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Asian Studies
The Asian Studies Program offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of Asia that spans the regions of East Asia, South and Southeast Asia, and the Asian diaspora. In addition to language study, students may take courses in anthropology, art history, cinema, gender and sexuality studies, government, history, literature and culture, music, religion, and sociology. For the major, each student is required to concentrate in a geographic area or discipline, acquire a working proficiency in one of the languages of East or South Asia, develop theoretical or methodological sophistication, and demonstrate a degree of applied specialization. These principles are reflected in the requirements outlined below.
Learning Goals
The Asian Studies Program provides a multidisciplinary curriculum that develops knowledge regarding the history, politics, religions, societies, and visual and literary cultures of East Asia and South Asia.
Majors concentrate on a geographical area (China, Japan, South Asia, or East Asia) or pursue a comparative study of several Asian areas through a sustained focus on a discipline (e.g., government, history, literature and visual culture, or religion). This is combined with sustained training in a relevant Asian language.
Besides being multidisciplinary, the Asian studies major also emphasizes broad temporal and regional scope; students thus pursue at least one course outside their chosen area of focus as well as at least one course each in premodern and modern Asia.
A fair number of Asian studies majors are double majors, finding fruitful connections between Asian studies and disciplines such as political science, economics, art history, and environmental studies.
In the Asian Studies Program, students will develop the following skills:
- Learn about the language, literature, religion, visual culture, gender relations, history, and politics of a non-Western region and cultivate alternative perspectives on globalization;
- Develop a broad historical and cross-regional understanding of Asia;
- Demonstrate basic proficiency in an East Asian language consistent with two years of academic study at Bowdoin; for South Asia majors, this expectation is met by intensive language study for one semester in an approved study-away program;
- Read primary texts critically and situate them in their historical, social, cultural, and political contexts, as well as interrogate key assumptions in secondary texts and provide informed responses and critiques;
- Write analytical arguments and speak clearly and articulately about Asia and its diaspora; and
- Conduct independent research using primary and secondary sources, applying theories and methods developed within the discipline or field.
Options for Majoring or Minoring in the Program
Students may elect to major in Asian studies or to coordinate a major in Asian studies with digital and computational studies, education, or environmental studies. Students pursuing a coordinate major may not normally elect a second major. Non-majors may elect to minor in Asian studies, Chinese, or Japanese.
Christopher Heurlin, Program Director
Jen Conner, Program Coordinator
Professors: Belinda Kong (English), Henry C. W. Laurence (Government), Shu-chin Tsui (Cinema Studies)
Associate Professors: Christopher Heurlin (Government), Vyjayanthi Ratnam Selinger, Rachel L. Sturman‡ (History), Peggy Wang (Art History)
Assistant Professors: Sakura Christmas (History), John Kim‡, Claire Robison‡ (Religion)
Senior Lecturers: Hiroo Aridome**, Xiaoke Jia**
Lecturer: Zihan Qin
Visiting Faculty: Tianwen Han, Liyu Hua (Religion), Ayami Morita
Contributing Faculty: Connie Y. Chiang, David Collings, Rachel Connelly, Shruti Devgan, Nancy E. Riley, Vineet Shende
Asian Studies Major
Students major in Asian studies by focusing on a particular geographic and cultural area— China, Japan, East Asia, or South Asia—or by specializing in a discipline. Eight courses are required in addition to the study of an Asian language.
Language Requirements
Two years of an East Asian language, or one year of a South Asian language, or the equivalent through intensive language study.
- In addition to the above language requirement, students may apply up to three advanced intermediate (2205–2206) or advanced (3307–3309) East Asian language courses toward the total of eight required courses.
- The College does not directly offer courses in any South Asian language. Arrangements may be made with the director of the program and the Office of the Registrar to transfer credits from another institution. Students should consult with their advisors on choosing an off-campus and/or study abroad program that will meet this language requirement.
Area-Specific or Discipline-Based Requirements
Area-Specific Option Requirements
A concentration in China, Japan, East Asia, or South Asia requires eight courses, six to seven of which must focus on the geographical area of specialization, with up to two courses in an area outside that specialization.
- Students specializing in China must take one pre-modern course in China (2000–2049, 2750) and one modern course in China (2050–2249).
- Students specializing in Japan must take one pre-modern course in Japan (2250–2299) and one modern course in Japan (2300–2499).
- Students focusing on South Asia must take courses in at least two of the following disciplines:
- Anthropology (1026–1038), (1550–1774), (2500–2749), or (2750–2969)
- History (1026–1038), (1550–1774), (2500–2749), or (2750–2969)
- Religion (1026–1038), (1550–1774), (2500–2749), or (2750–2969)
Discipline-Based Option Requirements
Students must consult with their advisor concerning course selection.
- At least five courses must be in the chosen discipline: e.g., government, history, literature and visual culture (English, cinema studies, and art history), religion, or any other approved discipline. One of these five courses must be an advanced course (3000–4051) in the discipline of focus.
- Three remaining courses must explore related themes or relate to the student's language study. The study of an Asian language must be in one of the student's areas of study.
Additional Notes for Majors
Additional notes concerning both area-specific and discipline-based options:
- A senior seminar (3000–4051) is required and must be taken at Bowdoin.
- Asian studies majors may not also minor in Asian studies, Chinese or Japanese.
Asian Studies Minor
Students minor in Asian studies by taking five courses. Of these five, one may be an advanced language course (2205–3309). There are no area-based, disciplinary, or period requirements to the Asian studies minor.
Chinese Language Minor
Students minor in Chinese language by taking five courses. Of these five:
- four courses are required in Chinese; and
- one additional course may be either an advanced Chinese language course or a literature, film, art history, or visual culture course focused on China at any course level.
Students who have a background in Chinese must take four language courses from the point where they are placed in the placement exam.
Japanese Language Minor
Students minor in Japanese language by taking five courses. Of these five:
- four courses are required in Japanese; and
- one additional course may be either an advanced Japanese language course or a literature, film, art history, or visual culture course focused on Japan at any course level.
Students who have a background in Japanese must take four language courses from the point where they are placed in the placement exam
Additional Information and Program Policies
Major and Minors Policies
One first-year writing seminar can count toward the major or minors;
One course taken with the Credit/D/Fail grading option may count toward the major or minors as long as a CR (credit) is earned; if the course is taken for the major, it must not be at the 3000 level;
Students must earn a grade of C- or better for a course to count toward the major or minors;
Intermediate and advanced level independent studies count toward both the major and the minors. There is no limit on the number of independent studies which may count toward the major and the minors; and
One course may be allowed to double-count toward the major or minors.
Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate scores, in addition to the language placement exam, are only used for placement.
Off-Campus Study
Study abroad is highly recommended. Established programs in the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are available for students interested in China. Students are particularly encouraged to attend the ACC, CET, and IUP programs and the Middlebury Program in Kunming. The SILS at Waseda University, IES at Nanzan University, and JCMU programs are recommended for students interested in Japan, but students may select another program based on their academic interests. Students should consult with their advisors and the Asian studies office or website, as well as the Office of International Programs and Off-Campus Study, for information about these and other programs.
Up to three credits from off-campus study (excluding first- and second-year language courses) may count toward the major. Up to two credits from off-campus study (excluding language courses) may count toward the minors.
Program Honors
Students contemplating an honors project in Asian studies should have the following:
- a GPA of B+ or higher in program course offerings, or within their track of concentration;
- a clearly articulated and well-focused research topic; and
- a high measure of academic motivation and commitment.
An honors project in Asian studies is a significant scholarly undertaking. It is at once an opportunity and a responsibility. It allows students to conduct intensive research in an area of their choosing, work closely with several faculty advisors, and contribute their voice to an ongoing scholarly dialogue. It takes students into the library and sometimes beyond campus in search for materials and ideas that students make their own. It is, in many ways, what faculty members do in their own scholarly work.
Students interested in pursuing an honors project in Asian studies are highly encouraged to consult with their advisors early in the spring semester of their junior year. Honors projects require two semesters of work and both semesters may count towards major requirements.
Information for Incoming Students
Students considering an Asian Studies major should be advised that majors are required to take two years of an East Asian language (Chinese or Japanese) or the equivalent of one intensive year of a South Asian language (for example, Hindi, which is not offered at Bowdoin but can be accomplished through study abroad programs). Introductory Chinese and Japanese classes can only be taken in the fall semester and continue sequentially in the spring. Taking Japanese or Chinese language in their first semester will help students prepare for an Asian Studies major and make it easier to study abroad in Asia if they wish.
Students who have studied Japanese/Chinese in high school should have received a placement recommendation based on their performance on the placement test this summer and their language consultation. Any student who was unable to take the placement exam should consult with a faculty member in Japanese/Chinese as soon as possible.
For questions about Chinese language, please contact Professor Xiaoke Jia. For questions about Japanese language, please contact Professor Hiroo Aridome.
Asian Studies
ASNS 1014 (c) Envisioning Japan: Landscapes, Cityscapes, and Seascapes
How do pictures of places incite pride, wonder, desire, or fear? How can they be mobilized to promote national unity or invite social disintegration? From images of the urban pleasure quarters to scenes of sacred mountains, Japanese artists during the Edo period (1603–1868) produced landscapes, cityscapes, and seascapes to enable people to see and consume the country in new ways. This course focuses on Japanese woodblock prints to unpack how artists invested pictures—such as the renowned Great Wave—with the power to shape attitudes towards nature, belonging, and Japan's place in the world. (Same as: ARTH 1017)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2020.
ASNS 1017 (c) Global Asian Fantasy Fiction
Every Other Fall. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 16.
Focuses on contemporary anglophone fantasy fiction of Asian-inspired worlds by writers of East and Southeast Asian descent. Examines how authors draw on diverse Asian genres such as the Chinese martial arts and magic cultivation epic, Hong Kong triad and gangster film, Korean fox and tiger myth, Singaporean and Malaysian ghost tale, and broadly Asian imperial court drama to address issues of gender and sexual identity, racial and class politics, empire and geopolitics, nationhood and state power, and historiography and literary representation. Authors may include Kat Cho, Zen Cho, Rebecca Kuang, Fonda Lee, Russell Lee, Yoon Lee, Ken Liu, Shelley Parker-Chan, Nghi Vo, Neon Yang, and Xiran Jay Zhao (Same as: ENGL 1017)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022.
ASNS 1020 (c) Japanese Animation: History, Culture, Society
Non-Standard Rotation. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 16.
Animation is a dominant cultural force in Japan and perhaps its most important cultural export. Examines the ways Japanese animation represents Japan's history and society and the diverse ways in which it is consumed abroad. How does animation showcase Japanese views of childhood, sexuality, national identity, and gender roles? How does its mode of story-telling build upon traditional pictorial forms in Japan? Focuses on the aesthetic, thematic, social, and historical characteristics of Japanese animation films; provides a broad survey of the place of animation in twentieth-century Japan. Films include "Grave of Fireflies," "Spirited Away," "Ghost in the Shell," "Akira," and "Princess Kaguya." (Same as: CINE 1020)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2020.
ASNS 1036 (c) Commodity Life: Objects and Histories of India
What kinds of meanings and histories are held within objects? Uses the lens of four objects in the Indian subcontinent—rice, textiles, yoga, and photography—to trace histories of knowledge and skill, of commodification and global circulation, of power relations, and of personal attachments that these objects have generated. Central is thinking through the creative but also power-laden processes of making, using, and interpreting objects. This approach to the creative potential of analysis infuses class writing, revision, and discussion. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: South Asia. It fulfills the non Euro/US requirement for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 1039)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021.
ASNS 1044 (c) Asia Noir: Crime Fiction and Film in East Asia
Examines the genre of crime, mystery, and detective fiction in East Asian literature and cinema. Asks how did writers and filmmakers from China, Japan, and Korea imagine and represent criminality as both a moral and aesthetic problem? How did their works reflect and shape social concerns around crime and punishment; deviance and norms; objective and subjective truth, knowledge and power; and the value of popular entertainment? And how did these attitudes and forms evolve over time, under the pressures of tradition, modernity, and globalization? Possible texts by: Chen Xiaoqing, Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, Edogawa Rampo, Tanizaki Jun'ichirō, Murakami Haruki, Kim Un-su, Jeong You-jeong, and Bong Joon-ho. All works read in English. Does not presume any knowledge of East Asia.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021.
ASNS 1048 (b) People Like Us: Class, Identity, and Inequality
Our socioeconomic class shapes who we are. At the same time, class is a powerful form of inequality. We use three ethnographic case studies of class (in China, India, and in the U.S.), along with fiction, poetry, and film, to explore the following questions: How is class "performed" and interpreted in different cultures? How do class identities feed back into systems of inequality? How does class intersect with other forms of identity and inequality, such as gender, race, and caste? Key theorists are also brought into play. (Same as: ANTH 1029)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021.
ASNS 1185 (b, IP) Introduction to Africa-China Relations
Chinese and some African government officials speak of Africa-China relations as a "win-win" partnership, "traditional friendship", and "brotherhood" predicated on historical, mutual marginalization by the West. Despite this, China and individual African countries remain highly unequal in their economic and political strength and global significance. There is also great diversity among the African Union's fifty-four states in their responses to and engagement with Beijing. Is it possible in this situation to have symmetrical bilateral relations? How do African leaders shape relations between their nation and China? Is China's engagement with African countries actually promoting development on the continent? Focusing on three key interaction points—precolonial Africa, the Bandung era (1955-1999), and "Going Out" (1999-present)— students will become acquainted with the actors, institutions, and domestic and global conditions driving engagement between the two regions. (Same as: AFRS 1185)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2020.
ASNS 1560 (c, IP) Merchants, Mughals, Mendicants: India and the Early Modern World
Introductory exploration of the history of the Indian subcontinent and its connections to the broader world in an era shaped by the vibrant movement of people, goods, and ideas across the Indian Ocean, Europe, and Central Asia. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: South Asia. It also fulfills the non Euro/US and pre-modern requirements for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 1440)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2019.
ASNS 1605 (c, IP, VPA) Introduction to Art History: Art and Architecture of South Asia
This course provides an introduction to the art and architectural traditions of South Asia. Students in this course will acquire a broad base of knowledge in the artistic movements, materials, and techniques of the region in their cultural and political contexts. Topics covered include Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Islamic devotional art, as well as luxury objects, artistic commodities, and folk and regional artistic practice. Students will also gain an understanding of South Asia's role in the art of global exchange, including the connected histories of the Indian Ocean world, colonialism, and modern national identities. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: South Asia. (Same as: ARTH 1400)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022.
ASNS 1770 (c, IP) Epics Across Oceans
Introduces students to the classic Indian epics that form a core literary and cultural tradition within South and Southeast Asia: the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Examines how the epics were adapted across different kingships and polities in South and Southeast Asia, becoming part of the traditional culture of almost every part of this vast region. Since the royal patrons and the heroes of these epics were often linked, the manner in which the epics were told reveals the priorities of the different regions. Drawing on film, graphic novels, and multiple performance genres, explores the continuous reworking of these epics for both conservative and radical ends, from ancient India to the present day. (Same as: REL 1188)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2020.
ASNS 1865 (c, IP, VPA) Introduction to Art History: The Body in East Asian Art
Every Other Year. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 50.
Explores theories, pictures, and practices of the human body in art. Studies depictions of the human form as well as arts that activate the body, including calligraphy, spatial design, performance, and ritual. Focuses primarily on East Asia, ranging from early traditions to contemporary examples. Deliberately sets out to challenge a Western-centric understanding of art and art history by developing ideas about the body that don't make a recourse back to the idealized nude. Draws on cross-cultural comparisons to explore themes of difference and global connectivity in art. Topics to be studied include identity, self-representation, the fragmented body, participant art, collective action, and radical hospitality. Examples of formats and artists to be studied include: shrines, scrolls, paintings, and works by Yoko Ono, Lee Mingwei, and Polit-Sheer-Form-Office. (Same as: ARTH 1120)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022.
ASNS 2002 (c, IP) The Foundations of Chinese Thought
Seminar. Addresses Chinese thought from the time of Confucius, ca. sixth century B.C.E., up to the beginning of the Common Era. The first half of the time period nurtured many renowned thinkers who devoted themselves to the task of defining and disseminating ideas. The latter half witnessed the canonization of a number of significant traditions, including Confucianism. Major problems that preoccupied the thinkers include order and chaos, human nature, the relationship between man and nature, among others. Students instructed to treat philosophical ideas as historically conditioned constructs and to interrogate them in contexts. Note: This course is part of the following filed(s) of study: East Asia. It fulfills the pre-modern and non Euro/US requirements for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 2780)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2019.
ASNS 2010 (c, IP) The Emergence of Chinese Civilization
Introduction to ancient Chinese history (2000 B.C.E. to 800 C.E.). Explores the origins and foundations of Chinese civilization. Prominent themes include the inception of the imperial system, the intellectual fluorescence in classical China, the introduction and assimilation of Buddhism, the development of Chinese cosmology, and the interactions between early China and neighboring regions. Class discussion of historical writings complemented with literary works and selected pieces of the visual arts. Note: This course fulfills the pre-modern requirement for history majors. (Same as: HIST 2320)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2019.
ASNS 2011 (c, IP) Late Imperial China
Introduction to late imperial China (800 to 1800) as the historical background to the modern age. Begins with the conditions shortly before the Golden Age (Tang Dynasty) collapses, and ends with the heyday of the last imperial dynasty (Qing Dynasty). Major topics include the burgeoning of modernity in economic and political patterns, the relation between state and society, the voice and presence of new social elites, ethnic identities, and the cultural, economic, and political encounters between China and the West. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: East Asia. It fulfills the pre-modern and non Euro/US requirements for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 2321)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2020.
ASNS 2013 (c, IP) China before 1000
Non-Standard Rotation. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 35.
Surveys the early history of China from the rise of complex society and state-level polity in the third millennium BCE to the fall of the Tang Empire in the tenth century CE. Focuses on the relationship between state and society and delineates the historical processes of their coevolution. Examines the formative era of political experimentation and social formation, the emergence of the bureaucratic state and agrarian society, and the development of imperial rule and multiethnic cultures. Also introduces major political and social institutions, economic systems, technological innovations, law, cosmology, philosophy, and religion, as well as arts and literature that became foundational to the Chinese state and Chinese society. Students will critically engage with a variety of source materials: archaeological data, historical writing, literary works, and visual culture. Note: This course fulfills the pre-modern and non-Euro/US requirements for history majors and minors. (Same as Asian Studies 2013.) (Same as: HIST 2285)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021.
ASNS 2014 (c, IP) Death, Burial and the Afterlife in Ancient China
Non-Standard Rotation. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 16.
Seminar. Explores three interrelated aspects of mortality—death, burial, and the afterlife—in ancient China. Questions include: How was death conceptualized in magico-medical literature and philosophical treatises? What were the differences between ghosts and ancestors and why they matter? What can burials tell us about how the dead were treated physically and ritually? What do changes in tomb designs and funerary artifacts tell us about the development of material world and religious traditions in ancient China? How did the imaginations and representations of the afterlife evolve along with the changes in the discourses of death and burial practices over time? Textual, visual, and archaeological sources will be used. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: East Asia. It also fulfills the non-Euro/US and pre-modern requirements for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 2745)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021.
ASNS 2020 (c, IP, VPA) Power and Politics in Pre-modern Chinese Art
Introduces students to Chinese art from the First Emperors terracotta warriors in the third century BCE to the waning of the country's dynastic history in the nineteenth century CE. Following a chronological sequence, explores key mortuary spaces, religious objects, court art, and landscape painting with focus on themes of power and politics. Emphasis is placed on understanding changing art formats and functions in relation to socio-cultural contexts, such as shifts in belief systems, foreign imperial patronage, and the rise of literati expression. Readings include primary sources such as ancestral rites, Buddhist doctrines, imperial proclamations, and Chinese painting treatises. (Same as: ARTH 2710)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023.
ASNS 2030 (c, IP) Becoming China (1000-1911)
Surveys the history from the Middle Period to the end of Imperial China (1000-1911). Focuses on the emergence of a distinct consciousness of Chinese-ness and its changing relations with an ever-expanding known world. Examines issues surrounding ethnicity, cultural identity, territorial borders, foreign relations, diplomacy, and war, as well as local societies, commercial revolution, and technological innovations that made China one of the earliest nations stepping into modernity. Students will critically interrogate a variety of sources: historical writing and literary works, as well as material and visual culture. Students are expected to learn to think historically and globally, analyze primary sources and critique secondary scholarship, and craft compelling historical narratives that grapple with significant historical questions. [Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: East Asia. It fulfills the pre-modern and non-Euro/US requirements for history majors and minors]. (Same as: HIST 2297)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022.
ASNS 2055 (c, IP) Unearthing China: Archaeology, History, and Nationalism
Non-Standard Rotation. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 16.
Seminar. Explores the indispensable role of Chinese archaeology in the nation-building and national history in the 20th and 21st centuries. Considers critical development in theory and practice in the discipline alongside discoveries of national and global significance, and examines debates and controversies related to the origin of Chinese civilization, national history, and cultural identity. Through the lens of Chinese archaeology, students critically engage modern China from the perspectives of how its past have been unearthed, reconstructed, and narrated. This course is part of the following field(s) of study: East Asia. It fulfills the pre-modern and non-Euro/US requirements for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 2893)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022.
ASNS 2056 (c, IP) Modernizing China (1912-2012)
Every Other Year. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 35.
Surveys the history of China from the end of the imperial rule to the rise of Xi Jinping. Focuses on the different paths taken by the republican, nationalist, and communist governments to modernize China and their impacts on the development of China as a nation-state in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. At the core of a historical understanding of the past hundred-years of China is to situate it both in the longue durée of Chinese history and in the broader world history. To do so, this course examines the interplay between enduring institutions such as sovereignty, government, bureaucracy, fiscal regimes, and education that grow out of China's imperial past and their continuous transformations as the basis of national recovery and means of adaptation to engage the modern world. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: East Asia. It also fulfills the non-Euro/US requirement for history majors and minors. This course fulfills the non-Euro/US requirement for history majors and minors. It also fulfills the Modern China course for Asian Studies majors and minors concentrating on China. (Same as: HIST 2450)
ASNS 2060 (b, IP) Contemporary Chinese Politics
Examines the history and politics of China in the context of a prolonged revolution. Begins by examining the end of imperial rule, the development of Modern China, socialist transformations and the establishment of the PRC. After a survey of the political system as established in the 1950s and patterns of politics emerging from it, the analytic focus turns to political change in the reform era (since 1979) and the forces driving it. The adaptation by the Communist Party to these changes and the prospects of democratization are also examined. Topics include political participation and civil society, urban and rural China, gender in China, and the effects of post-Mao economic reform. (Same as: GOV 2440)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2020.
ASNS 2061 (b, IP) U.S. - China Relations
Examines the development of United States relations with China. Begins with a brief historical examination of the Opium War, then examines United States policy towards the Nationalists and the Communists during the Chinese Civil War. In the aftermath of the civil war and subsequent revolution, the role of China in the Cold War will be discussed. Then focuses on more contemporary issues in United States-China relations, drawing links between the domestic politics of both countries and how they influence the formulation of foreign policy. Contemporary issues addressed include human rights, trade, the Taiwanese independence movement, nationalism, and China's growing economic influence in the world. (Same as: GOV 2540)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021, Spring 2021, Spring 2020.
ASNS 2071 (c, IP) China's Urbanization: Art and Architecture
Explores visual cultural trends in modern China with socialist and post-socialist conditions as the contextual setting and visual cultural studies the theoretical framework. Discussion topics include but not limited to the following: architecture, from the Imperial Palace to the Bird's Nest stadium; art, from socialist realism to post-socialist experiment; advertising, from Shanghai modern to global consumerism; and digital media, from the Internet to bloggers. Questions central to the course ask how visual cultural trends reflect and react to China's social-economic transitions, and how the state apparatus and the people participate in cultural production and consumption. This is a research-oriented course. Students gain knowledge about contemporary Chinese culture as well as skills in the critical analysis of cultural artifacts and trends. (Same as: URBS 2071)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Fall 2019.
ASNS 2075 (c, IP, VPA) Ecocinema: China's Ecological and Environmental Crisis
Examines how China's economic development has caused massive destruction to the natural world and how environmental degradation affects the lives of ordinary people. An ecological and environmental catastrophe unfolds through the camera lens in feature films and documentaries. Central topics include the interactions between urbanization and migration, humans and animals, eco-aesthetics and manufactured landscapes, local communities and globalization. Considers how cinema, as mass media and visual medium, provides ecocritical perspectives that influence ways of seeing the built environment. The connections between cinema and environmental studies enable students to explore across disciplinary as well as national boundaries. Note: Fulfills the non-US cinema requirement and the film theory requirement for cinema studies minors. (Same as: CINE 2075, ENVS 2475)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2019.
ASNS 2076 (c, IP) Fashion and Gender in China
Examines how the dress women wear and the fashion consumers pursuit reflect social-cultural identities and generate gender politics. Readings and discussions span historical periods, geographical locations, social-cultural groups, and identity categories. From bound feet to the Mao suit, and from qipao to wedding gowns, fashion styles and consumer trends inform a critical understanding of the nation, gender, body, class, and transnational flows. Topics include the intersections between foot-binding and femininity, qipao and the modern woman, the Mao suit and the invisible body, beauty and sexuality, oriental chic and re-oriental spectacle. With visual materials as primary source, and fashion theory the secondary, offers an opportunity to gain knowledge of visual literacy and to enhance analytical skills. (Same as: GSWS 2076)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2020.
ASNS 2078 (c, IP, VPA) Going Viral: The Cinema of Pandemics
The onset of COVID-19 has led to anxiety and fear in our daily lives. The spread of this infectious disease and its destructive power prompts us to look to the film screen for ways we might comprehend the urgent subject confronting us. In considering how cinema has treated pandemics, the course will exam a number of thematic categories through cinematic articulations. The topics include but are not limited to: pandemics in history, the politics of pandemics, the fantasy or horror of pandemics, pandemics in Asia, and pandemics and animals. A carefully chosen roster of films include: The Seventh Seal, Outbreak and Contagion, The Flu that Killed 50 Million, Casandra Crossing, the South Korean productions of Flu and The Train to Busan, as well as 28 Days Later and Twelve Monkeys. The course meets the requirement for a major or minor in Asian studies, as well as the minor in cinema studies. (Same as: CINE 2080)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2021.
ASNS 2081 (c, DPI, VPA) Asian American Cinema
Every Other Fall. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 35.
Asian Americans have often been portrayed as the stereotyped other by both American cinema and mainstream media. This course presents an alternative vision and a counter-cinema: films directed by Asian American filmmakers, about Asian American experiences, and from Asian American perspectives. Themes and genres addressed include the family melodrama, the coming-of-age story, transnational migration, diasporic border-crossing, processes of racialization, and gender and sexual politics. We will explore how Asian American films recast images of Asian Americans through first-person narratives, how racial difference is reclaimed from white-centric imaginations, and how Asian American cinema as a communal practice negotiates sociocultural and institutional hegemonies. At the heart of the course is the building of an Asian American spectatorship whereby Asian Americans can view themselves on their own terms. This course is part of the college-wide Asian American initiative in 2023-2024. This course fulfills the non-US cinema and the film theory requirements for Cinema Studies minors (Same as: CINE 2081)
ASNS 2105 (c, IP) Everyone Eats: A Deep History of Foodways in China
Explores the deep history of foodways in China. Takes students on a historical journey to visit the earliest rice paddy of Neolithic villages in southern China, witness the elaborate food preparation and lavish feasting of the Han elites, meet the exotic ingredients and foreign peoples on the Silk Roads, and experience family and community meals of ordinary Chinese today. Through the lens of food, meals, and cuisine, this seminar engages students to make connections between a variety of topics—agriculture, environment, and food production; cooking utensils, recipes, and domestic labor; feast, famine, and politics; and food, region, and identity—to understand the history of China. This course fulfills the pre-modern and non-Euro/US requirements for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 2746)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022.
ASNS 2110 (c, IP) Enemies of the State
Seminar. Explores a series of historical individuals who have been incarcerated, exiled, or silenced by the Chinese state from the nineteenth through the twenty-first century. Covers three different regimes: the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), the Republic of China (1912–1949), and People's Republic of China (1949–present). Main topics include state and state power, ethnic and religious conflicts, gender equality, and cyber activism. The selection of historical figures reflects the wide range and rich diversity of the Chinese population, including women, religious figures, and ethnic/sexual minorities. Note: This course fulfills the non euro/us requirement for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 2782)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2020.
ASNS 2200 (c, IP, VPA) From Empire to Nation-State: Modern Chinese Art
Non-Standard Rotation. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 35.
Examines the multitude of visual expressions adopted, re-fashioned, and rejected from China's last dynasty (1644-1911) through the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). Major themes include the tension between identity and modernity, Westernization, the establishment of new institutions for art, and the relationship between cultural production and politics. Formats under study include ink painting, oil painting, woodcuts, advertisements, and propaganda. Comparisons with other cultures conducted to interrogate questions such as how art mobilizes revolution. (Same as: ARTH 2200)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2020.
ASNS 2201 (c, IP, VPA) From Mao to Now: Contemporary Chinese Art
Examines the history of contemporary Chinese art and cultural production from Mao's Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) until today. Traces experiments in oil, ink, performance, installation, video, and photography and considers these media and formats as artistic responses to globalization, capitalist reform, urbanization, and commercialization. Tracks themes such as art and consumerism, national identity, global hierarchies, and political critique. Readings include primary sources such as artists' statements, manifestoes, art criticism, and curatorial essays. (Same as: ARTH 2210)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Fall 2020.
ASNS 2252 (c, IP) Culture and Conquest in Japan: An Introductory History to 1800
Every Year. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 35.
How did Japan become Japan? This course introduces the origins of Japan from the archeological record until industrial modernity. Lectures survey the unification of Japan under a court-centered state, the rise and demise of the samurai as its ruling order, and the archipelago's shifting relationship to the larger world. We will not only focus on the culture of conquest by the warrior class, but also conquest via culture as inhabitants of the archipelago transferred and transformed material commodities, knowledge systems, and sacred beliefs from beyond its horizons. Readings emphasize voices that comment on gender, status, religion, science, and nature. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: East Asia. It also meets the pre-modern and non euro/us requirements for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 2420)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2020.
ASNS 2270 (c, IP) Gods, Goblins, and Godzilla: The Fantastic and Demonic in Japanese Literature and Film
From possessing spirits and serpentine creatures to hungry ghosts and spectral visions, Japanese literary history is alive with supernatural beings. Our study will range from the earliest times to modernity, examining these motifs in both historical and theoretical contexts. The readings will pose the following broad questions: How do representations of the supernatural function differently in myths of the ancient past and narratives of the modern nation? Are monstrous figures cast as miscreants, or do these transgressive figures challenge societal orthodoxy? How do Buddhist ideas influence the construction of demonic female sexuality in medieval Japan, and how is this motif redrawn in modern Japan? How are sociopolitical anxieties articulated in horror films like Godzilla? This course will draw on various genres of representation, from legends and novels to art and cinema. Students will gain an understanding of the cultural history of the monstrous in Japan and develop a broad appreciation of the hold that these creatures from the "other" side maintain over our cultural and social imagination. (Same as: GSWS 2236)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2020.
ASNS 2271 (c, IP, VPA) Samurai in History, Literature, and Film
An examination of representations of samurai in historical, literary, and filmic texts from the twelfth to the twentieth century. Topics include the changing understanding of the way of the warrior, the influence of warrior culture on the arts in medieval Japan, and the modern appropriation of the martial arts. Analyzes the romanticizing of samurai ethos in wartime writings and the nostalgic longing for a heroic past in contemporary films. Focus on the reimagining of the samurai as a cultural icon throughout Japanese history and the relationship of these discourses to gender, class, and nationalism. Readings include the "Tale of the Heike," "Legends of the Samurai," "Hagakure and Bushido: The Soul of Japan." Films may include "Genroku Chushingura," Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai," and the animation series "Samurai 7."
Previous terms offered: Spring 2021.
ASNS 2300 (c, IP) Literature of World War II and the Atomic Bomb in Japan: History, Memory, and Empire
Non-Standard Rotation. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 35.
A study of Japan's coming to terms with its imperialist past. Literary representations of Japan's war in East Asia are particularly interesting because of the curious mixture of remembering and forgetting that mark its pages. Postwar fiction delves deep into what it meant for the Japanese people to fight a losing war, to be bombed by a nuclear weapon, to face surrender, and to experience Occupation. Sheds light on the pacifist discourse that emerges in atomic bomb literature and the simultaneous critique directed toward the emperor system and wartime military leadership. Also examines what is missing in these narratives -- Japan's history of colonialism and sexual slavery -- by analyzing writings from the colonies (China, Korea, and Taiwan). Tackles the highly political nature of remembering in Japan. Writers include the Nobel prize-winning author Ôe Kenzaburô, Ôoka Shôhei, Kojima Nobuo, Shimao Toshio, Hayashi Kyoko, and East Asian literati like Yu Dafu, Lu Heruo, Ding Ling, and Wu Zhou Liu.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2019.
ASNS 2311 (c, IP) Empire and Nation in Japan
In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry sailed to Japan with four naval warships and issued an ultimatum: open up to trade or face foreign invasion. Charts Japan's swift emergence from its feudal origins to become the world's first non-Western, modern imperial power out of its feudal origins. Lectures introduce the origins, course, and consequences of building a modern state from the perspective of various actors that shaped its past: rebellious samurai, anarchist activists, the modern girl, imperial fascists, and office salarymen. Readings complicate dichotomies of East and West, modern and feudal, nation and empire through the lens of ethnicity, class, and gender. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: East Asia. It fulfills the non euro/us requirement for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 2421)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2020.
ASNS 2320 (b, IP) Japanese Politics and Society
Every Fall. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 35.
Comprehensive overview of modern Japanese politics in historical, social, and cultural context. Analyzes the electoral dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party, the nature of democratic politics, and the rise and fall of the economy. Other topics include the status of women and ethnic minorities, education, war guilt, nationalism, and the role of the media. (Same as: GOV 2450)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2019.
ASNS 2330 (c, IP, VPA) Culture and Crisis in Modern and Contemporary Japanese Art
Non-Standard Rotation. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 35.
In the late nineteenth and throughout the twentieth century, as Japan transitioned from a feudal society to a modern nation-state, Japanese art was mobilized by the avant-gardes and government alike. Examines the wide variety of formats and mediums encompassed in competing claims for modernization, including ink painting, oil painting, photography, ceramics, woodblock prints, and performance art. Interrogates art's complicit role in ultra-nationalism, Pan-Asianism, Oriental Orientalism, colonial ambitions, US military occupation, and post-war reconstruction. Themes covered include: reinventions of tradition, East-West relations, colonialism, trauma, and renewal. (Same as: ARTH 2190)
ASNS 2395 (b, IP) Japan and the World
Explores the development of Japanese international relations since the Second World War and how Japan is currently adjusting its policies to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. Despite having the world's third-largest economy and advanced technological resources, Japan has been widely viewed as underperforming in world affairs. The central question is whether Japan remains an "underperformer." Begins with a brief examination of Japanese foreign relations after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, then examines postwar Japanese foreign policy. Relations with the United States and China will receive special attention. Topics include Japanese participation in international institutions, the historical legacy of its past actions, the impact of US military bases in Japan, and contemporary debates over immigration. (Same as: GOV 2455)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2020.
ASNS 2514 (c, IP, VPA) Art in India
Examines mural, manuscript, and single-page painting from the fifth to the twentieth centuries. Questions to be covered include the identification and significance of courtly and regional styles, the role of patronage, and the impact of cross-cultural interactions. Through case studies of technique and artistic practice, this course will also situate the primacy of painting within the cultural and historical context of South Asia, including modern ramifications for connoisseurial analysis and the art market. Examples from major historical and cultural movements will include Buddhist monastic painting, medieval Jain and Sultanate manuscripts, Mughal allegorical and historical painting, Rajput and Pahari poetic and devotional scenes, and folk and commercial art. Through studies of these fundamental belief systems and structures, students will analyze diverse perspectives on South Asian history and culture. (Same as: ARTH 2215)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021.
ASNS 2552 (c, IP) Hindu Literatures
Non-Standard Rotation. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 35.
In this exploration of Hindu texts, we delve into some of the most ancient and beloved literature from the Indian subcontinent. Students read major scriptural sources, including the Vedas and Upanishads. In our study of the epics (the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, including the Bhagavad Gita), we discuss translations from Sanskrit and popular retellings of these stories into other languages and media. We discuss the Puranas, reading the story of the warrior Goddess in the Devi Mahatmyam and investigate visual representations of gods and goddesses. We also sample Sanskrit classical poetry and devotional literature to the Goddess translated from Bengali. (Same as: REL 2220)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2019.
ASNS 2553 (c, IP) Religious Cultures of India
A view of the religious cultures of India "from the ground up," focused on studies of lived religion beyond texts and institutional orthodoxies. With more than 1.3 billion people, India is home to an incredible diversity of religious cultures, including Hindu, Jain, Muslim, Christian, and Buddhist traditions. Readings examine traditions of pilgrimage, temple worship, yoga, goddess possession, healing practices, and rites of passage, including the ordination of monks and nuns. Themes include women's lived authority in contrast to patriarchal structures and contemporary intersections between religion, class, and modernity. Religious cultures of India also exist beyond the modern nation's borders, as diaspora populations have grown around the world and traditions of yoga, gurus, and mantra meditation are popular globally. The course explores these religious cultures in relation to new media and transnational networks, including debates about the practice of Indian religions in Asia and beyond. (Same as: REL 2221)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2020.
ASNS 2554 (c, IP) Early Buddhism
Non-Standard Rotation. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 35.
Introduces students to the major trajectories of Buddhist religious thought and practice. Readings include primary sources such as sermons, monastic codes, miracle tales, sutras, and poetry, as well as secondary scholarship on diverse lived Buddhist practices. Examines Buddhism's transformations in specific historical and cultural settings, from its origins in South Asia to its spread throughout Central, East, and Southeast Asia. Highlights important historical developments, including early Buddhist monastic communities, philosophical traditions, the development of Buddhist art and architecture, Tibetan Buddhist traditions, devotion to the Lotus Sutra, Pure Land practice, and Chan/Zen traditions. Focuses on varied Buddhist practices and goals; dynamics of lay and monastic relations; debates about gender and ethnicity in Buddhist communities; and the interplay of everyday and transcendent concerns. (Same as: REL 2222)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2020.
ASNS 2555 (c, IP) Religion and Politics in South Asia
An introduction to religion and politics in a region that is home to about one-fourth of the world's population, with a focus on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. Topics include religious nationalism, religion and violence, and the role of religion in legislative debates about sexuality and gender. Over the past few decades, the region has seen the growth of religious nationalisms in India and Pakistan, a civil war in Sri Lanka that divided citizens along religious and ethnic lines, and the militarization of Kashmir. But South Asia is also home to shared religious shrines and communities whose identities are "neither Hindu nor Muslim," resisting easy categorizations. Pride parades are held in Indian cities, but debates ensue on the role of religion in legislating sexuality. Questions include: How is religion related to national identity? Should religion have a place in democratic legal systems? Can Buddhist monks justify the use of violence in times of war? (Same as: REL 2288)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2020.
ASNS 2571 (b, DPI, IP) Imagined South Asias, Everyday South Asias
Interrogates the relation between the imagined and the everyday through a focus on South Asia, the most densely populated region in the world. Discusses how South Asia is imagined as a site of (post)colonial desires, despairs, and revolts as well as through civilizational or national tropes. Explores how these imagined South Asias are reshaped and disrupted by the everyday habitations of various political communities within the region and in diaspora. May include discussion of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Through ethnography, fiction, poetry, film, and music aims to cultivate a distinctly postcolonial sensitivity to thinking about caste, gender, spirituality, ecology, language, militancy, and politics in the region. (Same as: ANTH 2243)
Prerequisites: ANTH 1000 - 2969 or ANTH 3000 or higher.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2021.
ASNS 2581 (c, IP) The Making of Modern India and Pakistan
Traces the history of India and Pakistan from the rise of British imperial power in the mid-eighteenth century to the present. Topics include the formation of a colonial economy and society; religious and social reform; the emergence of anti-colonial nationalism; the road to independence and partition; and issues of secularism, democracy, and inequality that have shaped post-colonial Indian and Pakistani society. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: South Asia and Colonial Worlds. It fulfills the non Euro/US requirement of history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 2342)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022.
ASNS 2582 (c, IP) Media and Politics in Modern India
Examines the new forms of politics and of popular culture that have shaped modernity in India. Topics include the emergence of mass politics, urbanization, modern visual culture, new media technologies, and contemporary media and democracy. Course includes a film component. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: South Asia and Colonial Worlds. It fulfills the non Euro/US requirement for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 2343)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2021.
ASNS 2585 (c, IP) Global Cities, Global Slums of India
Seminar. How have cities in the so-called "developing world" come to take their contemporary forms? How is life in these cities and slums lived? Explores these and other questions through a focus on modern India. Drawing on film, fiction, memoirs, urban planning, and other materials, examines the processes through which cities and slums have taken shape, ongoing efforts to transform them, as well as some of the diverse ways of representing and inhabiting modern urban life. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: Colonial Worlds and South Asia. It fulfills the non Euro/US requirement for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 2802, URBS 2802)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2020.
ASNS 2586 (c, IP) Science and Technologies of Life in South Asia
Seminar. Examines the history of science and technology by exploring how these knowledges have defined and shaped human and nonhuman life in South Asia in the modern era. Considers debates about scientific evidence, the making of scientific authority and expertise, and the cultures of technology, as well as the circulation of popular knowledges and their entanglements with privileged sciences. Focuses on how people have thought—and produced knowledge—about nature, the human body, and bodily differences (such as race, caste, gender, sexuality, ability). Topics may include: science and technology in the service of empire, nation, or capital (such as race science, tropical medicine, plantation agriculture, nuclear power, natural resource extraction); modern yoga and Ayurveda; the pharmaceutical industry and bioprospecting; theories of the origins of castes, tribes, or linguistic communities; and new reproductive and assistive technologies. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: South Asia, Colonial Worlds. It fulfills the non euro/us requirement for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 2804)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2021.
ASNS 2587 (c, IP) Cities of the Global South
Examines the history, cultures, and politics of major cities shaped by histories of colonialism, the Cold War, and contemporary neoliberalism. We will consider the changing roles that these cities have played in colonial, national, and global economies, as well as the ideologies, aesthetic theories, and pragmatic contexts that have shaped their built environments. Key themes include: colonial and postcolonial urban planning and its limits; spatial inequalities; impacts of war and mass violence; urban economies; and the everyday sensory life of the city. Examples of possible cities include: Mumbai, New Delhi, Saigon, Manila, Cairo, Nairobi, and Lagos. This course is part of the following field(s) of study: South Asia and Colonial Worlds. It fulfills the non-Euro/US requirement for history majors and minors. This course satisfies the Introductory Survey and the non-US requirement requirement for the Urban Studies minor. (Same as: HIST 2346, URBS 2587)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021.
ASNS 2601 (c, IP) Militancy and Monasticism in South and Southeast Asia
Examines monastic communities throughout South and Southeast Asia and the ways they have been at the forefront of right-wing religious politics in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Across Asia, Hindu and Buddhist monks have been playing a political role that some consider contradictory to their spiritual image. Investigates how various monastic communities harness political power today, as well as how different communities in early-modern Asia used their spiritual standing and alleged supernatural powers to influence emperors and kings. (Same as: REL 2228)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2019.
ASNS 2611 (b, IP) The World's Most Dangerous Place?: Gender, Islam, and Politics in Contemporary Pakistan
This course engages in an academic study of the gender, religion, and politics in Pakistan to deepen students' understanding of the world's sixth-most populous country. We begin with accounts of the British colonization of South Asia and the nationalist movements that led to the creation of Pakistan. We then consider the myriad issues the nation has faced since 1947, focusing in particular on the debates surrounding sovereignty, gender and Islam. In addition to historical and ethnographic accounts, the course will center a number of primary texts (with English translations) including political autobiographies, novels, and terrorist propaganda materials. (Same as: GSWS 2710)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2021.
ASNS 2620 (b, IP) Sociological Perspectives on Asia(ns) and Media
Explores Asian national and diasporic/transnational social contexts through the lens of various media, including print, film, television, advertising, music, and digital media. Helps understand how media construct societies and cultures and, in turn, how social institutions, interactions, and identities get reflected in media. Focuses on South Asia to explore questions of ideology and power; political economy of media; construction and representations of gender, sexuality, race, social class, nation, and religion; generations; and social movements and change. (Same as: SOC 2520)
Prerequisites: SOC 1101.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019.
ASNS 2740 (c, IP) Goddesses, Gurus, and Rulers: Gender and Power in Indian Religions
Non-Standard Rotation. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 35.
Provides a historical perspective on how gender and power have intertwined in the diverse religious traditions of India. Explores ideas about femininities, masculinities, and genderqueer identities in religious texts and premodern religious communities, analyzing the influence of monastic ideals, economic patronage, and gendered notions of divine authority. Readings examine mythology, rituals, and ideas about gender and social power in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Muslim traditions; including gender roles in family and culture; transgender identity and religion; and, in the latter part of the course, the impacts of colonialism, nationalist politics, and migration on gender and religion. (Same as: REL 2280, GSWS 2292)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2020.
ASNS 2745 (c, IP) The Tigress' Snare: Gender, Yoga, and Monasticism in South and Southeast Asia
There is no dearth of stories regarding the dangers of women and sexuality for Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Nath yogis and ascetics. Texts after texts written on ancient, classical, and early modern Asian monasticism point to the evil of women and the dangers they pose to those attempting to live monastic lives. Women, however, have historically been and continue to be involved in these religious traditions. This class will examine the highly gendered worldview found within South and Southeast Asian yogic and monastic texts. Primarily reading Hindu, Nath yogi, Jain, and Buddhist canonical teachings, the class will discuss the manner in which women have historically been viewed within these religious traditions. It will then shift to look at the manner in which women have been and continue to take part in these communities in their everyday life. Through the use of both academic readings and multimedia texts, the class will examine how women navigate their roles within these male-dominated communities, their reasons for joining these communities, and the differences that exist for women within the different monastic and yogic communities. (Same as: GSWS 2745, REL 2745)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2020.
ASNS 2750 (c, IP) The Poetics of Emotion in China and Korea
Explores the relationship between form and feeling through a wide variety of poetry, fiction, philosophy, and visual sources from Chinese and Korean traditions, from The Classic of Poetry to Korean pop culture. With particular attention to the premodern period, examines how classical, vernacular, and popular forms create new spaces of feeling; how particular emotions shape cultural, philosophical, and political imaginations; and how environments and spaces, both real and projected, dialogue with selfhood and subjectivity. Addresses issues of language and representation, gender and sexuality, psychology and cognition, and crosscultural translation. Authors may include Wang Wei, Cao Xueqin, Yi Yulgok, and examples from Korean drama.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2020.
ASNS 2755 (c, IP, VPA) Arts of the Islamic Book
Books are a way of containing and circulating knowledge, but are also objects to be studied in their own right. The richly illuminated manuscripts produced throughout the Islamic world offer an opportunity to study calligraphy, painting, and ornament in their artistic and cultural contexts. Focusing on the collections of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, this course presents and in-depth examination of the diverse visual traditions and techniques developed over from the ninth to the nineteenth centuries in the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Students in this hybrid lecture/seminar will acquire a broad base of knowledge, while exploring material and thematic topics more deeply through readings, discussions, and hands-on workshops. No foreign language knowledge is necessary, but at least one previous class in Art History, Asian Studies, or Middle East/North African Studies is required. (Same as: ARTH 2126, MENA 2126)
Prerequisites: ARTH 1000 - 2969 or ARTH 3000 or higher or ASNS 1000 - 2969 or ASNS 3000 or higher or MENA 1000 - 2969 or MENA 3000 or higher.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022.
ASNS 2801 (c, DPI) Asian American Literature
Non-Standard Rotation. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 35.
An introduction to the writings of Asian America and this literature's development from early twentieth century to the present. Focuses on the ways Asian American writers have responded to and contested dominant Western discourses of Asia/Asians. Also explores the intersections of race with gender, sexuality, class, and country of origin in shifting notions of Asian American identity. Authors include Winnifred Eaton, Carlos Bulosan, Monica Sone, John Okada, Frank Chin, Maxine Hong Kingston, and David Henry Hwang. Note: beginning with the Class of 2025, this class will fulfill the African American, Asian American, Indigenous, Latinx, and multiethnic American or global literature requirement for English majors. (Same as: ENGL 2750)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2021.
ASNS 2805 (c, DPI) Asian America's Margins
Explores the margins of Asian America through literary perspectives of queerness, mixed-race identities, transnational and transracial adoption, disability, and mental illness. Examines the ways authors contest dominant white discourses of Asianness as well as the stigmatized zones within Asian American life. Authors may include K-Ming Chang, Alexander Chee, Nicole Chung, Thanh-Thao Sue Do, Velina Hasu Houston, Yiyun Li, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Matthew Salesses, Jane Jeong Trenka, Ocean Vuong, Esmé Weijun Wang, and Alice Wong. Note: Beginning with the Class of 2025, this class will fulfill the African American, Asian American, Indigenous, Latinx, multiethnic American, or global literature requirement for English majors. (Same as: ENGL 2760)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022.
ASNS 2806 (c, DPI) New Fictions of Asian America
Examines developments in Asian American literature since 2000 and asks how postmillennial fictions extend earlier writings' core concerns with racial identity and national belonging in the United States. Themes and contexts include globalization and transnationalism, illegal immigration and refugee experience, the post-9/11 security state and surveillance, the expansion of Asian capital, the global financial crisis, digital technology and social media, and climate change. Considers the diverse genres and functions of Asian American literature as not simply ethnic self-writing but also social satire, political critique, historical archaeology, cultural memory, and dystopic science fiction. Beginning with the Class of 2025, this class will fulfill the African American, Asian American, Indigenous, Latinx, multiethnic American, or global literature requirement for English majors. (Same as: ENGL 2758)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2021, Fall 2020.
ASNS 2808 (c) Asian Dystopias
Intermediate Seminar. Focuses on contemporary dystopian novels by Asian and Asian diaspora writers. Explores the idea that dystopic fiction works not simply by reimagining time and forecasting bleak futures but also by remapping political spaces and redrawing social boundaries. Anarchists and vigilantes, aliens and clones, murderous children and mythic animal deities populate these worlds as writers examine totalitarianism and dissidence, globalization and labor slavery, pandemics and biotechnology, race riots and environmental devastation. Beginning with the Class of 2025, this class will fulfill the African American, Asian American, Indigenous, Latinx, multiethnic American, or global literature requirement for English majors. (Same as: ENGL 2023)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Fall 2020.
ASNS 2809 (c, IP) Global Asian Popular Fiction
Explores the ways global Asian women writers have transformed popular genres as well as traditional forms as they address issues of gender identity, migration, political polarization, imperialist expansion, and ecological crisis. Examines how writers from East, South, and Southeast Asian lineages merge the anglophone novel and modern short story with modes spanning Asian and Western literary traditions, including myth, fairy tale, ancient epic, fantasy, romance, ghost tale, martial arts and magical narrative (wuxia and xianxia), and science fiction. Featured authors include Zen Cho, R. F. Kuang, and Tasha Suri, with possible brief works by Amanda Lee Koe, Anjali Sachdeva, Vandana Singh, Nghi Vo, and J. Y. Yang. (Same as: ENGL 2749)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2021.
ASNS 2839 (c) Buddhism in America
Examines the two major strands of Buddhism in America: that of immigrant communities and that which is practiced by Americans without preexisting cultural ties to Buddhist traditions. After a brief introduction to Buddhism's emergence and spread in the first millennium, readings trace the differences between these varieties of American Buddhism. Themes to be explored include temples as sources of material, emotional, and spiritual support, Buddhist practices as source of cultural identity and connection to homelands, and religious innovations and controversies among American "converts." These latter include the poetry of Allen Ginsberg, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and the widespread commercialization of Zen. (Same as: REL 2522)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Fall 2019.
ASNS 2860 (b, IP) Asian Communism: The Politics of China, Vietnam, North Korea, and Mongolia
Examines the Asian communism in China, Vietnam, North Korea, and Mongolia. Asian communism presents a series of fascinating questions. Why did communist revolutions occur in some Asian states but not others? Why were relations between some Asian communist states peaceful while others were hostile? Why did some adopt significant economic reforms while others maintained command economies? Why did communist regimes persist in most Asian states, while Communism fell in Mongolia and all of Europe? The approach of the course is explicitly comparative and structured around thematic comparisons between the four states. (Same as: GOV 2445)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022.
ASNS 2874 (c, IP) Madness in Korean Literature and Film
An introduction to the literary and filmic tradition of Korea's modern period through the thematic lens of madness. Explores the significance of madness within the history of twentieth- and twenty-first century Korean fiction, poetry, and film, from the colonial period and the Korean War to democratization and contemporary popular culture. With attention to political, economic, social, and technological developments, asks how the representation of madness illuminates problems of history and memory, language and representation, gender and sexuality, and global capitalism, that are both unique to the shaping of the Korean cultural identity and, at the same time, deeply universal. Authors and filmmakers may include Yi Sang, Kang Kyongae, Kim Tongni, O Chonghui, Kim Youngha, Han Kang, Park Chanwook, Lee Changdong, and Bong Joonho, as well as works relevant to North Korea.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2020.
ASNS 2875 (c, IP) Korea Beyond Borders: Contemporary Literature and Film
Examines the ways in which contemporary Korean literature and film take on the world. Looks beyond received cultural and historical boundaries by exploring how the world figures within the Korean cultural imagination, as well as how Korea might fit in with the rest of the world. Drawing from, but not limited to, the fiction and films emerging after the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and Asian financial crises of the 1990s and as part of the recent global surge of Korean pop culture, follows Korean writers, filmmakers, and their characters, as they move between national borders (North/South Korea, Japan, China, Vietnam Soviet Union, Europe, Australia, and the US) and boundaries of genre, form, language, and identity. Explores themes of history and memory; relocation and dislocation; capitalism and globalism; technology and reimagining the human. Authors and filmmakers may include: Han Kang, J. M. Lee, Bong Joon-ho, Min Jin Lee, Lee Chang-dong, Kim Youngha, and Bae Suah.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2021, Fall 2019.
ASNS 2880 (c) Asian American History, 1850 to the Present
Surveys the history of Asian Americans from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Explores the changing experiences of Asian immigrants and Asian Americans within the larger context of American history. Major topics include immigration and migration, race relations, anti-Asian movements, labor issues, gender relations, family and community formation, resistance and civil rights, and representations of Asian Americans in American popular culture. Readings and course materials include scholarly essays and books, primary documents, novels, memoirs, and films.This course is part of the following field(s) of study: United States. (Same as: HIST 2161)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2020.
ASNS 2881 (c, DPI) Japanese American Incarceration: Removal, Redress, Remembrance
Every Other Year. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 16.
Seminar. Examines the mass imprisonment of Japanese Americans during World War II. Focuses on how historians have interpreted this episode and how Japanese Americans have remembered and reclaimed it. Topics include government justifications for incarceration, the operation of the camps, the diverse experiences of Japanese Americans, the postwar redress movement, and historical memory and commemorations. Also analyzes the political application of this history in discussions of contemporary immigration policy and social justice more broadly. Readings include secondary and primary sources, such as court cases, government documents, films, photography, art, oral histories, memoirs, and fiction. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: United States. (Same as: HIST 2641)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2020.
ASNS 2882 (c, DPI) Asian America and Empire: History, Society, Literature
Non-Standard Rotation. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 35.
Asian America encompasses a diverse and dynamic population. This interdisciplinary course explores the complexities of Asian America by focusing on key historical and contemporary issues. Recognizing that much Asian American experience comes from the processes and history of US empire building, we will examine topics such as immigration, citizenship, the politics of race and ethnicity, identity formation, literary and cultural self-representation, community building, class and generational divides, gender and sexuality, and political mobilization. We will use a variety of lenses to gain critical perspective, including history, social relations and practices, and cultural production, such as literature, film, media, and art. Beginning with the Class of 2025, this class will fulfill the African American, Asian American, Indigenous, Latinx, multiethnic American, or global literature requirement for English majors. (Same as: ENGL 2906, HIST 2163, SOC 2264)
Prerequisites: ASNS 1000 - 2969 or ASNS 3000 or higher or ENGL 1000 - 2969 or ENGL 3000 (same as GSWS 3000) or higher or HIST 1000 - 2969 or HIST 3000 or higher or SOC 1000 - 2969 or SOC 3000 or higher.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023.
ASNS 2890 (c, IP) East Asian Environmental History, 1600-2000
Every Other Spring. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 16.
Seminar. The Anthropocene defines an epoch in which humans have become the dominant force in shaping their environment. Examines the role of East Asia in the emergence of this new era, from the seventeenth century to the present. In debating the narrative of ecological change in China, Japan, and Korea, readings and discussions focus on how successive regimes transformed their environments, and conversely, how those environments also structured modern human society. Questions what specific political, social, and economic changes triggered the Anthropocene in East Asia; how cultural, religious, and intellectual constructs have conditioned its arrival and acceleration. Weekly topics include: commodity frontiers, environmental sustainability, public health, industrial pollution, and nuclear technology. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: East Asia. It fulfills the non euro/us requirement for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 2891, ENVS 2491)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2020.
ASNS 2892 (c, IP) Maps, Territory, and Power in Asia
Seminar. From the Mercator projection to GPS, maps structure our lived experience as much as they reflect "objective" representations of our surroundings. This seminar examines the geopolitical formations of and within Asia through the history of cartography from the seventeenth century to the present. In exploring both inland and maritime frontiers, we analyze how this technology has sought to exert scientific hegemony over alternate conceptions of space in Asian contexts in order to legitimize state power. In so doing, we trace the deep history of contemporary border disputes on land and at sea. Sessions include working with original specimens in special collections. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: Colonial Worlds, East Asia and South Asia. It fulfills the non euro/us requirement for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 2892)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2021.
ASNS 2900 (c, IP, VPA) Hollywood Imagination of Asia
Every Other Year. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 35.
How has Hollywood treated Asia and Asians? To what extent have Hollywood film productions engaged in either erotic fascination or racial prejudice, when presenting Asia as a cinematic setting and Asians as a cultural other? Examining Hollywood's imaginative visions of the east, the course takes students on an exploratory journey from classic Hollywood films to contemporary blockbusters. Issues may include race and stardom in "Shanghai Express", yellowface in "Good Earth", the exotic Asian female in "The World of Suzie Wong", stereotypes of Tibetans in "Seven Years in Tibet", and an American's perception of Tokyo in" Lost in Translation". We will also explore the Orientalist imagination through sexualized Geisha or masculinized Mulan as well as transnational crossings in the animated film "Kungfu Panda". In addition to analyzing themes and the social-cultural implications of films, the course also introduces students to the cinematic language: mise-en-scene, cinematography, and editing. Counts toward the major in Asian studies and the minor in cinema studies. (Same as: CINE 2078)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2020.
ASNS 2910 (b) Cultural Encounters with/in Hawai'i
Non-Standard Rotation. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 35.
Examines Hawai`i as a site of cultural encounter. Topics include the ways that Hawai`'s tourism industry is connected to constructions of and consumption of ethnic identities by those within and outside Hawai`i; the ways historical and contemporary encounters between different ethnic groups (Hawai`ian, haole, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Pacific Islanders) have created the contemporary Hawai`ian social landscape; and the relations between mainland United States and Hawai`ian culture and politics, particularly the rising Hawai`ian sovereignty movement. Draws from theories of ethnic tourism, race/ethnicity, and colonialism. (Same as: SOC 2575)
Prerequisites: SOC 1101 or ANTH 1101.
ASNS 2920 (b, IP) Political and Economic Development in East Asia
Provides an introduction to diversity and development in East Asia. The course first focuses on the rise and decline of a China- and a Japan-centric order before WWII and discusses their historical impacts on today's domestic politics and international relations. The course then traces the postwar political economic developments. It examines the economic miracles in Asian countries and discusses their democratization. It also presents the process of Chinese economic reform and its impacts on the regional order. The course finishes with an examination of the Asian financial crisis and its impacts on regional politics. (Same as: GOV 2444)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019.
ASNS 2921 (b, IP) International Relations in East Asia
Analyzes relations between the various states in East Asia and between those states and countries outside the region, including the United States. The course addresses empirical and theoretical questions, including: What are the threats to peace and prosperity in the region, and how are the different countries responding? What explains the foreign policy strategies of different countries, including China and Japan, and how have they changed over time? How can broader theories of international relations inform, and be informed by, the nature of foreign policy choices in this region? Is East Asia headed toward greater cooperation or conflict? (Same as: GOV 2694)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2020, Fall 2019.
ASNS 3060 (b, IP) Capitalism and State Power in China
Non-Standard Rotation. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 15.
Seminar. Explores the paradoxes of contemporary China, a communist regime that boasts economic growth rates that are the envy of the world. While communism failed in Eastern Europe decades ago, the Chinese Communist Party has been surprisingly successful and leads one of the oldest dictatorships in the world. Explores how capitalism and state power actually work in China. Topics include ethnic conflict, patronage and corruption, elite politics, popular protest, elections, and civil society. Students develop and write a research paper on contemporary Chinese politics. Previous coursework in Chinese politics is not necessary. (Same as: GOV 3410)
Prerequisites: GOV 1000 - 2969 or GOV 3000 or higher or ASNS 1000 - 2969 or ASNS 3000 or higher.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021.
ASNS 3070 (c, VPA) Historicizing the Contemporary: Topics in Recent Chinese Art
Identifies and explores key topics in recent publications of contemporary Chinese art. Alongside of subject matter, students analyze usages of socio-political context and methodologies for framing different narratives of contemporary Chinese art. Through studies of individual artists and larger contemporary art trends, students unpack current art histories while also proposing alternative approaches. Readings include monographs, exhibition catalogs, interviews, and systematic reviews of journals. Questions include: What are the challenges of historicizing the present? How does the global art world reconcile the existence of multiple art worlds? How have artists intervened in narratives of contemporary Chinese art? (Same as: ARTH 3200)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2021.
ASNS 3080 (c, IP, VPA) China's Cultural Revolution through Film
Examines China's Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) through the lens of cinema. Viewed as one of the most destructive mass movements in China's modern history, the CR dramatically shaped national politics and deeply affected the life of ordinary people. With film productions made during and after the CR as primary materials, the course seeks to explain the nature of the Cultural Revolution as well as how motion pictures (re)construct CR rhetoric and why the CR remains a source of trauma that haunts the memories of those who experienced it. Popular film titles such as "The White Haired Girl", "To Live", "Farewell My Concubine", and others will lead students on a journey through history via the cinemas of socialist model operas, post-socialist retrospections, and alternative re-constructions. The course aims to be intellectually thought-provoking and cinematically engaging. Note:The course fulfills the major in Asian studies and minor in Chinese. It also fulfills the non-US cinema requirement for cinema studies minors (Same as: CINE 3053)
Prerequisites: ASNS 1000 - 2969 or ASNS 3000 or higher or CINE 1000 - 2969 or CINE 3000 or higher.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2020.
ASNS 3300 (b, IP) Advanced Seminar in Japanese Politics
Analyzes the political, social, and cultural underpinnings of modern politics and asks how democracy works in Japan compared with other countries. Explores how Japan has achieved stunning material prosperity while maintaining among the best healthcare and education systems in the world, high levels of income equality, and low levels of crime. Students are also instructed in conducting independent research on topics of their own choosing. (Same as: GOV 3400)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023.
ASNS 3421 (c, IP) The Japanese Empire and Its Contested Legacies
Non-Standard Rotation. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 16.
Seminar. Explores how and why the only non-white modern empire with overseas colonies achieved and maintained domination in the absence of racialized difference. Examines debates over whether the postwar order in East Asia emerged from the violent oppression and subsequent resistance of colonized subjects or from economic and infrastructural development under the Japanese regime. Traces how these fraught issues continue to provoke controversy in East Asia to this day. May cover topics such as ethnic ideologies, travel and consumerism, print media, comparative fascism, comfort women, repatriation and decolonization, and memory wars. Requires a major research paper based on primary sources written during the semester. Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: East Asia. It fulfills the non-Euro/US requirement for history majors and minors. This course is not open to first-year students. (Same as: HIST 3421)
ASNS 3550 (b, DPI) Digital Stories of South Asian Americans
Non-Standard Rotation. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 16.
Examines some key social issues confronting South Asians in North America. Pays particular attention to ascendance of digital archives as repositories of South Asian American narratives and underlying questions of power. Explores questions of South Asian racial identity and how it fits into and challenges dominant conceptions of race in the US. Possible topics include citizenship, inclusion and exclusion; differences within South Asian Americans; relationship with the larger Asian American community and other communities of color; immediate and enduring effects of 9/11; media representations; memory; and family and kinship. Students will study and analyze narratives as well as start collecting life stories of South Asian Americans in New England to contribute to an existing digital repository or create a new one. (Same as: SOC 3330)
Prerequisites: Two of: SOC 1101 and SOC 2000 - 2969.
ASNS 3760 (c, IP) Beyond Western Harmony: Composing with a Global Perspective
Non-Standard Rotation. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 10.
Although functional harmony is the central organizing principle of Western music, it is completely absent in other complex musical systems around the world. Considers other means of music organization and how to incorporate those concepts in students' compositions. Topics include traditional polymeter in Ewe drumming, scale construction and metric design in Indian raag and taal, Confucian philosophy in Chinese sizhu music, and colotomic organization in Javanese gamelan. (Same as: MUS 3502)
Prerequisites: MUS 2401 or MUS 2403 or MUS 2501.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2021.
ASNS 3801 (c, DPI, IP) Imagined Asias
Non-Standard Rotation. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 16.
Examines how Asia has been represented by America and Europe and how Asian authors have responded. Draws from a wide archive of literature, theory, film, and mass culture from mid-nineteenth century to the present. Not a survey: focus on case studies that explore historical exemplars of as well as conceptual alternatives to the critical model of orientalism, which regards western depictions of Asia as necessarily reflecting the culture of empire. Issues include US racial discourses of exoticism and the yellow peril; western modernist and postmodern appropriations of "oriental" cultures for self-critiques; and strategies of hybridity, self-orientalism, and occidentalism by Asian and Asian diasporic writers and filmmakers. Possible works by Edward Said, Pierre Loti, Bret Harte, Jack London, Winnifred Eaton, David Henry Hwang, Ezra Pound, Italo Calvino, Roland Barthes, Gayatri Spivak, Rey Chow, J. G. Ballard, Kazuo Ishiguro, Amitav Ghosh, Haruki Murakami, Bei Dao, Shan Sa, Su Tong, Ang Lee, Wong Kar-wai, and Stephen Chow. Note: Beginning with the Class of 2025, this class will fulfill the African American, Asian American, Indigenous, Latinx, multiethnic American, or global literature requirement for English majors. (Same as: ENGL 3028)
Prerequisites: ENGL 1000 - 2969 or ENGL 3000 (same as GSWS 3000) or higher or ASNS 1000 - 2969 or ASNS 3000 or higher.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022.
ASNS 3802 (c, IP, VPA) Re-mapping Global Contemporary Art
Studies competing claims over what it means for contemporary art to be called global. In particular, traces how the controversial category of "global contemporary art" has been used to both perpetuate and resist Western-centered views of the world. Focuses on artworks, exhibitions, and texts that specifically counter Western-centrism in gatekeeping tactics, exclusionary systems of evaluation, and hegemonic art historical narratives. Examples include the 1989 Havana Biennial, 1999 Global Conceptualism: Points of Origin, post-colonial critiques, and recent artworks and exhibits that have sought to re-map global cartographies of contemporary art. Students taking this as an ASNS course will concentrate on examples relevant to their focus of study. (Same as: ARTH 3490)
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022.
ASNS 3820 (c) Law and Justice in East Asia
Examines how law and justice in East Asia became markers of modernity and sovereignty from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries.The kinds of punishment used in a society often act as a measure in judging whether that society is civilized or barbaric, advanced or backward. Major themes include: stereotypes of "oriental barbarism," torture and capital punishment, village law and gender, extraterritoriality and imperialism, sentiment and mass media, war tribunals, and thought reform. Students analyze legal documents in translation alongside recent scholarship in the field and write a major paper based on primary source research. No prior knowledge of an Asian language necessary Note: This course is part of the following field(s) of study: East Asia. It fulfills the non euro/us requirement for history majors and minors. (Same as: HIST 3420)
Prerequisites: ASNS 2000 - 2969 or HIST 2000 - 2969.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2020.
ASNS 3831 (c) Religion on the Move: Migration, Globalization, and the Transformation of Tradition
Contemporary migration and globalization trends have transformed where and how religious traditions are practiced, radically altering the landscape of local religion around the world. But religion in practice is always changing, and what we consider "timeless traditions" are also reframed by individuals and communities in every generation. While migration has been integral to the development of many religions, this course considers how contemporary migration and the global spread of practices like yoga and meditation have led to the creation of new religious identities, diversifying where religions are practiced around the world. Readings highlight debates about religious identity in relation to gender, race, ethnicity, and transnational communities, including the rise of mega gurus in India and the US, the global popularity of Buddhism, and the relationship between race, religion, and authority among American Muslims. (Same as: REL 3209)
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023.
CHIN 1101 (c) Elementary Chinese I
Every Fall. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 18.
A foundation course for communicative skills in modern Chinese (Mandarin). Five hours of class per week. Introduction to the sound system, essential grammar, basic vocabulary, and approximately 350 characters (simplified version). Develops rudimentary communicative skills. No prerequisite. Followed by Chinese 1102.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019.
CHIN 1102 (c) Elementary Chinese II
Every Spring. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 18.
A continuation of Chinese 1101. Five hours of class per week. Covers most of the essential grammatical structures and vocabulary for basic survival needs and simple daily routine conversations. Introduction to the next 350 characters (simplified version), use of Chinese-English dictionary. Followed by Chinese 2203.
Prerequisites: CHIN 1101 or Placement in CHIN 1102.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020.
CHIN 1103 (c) Advanced Elementary Chinese I
Every Fall. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 18.
An accelerated course for elementary Chinese designed for heritage speakers and for students who have had some background in Chinese language. Emphasis on improvement of pronunciation, consolidation of basic Chinese grammar, vocabulary enhancement, reading comprehension, and writing. Three hours of class per week and individual tutorials. Followed by Chinese 1104. Students should consult with the program about appropriate placement.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019.
CHIN 1104 (c) Advanced Elementary Chinese II
Every Spring. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 18.
A continuation of Chinese 1103. Three hours of class per week and individual tutorials. An all-around upgrade of communicative skills with an emphasis on accuracy and fluency. Covers more than 1,000 Chinese characters together with Chinese 1103. Propels those with sufficient competence directly to Advanced-Intermediate Chinese [2205 and 2206] after a year of intensive training while prepares others to move up to intermediate (second-year) Chinese language course. Followed by Chinese 2203 or 2205 with instructor's approval.
Prerequisites: CHIN 1103.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020.
CHIN 2200 (c, IP, VPA) Brush and Ink: the Art of Writing and Painting via Calligraphy
Every Other Year. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 18.
Chinese calligraphy, painting, and poetry are classically defined as the three perfections (三绝). This class takes students into an art world where brush and ink are the quintessential materials of creation. Our primary teaching and learning goals include practice as well as understanding and appreciation of the art. The class begins with an introduction to the basic knowledge and forms of calligraphy through the weekly practice of essential strokes and different styles. We then move to the subject of how to integrate painting and poetry in the form of calligraphy. Each week our study of a masterwork will illuminate the "poetry in the painting and the painting in the poetry." Immersive learning in the art of calligraphy can lead to its practice as a form of self-cultivation and self-expression. For a final project, an exhibition of calligraphy, painting, and poetry will highlight students' works and achievements. No prerequisite of Chinese language and calligraphy.
CHIN 2203 (c) Intermediate Chinese I
Every Fall. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 18.
An intermediate course in modern Chinese. Five hours of class per week. Consolidates and expands the knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, with 400 additional characters. Further improves students' Chinese proficiency with a focus on accuracy, fluency, and complexity. Followed by Chinese 2204.
Prerequisites: CHIN 1102 or CHIN 1104 or Placement in CHIN 2203.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019.
CHIN 2204 (c) Intermediate Chinese II
Every Spring. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 18.
A continuation of Chinese 2203. Five hours of class per week. Further develops students' communicative competence and strives to achieve a balance between the receptive and productive skills. Students learn another 400 characters; read longer, more complex texts; and write short compositions with increasing discourse cohesion. Followed by Chinese 2205.
Prerequisites: CHIN 2203.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020.
CHIN 2205 (c) Advanced-Intermediate Chinese I
Every Fall. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 18.
A pre-advanced course in modern Chinese. Three hours of class per week. Upgrades students' linguistic skills and cultural knowledge to explore edited or semi-authentic materials. Followed by Chinese 2206.
Prerequisites: CHIN 2204 or Placement in CHIN 2205.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019.
CHIN 2206 (c) Advanced-Intermediate Chinese II
Every Spring. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 18.
A continuation of Chinese 2205. Three hours of class per week. Further enhances students' ability in the three modes of communication: interpretive, interpersonal, and presentative. Focuses on the improvement of reading comprehension and speed, and essay writing skills of expositive and argumentative essays. Deals particularly with edited and/or authentic materials from Chinese mass media such as newspapers and the Internet. Followed by Chinese 3307.
Prerequisites: CHIN 2205.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020.
CHIN 3307 (c) Advanced Chinese I
Every Fall. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 18.
An advanced course in modern Chinese. Three hours of class per week. Designed to develop mastery of the spoken and written language. Emphasis given to reading and writing, with focus on accuracy, complexity, and fluency in oral as well as written expression. Assigned work includes written composition and oral presentations. Repeatable when contents are different.
Prerequisites: CHIN 2206 or Placement in CHIN 3307.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019.
CHIN 3308 (c) Advanced Seminar in Chinese: Social China
Advanced seminars in Chinese offer students the opportunity to study a disciplinary subject with Chinese as the language of instruction. Investigates pressing social issues in contemporary China such as air pollution, food contamination, left-behind children, leftover women, rural migrants, and more. Students broaden their understanding of social-cultural reality through primary and secondary sources in the target language. Discussion participation and short but formal essay compositions are regular in and out of class activities. Satisfies the minor requirement in Chinese and the major in Asian studies.
Prerequisites: CHIN 2206.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2020.
CHIN 3309 (c, IP) Advanced Seminar in Chinese: Modern & Contemporary Chinese Literature
An introduction to modern and contemporary Chinese literature. Provides students with an overview of Chinese literature since 1919. Examines the changes of China and Chinese language over the past one hundred years against sociocultural contexts. Selected works include but are not limited to fiction, poetry, drama, and prose. Authors may include Lu Xun, Eileen Chang, Xu Zhimo, Xiao Hong, Lao She, Cao Yu, Fang Fang, and Mo Yan. All readings, discussions, and assignments in Chinese. Equivalent of Chinese 3307 is recommended.
Prerequisites: CHIN 3307.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2021.
JPN 1101 (c) Elementary Japanese I
Every Fall. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 18.
An introductory course in modern Japanese language. In addition to mastering the basics of grammar, emphasis is placed on active functional communication in the language, as well as reading and listening comprehension. Context-oriented conversation drills are complemented by audio materials. Basic cultural information also presented. The two kana syllabaries and sixty commonly used kanji are introduced. No prerequisite. Followed by Japanese 1102.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019.
JPN 1102 (c) Elementary Japanese II
Every Spring. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 18.
A continuation of the fundamentals of Japanese grammar structures and further acquisition of spoken communication skills, listening comprehension, and proficiency in reading and writing. Introduces an additional ninety kanji.
Prerequisites: JPN 1101 or Placement in JPN 1102.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020.
JPN 2203 (c) Intermediate Japanese I
Every Fall. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 18.
An intermediate course in modern Japanese language, with introduction of advanced grammatical structures, vocabulary, and characters. Continuing emphasis on acquisition of well-balanced language skills based on an understanding of the actual use of the language in the Japanese sociocultural context. Introduces an additional 100 kanji.
Prerequisites: JPN 1102 or Placement in JPN 2203.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019.
JPN 2204 (c) Intermediate Japanese II
Every Spring. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 18.
A continuation of Japanese 2203 with the introduction of more advanced grammatical structures, vocabulary, and characters.
Prerequisites: JPN 2203.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020.
JPN 2205 (c) Advanced-Intermediate Japanese I
Every Fall. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 18.
Building on the fundamentals of Elementary and Intermediate Japanese, students increase their proficiency in both the spoken and written language. A variety of written and audiovisual Japanese language materials (essays, movies, manga, etc.) are used to consolidate and expand mastery of more advanced grammatical structures and vocabulary. Students read or watch relevant materials, discuss in class, and then write and/or present on selected Japan-related topics.
Prerequisites: JPN 2204 or Placement in JPN 2205.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019.
JPN 2206 (c) Advanced-Intermediate Japanese II
Every Spring. Spring 2024. Enrollment limit: 18.
A continuation and progression of materials used in Japanese 2205.
Prerequisites: JPN 2205.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Spring 2021, Spring 2020.
JPN 3307 (c) Advanced Japanese I
Every Fall. Fall 2023. Enrollment limit: 18.
An advanced course in modern Japanese designed to develop mastery of the spoken and written language. A variety of written and audiovisual Japanese language materials (essays, movies, manga, etc.) are used. This is a project-oriented class and students learn to express complex thoughts and feelings, as well as how to properly conduct oneself in a formal Japanese job interview situation.
Prerequisites: JPN 2206 or Placement in JPN 3307.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022, Fall 2021, Fall 2019.
JPN 3308 (c) Advanced Japanese II
A continuation of Japanese 3307. Continued efforts to develop oral and written fluency in informal and formal situations. Reading of contemporary texts of literature, business, and social topics.
Prerequisites: JPN 3307.
Previous terms offered: Spring 2023.
JPN 3309 (c, IP) Advanced Japanese Seminar
An advanced Japanese language seminar where students will engage entirely with original texts and media created for everyday Japanese consumption (such as articles, essays, short stories, films, etc.) for class discussion and presentation. The discussions will be led by students and they will be encouraged to critically engage with the materials and make connections to issues in contemporary Japan. Projects will include a mock interview for which students will learn how to conduct themselves in formal Japanese situations (for example, Japanese workplaces, conferences, etc.). All readings and discussions in Japanese.
Prerequisites: Placement in JPN 3309.
Previous terms offered: Fall 2022.