Tufts offers a small amount of Asian-American studies courses each semester, but some students and professors say the options aren't sufficient. The Asian-American Curricular Transformation Project, a group of 15 faculty members and one student, met for two weeks in June to work on modifying the existing American studies curriculum to incorporate more Asian-American content.
The group hopes that Tufts will offer an Asian-American studies minor by 2006.
"There is a wealth of diverse American history we don't learn in high school history classes," said junior Laura Horwitz, who participated in the June workshop. "We don't fully understand everyone's history. It is important for students in the 21st century to be prepared with this knowledge."
The summer workshop resulted from the University's 1997 Task Force Report on Race, which concluded that Tufts' Asian-American, Latino, and Native-American programs fell short of those at other universities. It called for the addition of at least three new tenure positions as well as a "three to four-week-long faculty Institute for curricular and pedagogical transformation."
Tufts typically offers one or two courses each semester exclusively dealing with Asian-American studies - one in the American studies department and an Asian-American literature class in the English department. The professors who teach these classes are not full-time faculty members.
Proposals were made for 15 syllabi at the end of the two-week seminar that called for either the creation of new classes or the modification of existing classes.
After attending the conference, English professor Virginia Brereton modified her English 2 class on "Differences" to incorporate Twilight, a book that utilizes different voices, some Asian-American, into her lesson plans.
"I'm really pleased with the way this is all working out," Brereton said. "The summer seminar has guided this curriculum so that it encourages students to theorize [racial] differences rather than just read literature from different perspectives."
Workshop attendees also addressed the need for tenured faculty members who specialize in Asian-American studies. "This disserves the students," said Elizabeth Ammons, a professor of American studies and English who attended the conference. Ammons said that due to the "deep and glaring gap" between Tufts and other colleges, it is important to fill open faculty positions with professors who are experts in their fields.
Three speakers from the local area were brought in to the workshop to provide perspectives on history, law, and political science.
The professors and students who attended the conference hope that after the 2006 launch date for a minor - too late even for this year's freshman - a major will eventually evolve.
In addition to the faculty group, there is a student group campaigning for a similar change. Junior Uyen Tang, Co-President of the Asian Community at Tufts (ACT), said that Tufts should have taken steps in the past since it is far behind other institutions. Boston College has a special five-course cluster sequence that is built into the American Studies program, while Mount Holyoke College has hired three full-time professors who are experts in Asian-American studies. Other students say that it is important to recognize the distinction between Asian studies and Asian-American studies.
