Suman Chhabra

We associate colonization with large-scale consequences of violence and diaspora. But what about the less obvious impacts of colonization, those that have become everyday and have rewired the minds of a culture? In our class we will examine subtler forms of colonization on South Asians, particularly those who live in America and the UK. By turning the word anglophile in our hands, we will study how colonization continues through the English language, colorism, and the model minority myth. In addition to readings, we will watch films (such as The Reluctant Fundamentalist) and listen to albums (Riz Ahmed’s The Long Goodbye). In our FYS I class, we will develop our critical reading, writing, and thinking skills. This is a studio writing class in which we will focus on writing as a process. We will freewrite, formulate conceptual questions for the readings/films/albums, write responses, and compose and revise 15-20 pages in multidraft essays. Students will direct the topic of the final essay based on their individual inquiry. FYS I develops college-level writing skills, prepares one for FYS II and upper level Liberal Arts courses, and allows one to improve expressing their ideas in writing.

In our class we will read recently released poetry by Asian American authors. The poems and poetry collections are written by individuals who are amongst the multitude of identities known as Asian American. Readings often include works by Jenny Xie, Ocean Vuong, and Rajiv Mohabir. In our FYS I class, we will develop our critical reading, writing, and thinking skills. This is a studio writing class in which we will focus on writing as a process. We will freewrite, formulate conceptual questions for the readings, write responses, and compose and revise 15-20 pages in multidraft essays. Students will direct the topic of the final essay based on their individual inquiry. FYS I develops college-level writing skills, prepares one for FYS II and upper-level Liberal Arts courses, and allows one to improve expressing their ideas in writing.

In our creative practices we take our lives into account. You determine the format to share your story. In this course we will read different forms of autobiography: graphic novels, memoirs, essays, poetry, and journals. We will look at the various creative forms writers use to convey information about their lives, discuss why we make artwork about ourselves, and study how each form connects with readers. Though we will read about individual experiences, we will consider their impact on the collective. Readings often include works by Ocean Vuong, Trevor Noah, Diana Khoi Nguyen, EJ Koh, and Kazim Ali among others. In our FYS II course, we will develop our critical reading, writing, and thinking skills. This is a studio writing class in which we will focus on writing as a process. We will freewrite, formulate conceptual questions for the readings, write responses, and compose and revise 20-25 pages in multidraft essays. FYS II develops college-level writing skills, prepares one for upper-level Liberal Arts courses, and allows one to improve expressing their ideas in writing.

We have all left our homes to venture here. Perhaps it has been a physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional journey away from home. Now what? What do we think of ourselves in our new homes? What can we understand about ourselves and our previous homes now that we have left them? In this course we will read fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, and poetry by South Asian diasporic writers. These writers have left India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka themselves or are first generation in a new country. Readings often include works by Mira Jacob, Deepak Unnikrishnan, Durga Chew Bose, Faisal Mohyuddin, Mohsin Hamid, and Kazim Ali among others. In our FYS II course, we will develop our critical reading, writing, and thinking skills. This is a studio writing class in which we will focus on writing as a process. We will freewrite, formulate conceptual questions for the readings, write responses, and compose and revise 20-25 pages in multidraft essays. FYS II develops college-level writing skills, prepares one for upper-level Liberal Arts courses, and allows one to improve expressing their ideas in writing

This class offers small group tutoring for students who do not speak English as their first language. Students meet with an EIS instructor in groups of three for 1 1/2 hours each week. Students receive assistance with their class assignments for Art History, Liberal Arts and Studio classes. Activities may include discussing class concepts, checking comprehension, exploring ideas for papers or projects, revising papers, or practicing pronunciation and presentations.

This class offers small group tutoring for students who do not speak English as their first language. Students meet with an EIS instructor in groups of three for 1 1/2 hours each week. Students receive assistance with their class assignments for Art History, Liberal Arts and Studio classes. Activities may include discussing class concepts, checking comprehension, exploring ideas for papers or projects, revising papers, or practicing pronunciation and presentations.

This class offers small group tutoring for students who do not speak English as their first language. Students meet with an EIS instructor in groups of three for 1 1/2 hours each week. Students receive assistance with their class assignments for Art History, Liberal Arts and Studio classes. Activities may include discussing class concepts, checking comprehension, exploring ideas for papers or projects, revising papers, or practicing pronunciation and presentations.

There are fantastic books by Asian American writers but often they are not taught in school, or part of pop culture, or included in the literary canon. Who decides which writers and books are worthy of reading? In this discussion based course, we will critically read, think, and write about texts by contemporary Asian American authors. We will analyze multiple factors that have influenced the creation of the texts and that are explored within them, such as race, diaspora, memory, family, politics, community, and identifying oneself and one’s artwork. The readings will be across genre: novels, poetry, non-fiction, and graphic novels. Readings often include works by Victoria Chang, Mira Jacob, Alexander Chee, Jenny Xie, Ocean Vuong, Ted Chiang, and Cathy Park Hong among others. We will freewrite, formulate conceptual questions for the readings, write responses, and compose 2 essays based on individual inquiry and analysis.

There are fantastic books by Asian American writers but often they are not taught in school, or part of pop culture, or included in the literary canon. Who decides which writers and books are worthy of reading? In this discussion based course, we will critically read, think, and write about texts by contemporary Asian American authors. We will analyze multiple factors that have influenced the creation of the texts and that are explored within them, such as race, diaspora, memory, family, politics, community, and identifying oneself and one’s artwork. The readings will be across genre: novels, poetry, non-fiction, and graphic novels. Readings often include works by Victoria Chang, Mira Jacob, Alexander Chee, Jenny Xie, Ocean Vuong, Ted Chiang, and Cathy Park Hong among others. We will freewrite, formulate conceptual questions for the readings, write responses, and compose 2 essays based on individual inquiry and analysis.