Boston University College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
725 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 106, Boston, MA 02215
T: 617-353-2401; E: [email protected]
CAS/GRS New Course Proposal Form This form is to be used when proposing a new CAS or GRS course. This form should be submitted to Senior Academic Administrator Peter Law (617-­‐353-­‐7243) as a PDF file to [email protected]. For further information or assistance, contact Associate Dean Susan Jackson (617-­‐353-­‐2410; [email protected]) about CAS courses or Associate Dean Jeffrey Hughes (617-­‐353-­‐2690; [email protected]) about GRS courses. DEPARTMENT OR PROGRAM: English DATE SUBMITTED: Sept. 2, 2015 COURSE NUMBER: EN 177 COURSE TITLE: Introduction to Asian American Literature INSTRUCTOR(S): Maurice Lee TO BE FIRST OFFERED: Sem./Year: ___S_ /___16___ SHORT TITLE: The “short title” appears in the course inventory, on the Link University Class Schedule, and on student transcripts and must be 15 characters maximum including spaces. It should be as clear as possible. A S I A N A M L I T I COURSE DESCRIPTION: This is the description that appears in the CAS and/or GRS Bulletin and is the first guide that students have as to what the course is about. The description can contain no more than 40 words. This course explores Asian American literature from the early 20th century until today. It addresses questions of identity, immigration, national belonging, diaspora, war, and global capitalism. Authors include John Okada, Maxine Hong Kingston, Chang-­‐Rae Lee, Jhumpa Lahiri, Monique Truong, and Ha Jin. PREREQUISITES: Indicate “None” or list all elements of the prerequisites, clearly indicating “AND” or “OR” where appropriate. Here are three examples: “Junior standing or CAS ZN300 or consent of instructor”; “CAS ZN108 and CAS ZN203 and CAS PQ206; or consent of instructor”; “For SED students only.” 1. State the prerequisites: None 2. Explain the need for these prerequisites: CREDITS: (check one)  Half course: 2 credits X Full course: 4 credits  Variable: Please describe.  Other: Please describe. DIVISIONAL STUDIES CREDIT: Is this course intended to fulfill Divisional Studies requirements? 1 No X Yes. If yes, please indicate which division ____Humanities__________________ and explain why the course should qualify for Divisional Studies credit. Refer to criteria listed here and specify whether this course is intended for “short” or “expanded” divisional list. This course emphasizes academic reading, writing, and research and requires English writing and related communication skills. This course is intended for the short divisional list. HOW FREQUENTLY WILL THE COURSE BE OFFERED? Every semester  Once a year, fall X Once a year, spring  Every other year  Other: Explain: NEED FOR THE COURSE: Explain the need for the course and its intended impact. How will it strengthen your overall curriculum? Will it be required or fulfill a requirement for degrees/majors/minors offered by your department/program or for degrees in other departments/school/colleges? Which students are most likely to be served by this course? How will it contribute to program learning outcomes for those students? If you see the course as being of “possible” or “likely” interest to students in another departments/program, please consult directly with colleagues in that unit. (You must attach appropriate cognate comments using cognate comment form if this course is intended to serve students in specific other programs. See FURTHER INFORMATION below about cognate comment.) The English dept. has no dedicated course in Asian American Literature (the closest being EN 371, “African American and Asian American Women Writers,” which has been taught by Mary Anne Boelcskevy from African American Studies, though not within the last few years). This proposed course expands departmental offerings on diverse literatures into an important area, strengthens the department’s account of American literary history, offers non-­‐majors across CAS and BU a way to fulfill the divisional humanities requirement, and should especially appeal to international students, students in MLCL, and students interested in Asian area studies. ENROLLMENT: How many undergraduate and/or graduate students do you expect to enroll in the initial offering of this course? 20 CROSS-­‐LISTING: Is this course to be cross-­‐listed or taught with another course? If so, specify. Chairs/directors of all cross-­‐listing units must co-­‐sign this proposal on the signature line below. Not envisioning cross-­‐listing at this time, though MLCL is a possibility. OVERLAP: 1. Are there courses in the Course Inventory (CC00) with the same number and/or title as this course
X No.
 Yes. If yes, any active course(s) with the same number or title as the proposed course will be
phased out upon approval of this proposal.
NOTE: A course number cannot be reused if a different course by that number has been offered in
the past five years.
2 2. Relationship to other courses in your program or others: Is there any significant overlap between this course and others offered by your department/program or by others? (You must attach appropriate cognate comments using cognate comment form if this course might be perceived as overlapping with courses in another department/program. See FURTHER INFORMATION below.) As mentioned above, this proposed course partially overlaps with EN 371 in terms of content. We also have an Asian American Writers course (EN 377) on the books that has not been taught in at least a decade. Moreover, the proposed 100-­‐level course is directed at undergraduates outside the major who are unlikely to take 300-­‐level courses. FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT: What, if any, are the new or special facilities or equipment needs of the course (e.g., laboratory, library, instructional technology, consumables)? Are currently available facilities, equipment, and other resources adequate for the proposed course? (NOTE: Approval of proposed course does not imply commitment to new resources to support the course on the part of CAS.) Current facilities and equipment are adequate STAFFING: How will the staffing of this course, in terms of faculty and, where relevant, teaching fellows, affect staffing support for other courses? For example, are there other courses that will not be taught as often as now? Is the staffing of this course the result of recent or expected expansion of faculty? (NOTE: Approval of proposed course does not imply commitment to new resources to support the course on the part of CAS.) This will not impact the staffing of our department’s core course offerings. BUDGET AND COST: What, if any, are the other new budgetary needs or implications related to the start-­‐up or continued offering of this course? If start-­‐up or continuation of the course will entail costs not already discussed, identify them and how you expect to cover them. (NOTE: Approval of proposed course does not imply commitment to new resources to support the course on the part of CAS.) No costs. EXTERNAL PROGRAMS: If this course is being offered at an external program/campus, please provide a brief description of that program and attach a CV for the proposed instructor. N/A FURTHER INFORMATION THAT MUST BE ATTACHED IN ORDER FOR THIS PROPOSAL TO BE CONSIDERED: A complete week-­‐by-­‐week SYLLABUS with student learning objectives, readings, and assignments that reflects the specifications of the course described in this proposal; that is, appropriate level, credits, etc. (See guidelines on “Writing a Syllabus” on the Center for Excellence & Innovation in Teaching website.) Be sure that syllabus includes your expectations for academic honesty, with URL for pertinent undergraduate or GRS academic conduct code(s). Cognate comment from chairs or directors of relevant departments and/or programs. Use the form here under “Curriculum Review & Modification.” You can consult with Susan Jackson (CAS) or Jeffrey Hughes (GRS) to determine which departments or programs inside and outside of CAS would be appropriate. 3 Provide a rationale for this number of credits, bearing in mind that for
a CAS or GRS course to carry 4 credits, 1) it must normally be
scheduled to meet at least 150 minutes/week, AND 2) combined
instruction and assignments, as detailed in the attached course
syllabus, must anticipate at least 12 total hours/week of student effort
to achieve course objectives. The proposed course will be scheduled to meet MWF for 50 minutes per
class (150 minutes/week), and the reading load (lots of novels!) in addition
to writing assignments and studying for tests should require at least 12
hours/week for students to achieve course objectives.
Maurice Lee
Chair and Professor of English
Boston University
DEPARTMENT CONTACT NAME AND POSITION: Robert Chodat, Associate Chair, EN DEPARTMENT CONTACT EMAIL AND PHONE: [email protected]; 617 358 2565 DEPARTMENT APPROVAL: 12/5/14 Date Department Chair Other Department Chair(s) (for cross-­‐listed courses) Date DEAN’S OFFICE CURRICULUM ADMINISTRATOR USE ONLY
CAS/GRS CURRICULUM COMMITTEE APPROVAL:
 Approved
Date:
 Tabled
Date:
 Not Approved
Date:
Divisional Studies Credit:
 Endorsed




HU
MCS
NS
SS
 Not endorsed
______________________________________________________________
Curriculum Committee Chair Signature and Date
Comments:
PROVISIONAL APPROVAL REQUESTED for Semester/Year
_______________________________________________________________
Dean of Arts & Sciences Signature and Date
Comments:
4 BOSTON
Boston University College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
UNIVERSITY
725 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 106, Boston, MA 02215
T: 617-353-2401
Date:
Sept. 1,2015
Cognate Comment Request
TO:
Name:
Keith Vincent
MLCL
Department:
FROM: Name:
Maurice Lee
Department:
English
Telephone:
3-8989
Course Number:
E-mail
[email protected]
EN 177
Course or Program Title: Introduction to Asian American Literature,
Our Department would like to request cognate comments on this course (or program). A complete proposal is
attached for your review. If you need further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
so that I may include your comments when
ASAP
Kindly return the signed original to me by
submitting our proposal for review and approval. Please do not send any cognate letters directly to the dean's
office. Thank you.
COMMENTS: MLCL fully supports this new course in Asian American Literature. The works covered provide a
crucial, critical view of the American experience that will speak to all of our students. It should go without saving,
also, that it is long overdue given the large numbers of students of Asian heritage at BU.While there are no
direct overlaps with our courses in Asian literatures, and historically there has not been much collaboration
between Asian and Asian American studies thanks to their very different institutional origins, scholars are
beginning to rethink the relations between the two in productive ways. There is even a new journal devoted to
the intersection of Asian and Asian American Studies (Verge: Studies in Global Asias). Our faculty in MLCL
working on Asia are following these developments with interest. Having a course like this in the English
Department will create new possibilities for connections between our two departments. We will encourage our
students to take it. And we look forward to helping them make connections with the Asian texts we teach, not
just as cultural "sources." but as literatures also concerned with experiences of immigration, diaspora, war, etc.
explain fully any objections.
Date:
Signature:
Title:
air lULCL
/
f- z-/s
EN 177: Introduction to Asian American Literature
Prof. Maurice Lee
Meeting time: MWF
Classroom:
Email: [email protected]
Office: 236 Bay State Road, Office #414
Office Hours:
Course Description
This course presents an overview of Asian American literature from its roots in the late-nineteenth
century to twentieth-century works focused on multicultural themes such as identity, immigration, and
national belonging to more contemporary texts that attend to questions of hybridity, diaspora, and
globalism. We will study a range of Asian American experiences as presented in literary texts, paying
particular attention to historical contexts (for example, Chinese exclusion laws; Japanese internment
camps, U.S. wars in Asia, and the rise of Asian economic power under global capitalism). Authors
treated include Sui-Sin Far, John Okada, Maxine Hong Kingston, Chang-Rae Lee, David Henry
Hwang, Ha Jin, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Monique Truong. Classes will be discussion based and include
group work, in-class writing, and informal class presentations.
Required Reading
• Course reader and/or pdfs on Blackboard
• John Okada, No-No Boy (Univ. of Washington Press, #029-595-5252)
• Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior (Vintage, #067-972-1886)
• Chang-Rae Lee, Native Speaker (Riverhead Books, #157-322-5312)
• David Henry Hwang, M. Butterfly (Plume, #045-227-2599)
• Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies (Houghton Mifflin, #039-592-720x)
• Ha Jin, The Bridegroom (Vintage, #037-572-4931)
• Monique Truong, The Book of Salt (Mariner, #061-844-6885)
Grading
• Papers #1 and #2 (55%): 5-7 pages each, 25% for first, 30% for second
• 7 Quizzes—21% (3% each)
• Participation—9%
• Final—15%
Papers #1 and #2 are formal essays of literary criticism and are not intended as research projects, though
outside research can strengthen analysis. Prompts will be provided well ahead of the due date.
Quizzes are composed of multiple-choice and short-answer questions emphasizing factual knowledge.
The best way to prepare for quizzes is to do all the reading, pay attention in class, and review your
marginalia and notes.
Participation grades are based on attendance, punctuality, preparation, attention, quality of comments,
brief homework assignments, occasional in-class writing, and group work.
The final will entail identifying and discussing key passages as well as essay questions.
Class Policies
6 --All late papers will drop one grade (e.g. B to B-) per class day late.
--Missed quizzes cannot be made up and will be graded as an F.
--Plagiarism will be defined and dealt with according to BU’s Academic Conduct Code:
http://www.bu.edu/academics/policies/academic-conduct-code/
7 EN 177: Schedule of Reading and Assignments
Wed., Jan. 20
Introductions; expectations
Roots and Routes
Fri., Jan. 22
Edward Said, excerpt from Orientalism (1978)—reader
Robert Lee, excerpt from Orientals (1999)—reader
Bret Harte, “The Heathen Chinee” (1870)—reader
Mark Twain, excerpt from Roughing It! (1872)—reader
Mon., Jan. 25
Maxine Hong Kingston, “The Laws” (1977)—reader
Gary Okihiro, “When and Where I Enter” (1994)—
https://theasianamericanexperiencekcai.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/when-andwhere-i-enter-pp-4-20.pdf
Sui Sin Far, “The Americanizing of Paul Tsu”(1912), “In the Land
of the Free” (1912)—reader
Wed., Jan. 27
Images of Asians in nineteenth and early-twentieth century American
culture
World War II
Fri., Jan. 29
Hisaye Yamamoto, “Seventeen Syllables” (1949), “The Legend of
Miss Sasagawara” (1950)—reader
Mon., Feb. 1
John Okada, No-No Boy (1957): chapters 1 – 4 (plus introduction)
Wed., Feb. 3
No-No Boy: chapters 5 – 8
Fri., Feb. 5
No-No Boy: chapters 9 – 11
Quiz #1
Mon., Feb. 8
Research project in Japanese American Relocation Digital Archives
http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/jarda/historical-context.html
Wed., Feb. 10
Lawson Fusao Inada, selected poems from Legends from Camp
(1993)—reader
Finding Voices—Kingston and Lee
Fri., Feb. 12
Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman-Warrior (1975): “No Name
Woman,” “White Tigers”
Mon., Feb. 15
No class (Presidents’ Day)
8 Tues., Feb. 16
Substitute Monday classes
The Woman-Warrior: “Shaman,” “At the Western Palace”
Wed., Feb. 17
The Woman-Warrior: “A Song for a Barbarian Reed Pipe”
Fri., Feb. 19
Kingston, “Cultural Mis-readings by American Reviews”
(1982)—reader
David Leiwei Li, “Can Maxine Hong Kingston Speak?”
(1998)—reader
Amy Chua, excerpt from Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother (2011)—
Reader
Quiz #2
Mon., Feb. 22
Chang-Rae Lee, Native Speaker (1995)
Compositiona and literary critical exercises
Wed., Feb. 24
Native Speaker (cont.)
Fri., Feb. 26
Native Speaker (cont.)
Mon., Feb. 29
Native Speaker (cont.)
Wed., March 2
Native Speaker (cont.)
Walter Benn Michaels, excerpt from The Trouble with Diversity (2007)
Quiz #3
Fri., March 4
Flex Day: Possible make up day for snow; otherwise reading TBA
Paper #1 due at the start of class
Spring Break
Crossings—Hwang and Lahiri
Mon., March 14
David Henry Hwang, M. Butterfly (1988)—Act I
Wed., March 16
M. Butterfly—Act II
Fri., March 18
M. Butterfly—Act III
Quiz #4
Mon., March 21
Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies (1999)—“A Temporary
Matter,” “When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine,”
Wed., March 23
Interpreter of Maladies—“Interpreter of Maladies,” “A Real Durwan”
9 Fri., March 25
Interpreter of Maladies— “Mrs. Sen’s,” “The Third and Final
Continent”
Quiz #5
New Directions
Mon., March 28
Tina Chen and Eric Hayot, “Editors’ Introduction” to Verge (2015)
Konrad Ng, “What Race Does Online: ‘Gangnam Style’ and
Asian/American Identity in the Digital Age” (2015)
Wed., March 30
Ha Jin, The Bridegroom (2001)—“Saboteur,” “Alive”
Fri., April 1
The Bridegroom—“In the Kindergarten,” “A Tiger-Fighter Is Hard to
Find”
Mon., April 4
The Bridegroom—“Broken,” “The Bridegroom”
Wed., April 6
The Bridegroom—“An Entreprenuer’s Story,” “After Cowboy Chicken
Came to Town”
Quiz #6
Fri., April 8
Monique Truong, The Book of Salt (2004)
Mon., April 11
The Book of Salt (cont.)
Wed., April 13
The Book of Salt (cont.)
Fri., April 15
The Book of Salt (cont.)
Quiz #7
Mon., April 18
No Class (Patriots’ Day)
Wed., April 20
Cathy Song, selected poems
Fri., April 22
Myung Mi Kim, selected poems
Mon., April 25
Li-Young Lee, selected poems
Wed., April 27
Flex Day: Possible make up day for snow; otherwise reading TBA
Fri., April 29
Last Class
Paper #2 due at start of class
Final TBA
10