The Concentration
The Asian American Studies Program at Williams launched in 2023-24, and is intellectually connected to a broader, vibrant interdisciplinary field of study fought for by student activists in the 1960s. Its research and teaching are grounded in histories, social relations, and cultural expressions related to Asian American, Asian immigrant, and/or Asian diasporic people—yet Asian American Studies is not simply about people of Asian descent in America. The field also offers critical insights into race and racism, colonialism and empire, immigration and diaspora, war and militarism, labor and embodiment, citizenship and identity, and much more—all while understanding that the presumed Asian American subject at the imagined center of this field is a socially constructed term with ever-shifting meaning and boundaries.
Why Study Asian American Studies?
Asian American Studies is a multidisciplinary study of society, history, literature, religion, culture, and art that fosters an understanding of the issues facing Asian American people today. You’ll be encouraged to practice intersectional analyses of difference and think about the social and cultural construction of power, place, and identity. Scholars, artists, and activists in the field consistently generate critical insights related to Asian American and Asian diasporic racial formation; performance, dance, and literature; migration; experiences with war and empire; and more. Asian American Studies is a necessary part of a strong ethnic studies curriculum, and crucial to a meaningful and powerful liberal arts education.
Asian American Studies courses are taught by faculty with a wide range of expertise, and sit at the crossroads of Asian American Studies and many other disciplines or interdisciplinary fields. These intersections make our classes dynamic and exciting, while putting students in conversation with different majors and concentrators.
Concentration Requirements
The concentration in Asian American Studies requires five courses and a final portfolio project. While we encourage students to declare the concentration in the spring of their sophomore year, the final deadline to declare is by the end of junior year. It is also highly recommended that you take at least four of the five required courses for the concentration before the spring semester of your senior year. One of the courses may be taken while studying abroad or away.
To ensure that you are exposed to a variety of methods and perspectives in the field, it is strongly recommended that you take no more than three courses toward the concentration with the same professor. Your five courses must also represent at least two divisions of the college. For example, if four of your AAS courses are Div II, the fifth must be from Div I or Div III.
Required Courses
- One introductory gateway course at the 100- or 200-level
- Three electives that meet the following, non-mutually-exclusive, requirements:
- One must be a core elective
- One must take a transnational, diasporic, or comparative ethnic studies approach
- One must be at the 300-level or higher
- One 400-level seminar
Portfolio Project
You will complete a portfolio project during the spring semester of your senior year. The project is independent and does not require registration for a special course.
The portfolio is an opportunity to synthesize and reflect on what you have learned from your work in the concentration. It includes one assignment from each of your five AAS courses, as well as an essay about the guiding research questions that emerged during your journey through the concentration and what AAS influences (e.g., scholars, writers, artists, or activists) have shaped your thinking, writing, creative work and more.
While faculty are happy to speak with you as you work on your portfolio, it is meant to be a self-directed project. You will also be required to give peer feedback to your classmates during the spring semester.
Students pursuing an honors thesis with an Asian American studies focus do not have to complete a portfolio project. Please let the chair of the program know if you are planning on, or are seriously interested in pursuing this option in the semester before your senior year.