Asian American Studies in First Ivy League

The history of Asian American studies was first introduced in the 1960s as a part of the third movement on the West Coast. After Asian American studies were introduced, other ethnic studies were introduced such as African American Studies, Chicano/Latino Studies, and Native American Studies. Even though Asian American studies was the first ethnic education placed in the United States, it did not spread to colleges and universities as quickly as other ethnic studies due to the less population of Asian Americans in the United States. It was only through protests and as well community pressure that developed several Asian American programs throughout the United States.

Just a brief introduction of Asian American Studies, Asian American Studies is an academic discipline which studies Asian ancestry in the United States. Asian American studies examines the history, culture, politics, issues as a broad study, but the depth studies goes on further in one subject areas in the United States.

Cornell University is the first Ivy League university to produce the Asian American Studies program. It was founded in 1987 and today it is made up of four core faculty members. Asian American Studies is in the humanities and social sciences in a variety of departments and colleges. This program in Cornell University is committed to examining the histories and experiences of identities, social and community formations, politics, and contemporary concerns of people of Asian ancestry in the United States and other parts of the Americas.

However, the centerpiece of the Asian American Studies Program is in its undergraduate minor, therefore, there is not much emphasis in its program in the school. However, Cornell University mentions that the minor gives all the undergraduate students an opportunity to study the program without any commitment. In addition, the study underscores the transnational and comparative contexts with other fields of study, such as African American, American Indian, U.S. Latino, Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies. The Asian American Studies Program is important to the reality of life, it does not only impact the Asian Americans in the United States but also other ethnicity, in their careers. Because many occupations look for individuals with multicultural perspectives and international understanding of issues, in addition, because the world is in a global scale in business and politics and social, also, because Cornell University if the first Ivy League university to produce the program, it helped very competitive and academic approach students in the United States.