February 15, 2008

Liberal Arts will offer Asian American studies minor

"Asian Americans represent the largest ethnic minority on Purdue's campus, with nearly 2,000 Asian-American students, so it seemed vital to develop an Asian-American studies minor," says Bich Minh Nguyen, an assistant professor of English who wrote the program's proposal in conjunction with Purdue's Council on Asian American Studies.

The 15-credit hour minor focuses on classes that explore Asian-American culture and history, as well as social issues such as stereotyping and prejudice. Required courses are "An Introduction to Asian American Studies" and "Contemporary Issues in Asian American Studies."

Undergraduates interested in enrolling in these classes during the 2008-09 academic year should contact their academic advisers. The minor also covers courses in history, literature, sociology and art.

In addition to classes, participating faculty will organize related cultural events and activities.

"Asian American studies at Purdue will immediately expose students, faculty and staff to the rich, complex history of Asian-American immigration, labor, cultural work and other contributions to the U.S. and the world," says Bill Mullen, a professor of English who spearheaded forming Purdue's Council on Asian American Studies. "The new program also will be a meeting place for students from all backgrounds interested in supporting fairness, equality and justice at Purdue for all of its campus membership."

The new program and undergraduate minor in Asian American studies, which was approved by the College of Liberal Arts Faculty Senate in January, will be housed in the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies. It joins 14 other interdisciplinary programs in the College of Liberal Arts. Those include African American studies, American studies, Asian studies, classical studies, comparative literature, film/video studies, Italian studies, Jewish studies, linguistics, medieval and renaissance studies, peace studies, philosophy and literature, religious studies, and women's studies.

The College of Liberal Arts enrolls more than 6,200 undergraduate and 1,100 graduate students at Purdue's West Lafayette campus. The college encompasses 11 academic departments: communication; English; foreign languages and literatures; health and kinesiology; history; philosophy; political science; psychological sciences; sociology and anthropology; speech, language and hearing sciences; and visual and performing arts. Purdue's Board of Trustees approved a 12th department, anthropology, which will be recognized in fall 2008.

The new program and undergraduate minor in Asian American studies was supported by the Council on Asian American Studies, which was founded in 2006 by Purdue faculty members, students and staff. The council supports initiatives, programs and projects that advance educational excellence pertaining to historical and contemporary Asian-American issues.

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Sources: Bich Minh Nguyen, (765) 496-1651, nguyenb@purdue.edu

  Bill Mullen, (765) 494-3735, bvmullen@purdue.edu

Lisa Hanasono, a graduate student in communication and member of the Council on Asian American Studies, (765) 494-3311, lhanason@purdue.edu

Charles Park, a graduate student in American studies and an instructor for Asian American studies, park59@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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