The concentration in Asian American Studies requires five courses and a final portfolio project:
- 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
- the portfolio project is completed during the spring semester of a student’s senior year; it is done independently and does not involve registering for a special course; see below for detailed information about the portfolio
Additional notes about the concentration:
- divisional spread: to complete the concentration, your five courses must represent at least two different divisions of the college (for example, if four of your AAS courses are Div II courses, the fifth must come from Div I or Div III)
- to ensure that students are exposed to a variety of methods and perspectives in the field, it is strongly recommended that students take no more than three courses toward the concentration with the same professor
- one of the courses may be taken while studying abroad or away
- it is highly recommended that students take at least four of the five required courses for the concentration before the spring semester of their senior year
- the deadline to declare the concentration is the end of a student’s junior year
About the portfolio:
The portfolio asks students to synthesize and reflect upon what they have learned from their work in the concentration. While faculty in the program are happy to speak with students as they put their portfolios together, the portfolio is meant to be a self-directed project. Senior concentrators working on their portfolios will be required to give each other peer feedback during the spring semester. The portfolio includes:
- One assignment (minimum of 5 double-spaced pages long if written) from each of their five courses in the concentration
- Entries should be arranged chronologically. Each entry should include the course number/title/term for which it was produced and a brief description of the assignment for which it was completed.
- Non-written work (e.g., video or audio) is welcome, in which case a URL or QR code to an online version of the content should be provided as a portfolio entry.
- 8-10 page essay that offers a concise account of the student’s intellectual development throughout the concentration experience. This essay should answer the following two questions:
- Looking back over your work, please describe the central guiding or research questions that have emerged during your journey through the concentration. Please make specific references to the assignments you’ve collected in your portfolio.
- Who are the other people in the broader field of Asian American Studies (e.g., scholars, writers, artists, or activists) that you see yourself as being in conversation with? Who do you see as your most important interlocutors and/or influences?
- The completed portfolio should include: a title page; page numbers throughout; a table of contents; written peer feedback received from others; a works cited section listing all the works cited in the various entries as well as the 8-10 pp. essay. The portfolio should be combined into one PDF file and submitted electronically to the program chair by the end of the last day of classes.
