Category: South Asian Americans 101

Often times South Asian Americans are left out of the “Asian-American” discussion. Many students are unfamiliar with the existence of South Asian Americans and this course aims to bring visibility to this particular sub-section of Asian-American. This course aims to: Describe the geography and diversity of South Asia and to introduce students to which countries are included: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Discover the rich history of immigration regarding South Asians to the United States. Discuss and analyze identity. Who represents Asian-American? Who represents South Asian?…

This lesson aims to:Watch Full Movie Online Streaming Online and Download Understand the history of migration into American from South Asia. Use technology and primary sources to find this information. Analyze citizenship regarding South Asians in America. First the instructor should present the resource www.saada.org and demonstrate its purpose and organization. Once the students understand the organization of this site, split the students up into groups and have them create a timeline of South Asian migration to the United States. Near the end of class regroup and have the groups…

This lesson plan aims to: Discuss important identity markers within the South Asian population. Apply Arjun Appadurai’s theory of scapes to identity. Reading prior to class: Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy by Arjun Appadarai Discuss identity markers such as religon, ethnicity, language, and country and their importance in the identity of South Asian Americans. This discussion should aim to disaggregate information on the SOuth Asian American community. Explain Appadurai’s scapes theory: Ethnoscapes is the movement of people with the advent of readily available and more affordable transportation . Mediascape is…

This lesson should aim to: Discuss and analyze the involvement of South Asians in government. In particular look at how Indian-Americans have become governors or senators, how have they used their background to become successful in politics. Read about the political activism of South Asian Americans throughout history. Understand how Islamophobia has impacted South Asians. Discuss how Islamophobia does not only impact Muslim desis. Reading: Uncle Swami by Vijay Prashad Interestingly, two out of the three Indian-American governors represent the Republican party (Bobby Jindal and Nikki Haley). Analyze how both…

The learning outcomes of this class include: Recognizing the different kinds of stereotypes portrayed in the media about South Asian Americans. Understanding the impact of these stereotypes on the perception of South Asian Americans. Recognizing who (gender, ethnicity, religion) is represented as South Asian. How has Youtube changed the dialogue around South Asians in North America. Show pictures and clips in class portraying Desis or Indians in the media. Have a discussion about what these portrayals might means. The clips shown can include: Appu – The Simpson Rajesh “Raj” Koothrappali – The…