Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2023 - GA 211 D100

Asian Migrations Across the Globe (3)

Class Number: 7571

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 6 – Dec 5, 2023: Mon, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

    Oct 10, 2023: Tue, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Instructor:

    Rob Ho
    Office: AQ6017

  • Instructor:

    Robert Ho
    robho@sfu.ca

  • Prerequisites:

    15 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An interdisciplinary course that focuses on Asian migrant experiences, community formation, cultural expression, and political struggles in locations across the world, including in Canada and the United States as well as Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Oceania.

COURSE DETAILS:


This course provides an introduction to issues related to Asian migrations across the world, especially in Canada and the United States, but also in the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Africa and the Pacific Rim. By examining migration histories and experiences, community formations, and diasporic settlements, students will examine the social, cultural, and political conditions which force/encourage global movements to occur, particularly during periods of civil unrest, upheaval, and war as well as a desire for increased financial, educational, social, and cultural capital. Classroom topics will cover the host countries’ receptivity to Asian newcomers, anti-Asian laws and legal barriers, labour exploitation, and social exclusion. Students will also examine the cultural communities that are formed when migrants settle, their relationships to other minority and Indigenous groups, their transnational (dis)connections to their ancestral homelands, and how their racial and ethnic identities can shift over generations in the new country. The course will be conducted as a seminar and consist of lectures, small and large group discussions, videos, student presentations and a field trip to Vancouver’s Chinatown and Chinese Canadian Museum.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Learning Objectives:

In this course, students will be able to:

  • Understand major characteristics of Asian migrant experiences across the globe, including historically and in the present day
  • Differentiate between various Asian ethnic groups’ migration patterns and community formations
  • Use essential theoretical concepts to critically assess the movement and settlement of Asian migrants worldwide
  • Understand the fluidity and shifting nature of Asian diasporic identities

Grading

  • Reflection Papers 20%
  • In-class Essay 25%
  • Group Presentation 25%
  • Final Paper or Research Project 30%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Course Readings:

 Required readings will be placed on Canvas or supplied.


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the semester are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.