introduction to Muslim-American Studies

    3 units
    An examination of the diversity of Muslim communities in the United States with an emphasis on comparing and contrasting their histories, cultures and experiences. Topics include: patterns of migration; religious beliefs and practice; acculturation and assimilation; political involvement; education and employment; 9/11 and its aftermath; relations with the broader Muslim world. This course is no longer offered.
    Course Details:

    ES 5
    Critiquing Race and Gender in Popular Culture

    3 units
    A critical examination of representations of people of color in popular culture, from historically significant to contemporary examples. Using an intersectional lens of race, ethnicity, gender, class, and sexuality, students will analyze representations from mainstream films, independent cultural productions, music, visual art, and social media, and how characters and communities of color are portrayed and interpret these images as consumers of media. Topics include Hollywood stereotyping, media influencing political and social events, cultural citizenship, and the role of new media, such as video games and social media platforms like YouTube. Students will learn how to critically examine and thoughtfully compare works, while using the lenses of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class to break down decode messages.
    Course Details:
    Terms Offered: Fall, Spring

    ES 6
    Introduction to Pacific Islands and Oceania Studies

    3 units
    This course is an interdisciplinary and comparative study of race and ethnicity with a special focus on the cultures, histories, traditions, experiences, struggles and resistance of the people of the Pacific Islands and Oceania (Polynesian, Micronesian, Melanesian communities) under the broader categorization of one of the four historically defined racialized core groups in Ethnic Studies: Asian American and Pacific Islanders. It consists of an examination of Oceania's history through the pre-colonial period to present events and issues. Key themes include: racism, racialization, self-determination, imperialism, colonialism, settler colonialism, decolonization, immigration, intersecting identities, resistance, justice, liberation, solidarity, and the creative expression of the people of Oceania throughout the diaspora. Groups include: Native Hawai’ian, Samoan, Samoan American, Tongan, Maori, Tahitian. Fijian, Solomon Islanders, Chamorro, Papua New Guinea, Palauan, Marshallese, and Native American.
    Course Details:
  • Transfers to UC
    • Terms Offered: Spring, Summer, Fall

    Women of Color in the United States: Introduction to Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (Choose one)

    3 units

    ES 7
    Women of Color in the United States: Introduction to Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

    3 units
    Critical examination of the historical and socio-cultural experiences of African American, Latinx/a, Asian American, Native American, Arab American, and Pacific Islander women through a feminist perspective. The course will study gender and how it intersects with race, ethnicity, nationality, class, sexuality, religion, and other systems of difference and power. The course will consider various issues related to how racism, capitalism, patriarchy, war, sexual violence, and other systems of power intersect to influence the lives of women of color in the United States, as they may relate to work, family, politics, identity, resistance and artistic expression. Students will also be introduced to Women’s Studies and the study of gender and sexuality
    Terms Offered: Summer, Spring
    or

    SOCI 7
    Women of Color in the United States: Introduction to Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

    3 units
    Critical examination of the historical and socio-cultural experiences of African American, Latinx/a, Asian American, Native American, Arab American, and Pacific Islander women through a feminist perspective. The course will study gender and how it intersects with race, ethnicity, nationality, class, sexuality, religion, and other systems of difference and power. The course will consider various issues related to how racism, capitalism, patriarchy, war, sexual violence and other systems of power intersect to influence the lives of women of color in the United States, as they may relate to work, family, politics, identity, resistance, and artistic expression. Students will also be introduced to Women’s Studies and the study of gender and sexuality
    Course Details:
  • Transfers to CSU
    • Total Units: 21 units
    This program map is not a guarantee of course availability or financial aid applicability.