About This Course

This is a self-paced/asynchronous, 10-hour on-line mini-course.  The course welcomes all adults who identify as or serve Asian Americans in a professional capacity, or who are simply interested in learning about Asian American history and Asian Americans' complex contemporary experiences for personal reasons. 

"Anti-Asian hate" has recently become a topic of focus due to the rise in anti-Asian hate incidents under the first Trump administration during COVID. This course helps learners understand the longer history of anti-Asian hate and the ways it can manifest in less explicit ways.

The course analyzes Asian Americans' issues and struggles from a sociological perspective (which is Dr. Rodriguez's training) that is also deeply informed by ethnic studies/critical race studies. It thus examines how Asian American life is shaped simultaneously by the economy, politics and culture and how these social structures are in turn shaped by systems of inequality rooted in white supremacy, patriarchy and heterosexism, as well as capitalism. Check out the FAQs or this video if you have additional questions.


Course Outline

Content will be accessible on Oct. 1, 2021

    1. Welcome to Asian America: An Introductory Course!

    2. How to use this course

    3. Before we begin...

    4. "Model Minority Mutiny" Article (Required)

    5. Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality (Optional)

    6. Recording of Instagram Live session where Dr. Rodriguez answers questions about this course (Optional)

    1. What's in this module? (Required)

    2. Nuanced Understandings of Immigration History (Required)

    3. "A Different Asian American Timeline" Website (Required)

    4. "History of Angel Island Immigration Station" Website (Optional)

    5. Legal Status and its Impacts (Required)

    6. "Eighteen states have already enacted 30 laws this year that will make it harder for Americans to vote" article (Required)

    7. "Deportation of Southeast Asian Refugees" Video (Optional)

    8. "Asian American DACA Recipients Share Their Stories" Video (Optional)

    1. What's in this module? (Required)

    2. When and How Ethnic Identities Matter (Required)

    3. "How/Where Identity is Formed" Illustration/Poster

    4. Anti-Asian Racism and Its Impacts (Required)

    5. Intersectional Identities (Required)

    6. "'Am I Asian Enough?' Adoptees Struggle To Make Sense Of Spike In Anti-Asian Violence" Article with Audio (Required)

    1. What's in this module? (Required)

    2. A Diversity of Family Forms (Required)

    3. Asian American Adoptees (Required)

    4. "Reclaiming my voice as a transracial adoptee" Video (Optional)

    5. Asian American Home Life: Issues and Struggles (Required)

    6. "The Language Of Domestic Abuse in South Asian Communities " Video (Optional)

    1. What's in this module? (Required)

    2. Asian Americans' Varying Schooling Experiences (Required)

    3. Dr. Ellen Wu Discusses her research on the origins of the "model minority" myth video (Optional)

    4. "Parents fear anti-Asian racism as schools mull reopening" Video (Optional)

    5. Dr. Min Zhou Discusses the "Asian American Achievement Paradox" Video (Optional)

    6. "Alice Wong and the Disability Visibility Project" Video (Optional)

    7. "Ethnic Discipline Gap: Unseen Dimensions of Racial Disproportionality in School Discipline" Article (Required)

    1. What's in this module? (Required)

    2. Not Just 'Crazy Rich' Asians (Required)

    3. "How Income Inequality Became A Big Issue Among Asian Americans" Video (Required)

    4. "Hearts Suspended" film focused on the spouses of H1B migrants (Optional)

    5. Race & Gender for Asian American Laborers: A Case Study of Domestic Workers (Required)

    6. "The Human Trafficking Of Domestic Workers In The United States" (Required)

    7. "After Years of Organizing, Domestic Workers Win Bill of Rights Law in New York" (Video)

    8. Asian American Poverty & Unemployment (Required)

    9. Consolidate Your Learning

About this course

  • 3 x $53.00
  • 44 lessons
  • 0 hours of video content

Registration Fee for Asynchronous/Self-paced Course

After basic course expenses are paid, registration fees will go towards expanding the SLE's offerings as well as SLE's sibling organization, the Amado Khaya Initiative, a non-profit organization Dr. Rodriguez set up in her late son, Amado Khaya's, name. As a not-for-profit platform, SLE reinvests surplus resources in AKI and other social justice groups with which Dr. Rodriguez works. For free learning opportunities, please follow Dr. Rodriguez's work on her website. She frequently gives public lectures and shares her knowledge through, blogs, newsletters, social media, YouTube and other platforms. Groups interested in Dr. Rodriguez's training and workshops can also inquire about booking there.

Consider Getting Your Applied Ethnic Studies Certificate!

  • Payment Plan

    Asian American Activism: Putting Theory into Practice (Synchronous)

    SLE is offering a certificate in Applied Ethnic Studies. If you've completed this mini-course, it can count towards the certificate. Reach out directly to Dr. Rodriguez to discuss this option ([email protected]). In the meantime, sign up for the Asian American Activism: Putting Theory into Practice to begin earning credit for the certificate. The course launched in July 2025.
    Register Now