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South Asian America (21W.788/CMS.334)
This course will focus on the lives of South Asians in the United States and images of South Asians in U.S. popular culture. We will look at a range of different media - from American newspapers and print advertising at the turn of the 20th century to film, TV, and the Internet in the 21st - tracing out how migrants and immigrants from the subcontinent went from being curiosities to "undesirable aliens" to "model minorities" to "terrorist threats". The course will be taught seminar style with an emphasis on group discussion. In each segment of the course, we will look at original media sources – news clippings, photographs, silent and sound films, songs and music videos, television episodes, blogs and websites – in combination with historical and other scholarly writing that put these media in context. We will assess the ways that mainstream images, portrayals and stereotypes of South Asians - as exotic, spiritual, threatening, devious, or exemplary high-achievers - have or have not changed from the era of snake charmers and acrobats in 19th century American circuses to the era of A Little Late with Lilly Singh, Patriot Act, Never Have I Ever, and Ms. Marvel. Importantly, we will examine how, as South Asians have increased in number in the U.S. and become media makers themselves, they have challenged, changed, and expanded their own representations. Over the course of the semester, students will write a paper based on the course materials and their own interests and they will record and edit a short audio or video documentary focused on the experiences of South Asians or other immigrants in the U.S. No prior audio/video experience necessary - this training will be provided so students will be able to develop their own media production skills as part of the class.