Home > Bibliographies > AAST298J (Spring 2004)

Asian American Art: Culture, Identity, and Change Course Description

This course conceives of art broadly to include henna, Hmong American textiles, and aesthetic creations emerging from hip hop culture. We will begin by examining the concepts of identity, culture, and agency, three ideas central to the field of Asian American Studies. Throughout the course we will apply these concepts to our readings asking how Asian Americans identify with, make connections to, and use art to form identities and create change. In addition to the art forms listed above, we will engage with the cartoons of Lynda Barry, architectural creations of Maya Lin, the work of Theresa Hak Cha, hindu templesin North America, objects created by children imprisoned in Japanese American concentration camps, murals, and the art of Golden Venture refugees. Hip hop culture will be our focus for the final month of the semester. Among the questions guiding our reading and discussions will be: How do Asian Americans define art and are there common themes in these definitions? Does art reflect or shape culture? How does art mediate and/or add meaning to life? What meanings does art hold and create for Asian Americans? Can aesthetics be joined with politics? You are welcome to add more questions as the semester progresses.
--Jane Dusselier

Bibliographies

1. The Art of Roger Shimomura, Shohei Akao
2. Asian American Cinema, Caleb Lee
3. Asian American Cosmetic Surgery, Jessica Lee
4. Asian American Cosmetic Surgery, Sara Chung
5. Asian American Beauty and Fashion, Sukanya Mukherjee
6. Asian American Fashion, Jane Jee
7. Asian American Fashion, Sandy So
8. Asian American Film Making, Matthew Kiang
9. Asian American Hair Care, Jung Yun
10. Asian American Pop Culture in Mass Media, Billy Luc
11. Asian Americans and Hip Hop, Kai Hsu
12. Asian Americans and Music Culture, Dennis Park
13. Asian Americans and Video Games, Henry Yu
14. Asian Americans in the Media, Silvy Song
15. Asian and Asian American Actors and Actresses, Tuan Huynh
16. Chinese American Artists: The Full Spectrum, Ryan Jones
17. Chinese Cuisine, Tenille Aming
18. Feng Shui, LeQuyen Tran
19. Feng Shui, Mary Shum
20. Food, Identity, and Culture, Maria Montessa Garcia
21. Hayao Miyazaki's Films, Ryan Cheatham
22. Korean Cuisine, Jane Park
23. Martial Arts, Sam Lin
24. Paper Crane, Jae Hwang
25. Taiwanese-American Film Art and Artists, Peter Schwartz
26. Vera Wang: Wedding Prophet, Kerrie Amirault
27. Webcomics by Asian American Artists, Ryan Berke