BA Asian American Studies

The Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies at The Claremont Colleges (IDAAS) offers a rigorous, multidisciplinary major that emphasizes social justice, critical thinking, and innovative analysis of the history, society, and cultural production of Asians in the United States, within both multiracial American and transnational contexts. The curriculum provides students with a comprehensive grounding in a range of thematic, theoretical, and methodological approaches within Asian American studies. The major integrates theory and practice through community work and sustained and focused inquiry in the senior thesis. In consultation with an IDAAS adviser, students take core interdisciplinary courses in Asian American studies and select appropriate courses in a range of disciplines throughout the five colleges. The program seeks to prepare students for various careers in the community, private or public, along with graduate work.