Northwestern students should be able to declare a minor in Asian-American studies by Winter Quarter of next year, said history Prof. Ji-Yeon Yuh at a reception Monday for faculty and students sponsored by the Asian American Advisory Board.
“It doesn’t look like too much of a problem,” said Yuh, currently the sole tenure-track professor for Asian-American studies. “No one expects a holdup.”
The proposal for an Asian-American studies minor jumped a major hurdle a few weeks ago when it was approved by the curriculum policy committee, which Yuh said was the “most significant level” because it “scrutinized (the measure) the most closely.”
The proposal now faces just two more reviews by the general faculty committee, with the first planned for May 31 and the second for early fall, said Assoc. Prof. Melissa Macauley, chairwoman of the Asian-American studies program committee.
“I think the dean’s office is behind us,” Macauley said. “No one is anticipating anyone voting it down.”
The interdisciplinary minor would require students to take seven courses: five in Asian-American studies, one in Asian studies and one on race and ethnicity.
The minor also would be retroactive, allowing students to count courses they had already taken to be credited toward an Asian-American studies minor, Yuh said.
“There’s great potential for a really intellectually stimulating minor,” Macauley said. “It’s definitely a first step. We can start with a minor and develop an idea of how to expand the program.”
Weinberg freshman Tina Byun said: “Even if I didn’t minor in Asian-American studies, I would want to take classes in it. It’s our heritage.”
The program already has grown with the addition of Yuh, who teaches Asian-American history, and with the anticipated arrival of Dorothy Wong, who will begin teaching courses in Asian-American literature next year.
And the program’s future continues to look promising, Yuh said. In addition to acquiring a part-time staff worker next year — the program currently uses student workers — Yuh said she hopes to publish a newsletter focusing on Asian-American studies across the country as well as at NU.
But student interest is essential to the program’s survival and development, Yuh said. This quarter students have been visiting Yuh to inquire about her Fall Quarter courses, which indicates that interest is “pretty high,” she said.
Sameer Gafoor, a Weinberg junior and Associated Student Government academic vice president, agreed.
“In the past, students have shown tremendous interest,” he said. “Asian-American studies is an important issue and concern for students, both Asian and non-Asian.”
