Students will read and discuss texts, hear speakers, review films, and participate in projects based on the experience of Tibetans abroad, the impact of various groups working world-wide on the issue of Tibetan sovereignty, and current projects seeking to preserve Tibetan culture while helping Tibetans survive outside their home country.

Students will read and discuss selected texts about traditional Tibetan culture, review documentaries and films from and about Tibet, hear expert speakers and discuss issues with members of the Tibetan community in Portland. The class is taught by an activist in the movement to have Tibet reassume its status as a sovereign nation.

Asian immigrants began to arrive in the United States in large numbers during the mid-nineteenth century, but Asian history in the Americas dates back at least to the late 16th century when Filipinos and Chinese arrived in Mexico aboard Spanish galleons plying the silver trade. Today, about half of the people immigrating to the United States are from Asia, and along with other immigrants and people of color, Asian Americans are transforming the face of America. This course will survey primarily Asian American history from 1850 to the present but will include discussion of the Asian diaspora in Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. We will explore the changing experiences of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans within the larger context of immigration and race relations in American history. Important questions such as, what is Asian American Studies and who is Asian American will be discussed. The course will focus on the experiences of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, Southeast Asian, Mongolian and Asian Indian immigrants as well as Pacific Islanders. This course will also look at the origins, purposes and perpetuation of stereotypes and myths about Asian Americans and explore the possible future of their role in the academy. Finally, we will look at where the field of study is headed including the roles of mixed race, adopted, and queer Asian Americans.