Power, Culture, Imagination: Asia and Asian America in US Popular Culture

Using Asia as a case study, this course will examine the way in which "the West, " primarily Euro-America, has portrayed the peoples of the world outside of "the West," variously known as The Orient, the underdeveloped world, the developing countries, the Third World. Our premise is that Western "knowledge" and popular images about these areas has shaped the cultural context within which US policy toward these peoples has been made, leading to the currently popular notion that major conflicts in the international arena represent clashes between "us" and fundamentally different "civilizations." Attitudes toward and treatment of immigrants from these areas of the world have also been heavily influenced by these constructions of "other" civilizations. Drawing on literary texts, travel literature, popular films, and mass media, the class will focus primarily on images of Asia and Asian America, although students will be encouraged to look comparatively at other regions and immigrant groups as well. : MCP, PRJ, PRS, REA, WRI