# Asian American Pacific Islander Studies (AAPI) courses

San Diego Mesa College · 2026-2027 Catalog · 5 courses

Source: https://sdccd.curriqunet.com/catalog/iq/17459/18544/18546/17460/17461

"Offered" lists sections in this catalog year's class schedules: Fall 2026, Spring 2027.

### AAPI 103 — Introduction to Pacific Islander Studies

- **Units:** 3
- **Hours:** 48 - 54 hours lecture
- **Advisory:** ENGL C1000 with a Grade of "C" or better, or equivalent
- **Offered:** not on the Fall 2026, Spring 2027 schedules
- Grading: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This introductory course critically examines the historical and contemporary experiences of Pacific Islanders, both at home in Oceania (Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia) and in the diaspora. The course emphasizes Pacific Islander perspectives, exploring the histories of Oceania and the effects of colonialism, imperialism, militarism, racism, capitalism and globalization on Pacific Island communities, cultures, migration, identity, and politics. The course is intended for all students interested in Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies and Ethnic Studies.

### AAPI 124 — Introduction to Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies

- **Units:** 3
- **Hours:** 48 - 54 hours lecture
- **Advisory:** ENGL C1000 with a Grade of "C" or better, or equivalent
- **Offered:** Fall 2026, 3 sections (/c/san-diego-mesa-college/schedule/fall-2026/aapi.md); Spring 2027, 3 sections (/c/san-diego-mesa-college/schedule/spring-2027/aapi.md)
- Grading: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course is an introduction to the interdisciplinary field of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Studies. The course explores the diverse histories and contemporary social, cultural, and political experiences of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Emphasis is placed on how settler colonialism, imperialism, racial capitalism, globalization, war, American empire, citizenship, and various aspects of identity such as race, class, gender, and sexuality have shaped AAPI experiences and their social justice movements. Students will explore the topics through the lens of equity, self-determination, decolonization, and anti-racism. This course is intended for all students interested in Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies and Ethnic Studies.

### AAPI 125 — Asian American and Pacific Islander Identities and Cultures

- **Units:** 3
- **Hours:** 48 - 54 hours lecture
- **Advisory:** ENGL C1000 with a Grade of "C" or better, or equivalent
- **Offered:** Fall 2026, 4 sections (/c/san-diego-mesa-college/schedule/fall-2026/aapi.md); Spring 2027, 4 sections (/c/san-diego-mesa-college/schedule/spring-2027/aapi.md)
- Grading: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course explores the identity formation and the ongoing experiences of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) through an analysis of culture and power. Students will examine how cultural productions – literature, film, visual art, music, performance, museums, national monuments and memorials, among others – produce ideas, stories, values and ideologies in different moments during the history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Using various methods of cultural inquiry, students explore how race, class, gender, sexuality, immigration status and indigeneity together produce intricate arrangements of power in U.S. society as well as how Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders politicize(d) themselves through their cultural expressions. This course is designed for all students interested in Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies.

### AAPI 127 — Asian Americans and American Ideals, Institutions, and Politics

- **Units:** 3
- **Hours:** 48 - 54 hours lecture
- **Advisory:** ENGL C1000 with a Grade of "C" or better, or equivalent
- **Offered:** not on the Fall 2026, Spring 2027 schedules
- Grading: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course offers a critical investigation of the historical and contemporary political experiences of Asian Americans. Rooted in a Critical Race Studies approach toward history, the course examines how the United States governmental institutions, political processes and public policies at national, state, and local levels shape the experiences of Asian Americans in the United States. The course also clarifies how Asian Americans engage in community activism, domestic and transnational politics to resist oppression, disenfranchisement, and political exclusion in pursuit of incorporation into the U.S. political system, immigration, citizenship, cross-racial/ ethnic coalition-building, and racial justice. This course is intended for all students interested in Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies and Ethnic Studies.

### AAPI 130 — Asian American and Pacific Islander Women

- **Units:** 3
- **Hours:** 48 - 54 hours lecture
- **Advisory:** ENGL C1000 with a Grade of "C" or better, or equivalent
- **Offered:** not on the Fall 2026, Spring 2027 schedules
- Grading: Letter Grade or Pass/No Pass

This course is an introduction to the interdisciplinary study of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women in American society. The course explores AAPI women’s lived experiences as shaped by race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, immigration status, and other aspects of identity. Emphasis is placed on AAPI feminist scholarship; cultural productions and practices; immigration, refugee, and diasporic experiences; and resistance to various systems of oppression such as racism, sexism, classism, (neo)colonialism, militarism, imperialism, and global capitalism. The course is designed for all students interested in Women’s and Gender Studies as well as those interested in Asian American Pacific Islander Studies.