Bachelor's Degree Pathway

For more information on the individual courses, please refer to the list below, which lists all AAS course offerings that fulfill the major in AAS education requirements. Each course includes applicable course prerequisites, description and attributes.  

Introduction to Asian American Studies Options

6 units total; choose one course from A and one course from B

AA S 210 History of Asians in the United States (Units: 3) Comparative analysis of the experience of different Asian American groups and their place in the general history and development of American society. [Formerly AA S 200]

Course Attributes:

  • U.S. History
  • D2: Social Sciences: U.S. Hist
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

 

AA S 211 Contemporary Asian Americans (Units: 3) Examination of factors that define minority groups and their positions in contemporary U.S. society, using Asian Americans as a case study. [Formerly ETHS 220]

Course Attributes:

  • D1: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 213 Asian Americans and American Ideals and Institutions (Units: 3) The Asian American experience in the U.S., focusing on basic governmental ideals and institutions. Impact of Asians on legal-constitutional America and the countervailing impact of political-legal structures imposed on Asians. [Formerly AA S 205]

Course Attributes:

  • U.S. Govt CA State Local Govt
  • D3: Social Sciences: US CA Gov
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AA S 212 Asian Americans and Mass Media (Units: 3) Images and treatment of Asian Americans in mass media, especially motion pictures, television, advertising, popular literature and commercial art. American minorities in the entertainment industry. [Formerly AA S 518 and AA S 693]

Course Attributes:

  • C1: Arts
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

 

AA S 216 Introduction to Asian American Literature (Units: 3)

Reading and analysis of Asian American literature. Appreciation of literature from a literary standpoint with a focus on history, identity and representation. [Formerly AA S 206]

Course Attributes:

  • C3: Humanities: Literature
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

 

AA S 218 Asian American Culture (Units: 3)

Ethnic values and cultures in America using Asian American arts, languages and literatures. How these works reflect and express the character of the Asian American experience and the forces that have shaped that experience. [Formerly ETHS 210]

Course Attributes:

  • E1: Lifelong Learning Develop
  • C2: Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

Ethnic Courses Options

15 units total; choose five courses form at least four different ethnic groups

AA S 301 Asian Americans of Mixed Heritages (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Issues concerning Asian Americans of mixed racial and ethnic heritages, focusing on mixed heritage identities in relation to their ethnic and cultural sensibilities. [Formerly AA S 550]

 Course Attributes:

  • E1: Lifelong Learning Develop
  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

AA S 377 Cambodians in the United States (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Examine push-pull factors that led people to flee Cambodia; focus on constraints and strategies (institutional, artistic, community, cultural) deployed by Cambodian Americans to negotiate their status in the U.S.: politically, culturally, economically and socially. [Formerly AA S 393]

Course Attributes:

  • E1: Lifelong Learning Develop
  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

AA S 320 Chinese in the United States (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

The Chinese American experience in critical historical perspective from the beginning of immigration in the 19th century to the present. [Formerly AA S 310]

 

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 322 Chinese American Language and Literature (Units: 3)

 Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Cultural identity of the Chinese American as it is expressed in the language and literature; Chinese community and its influence on the creative process in literature.

 Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 323 Chinese American Identities (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Historical, institutional and cultural sources of Chinese American identity and sensibility. Mental health issues related to self-perception, stereotypes, family problems, institutional racism and the development of autonomy. [CSL may be available] [Formerly AA S 315]

 Course Attributes:

  • E1: Lifelong Learning Develop
  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

AA S 350 Filipina/os in the United States (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Immigration of the Filipina/os to the United States; various coping mechanisms used in response to adjustment problems; changing structure of the community. [Formerly AA S 456]

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

 

AA S 352 Filipina/o American Literature, Art, and Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Critical perspectives on Filipina/o American culture through the examination of diverse genres of art and literature primarily written in English about Filipina/os in the United States, the Philippines and in diaspora. [Formerly AA S 363]

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 353 Filipina/o American Identities (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Historical, social, and cultural influences that impact the identities of Filipina/o Americans through a framework of decolonization. [Formerly AA S 355]

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

AA S 330 Nikkei in the United States (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Historical experience of Japanese Americans in the United States: prewar immigration and settlement, the struggle against racial exclusion, World War II incarceration and the postwar return and development of contemporary Nikkei community. [Formerly AA S 331]

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 332 Japanese American Art and Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Examination of Japanese American art and literature through historical, social and cultural factors that influenced its development. Specific works and artists representing different genres and periods will be analyzed. [Formerly AA S 444]

Course Attributes:

  • E1: Lifelong Learning Develop
  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 333 Japanese American Identities (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Japanese American character, identity, self-image and behavioral manifestations of the interaction of American and Japanese cultural values. [Formerly AA S 335]

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

 

AA S 338 Okinawan American Heritage and Culture (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Analyzes the identity formation and cultural preservation of Okinawans in the U.S. and other parts of the Americas. Theoretical frameworks, such as racial formation theory and world systems theory, will be explored and developed to understand the complex evolution of the Okinawan diaspora within the dual imperial contexts of American and Japanese empires. [Formerly AA S 337]

 

AA S 360 Koreans in the United States (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Korean Americans in the U.S., examining the historical experience and the sociological, political and economic implications of being a minority and immigrant in the U.S. [Formerly AA S 380]

Course Attributes:

  • E1: Lifelong Learning Develop
  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

AA S 370 Vietnamese in the United States (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Origins and causes of Vietnamese movements to the U.S. and nature of Vietnamese experience in America in terms of political, cultural and economic factors.

Course Attributes:

  • E1: Lifelong Learning Develop
  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 372 Vietnamese American Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

A critical survey of Vietnamese American literature, taking into account issues of race, class, gender, sexuality and trauma.

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

 

AA S 373 Vietnamese American Identities (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Vietnamese American experience since 1975: psychological adaptation, educational adjustment, socioeconomic integration and cultural/ethnic maintenance. [Formerly AA S 375]

Course Attributes:

  • E1: Lifelong Learning Develop
  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

Panethnic Courses Options

9 units total; choose three courses from the following

AA S 510 Asian Americans in California (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Asian American contributions to the building of the state from their first arrival in the 19th century to their role within California's multiracial racial formation and their growing influence on contemporary California. [Formerly AA S 300]

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Environmental Sustainability
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 512 Asian American Children's/Adolescent Literature (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Literary works with Asian American themes that are written for youth (preschool to middle school). How Asian Americans are depicted from the 19th century to the present in this literature. [CSL may be available] [Formerly AA S 502]

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 514 Asian American Community Arts Workshop (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Interdisciplinary collaboration in a variety of Asian American creative art forms through community-based workshops. Classwork, 2 units; activity, 1 unit. [Formerly AA S 304]

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

 

AA S 516 Asian American Photographic Explorations (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Photography as a personal tool for the exploration, recording, understanding and expression of Asian American life. Classwork, 2 units; laboratory, 1 unit. [Formerly AA S 308]

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

 

AA S 520 Asian American Musical Communities (Units: 3) 

Prerequisite: Upper-division standing or consent of instructor. 

Review of the Asian American musical experience, including the cultural sources that have informed artists' projects, as well as the history that has shaped collective arts organization and activism among Asian Americans. 

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

 

AA S 540 South Asians in the United States (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

History of South Asian immigration to the U.S., and how South Asian Americans negotiate ethnic belonging and national citizenship. Topics include racialization, class divides, gender, inequalities, queer politics and youth culture. [Formerly AA S 340]

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 541 South Asian Diaspora (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Uses transnational and comparative frameworks to examine South Asian immigration to various countries; how colonialism, nationalism and the politics of race, gender, class and sexuality shape diasporic identities and communities. [CSL may be available] [Formerly ETHS 657]
(This course is offered as RRS 657 and AA S 541. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 570 Southeast Asians in the United States (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Comparative exploration of Southeast Asian America by examining the histories and experiences of Burmese, Cambodian, Filipina/o, Hmong, Indonesian, Lao, Mien, Mong, Vietnamese and Thai Americans. [Formerly AA S 390]

Course Attributes:

  • E1: Lifelong Learning Develop
  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 581 Asian American Women (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Social, political and economic situation of Asian American women within the family, their communities and the larger society. [Formerly AA S 603]

Course Attributes:

  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 582 Asian American Women's Literature and the Arts (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Works by Asian American women writers and artists; how Asian American women are depicted in literature and the arts. [Formerly AA S 622]

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 584 Asian American Sexualities (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Introduction to Asian American queer theory and sexuality studies. Examination of how sexuality impacts the lived experience of immigration, race, gender, class and generational difference among Asian Americans.

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 585 Asian American Religiosities (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Major issues particular to the predicaments of Asian Americans and their religions; interdisciplinary and anchored in critical Asian American Studies perspectives constructed within the context of the intersections of race and religion.

Course Attributes:

  • E1: Lifelong Learning Develop
  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Global Perspectives
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 587 Asian Americans and Environmental Justice (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Examination of the environmental racism issues faced by Asian Americans and how their communities have organized for justice.

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Environmental Sustainability
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 588 Asian American Media Workshop (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Film and media arts as self-expression, reflection of community and a tool for activism in the Asian American community. Classwork, 2 units; activity, 1 unit.

Course Attributes:

  • UD-C: Arts and/or Humanities
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities

 

AA S 591 Asian American Community Health Issues (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Examination of community health concepts and needs specific to the Asian American communities; practical skills in community health issues and service. [Formerly AA S 575]

Course Attributes:

  • E1: Lifelong Learning Develop
  • UD-B: Physical Life Science
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

 

AA S 593 Asian Americans in Education (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Exploration of the historical and contemporary narratives and counter-narratives of Asian Americans in education, development of Asian American Studies, pedagogical issues and interventions that have shaped their identities and communities and the duality of education as a tool for oppression and as a means toward liberation. (Plus-minus ABC/NC, CR/NC) [Formerly AA S 684]

 

AA S 595 Asian American Communities and Public Policy (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Upper division standing or consent of instructor.

Public policy issues, their impact on and the responses from the Asian American communities; relationship and complexities of local, state and federal policies facing the Asian American communities. [CSL may be available] [Formerly ETHS 665]

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

 

Required Major Classes Options

9 units total; all 3 courses are required

AA S 681 Asian American Community Changes and Development (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Upper division Asian American Studies majors and minors only; 6 units of AA S GE courses or consent of instructor.

Asian American community origins, changes, economics; trends in residential and community patterns; and effects of immigration and population growth. [CSL may be available] [Formerly AA S 680]

Course Attributes:

  • UD-D: Social Sciences
  • Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
  • Social Justice

 

AAS 696 Critical Approaches to Asian American Studies (Units: 3) ​​​​​​

Prerequisites: Asian American Studies majors; 24 upper-division units in AA S courses; or permission of the instructor.  

Study of fundamental tools of critical thinking and theorization through the lens of Asian American Studies. 

 

AA S 697 Proseminar in Asian American Studies (Units: 3)

Prerequisite: Asian American Studies majors with 24 upper division units in AA S classes or consent of instructor.

Practical application of research methodology in Asian American Studies through critical examination, analysis and peer critique to develop a publishable product. [CSL may be available]

Graduate Writing Assessment Requirement (GWAR) Course

3 units total; 1 course required

ETHS 300GW Writing in Ethnic Studies - GWAR (Units: 3)

Prerequisites: Asian American Studies, American Indian Studies, Africana Studies and Latina/Latino Studies majors; GE Area A2.
Foundations of writing in the disciplines of Ethnic Studies: Africana Studies, American Indian Studies, Asian American Studies and Latina/Latino Studies. Draws on the behavioral and social sciences, the humanities and the creative arts to prepare students for advanced work in Ethnic Studies and careers requiring breadth and depth of knowledge. (ABC/NC grading only)

Course Attributes:

Graduation Writing Assessment

 

Explore Gator Resources

Overview of the Bachelor's degree program:

The B.A. in AAS fosters the growth of social activists taught by renowned teacher-scholars and community leaders. With academic support and mentorship, students learn how to think critically and thrive.

Planning Sheet Forms

Supervision Course Forms

To enroll in an AAS supervision course, a registration form is required. Please fill out and email completed forms to your instructor. Add codes will be released to you upon review/approval by your instructor. Be sure to use the add code to enroll in the class online before the add deadline.

AAS Major/Minor Declaration!

Download the Asian American Studies declaration form.

Meet with an AAS advisor, please contact:

 

Available advising centers 

Ethnic Studies Advising Center
The Ethnic Studies Advising Center (ESAC) serves all Ethnic Studies majors/minors and all students taking courses within the College with their academic, professional and personal goals, from the time of admission to the time of graduation. 

Advising Hub
The Advising Hub is a one-stop-shop of all advising needs to ensure students are on a successful path to graduation with support from General Education and minor advisors. 

Undergraduate Advising Center
UAC is the home base for freshmen during their first year and undeclared students at SF State.

Have questions? 

Visit the Admissions FAQ page for more information. Undergraduate admissions counselors are available to guide you through the admission process. If you still need help, please email ugadmit@sfsu.edu or call (415) 338-6486.

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