Class Schedules

This course introduces the basic issues and concepts of Asian American Studies. We begin by looking at the birth of Asian American Studies as a field in response to student protests in the late 1960s. We then proceed to an overview of Asian American history beginning with U.S. imperialism in Asia and moving up to the present moment. For the remainder of the course we’ll focus on particular topics such as: the model minority myth; anti-Asian violence; multiracial Asian American identity; and Asian American activism. The approach of this course is interdisciplinary; it draws on theoretical and methodological insights from academic disciplines such as history, ethnic studies, and sociology.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

From the Philippine-American War (1898-1910) to the global uprisings of May 2020, white supremacy and US imperialism have marched hand-in-hand, buttressed by cultures of violence and literal guns and tanks. Yet cracks in the walls of racism and empire have also always existed, with gestures of solidarity and whole solidarity movements pushing forward with new possibilities and imagined futures. In this discussion-based course, we will look for the common threads that link David Fagen (Black U.S. army soldier who defected and joined the Philippine nationalists in 1899) to the Vietnam antiwar movement (1955-1975) and to Grace Lee Boggs (Chinese American philosopher activist based in Detroit, 1905-2015) along with many other individuals and events. Among the significant questions we will consider are: What makes an insurrectionist different from an ally or a rabble rouser or a survivalist? What lessons can be drawn from the global COVID pandemic and the Russian war in Ukraine? How can we replace a culture of violence with a culture of peace? Books and films include: The White Racial Frame (Joe Feagin), How to be an Anti-Racist (Ibram X. Kendi), "Amigo" (John Sayles), "American Revolutionary" (Grace Lee).

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

The readings and assignments in this course are designed to help students understand how social policies and programs contribute to Americans' lived experiences.  We will examine various theoretical justifications for the policies that constitute the American welfare state, then confront and dissect major strands of the American social safety net to better understand how political institutions and policy mechanisms contribute to both diversity and inequality in individuals' social, economic and political outcomes (based in race, class, gender, dis/ability, region, political jurisdiction, etc.).

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The history of American Indians is wonderfully complex, but this history is simultaneously fraught with misconceptions and misinterpretations. European (and, later, Euro-Americans) alternated among fascination, fear, and frustration toward American Indians, while American Indians sought to maintain tribal sovereignty and control over their lands, cultures, religions, politics, and lifestyles amidst continuing encroachment and settlement. This course examines American Indian history to 1871 - the year that Congress stopped making treaties with Native nations - by considering the complicated and multifaceted history of the nation's indigenous people. By looking at American Indian interactions with Spanish, French, British, and American explorers, settlers, missionaries, militaries, and government officials, this courses argues that the history of American Indians is essential to understanding past as well as present issues. Furthermore, this course looks to move beyond the notion that American Indian history is one of inevitable decline by creating a more nuanced understanding of the American Indian experience from pre-contact toward the twentieth century.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course is an introduction to Indigenous law and politics within and beyond the borders of the United States. Through debates around Indigenous governance, we will explore key concepts and theoretical frameworks of Indigenous gender and sexuality as a core analytical frame and method. Indigenous self-determination as a research agenda involves “processes of transformation, of decolonization, of healing, and of mobilization,” according to Linda Tuhiwai Smith. Students will generate a research project engaged with the political imperatives of self-determination, feminist research methods as well as recent intersections and queries of Indigenous studies.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Since the early twentieth century, the environment and sustainability have been core platforms across most contemporary social movements. This course begins its focus on the history of environmental activism locally in the Twin Cities to flashpoints across the Mississippi River watershed and beyond. Through a study of key figures and cases, we will explore the history and mobilization of environmental, climate and sustainability activism; the relationship between colonial and capitalist systems to contemporary environmental racism and inequality; and divergent approaches to research and scientific philosophies and practices. Students will work collaboratively on a community-based research project as part of their course portfolio.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This survey course will explore history, policy, and pedagogy as they relate to race, ethnicity, and culture as education. K-12 public education will be the primary focus with topics including desegregation, standardized testing, multi-cultural and ethnocentric pedagogy, the teacher's role and experience, and significant historical events in education. The course will culminate by analyzing current trends and future expectations in education.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course will address the tradition of public intellectuals in numerous Black communities. We will expand the definition of "politics" to include theater, literature, and film. We will interrogate the concept of who chooses the scholarly leaders for Black communities. We will examine numerous topics such as Communism, The American Dream, Incarceration, Feminism, and Ebony Voices in the Ivory Tower.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

After a brief but essential global history of drugs, this course will focus primarily on the 20th century to the present. We will examine histories of substance use and abuse, temperance and prohibition, the "War on Drugs," the shifting concept of addiction as a moral failing to addiction as a treatable disease, as well as study the history of the recovery movement and harm reduction. This course is not intended to be an exhaustive, comprehensive history of the subject-but it will provide you with a solid base from which to explore other aspects of this fascinating and contentious aspect of human history.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Endarkened Feminist Epistemology (EFE) is an approach to research that honors the wisdom, memory, spirituality, and critical interventions of transnational Black woman’s ways of knowing (Dillard, 2016). A framework created by scholar Dr. Cynthia Dillard, it articulates how reality is known from the vantage point of transnational Black women -transnational recognizing the connections between African descended women throughout the diaspora as well as the continent. This class will explore EFE’s claims and methodologies, as well as center other transnational Black women whose work helps us make connections between history, spirituality, and our collective positionality within academia.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

The release of jazz pianist Cecil Taylor's 1956 debut album, "Jazz Advance", established yet another artistic benchmark – experimental, virtuosic, individually and collectively expressive – that subsequent jazz musicians would need to reach, and surpass. Jazz history is full of such threshold moments, as each generation continued to elevate jazz – and thus the entire diaspora of Black America – to new artistic and socially progressive heights. This course will trace the advancement of jazz from a regional articulation of African-American culture (New Orleans at the turn of the twentieth century), to a diverse international phenomenon, one whose fundamental thrust has served as a foil to prevailing white hegemony. There are three basic aims: (1) a general historical survey of jazz's development, through primary source and scholarly readings, (2) an analysis of the stylistic evolution of jazz through the study of repertoire and recordings, and (3) critical analysis of race, gender, and cultural conflict throughout the ongoing legacy of what has been called one of America's great musical art forms. The course will be mildly technical, with some use of printed music, but mainly designed to be accessible to students of all musical backgrounds. A particular emphasis is placed on listening; students will become familiar by ear with a wide variety of jazz repertoire, artists, and styles.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course provides an interdisciplinary discussion of the Latino experience in the United States with a focus on Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Cuban- Americans. Using fiction, poetry, films and critical essays, we will examine issues of race and ethnicity, language, identity, gender and sexuality, politics, and immigration. This course satisfies the Area 2 requirement for the Spanish major. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 305 or SPAN 306

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Designed as a “practicum” (cohort study + internship), the Fall 2022 Junior Seminar will focus on three themes: public health, environmental justice, and prison abolition. Two core concepts from American Studies– interdisciplinarity and ethical community partnerships–will connect and ground those themes. Through reading, reflection, discussion, and writing, we will explore the interactions across academic knowledge; self & community knowledge; work styles and communication; and what it means to “care” about an issue. In-class, side-by-side encounters with alumni and mentors from the internship sites will spur conversation on social change, career discernment, navigating resources, and stewarding relationships. The seminar will meet on Monday nights. During the night class, we will reflect on, write about, and contextualize your internship experiences; we will also meet with community leaders and alumni who will provide career advice and help you to plan for the future. This course requires concurrent registration in a 2-credit internship, which will satisfy the internship requirement for the American Studies major. Over the course of 10 weeks, you will spend 8 additional hours a week at your internship, for which you will receive 2 additional credits (for a total of 80 hours).

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

The Senior Capstone is required of all majors. Majors who meet college criteria are encouraged to conduct an honors project in conjunction with their Senior Capstone.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

The main objectives of this introductory course are: to explore the historical construction of racial categories in the United States; to understand the systemic impact of racism on contemporary social processes; to consider popular views about race in the light of emerging scholarship in the field; and to develop an ability to connect personal experiences to larger, collective realities. We will engage several questions as a group: What are the historical and sociological foundations of racial categories? When does focusing on race make someone racist? What is white privilege, and why does it matter? All students will be asked to think and write about their own racial identity. This course, or its equivalent, is required for majors and minors.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

In this introductory course, we will study African American literature from its origins to the present. We will study major genres and movements, including the Harlem Renaissance, The Black Arts Movement, and Afrofuturism. We will learn to use the tools of literary analysis in order to read closely, critically, appreciatively—and collectively. Themes of national critique, solidarity, and futurism will focus our study. Authors will include: David Walker, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin, Octavia Butler, and Janelle Monáe, among others. Requirements include: brief written responses to the readings, one medium length essay and a revision of it, and a final project that will include a written component. This course fulfills either the foundation course in literature requirement or the literature by U.S. writers of color requirement for the English major.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

In this introductory course, we will study African American literature from its origins to the present. We will study major genres and movements, including the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts Movement, and Afrofuturism. We will learn to use the tools of literary analysis in order to read closely, critically, appreciatively—and collectively. Themes of prophesy, literary experimentation, and beauty will focus our study. Authors will include: David Walker, Harriet Jacobs, W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Amiri Baraka, Nikki Giovanni, James Baldwin, Octavia Butler, Claudia Rankine, and Ross Gay. Requirements include: a presentation, brief written responses to the readings, one medium length essay and a revision of it, and a final project that will include a written component. This course fulfills either the foundation course in literature requirement or the literature by U.S. writers of color requirement for the English major.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course will ask if the election of the nation’s first Black president changed the face of African-American leadership and activism since the height of the civil rights and Black power movements. We will study African Americans in the political system from a historical context. The running themes of the course are crafted to consider the following questions: What are the historical dynamics that have shaped and continue to shape the relationship between African Americans and the American political system? Under what conditions have Blacks been able to exert influence in the political system? What exactly are Black political interests? Finally, we will analyze the strategies of electoral politics versus social activism.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course will focus on some of Asian American Literature’s salient texts and recurring themes. Through readings and class discussion, we will explore issues of ethnicity, race, gender, and community in the work of authors like Jhumpa Lahiri, Maxine Hong Kingston, Celeste Ng, Chang-Rae Lee, and Ocean Vuong, among others. We will also examine the political formation of the term “Asian American;” question narratives like the “model minority;” and consider how news media, pop culture, and the publishing industry have played a role in shaping the production and reception of Asian American writing. Class events will include guest lectures from Asian American authors with recently published books.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course will introduce students to interdisciplinary research approaches to the study of race, ethnicity, and other categories of difference. Students will learn to conceptualize and design research projects, and will obtain hands-on experience in executing different methods. The course will also consider the critiques of systems of knowledge production and research approaches that have been informed by scholars from fields such as African American history, gender studies, and critical race studies, as well as from the disciplines. The goal is to develop an understanding of the assumptions embedded in many fields of inquiry, and to learn to apply critical approaches to important research questions. Prerequisite(s): AMST 101, AMST 103, or AMST 110.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course examines Native American history since 1871. We begin with an introduction to Indigenous history before 1871, characterized by centuries of Euro-American attempts to colonize and Christianize, to assimilate Native bodies and allot Native lands. We will then analyze the ways in which Native Americans have continually fought to sustain their cultures, languages, and religions, as well as their political and socio-economic structures, throughout the 20th and into the 21st centuries. Focusing on themes such as Native resistance to the development of U.S. federal policies and the proliferation of Native culture, we will also consider the shifting nature of Native American sovereignty and the importance of indigenous identity in regards to the experiences of Native Americans. Meets the post-1800 requirement, and can count towards "Colonization and Empire," or "Race and Indigeneity," or "Law and Social Justice," or "North America" fields.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Poor and minority populations have historically borne the brunt of environmental inequalities in the United States, suffering disproportionately from the effects of pollution, resource depletion, dangerous jobs, limited access to common resources, and exposure to environmental hazards. Paying particular attention to the ways that race, ethnicity, class, and gender have shaped the political and economic dimensions of environmental injustices, this course draws on the work of scholars and activists to examine the long history of environmental inequities in the United States, along with more recent political movements-national and local-that seek to rectify environmental injustices.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Asian Americans are often overlooked in the study of religion in the U.S., and yet the impact of Asian religious practices can be seen at every turn: yoga studios, mindfulness meditation, “zen” aesthetics of minimalism, and so on. What do we make of the gap between how Asian religions are practiced in Asian American communities and how these traditions have been reinterpreted by predominantly white, educated, middle class adherents? How do Asian American Christians negotiate their identities in the context of non-Asian Christian churches or the intergenerational tensions within their own ethnic churches? The approach of this course is interdisciplinary (and sometimes counterdisciplinary); it draws on theoretical and methodological insights from ethnic studies, religious studies, history, and sociology. Topics include: race and the racialization of Asian Americans; the politics of cultural and religious exchange; the commodification of Asian religious practices; and issues of assimilation and hybridity within Asian American Christian traditions.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

From ongoing struggles for Black liberation, Indigenous sovereignty to the moral panic about “critical race theory” in the public schools, there is little doubt about the ongoing significance of how “race” is lived and contested in the US. In this course, we will develop a specialized vocabulary for recognizing the interplay of race, place, and space. We will do this by exploring a variety of perspectives in Geography and related disciplines. Local site visits, guest speakers and student-led discussions will be key opportunities that help us to further situate racialization in the Twin Cities and the US in broader perspective.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Racism has been written into the United States' laws and entrenched in its institutions for much of its history. Understanding how laws and race intersect to shape institutions is critical to any analysis on race. This course will be divided into two sections. In Section 1, we will examine how court cases and government actions have moved towards equality in six public policy areas: citizenship, education, voting, employment, housing, and marriage. In Section 2, we will learn about and apply the framework of Critical Race Theory to the public policy areas discussed in Section 1.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Since the development of the first atomic weapon, nuclear power has come to define the American and global political and cultural landscape. Fantasies of annihilation and ruin not only define the contemporary political imaginary but also obscure the past and delimit notions of time, space, and futurity  Join us as we trace contemporary U.S. history and environmental policy and the stakes of "wastelanding" through art, culture and activism.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This discussion-based course is entirely focused on Bruce Lee, the actor and leading martial arts icon of the 20th century. Using American Studies and Critical Race Studies frames to examine the construction of racialized and gendered bodies, we will discuss Bruce Lee in terms of his biography, identities, politics, philosophy, and filmography. We will take time to appreciate the entertainment value and athleticism that Bruce Lee brought to his work, but we will also learn to distinguish the commercialized, commodified Bruce Lee (from t-shirts to posters to action figures) from the serious historical figure who symbolized the spirit of cultural independence and political sovereignty around the world. Among the required books and movies: The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and "Way of the Dragon" (1972).

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

From notions of the "pure self" to teenage ganguro ("face-blackening"), Japanese culture is rife with instances of ideology and performance that reflect a deep complexity in its engagement with issues of identity and foreignness. This course traces the roots of this complexity back to Japan's beginnings as a modern nation and examines its cultural development into the present day. Works of fiction will be paired with readings in history and criticism to explore the meanings of identity, race, and ethnicity as they are expressed and contested in Japanese culture. The course will cover the literature of Korea and Taiwan, the experience of domestic minorities, and the contemporary cultures of cos-play ("costume-play") and hip-hop. No prior knowledge of Japanese required.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

In 1966, sociologist William Peterson published an article in the New York Times titled, “Success Story, Japanese-American Style,” which praised Japanese Americans, their family structure, and their culture for achieving education and financial success despite having been incarcerated en masse during World War II. This marks the first articulation of model minority myth, which stereotypes Asian American as being successful, hardworking, law-abiding, and dutiful, relative to other minoritized groups. So, how did Japanese Americans go from being perceived as enemy spies to the original “model minority”? This course will examine the history and experience of Japanese Americans from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, with an eye toward Japanese American activism and resistance. Topics will include: U.S. imperialism in Asia; the effects of incarceration during World War II; Japanese Americans in Hawai’i; Japanese American organizing against Islamophobia and the mass incarceration of migrants at the border; and Japanese American solidarity with the civil rights movement and reparations for African Americans.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

This course explores Malcolm X: the man, the myth, and the movement. X was a man of many pieces, sometime contradictory, that we explore through various representations: autobiographical, screenplay and film, hip hop music and culture, black international opinion (and FBI surveillance documents), a young adult novel (co-written by his daughter Ilyasah Shabazz), and though comparison with his contemporary, Frantz Fanon, a revolutionary activist and theorist of decolonialism and a critic of antiblackness. Some of the questions we will explore include the following: Why do we engage in myth-making? Can we distinguish Malcolm the man from Malcolm the myth? How does the religious studies category of “hagiography help us to understand some representations of Malcolm X? What are the perils of hagiography? Was Malcolm’s religion merely a prop for his politics? Assuming it was not, how do we do justice to the religious dimensions of his life? How does Malcolm X’s religious itinerary help us understand who he was?

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Black and Latinx Educational Histories and Voices will examine the historical, cultural, political, and socio-economic factors that shape the schooling experiences of our two largest minority populations: Black (including African Americans, West Indians, African immigrants), and Latinx/Afro-Latinx communities. In terms of educational policy discourse such as desegregation, bilingual education, and affirmative action measures almost no other groups have been discussed together than Black and Latinx students. Black and Latinx students are increasingly resegregated together in our urban schools and have been over-named groups in school accountability measures such as No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. This course looks at the shared, threaded, and disconnected histories of Black, Latinx, and Afro-Latinx experiences in U.S. schools. Examination of the tensions, historical parallels, and historical discontinuities between said groups will contribute to a deeper understanding of the contemporary educational landscape and the very purpose of U.S. public schooling.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course connects students with urban social geography, which studies the social and spatial dimensions of city life. In this course, we will explore some of the ways in which urban society is organized geographically. We will also consider how the spatial patterns of urban life influence public policy issues in the North American context. Topics covered in this course include causes of racial segregation, debates about gentrification, sustainable urban development, the transition to shared governance in cities, and the delivery of urban services that affect the welfare of urban populations. Students will learn current research, engage debates about critical urban issues, and learn techniques useful for analyzing spatial patterns in the urban landscape. Prerequisite(s): GEOG 241 or GEOG 261 or GEOG 262 or permission of instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course explores the history and politics of, and theoretical approaches to, gender and sexuality in relation to the racial politics of mass incarceration, or what Ruth Wilson Gilmore calls the "carceral geography" of the United States. By engaging recent work in queer and trans studies, feminist studies, and critical prison studies, we will consider how prisons and policing have shaped the making and remaking of race, gender, and sexuality from slavery and conquest to the contemporary period. We will examine how police and prisons have regulated the body, identity, and populations, and the larger social, political, and cultural changes connected to these processes. While we will focus on the carceral system itself, we will also think of policing in a more expansive way by analyzing the racialized regulation of gender and sexuality on the plantation, in the colony, at the border, in the welfare office, and in the hospital, among other spaces, historical periods, and places.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course will focus on the African diaspora in the western hemisphere, specifically the formation of maroon communities in both North and South America. Theories of place-making and architectural design will shape the understanding of the people, languages, and cultural practices that provided a social infrastructure for resistance and rebellion against colonialism and enslavement between 1529 and 1794. Counts for race/indigeneity, pre-1800, and justice/law categories of the history major.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

The border region between the United States and Mexico exists as both a physical space and an ideological construct. This seminar uses literary and filmic narratives to explore issues of identity, opportunity, and violence that arise from this contested space. How does the border shape individual and cultural identities? In what ways does the border create opportunities for both advancement and exploitation? How do these works engage conflicts and tensions of race, nationalism, gender, and power? The course will include writers and filmmakers from both countries, and we will read original texts both in Spanish and English. This course satisfies the Area 2 requirement for the Spanish major. Prerequisite(s): SPAN 308 or consent of the instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials