Course: Emily Balch Seminars - bmc.EMLY.B001.014.F26

Section outline

Select section Welcome to Asian American Popular Culture

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Welcome to Asian American Popular Culture

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Photo credit: "Vanitas No. 2" by Felicia Liang

Hi, my name is Sophia Mao (she/hers), and I'll be your professor this semester for our Emily Balch seminar on Asian American Popular Culture. We meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:40PM-4:00PM in English House II. Welcome to class!

You can reach me by e-mail at sjmao@brynmawr.edu. I'm available by e-mail from 9AM-5PM Monday-Friday and usually respond within 24 hours. Saturdays and Sundays are my time to recharge (and I also encourage you to cultivate a healthy relationship to school and work obligations)! so I am much slower in responding to messages.

My office hours are on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30AM-10:30AM in-person in English House 212 or via Zoom. Office hours must be booked at least 12 hours in advance; you can sign up for a 15-minute office hours appointment here: https://calendly.com/sophiajmao-bmc/15min If these times do not work, feel free to e-mail me to set up a separate appointment.
- Select activity Announcements
  
  Announcements Forum
- Select activity F26 Asian American Popular Culture Syllabus [updated 09.05.26]
  
  F26 Asian American Popular Culture Syllabus [updated 09.05.26] File PDF
  
  1.7 MB · Uploaded 09/5/26, 17:26
- Select activity Course reserves at Canaday Library
  
  Course reserves at Canaday Library URL
- Select activity Collective class notes
  
  Collective class notes URL
  
  Check the collective notes schedule and upload files at this link.
- Select activity One-on-one meeting sign-ups
  
  One-on-one meeting sign-ups URL
- Select activity Professor Mao-Letter of Recommendation Guidelines [updated 08.17.26]
  
  Professor Mao-Letter of Recommendation Guidelines [updated 08.17.26] File PDF
  
  70.7 KB · Uploaded 08/17/26, 11:44
Select section Week 1: What is Asian American Popular Culture?

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Week 1: What is Asian American Popular Culture?
- Select activity Franny Choi, "Choi Jeong Min" (2016) [poem]
  
  Franny Choi, "Choi Jeong Min" (2016) [poem] URL
Select section Week 2: Immigration and Labor

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Week 2: Immigration and Labor
- Select activity Carlos Bulosan-On Becoming Filipino, "How My Stories Were Written" & "The Writer as Worker" (1995)
  
  Carlos Bulosan-On Becoming Filipino, "How My Stories Were Written" & "The Writer as Worker" (1995) File PDF
  
  289.5 KB · Uploaded 08/17/26, 10:43
- Select activity Tips for close reading handout
  
  Tips for close reading handout File PDF
  
  98.1 KB · Uploaded 08/17/26, 14:18
Select section Week 3: Chinese Exclusion and Yellow Peril

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Week 3: Chinese Exclusion and Yellow Peril
- Select activity Beth Lew-Williams, John Doe Chinaman: A Forgotten History of Chinese Life Under American Racial Law (2025), “Introduction” [secondary source]
  
  Beth Lew-Williams, John Doe Chinaman: A Forgotten History of Chinese Life Under American Racial Law (2025), “Introduction” [secondary source] File PDF
  
  626.1 KB · Uploaded 08/17/26, 10:46
Select section Week 4: Chinese Exclusion cont.; Orientalism

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Week 4: Chinese Exclusion cont.; Orientalism
- Select activity Paper One
  
  Paper One Assignment
  
  Opened: Friday, August 14, 2026, 12:00 AM
  
  Due: Thursday, September 24, 2026, 5:00 PM
- Select activity Paisley Rekdal, "Thousand" (2023) [poem]
  
  Paisley Rekdal, "Thousand" (2023) [poem] File PDF
  
  3.5 KB · Uploaded 08/17/26, 11:00
- Select activity Paisley Rekdal, "Antiquity" (2023) [poem]
  
  Paisley Rekdal, "Antiquity" (2023) [poem] File PDF
  
  2.8 KB · Uploaded 08/17/26, 11:01
- Select activity David Henry Hwang, M. Butterfly (1988) [play]
  
  David Henry Hwang, M. Butterfly (1988) [play] URL
- Select activity Edward Said, Orientalism (1978), "Introduction"
  
  Edward Said, Orientalism (1978), "Introduction" File PDF
  
  11.1 MB · Uploaded 08/26/26, 18:57
Select section Week 5: WWII and Japanese Internment

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Week 5: WWII and Japanese Internment
- Select activity Lawson Fusao Inada-Legends from Camp (1992) “Instructions to All Persons” [poem]
  
  Lawson Fusao Inada-Legends from Camp (1992) “Instructions to All Persons” [poem] File PDF
  
  173.8 KB · Uploaded 08/17/26, 13:23
- Select activity Rea Tajiri, History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige (1991) [short film]
  
  Rea Tajiri, History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige (1991) [short film] URL
- Select activity In-class: Marianne Hirsh, postmemory (2012), [theory]
  
  In-class: Marianne Hirsh, postmemory (2012), [theory] File PDF
  
  2.2 MB · Uploaded 08/17/26, 13:29
Select section Week 6: The Vietnam War

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Week 6: The Vietnam War
- Select activity Gordon Harvey-Integrating Sources [2017]
  
  Gordon Harvey-Integrating Sources [2017] URL
Select section Week 7: Fall Break

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Week 7: Fall Break
Select section Week 8: Bryn Mawr's Library System

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Week 8: Bryn Mawr's Library System
- Select activity Paper Two
  
  Paper Two Assignment
  
  Opened: Friday, August 14, 2026, 12:00 AM
  
  Due: Thursday, October 22, 2026, 5:00 PM
Select section Week 9: Pacific Islands and Racial Geographies

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Week 9: Pacific Islands and Racial Geographies
- Select activity Tropic of Orange Paper Prompts [updated 08.17.26]
  
  Tropic of Orange Paper Prompts [updated 08.17.26] File PDF
  
  68.4 KB · Uploaded 08/17/26, 15:24
- Select activity Megan Kamalei Kakimoto, Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare (2023), “Story of Men”
  
  Megan Kamalei Kakimoto, Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare (2023), “Story of Men” File PDF
  
  22.5 MB · Uploaded 08/26/26, 18:59
Select section Week 10: Tropic of Orange P1

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Week 10: Tropic of Orange P1
- Select activity In-class: Gloria Anzaldúa, borderlands (1987) [theory]
  
  In-class: Gloria Anzaldúa, borderlands (1987) [theory] File PDF
  
  19.5 MB · Uploaded 08/17/26, 13:32
Select section Week 11: Tropic of Orange P2

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Week 11: Tropic of Orange P2
Select section Week 12: Asian American Popular Culture Today

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Week 12: Asian American Popular Culture Today
- Select activity Hua Hsu, Stay True (2022), excerpts
  
  Hua Hsu, Stay True (2022), excerpts File PDF
  
  11.2 MB · Uploaded 09/8/26, 12:00
- Select activity Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida (1980), pp. 23-28
  
  Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida (1980), pp. 23-28 File PDF
  
  2.8 MB · Uploaded 08/26/26, 19:02
- Select activity Tropic of Orange Paper Prompts [updated 08.17.26]
  
  Tropic of Orange Paper Prompts [updated 08.17.26] File PDF
  
  68.4 KB · Uploaded 08/17/26, 15:25
- Select activity Paper Three
  
  Paper Three Assignment
  
  Opened: Friday, August 14, 2026, 12:00 AM
  
  Due: Thursday, November 19, 2026, 5:00 PM
Select section Week 13: Thanksgiving Break

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Week 13: Thanksgiving Break
Select section Week 14: Final Paper Revisions

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Week 14: Final Paper Revisions
- Select activity Peer review thesis worksheet
  
  Peer review thesis worksheet File DOCX
  
  18.9 KB · Uploaded 08/17/26, 15:54
Select section Week 15: Wrapping Up

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Week 15: Wrapping Up
- Select activity Final Presentation
  
  Final Presentation Assignment
  
  Opened: Friday, August 14, 2026, 12:00 AM
  
  Due: Wednesday, December 9, 2026, 5:00 PM
- Select activity Paper Four
  
  Paper Four Assignment
  
  Opened: Friday, August 14, 2026, 12:00 AM
  
  Due: Thursday, December 10, 2026, 5:00 PM
- Select activity Event Write-Up
  
  Event Write-Up Assignment
  
  Opened: Friday, August 14, 2026, 12:00 AM
  
  Due: Friday, December 11, 2026, 5:00 PM

Section outline

Photo credit: "Vanitas No. 2" by Felicia Liang

Hi, my name is Sophia Mao (she/hers), and I'll be your professor this semester for our Emily Balch seminar on Asian American Popular Culture. We meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:40PM-4:00PM in English House II. Welcome to class!