Hunter College Fall 2015
Asian Pacific American Media
ASIAN340.01
Date/Time: Mon & Thurs, 1:10-2:25PM
Location: Hunter West 610
Instructor: Prof. Melissa Phruksachart (prook-sa-shart)
Email: mp1365@hunter.cuny.edu
Office hours: By appointment, HW1336
Mailbox: HW1336 (if locked, slip materials under door labeled with my name)
Class blog: http://www.mphruksachart.org/asian340
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course uses moving image-based media as a jumping off point for thinking
about Asian American histories, theories, and experiences. It also provides an
overview of the major themes in the history of Asian Pacific American media. We
begin by articulating working definitions of the terms at hand: race, Asian,
American, media, etc., and we will continually revise and revisit these as the
semester progresses. The course ends in students’ creation of their own media
projects around the themes and concepts we’ve tracked all semester.
LEARNING GOALS
 To gain a better understanding of the logic behind dominant media
representations of Asian Pacific Americans;
 To gain a better understanding of the ways in which Asian Pacific American
cultural producers actively resist, complicate, and transcend these dominant
representations;
 To develop critical and analytical thinking, reading, and writing skills in
relation to Asian Pacific American media practices;
 To forge connections between course materials and our own lived
experiences which resonate in our personal lives, political movements, and
artistic endeavors.
REQUIRED TEXTS
- Additional readings will be given as handouts or posted on the course blog.
- Media will be posted on the blog, screened in class, or will be on reserve on
the second floor of the library. Films on reserve cannot be taken out of the
library; they need to be viewed on your laptop or on the library’s DVD or
VHS players. I encourage you to coordinate with classmates to organize
group viewings.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Using uncredited work that is not your own is plagiarism. Plagiarists receive an
automatic F on the assignment, will be in danger of failing the course, and will be
reported to the Dean’s office. This includes buying a paper on the Internet; copying
and pasting from another source without citation (even if it’s a seemingly
unimportant source like a blog or Wikipedia); having someone else write your
assignments; getting excessive “help” on your work (if you’d like to discuss the limits
of this, see me); recycling your work from another class; or forgetting to cite your
sources. (Yes, even if you forget, it is still plagiarism.)
The College is committed to enforcing the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity and
will pursue cases of academic dishonesty according to the Hunter College Academic
Integrity Procedures.
SCHEDULE
PART I: Introductions
Thurs 8/27 Introduction.
Mon 8/31 Intro to Cultural Studies and Ethnic Studies. Visit course blog
(http://www.mphruksachart.org/asian340) for readings and links.
Thurs 9/3
Intro to Critical Race Theory. How do we define race? (Racism is not an
event, it’s a structure.) See course blog for links and readings.
Mon 9/7
LABOR DAY – NO CLASS
Thurs 9/10 Intro to Asian American Studies. Read Vijay Prashad, “On the Origin
of Desis and Some Principles of State Selection” (on blog) and see
blog for reading questions and additional links.
[FYI: CUNY follows a Monday schedule today]
Mon 9/14
Recap this section / Part I Assessment.
PART II: Where do we come from?
Thurs 9/17 Orientalism and the yellow peril. Read Ono and Pham, “The
Persistence of Yellow Peril Discourse” (on blog) and see course blog
for additional material.
Mon 9/21 Yellowface and its counterhistory: Asian Americans in early Hollywood.
Read Ono and Pham, “Media Yellowface ‘Logics’” (on blog) and see
blog for additional material.
PS. Do you know where to find the reserve DVDs and VHS (videos) on
the second floor of the library? Now is a good time to find out, so you
don’t need to panic next week.
Thurs 9/24 World War II: “How to tell your friends from the Japs.” Changing
racialization of Asians as U.S. goes to war with Japan. Read Ono &
Pham, “Problematic Representations of Asian American Gender and
Sexuality” (on blog) and see blog for more.
**Note: the next two weeks will be intense in terms of subject matter
(war, violence, trauma) and the amount of media you’ll be viewing.
Please prepare accordingly.
Mon 9/28 Cold War Orientalism. View Flower Drum Song (Koster, 1961, on
reserve in library – DVD2080). Blog Post #1.
Thurs 10/1 The Vietnam War, Part I. View The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978, on
reserve – DVD2163).
Mon 10/5 Vietnam, Pt. II. View The Betrayal – Nerakhoon (Kuras and Phrasavath,
2008, on YouTube).
Thurs 10/8 Pt. III. Blog Post #2. We’ll finish Surname Viet Given Name Nam in class.
Mon 10/12 INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S DAY (google it) – NO CLASS
Thurs 10/15 Recap this section / Part II Assessment.
PART III: What are we?
Mon 10/19 We are…yellow? The rise of yellow power. Read Daryl Maeda,
“Black Panthers, Red Guards, and Chinamen: Constructing Asian
American Identity through Performing Blackness” (on blog). BP #3.
Thurs 10/22 Yellow power, cont’d. In-class screenings. PROJECT PROPOSAL DUE.
Mon 10/26 We are…? View My America…Or Honk If You Love Buddha (TajimaPeña, 1997, on reserve – DVD869). BP #4.
Thurs 10/29 Multiplicity, cont’d. View Chan Is Missing (Wang, 1982, on YouTube,
runtime 1hr16min).
Mon 11/2 We are…between black and white? View Anna Deavere Smith’s
Twilight: Los Angeles (Levin, 2000, VHS on reserve – PN1997 .T85
2004). BP #5.
Thurs 11/5 We are…anybody? “Colorblind” casting. Read Helen Zia, “Gangsters,
Gooks, Geishas, and Geeks” (on blog).
Mon 11/9 Colorblindness, pt. 2. View David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face (on
YouTube, uploaded by The YOMYOMF Network). BP #6.
Thurs 11/12 Recap this section / Part III Assessment.
PART IV: Where are we going?
Mon 11/16 Queerness and comedy. View Margaret Cho’s I’m the One That I Want
(Coleman, 2000, on reserve – DVD100). BP #7.
Thurs 11/19 Fresh Off the Boat, Eddie Huang, and misogynoir. Check blog for
reading and viewing links.
Mon 11/23 YouTube. See blog for links. BP #8.
Thurs 11/27 THANKSGIVING – NO CLASS
Mon 11/30 The underclass, pt. I. View a.k.a. Don Bonus (Nakasako and Ny, on
YouTube, runtime 53 mins). BP #9.
Thurs 12/3 The underclass, pt. II. View Take Out (Baker and Tsou, 2004, on
reserve – DVD842).
Mon 12/7 The future, pt. I. View Advantageous (Phang, 2015. This film is
available on Netflix. If you can’t access it, let me know.) BP #10.
Thurs 12/10 The future, pt. II. See blog for links.
Mon 12/14 Last Day. Recap this section. Part IV Assessment.
Mon 12/21 FINAL PROJECTS emailed to mp1365@hunter.cuny.edu by 12:00pm.
ASSIGNMENTS
Viewing films/media: The media is on reserve in the library or posted on the blog. I
heartily encourage note-taking and multiple viewings since it will help you be a
more active participant in class discussions.
Blog posts: There are ten short blog comments due, each worth 3% of your grade. I
will post a question or two for you to respond to. The goal of the blog comment is to
generate talking points for the next class; this will allow us to begin our discussion of
the film right away. Comments are due by 12PM – no late posts accepted.
(Grading: you will receive +1, +2, or +3 based on the quality of your comment.)
Readings: Scholarly articles, popular news articles, handouts, etc., will be used to
supplement our media texts. I’ll often post reading questions on the blog to help
facilitate your engagement with these. Readings will be included in the assessments.
Assessments: There will be a short-answer assessment at the end of each unit (four in
total). These are open-book, open-note, and we will review in class right before the
assessment. (This is not because I want them to be easy – it’s because I want them to
be detailed!) The goal here is to make sure everyone is on the same page with the
material from that unit. The focus will not be on facts or identifying quotations, but
rather on concepts/themes and how different filmmakers and thinkers have treated
them in each unit. Each is worth 10% of your grade. (Grading: A+ to 0)
Final project: There are three options: 1. A seven-page research paper on a topic
we develop in conversation together (if you go this route, the final topic must be
submitted on – or preferably before – Oct. 22 and approved by Nov. 2). 2. A
script for a media project (a film, a TV show, etc.). Recommended length is 15-20
pages. 3. A moving image-based media project like a film, TV show, animation,
series of YouTube vlogs, etc. (This means no PowerPoints or blogs…) If you choose
option 2 or 3, I’m not grading your storytelling or filmmaking skills – what I’m
interested in is how you’ve chosen to grapple with the themes we’ve explored in the
course. Bottom line: Show me that you learned something. As such, your script or film
should reflect the appropriate amount of labor for a final project worth 15% of
your grade. All projects should be emailed to me by Monday, Dec. 21, 2015, at
12:00pm. Projects received after 12:00pm will be deducted 1/3 of a grade per
half hour. (Grading: A+ to 0)
Participation: Cell phone use for emergencies only; please step outside. I think class
participation is VERY important, so I grade this holistically and evaluate you based
on your arriving on time, bringing readings to class, responsible use of devices,
engagement in class discussions, and overall preparedness. Remember, good
discussion can consist of questions about readings that students don't understand (not
just right answers!).
Class participation rubric created by Dr. John Immerwahr, Villanova University
Breakdown:
40% Short-answer assessments (4 @ 10% each)
30% Blog posts (10 @ 3% each)
15% Participation (class discussion, timeliness, respectful use of devices)
15% Final project
100%
Final grade is non-negotiable
Extra Credit:
I will often post reading questions on the blog for days when longer articles are
assigned. For extra credit, you can answer these questions on a separate sheet of
paper (please type) and bring it in on the day of class. This is only accepted at the
beginning of that day’s class, and is equal to one blog post.
I will post additional extra credit opportunities (lectures, field trips, exhibits, etc.) on
the blog.
POLICIES
Attendance: After three absences, a student’s final grade is lowered by 1/3 (i.e.,
from an A- to a B+). After five absences, the student will be given a failing grade.
Lateness: If you arrive after I take attendance at 1:10PM, you are marked late.
Latecomers who arrive after 1:30PM are marked absent.
Technology: Bring a laptop or tablet to class IF you can use it respectfully. Cell
phone use for emergencies only; please step outside.
Email: I do my best to respond within 24 hours and hope you will do the same. I
expect standard business English: use a subject line, complete sentences, proper
capitalization and punctuation, and a “Dear/Hello” and “Best/Sincerely” (or
whatever) in closing. Emails written like texts will be disregarded. (If you are emailing
me with a question, remember to first check the syllabus and course website for
answers.)
Don’t say “Hey” and other tips:
http://web.wellesley.edu/SocialComputing/Netiquette/netiquetteprofessor.html
http://mleddy.blogspot.com/2005/01/how-to-e-mail-professor.html
http://www.wikihow.com/Email-a-Professor
Citing Sources: The English Department uses MLA (Modern Language Association)
citation style. The best resource for MLA information is the Purdue Online Writing
Lab (OWL): http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01.
RESOURCES
Services for Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities may be eligible for
a reasonable accommodation to enable them to participate fully in courses. If you
feel you may be in need of an accommodation, please contact the Office of
AccessABILITY at http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/studentservices/access.
Academic Support: Tutoring is available at the Reading/Writing Center,
http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu/.
Other Forms of Support: Don’t forget the Center for Student Achievement, the
Counseling and Wellness Center, Student Veteran Services, and the Sylvia E.
Fishman Student Center. All are accessible through Student Services:
http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/studentservices