Course Content and Outcomes Guides (CCOG)

CCOG for ES 252 Winter 2025


Course Number:
ES 252
Course Title:
Intro to Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies
Credit Hours:
4
Lecture Hours:
40
Lecture/Lab Hours:
0
Lab Hours:
0

Course Description

Provides an interdisciplinary introduction to the historical formation of Asian and Pacific Islander America and the contemporary issues faced by the diverse communities that comprise it. Covers a range of historical, literary, ethnographic, and visual texts and makes comparisons with other racialized groups in the United States. Prerequisites: WR 115, RD 115 and MTH 20 or equivalent placement test scores. Audit available.

Intended Outcomes for the course

Upon successful completion of the course students should be able to:

  1. Identify the diversity of Asian American and Pacific Islander worldviews and experiences.
  2. Examine and interpret cultural expressions of  Asian American and Pacific Islander communities within a critical context.
  3. Describe the major historical and contemporary factors that have contributed to the formation of  Asian American and Pacific Islander cultures in the United States.
  4. Articulate the history of Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies as a discipline and its roots in activism and the community.

Integrative Learning

Students completing an associate degree at Portland Community College will be able to reflect on one’s work or competencies to make connections between course content and lived experience.

General education philosophy statement

Ethnic Studies is the interdisciplinary study of race and ethnicity with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of people of color within and beyond the United States. Students of Ethnic Studies analyze the ways that race and racism have and continue to be powerful social, cultural and political forces in the United States and around the world. Ethnic Studies courses explore connections and intersections between race and other forms of difference and oppression including gender, class, sexuality and citizenship. This course of study can help prepare students for a wide-range of career options that require an awareness and understanding of racial and cultural difference. Ethnic Studies courses produce culturally competent students who understand the social and ethical requirements of responsible participation in society and are committed to transformative social change.

Course Activities and Design

Class meeting time will often consist of lecture, full-class discussion, small group discussion; individual and collaborative projects, and/or flipped-classroom approaches where concepts learned outside of class are analyzed and applied when class meets. Meeting time may also include the following: writing; researching; viewing video and multimedia productions; listening to guest speakers; field trips.

Outcome Assessment Strategies

May include:

  • Informal response papers or journals
  • Short formal papers on specific concepts, themes, and issues
  • Multimodal or multi genre inquiry projects
  • Video projects
  • Oral presentations
  • Oral histories and interviews
  • Term or research projects, using a variety of research strategies
  • Individual research, analysis, and presentation projects
  • Group research, analysis, and presentation projects
  • Participation in full-class discussions and small groups or teams
  • Participation in online discussion forums
  • Student-instructor conferences
  • Portfolios

Course Content (Themes, Concepts, Issues and Skills)

Some of the central concepts of the course may include:

  • Asian American immigration
  • Model Minority Myth
  • Exclusion
  • Globalization and labor 
  • Anti-racism 
  • Popular cultural representations
  • Affirmative Action