Asian Americans are currently the fastest-growing demographic group in the country, representing 15% of California’s population. Minoring in Asian American Studies at Chapman University is a particularly unique opportunity due to our location in the heart of Orange County, where Asian American and Pacific Islander communities are contributing to vibrant transformations here and beyond.
Asian American Studies
Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
»Asian American Studies
The Asian American Studies minor provides an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the historical and contemporary experiences of peoples of Asian descent in the US. This minor draws from history, film, literature, anthropology, sociology, and other disciplines, and complements other majors at the university through its emphases on critical thinking, global approaches, and social justice. Students will gain a critical perspective on the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class, as well as insights into the meanings and practices of citizenship, diaspora, and community in an increasingly globalized society.
Program Director
Stephanie Takaragawa is a cultural anthropologist whose research examines visual and
material culture. Her research broadly focuses on media, art, performance, exhibition,
and theme parks and their relationship to racial representation. Much of her work
specifically looks at the Japanese-American incarceration during WWII and how that
is understood, represented and memorialized in the present. Her teaching areas include
cultural anthropology and visual culture, Asian American studies and race and ethnic
studies.
Her current research project on the Japanese American incarceration can be found here.
Need more information?
- Dr. Stephanie Takaragawa takaraga@chapman.edu
What can you do with an Asian American Studies minor?
Whether your interests focus on politics and diplomacy, international business, communication and journalism, education and academia, comparative cultures, or literature and art, Asian American studies is a significant component in preparing you to engage a twenty-first century globalized environment.
What careers does Asian American Studies equip you for?
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Program Learning Outcomes
- PLO 1: Students will contextualize historical experiences of Asian immigration from 1800s to the present in the United States.
- PLO 2: Students will be able to demonstrate global awareness of diasporic communities and hybrid identities in written or oral communication.
- PLO 3: Students will engage in original interdisciplinary research in race and ethnic studies.
- PLO4: Students will analyze and synthesize critical histories of ethnic identities, diasporas and the “melting pot” of the United States.
Opportunities
Our location in Orange County and the Greater Los Angeles region offers students exciting opportunities to expand and apply their knowledge through internships, community-engaged research, and more. Students also have the opportunity to work with leading scholars in various fields of Asian American Studies to assist and develop cutting-edge research projects.
Students have pursued professional opportunities with companies and organizations such as:
- Chinese American Museum
- Japanese American National Museum
- Irvine Weekly
- Sanrio
- Silk Club Zine
- Soapberry Review
Resources
Partial listing of Chapman Asian American and Pacific Islander student groups
- Asian Pacific Student Association
- Iranian Student Cultural Organization
- Kapamilya
- Korean American Student Association
- Nikkei Student Union
- Pua'ikeana
- South Asian Student Association
- Taiwanese American Student Association
- Vietnamese Student Association
Asian American and Pacific Islander resources at Chapman
Partial listing of Asian American and Pacific Islander organizations in Southern California
- Ahri
- Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California
- Asian American Senior Citizens Service Center
- California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative
- Cambodian Family
- Center for Asian Americans in Action
- Diasporic Vietnamese Artists Network
- Gabriela Los Angeles
- Gyopo
- Kizuna
- Korean Community Services
- Ktown for All
- Little Tokyo Service Center
- Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance
- Orange County Environmental Justice
- Search to Involve Pilipino Americans
- South Asian Helpline and Referral Agency
- South Asian Network
- Tuesday Night Project
- Viet Rainbow of Orange County
- Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association
- Viet Rise
Asian American Studies News & Updates
- Two Wilkinson College Faculty Awarded NEH Fellowships
- Excursion to the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens
- ‘I Will Never Be Able to Forget’: George Takei Shares Internment Experience with Chapman
- Wilkinson Students Explore the Japanese American National Museum
- Visual Culture Expert Stephanie Takaragawa Awarded a $100,000 California Civil Liberties Grant
- Looking into the Reality of Life within Japanese American Incarceration Camps
