When Dr. Chia Youyee Vang arrived at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee five years ago, numerous Hmong students along with community residents called for more courses specifically examining their life experiences.

Vang, an assistant professor of history, found herself in this dilemma: add Hmong courses or pan-Asian courses first? Because of limited resources, priorities had to be made.

Her answer became clear when 200 people turned out for a Hmong event on campus.

“For us, it made sense to focus on Hmong,” Vang says of the campus where Hmong-Americans, at 2 percent of student enrollment, represent the largest subgroup of Asians.

Now, her university offers a certificate in Hmong diaspora studies. It is part of a growing tide within Asian American studies — more ethnic-specific courses and programs. And it suggests that Asian American studies as a field is transitioning its curriculum in response to changing U.S. demographics.

However, while some educators understand the desire of students to learn more about their histories through ethnic-specific courses like “Vietnamese American Experience,” they’re concerned students lack an understanding of broader histories, struggles and issues offered in pan-Asian courses. 

“This generation of students wants both, and the ethnic-specific experience matters a lot to them,” says Dr. Kyeyoung Park, associate professor of anthropology and Asian American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. “We have to recognize the importance of ethnic-specific experiences. It’s a challenge for Asian American studies because, as ethnic study increases, what’s the long-term rationale for Asian American studies? We may have to reconfigure it.”

Meeting Demand

Today, in response to students’ demands, universities across the country offer menus of ethnic-specific courses that are unprecedented in depth and variety.

While the growth cannot be quantified, courses like “Japanese American Personality” and “Cambodian American Culture and Community,” at San Francisco State University and the University of Massachusetts Boston, respectively, are showing up on course listings with more frequency. The University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Asian American Studies, founded in 2000, has offered “Chinese in the United States” and “Literature of South Asian Diaspora,” among other topics.