Faced with declining Asian-American enrollment over the past two years, Tufts is working to increase the number of classes that teach Asian-American culture to attract those students to the University.
The changes are part of a University-wide movement to promote integrated studies, that has already proven successful through programs in international relations, multimedia arts, and film studies.
Twelve professors met in a workshop over the summer to develop courses with an Asian- American focus. They intended to revamp the curriculum as well as create larger visibility for Asian Americans on campus. "Basically, we're trying to encourage departments form all over the spectrum to create room for courses that are designed to address Asian-American issues," drama Professor Sudipto Chaterjee said.
Chaterjee has been involved in efforts to expand Asian-American course offerings, but a trip to India this summer prevented him from attending the workshop.
The 12 professors received a grant from Tufts' Diversity Fund to bring Asian-American speakers to campus and increase Asian-American cultural programming. This spring, the drama department will produce its first play with an Asian-American theme, "The Gate of Heaven." Tufts has accepted the same number of Asian-American students over the last few years, but the number who matriculate is steadily dropping. The trend has Director of the Asian American Center Linell Yugawa sounding alarms. The class of 2000 had 192 Asian Americans, whereas the current freshman class has only 144.
"Our expectation was the size of the class' Asian-American [population] would be stronger than it was," said Dean of Admissions David Cuttino in an interview in September. "We're not where we'd like to be in terms of Asian-American enrollment."
Sophomore Mary Anne Triest, a resident of the Japanese Culture Unit, took Asian-American Issues as a freshman and said class discussed several issues that traditional high school curricula would have ignored. "It was really important to me because I am Asian-American," she said.
Asian-American studies is one of many interdisciplinary programs that have cropped up at Tufts in recent years. A major in Middle Eastern studies was created last year, and a program already exists in Latin American studies.
Tufts has considered hiring specialists to promote an integrated curriculum, according to Dean of the Colleges Charles Inouye.
"We're also trying to create more room for Asian- American faculty," Chaterjee said. "The University has taken an equal opportunity diversity position. There are efforts being made from various sides."
Though Inouye said existing programs are strong, the future of Tufts' offerings will rely on an increase in interdisciplinary studies. The University's objective is to produce "critical thinkers" who can express themselves persuasively, he said.
But even though the desire and interest in expanding Asian-American studies and other interdisciplinary programs is high, available resources are limited. Another new program, multimedia arts, has been growing over the past few years. The program is unique because it attracts students with a background in both liberal arts and engineering, but it is also demanding. Courses cover everything from theatrics, dance, music, cartooning, filmmaking, and computer programming.
Multimedia arts Co-chair Howard Woolf says that part of the beauty of multimedia arts studies is that it is a minor and not a major. It is important for students to have knowledge in several areas, Woolf said.
President Larry Bacow says he wants to revitalize academics by creating interdisciplinary programs that eliminate boundaries between departments. Bacow is also evaluating which areas are most in need of revision and funding. The Asian-American studies program will likely grow as a result of this process. "We're just building bridges between Asian studies and Asian- American studies," Chatterjee said.
