East Asian Minor Requirements
2024 - 2025 Catalog
East Asian Studies minor
A minor in East Asian studies requires completion of 22 credits, with an emphasis on either China or Japan, as follows. In meeting the requirements of this interdisciplinary minor, a student must use at least nine credits not also used to meet the requirements of any other major or minor. Students should consult on an ongoing basis with the Program Director about course substitutions due to changes in departmental offerings.
China emphasis (22 credits)
- History 103, EAS 391, 393
- Twelve additional credits on China, including at least one 300-level course and including no more than three credits of Chinese language study, chosen
from among the following:
ARTH 240, 288
CHIN 105, 111
ECON 274
HIST 289 (on a China-related topic), 385, 386
LIT 218, 220, 295 (on a China-related topic)
PHIL 130
POL 227, 392 (on a China-related topic) - Three additional credits on General Asia or Japan, chosen from among the following:
ARTH 140, 241, 242
EALL 215
ENGL 382
HIST 284, 289 (on an Asia-related topic), 382
JAPN 100, 111
LIT 221, 223, 225
PHIL 223
POL 327, 392 (on a Japan-related topic)
REL 103, 131, 132, 231, 335, 340.
Japan Emphasis (22 credits)
- HIST 104, EAS 391, 393
- Twelve additional credits on Japan, including at least one 300-level course and including no more than three credits of Japanese language study, chosen from among the following:
ARTH 241
HIST 284, 289 (on a Japan-related topic)
JAPN 100, 111
LIT 221, 223, 225
POL 327, 392 (on a Japan-related topic) - Three additional credits on General Asia or China, chosen from among the following:
ARTH 140, 240, 242
CHIN 105, 111
EALL 215
ECON 274
ENGL 382
HIST 289 (on an Asia-related topic), 385, 386, 387
LIT 218, 220, 295 (on a China-related topic)
PHIL 130, 223
POL 227, 392 (on a China-related topic)
REL 103, 131, 132, 231, 335, 340
- China emphasis (22 credits)
- Required courses:
- HIST 103 - China: Origins to 20th-Century Reforms
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 China's history embodies the full range of experience -as domain of imperial dynasties, target of imperial aggression, dissident member of the cold war Communist bloc, and current regional superpower in East Asia. This course tracks these transitions in political and social organization that, among other things, terminated history's longest lasting monarchical system, ignited two of its largest revolutions, began World War II and produced the most populous nation on earth. A wide range of cultural, political and intellectual stereotypes of China are challenged in the process of exploring its particular historical experience.
- EAS 391 - Senior Capstone in East Asian Studies
Credits 1 Prerequisite instructor consent Weekly seminar in East Asian studies that focuses on research tools and methodology. Students develop and present to the group their capstone proposals. Additional presentations by East Asian Studies faculty and guest speakers.
- EAS 393 - Senior Capstone in East Asian Studies
Credits 3 Prerequisite instructor consent Weekly seminar, focusing on the completion of the capstone project, including a formal presentation of the finished project to East Asian Studies faculty and students. Capstone project.
- HIST 103 - China: Origins to 20th-Century Reforms
- Twelve additional credits on China, including at least one 300-level course and including no more than three credits of Chinese language study, chosen from among the following:
- ARTH 240 - Arts of China
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This broad-based investigation of Chinese art from the Neolithic period to the present examines a wide spectrum of media: painting, illustrated scrolls, architecture, ceramics, and sculpture. This general survey will be paired with single-focused analyses of materials, issues, and genres particular to Chines art, such as the use of jade, development of ceramics, lore of calligraphy, and tradition of landscape painting. To this end, we use objects from the W&L Special Collections.
- ARTH 288 - Chinese Export Porcelain and the China Trade, 1500 to 1900
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This course covers the development and history of Chinese export porcelain made for the European and American markets and its role as a commodity in the China Trade. Students examine Chinese export porcelain from several different perspectives, including art history, material culture, and economic history.
- CHIN 105 - Supervised Study Abroad: Beginning Chinese
Credits 2 Prerequisite instructor consent This course is designed to introduce Chinese language and culture to students with little or no previous Chinese language background and prepare them for studying first-year Chinese. Combining language study with studies of other aspects of Chinese culture (literature, art. history, economy, etc.) provides students with first-hand experience of the development of contemporary China. Classes and discussions are held at the International College or Chinese Studies at East China Normal University in Shanghai. The program includes field trips to points of historical interests and many cultural activities. Students learn through personal experience about the emergence or modern China and its changing culture. Required course fee.
- CHIN 111 - First-Year Chinese I
Credits 4 An introduction to modern spoken and written Chinese. In addition to classroom drill in speaking and reading, extensive use is made of both the language laboratory and the computer in outside preparation.
- ECON 274 - China's Modern Economy
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 180, or ECON 180A; or both ECON 101 and ECON 102 Economic analysis of the Chinese economy in the 20th century. Comparisons of pre- and post-revolutionary periods. Performance and policies of Taiwan and mainland China. Issues include the population problem, industrialization, provision of public health and education, alleviation of poverty and inequality. Microeconomic emphasis.
- HIST 289 - Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History
(on a China-related topic)
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3-4 A course offered from time to time depending on student interest and staff availability, on a selected topic or problem in Asian or African history. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
- HIST 285 - Seminar: Eunuchs, Concubines and Patriarchs: Family and State in Imperial China
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Relations between men and women are the basis of any human society, but the exact nature and interpretation of these relations differ from time to time and from place to place. The concepts of Yin (female) and Yang (male) were integral to the theory and practice of Chinese gender relations during the late imperial period, influencing marriage, medicine and law. This course examines the historical significance of late-imperial gender relations across these, and other, categories from both traditional and modern perspectives.
- HIST 386 - Seminar: Managing Mongols, Manchus, and Muslims: China's Frontier History (16th-20th Centuries)
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 The unprecedented expansionism of China's last dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911), produced an ethnically and geographically diverse empire whose legacy is the current map and multiethnic society of today's People's Republic of China. The Qing Empire's establishment, extension and consolidation were inextricably bound up with the ethnic identity of its Manchu progenitors. The Manchu attempt to unify diversity resulted in a unique imperial project linking East, Inner and Southeast Asia. This course explores the multiethnic nature and limits of this unification, as well as its 20th-century transformations.
- LIT 218 - Pre-Modern Chinese Literature in Translation
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 A survey of Chinese literature from the earliest period to the founding of the Republic in 1912. Taught in English, the course presupposes no previous knowledge of China or Chinese culture. The literature is presented in the context of its intellectual, philosophical and cultural background. Texts used may vary from year to year and include a wide selection of fiction, poetry, historical documents, Chinese drama (opera) and prose works. Audiovisual materials are used when appropriate and available.
- LIT 220 - Modern Chinese Literature in Translation
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 This is a survey course to introduce students to the literature of 20th-century China. Through close reading of key literary texts from the 1910s to the present, students explore the social, historical and literary background that gave rise to the texts studied and the ways in which these texts address various issues that China faced at the time. Taught in English, the course presupposes no previous knowledge of China or Chinese culture. In addition to the selected literary texts, the course introduces several feature films that are cinematic adaptations of modern Chinese fiction and explore the complex and dynamic interchange between literary and cinematic language.
- LIT 295 - Special Topics in Literature in Translation
(on a China-related topic)
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3-4 Prerequisite completion of FDR:FW requirement A selected topic focusing on a particular author, genre, motif or period in translation. The specific topic is determined by the interests of the individual instructor. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
- PHIL 130 - Classical Chinese Philosophy
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 An introduction to philosophy via classical Chinese philosophy. We cover major schools in classical Chinese philosophy, including Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism, and Legalism. Many ideas of these schools have significantly shaped cultural practice in East Asia. We focus on the philosophical articulation and defense of these schools, and we reflect on issues in cosmology, epistemology, ethics, and political philosophy. We also discuss the relevance of classical Chinese philosophy to Western philosophy as well as empirical research.
- POL 227 - East Asian Politics
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 An investigation of East Asian political systems and the global, historical, and cultural contexts in which their political institutions have developed. Students consider the connections between political structure and the rapid social and economic changes in East Asia since World War II, as well as the effectiveness of varied political processes in addressing contemporary problems. Emphasis is given to China, Korea, and Japan.
- POL 392 - Seminar in Asian Politics
(on a China-related topic)
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 A topical seminar focusing on Chinese politics, other Asian countries, or selected subjects in Asian politics.
- ARTH 240 - Arts of China
- Three additional credits on General Asia or Japan, chosen from among the following:
- ARTH 140 - Asian Art
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 A survey of artistic traditions from South (including the Himalayan region), East, and Southeast Asia from roughly the 1st to the 18th centuries CE. The course focuses on a wide range of media - including architecture, sculpture, painting, textiles, and book arts - that serve a spectrum of religious and secular functions. The broad temporal, geographic, and topical scope of this course is meant to provide students with a basic understanding of not only the greatest artistic achievements and movements in Asia, but also the historical and political contexts that gave rise to these extraordinary pieces of art.
- ARTH 241 - The Arts of Japan
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This survey of Japanese art, which includes material from protohistoric times to the 20th century, is structured chronologically with lectures addressing seminal artistic developments and movements throughout Japan's history. Central to this course is an investigation of the ways in which Japan's dynamic socio-political contexts shaped its religious and political artistic developments.
- ARTH 242 - Arts of India
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This course explores the artistic traditions of India from the earliest extant material evidence of the Indus Valley Civilization (circa 2500 BCE) to the elaborate painting and architectural traditions of the Mughal period (circa 16th - 18th centuries). The course analyzes the religious and ritual uses of temples, paintings, and sculptures, as well as their political role in expressing imperial ideologies.
- EALL 215 - East Asian Cinema
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 4 This course provides an introduction to and overview of contemporary East Asian cinema, including the Chinese-language cinemas of the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and those of Japan and Korea. It focuses on the flourishing cinema of East Asia since the 1980s and provides a solid foundation in the successes and dominant tendencies of contemporary East Asian cinema and culture. Among the aims of the course are examining ways in which the contemporary East Asian cinemas and cultures are in dialogue with one another and looking at specific conditions and cultural forces at work in each unique case. The course also explores how the cinemas of East Asia reflect the changing cultural, economic, historical, political and social conditions of each country and how these cinemas and cultures are part of a larger redefinition of the idea of a national culture. Screenings and readings consist of exemplary works from each East Asian culture, organized around specific motifs, such as history, memory, identity, communication, love, and death.
- ENGL 382 - Hotel Orient
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite an English course numbered between 201 and 295 and another English course numbered between 222 and 299 This seminar charts the historical encounters between East and West through the very spaces that facilitate cross-cultural transactions from the medieval to the postmodern. If modern hotel consciousness is marked by transience, ennui, eroticism, and isolation, we ask whether or not the same characteristics held true in premodern hotel practices, and if the space of the Orient makes a difference in hotel writing. Semantically, Orient means not only the geographic east. As a verb, to orient means to position and ascertain one's bearings. In this sense, to write about lodging in the East is to sort out one's cultural and geopolitical orientation.
- HIST 289 - Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History
(on an Asia-related topic)
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3-4 A course offered from time to time depending on student interest and staff availability, on a selected topic or problem in Asian or African history. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
- JAPN 100 - Supervised Study Abroad: Beginning Japanese
Credits 4 Prerequisite instructor consent This course is designed to introduce the Japanese language and culture to students with little or no previous language background. Classes are held at the Ishikawa Foundation for International Exchange, a prestigious Japanese institution in Kanazawa. Students live with a host family and can experience typical Japanese daily life. The program includes field trips to points of historical interest and many cultural activities. Spring Term Abroad course.
- JAPN 111 - First-Year Japanese I
Credits 4 An introduction to spoken and written Japanese. Classroom drills, written and audio materials emphasize basic sentence patterns. Daily practice in reading and writing.
- LIT 221 - Japanese Literature in Translation
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite completion of FDR:FW requirement An introduction to Japanese literature in its historical and cultural contexts from premodern to modern times. The course materials draw upon selections from the earliest prose works to contemporary fiction of representative modern writers.
- LIT 223 - Seminar in Japanese Literature in Translation
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Corequisite LIT 223L - Literature 223 Lab Selected topics in Japanese literature, varying from year to year. Possible topics include the development of poetic forms, Heian court literature and art, diaries, epics, Buddhist literature, the culture of food and tea, and Noh drama.
- LIT 225 - Poetry and Drama of Japan in Translation
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite completion of FDR:FW requirement This course is designed to introduce students to the poetry and theater of Japan's premodern era. We examine classical themes and poetic art forms, and read from the vast canon of Japanese poetry. Readings cover major poets such as Hitomaro, Komachi, Teika, Saigyo, Sogi and Basho. The second part of the course offers a close study of the four traditional dramatic art forms of Japan: Noh, Kyogen or Comic Theater, Puppet Theater, and Kabuki. Students experience the performative aspect of the Noh theater by learning dance movements and song/chant from the play Yuya . The final part of the course demonstrates how classical theater has influenced modern playwrights and novelists.
- PHIL 223 - Buddhist Philosophy
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 An introduction to Buddhist philosophy. We focus on the philosophical articulation and defense of Buddhism, and reflect on issues in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. We see how different philosophical traditions—including Indian, Chinese, and Western—can be mutually informing. We also discuss the relevance of Buddhist philosophy to empirical research and everyday practice.
- POL 392 - Seminar in Asian Politics
(on a Japan-related topic)
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 A topical seminar focusing on Chinese politics, other Asian countries, or selected subjects in Asian politics.
- REL 103 - Introduction to Asian Religions
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 A survey of the teachings, practices, and historical significance of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shinto.
- REL 131 - Buddhism
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 A survey of the historical development of the doctrines and practices of Buddhism. After a discussion of the Hindu origins of Buddhism, the course focuses on the development of the Theravada, Vajrayana and Mahayana traditions. A class trip to at least one Buddhist center is included.
- REL 132 - Hinduism
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 This course surveys Hindu religious traditions with a focus on the many ways in which Hindus visualize and talk about the divine and its manifestations in the world through mythic stories, use of images in worship, explanations of the nature of the soul and body in relation to the divine, and the belief in human embodiments of the divine in Hindu holy men and women. Topics include: the religious meanings of masculine and feminine in the divine and human contexts; the idea of local, family, and 'chosen" divinities; and differing forms of Hindu devotion for men and women.
- REL 231 - Body and Soul in India
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Seeking to understand the innermost self and its relation to the mind, the body, and the world, yogis and ascetics pursue extraordinary paths that invert the normal aims and values of society. This course surveys ideas on mental and physical training; their conceptual basis; the range of techniques used; and their philosophical development. Course material is drawn from a diverse range of religions that may include Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Islamic, and Christian. The course seeks to answer such questions as: "How can we live in our bodies while realizing spiritual potential?" "What roles do yogis and ascetics play in society?" and "What is their ethical status in the world?"
- REL 335 - Hindu Law in Theory and Practice
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 India produced one of the oldest legal systems in the world; one that offers some surprising contrasts with modern assumptions about the nature and scope of the law. Combining ethical and ritual obligations alongside rules for criminal and civil litigation, it was intended to cover every aspect of life, from personal habits to political institutions. The course begins with the ancient codes, Indian political theory, and documents from everyday legal practice in medieval times. The second half of the course begins with colonial-era British attempts to codify Hindu law; Hindu personal law in modern India; and the controversy over religion and secularism in the courts today, including the constitutional definition of Hindu; attempts to legislate against disapproved religious practices; and disputes over sacred spaces. We close with comparisons with legal reasoning about religion in America, Israel, and England, based on court cases.
- REL 340 - Seminar in Asian Religions
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite instructor consent A study of specific topics in Asian religion and society.
- ARTH 140 - Asian Art
- Japan Emphasis (22 Credits)
- Required courses:
- HIST 104 - Japan: Origins to Atomic Aftermath
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 This course traces the span of Japan's historical development from its origins through the Cold War, with a special, but not exclusive, emphasis on an environmental perspective. The first half of the course covers the emergence of indigenous Japanese society and its adaptation to cultural and political influences from mainland East Asia, including Buddhism, Confucianism, and Chinese concepts of empire. The second half covers Japan's successful transition from a declining Tokugawa Shogunate to a modern imperial nation to a reluctant U.S. Cold War ally from the mid-19th to the mid-20th centuries.
- EAS 391 - Senior Capstone in East Asian Studies
Credits 1 Prerequisite instructor consent Weekly seminar in East Asian studies that focuses on research tools and methodology. Students develop and present to the group their capstone proposals. Additional presentations by East Asian Studies faculty and guest speakers.
- EAS 393 - Senior Capstone in East Asian Studies
Credits 3 Prerequisite instructor consent Weekly seminar, focusing on the completion of the capstone project, including a formal presentation of the finished project to East Asian Studies faculty and students. Capstone project.
- HIST 104 - Japan: Origins to Atomic Aftermath
- Twelve additional credits on Japan, including at least one 300-level course and including no more than three credits of Japanese language study, chosen from among the following:
- ARTH 241 - The Arts of Japan
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This survey of Japanese art, which includes material from protohistoric times to the 20th century, is structured chronologically with lectures addressing seminal artistic developments and movements throughout Japan's history. Central to this course is an investigation of the ways in which Japan's dynamic socio-political contexts shaped its religious and political artistic developments.
- HIST 284 - Visions of Japan's Empire in East Asia: 19th-Century Origins through World War II
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Japan's 19th-century imperial system ensured its status as the only major non-western great power in the first half of the 20th century. Within the space of its fifty years of existence (1895-1945), imperial Japan underwent radical political, social and cultural transformations that had equally profound effects on East Asian and world history, culminating in World War II. The course explores these distinctive transformations, which constitute Japan's theory and practice of political and cultural imperialism, through an analysis of text and image, from which the class constructs a website.
- HIST 289 - Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History
(on a Japan-related topic)
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3-4 A course offered from time to time depending on student interest and staff availability, on a selected topic or problem in Asian or African history. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
- JAPN 100 - Supervised Study Abroad: Beginning Japanese
Credits 4 Prerequisite instructor consent This course is designed to introduce the Japanese language and culture to students with little or no previous language background. Classes are held at the Ishikawa Foundation for International Exchange, a prestigious Japanese institution in Kanazawa. Students live with a host family and can experience typical Japanese daily life. The program includes field trips to points of historical interest and many cultural activities. Spring Term Abroad course.
- JAPN 111 - First-Year Japanese I
Credits 4 An introduction to spoken and written Japanese. Classroom drills, written and audio materials emphasize basic sentence patterns. Daily practice in reading and writing.
- LIT 221 - Japanese Literature in Translation
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite completion of FDR:FW requirement An introduction to Japanese literature in its historical and cultural contexts from premodern to modern times. The course materials draw upon selections from the earliest prose works to contemporary fiction of representative modern writers.
- LIT 223 - Seminar in Japanese Literature in Translation
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Corequisite LIT 223L - Literature 223 Lab Selected topics in Japanese literature, varying from year to year. Possible topics include the development of poetic forms, Heian court literature and art, diaries, epics, Buddhist literature, the culture of food and tea, and Noh drama.
- LIT 225 - Poetry and Drama of Japan in Translation
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite completion of FDR:FW requirement This course is designed to introduce students to the poetry and theater of Japan's premodern era. We examine classical themes and poetic art forms, and read from the vast canon of Japanese poetry. Readings cover major poets such as Hitomaro, Komachi, Teika, Saigyo, Sogi and Basho. The second part of the course offers a close study of the four traditional dramatic art forms of Japan: Noh, Kyogen or Comic Theater, Puppet Theater, and Kabuki. Students experience the performative aspect of the Noh theater by learning dance movements and song/chant from the play Yuya . The final part of the course demonstrates how classical theater has influenced modern playwrights and novelists.
- POL 392 - Seminar in Asian Politics
(on a Japan-related topic)
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 A topical seminar focusing on Chinese politics, other Asian countries, or selected subjects in Asian politics.
- ARTH 241 - The Arts of Japan
- Three additional credits on General Asia or China, chosen from among the following:
- ARTH 140 - Asian Art
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 A survey of artistic traditions from South (including the Himalayan region), East, and Southeast Asia from roughly the 1st to the 18th centuries CE. The course focuses on a wide range of media - including architecture, sculpture, painting, textiles, and book arts - that serve a spectrum of religious and secular functions. The broad temporal, geographic, and topical scope of this course is meant to provide students with a basic understanding of not only the greatest artistic achievements and movements in Asia, but also the historical and political contexts that gave rise to these extraordinary pieces of art.
- ARTH 240 - Arts of China
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This broad-based investigation of Chinese art from the Neolithic period to the present examines a wide spectrum of media: painting, illustrated scrolls, architecture, ceramics, and sculpture. This general survey will be paired with single-focused analyses of materials, issues, and genres particular to Chines art, such as the use of jade, development of ceramics, lore of calligraphy, and tradition of landscape painting. To this end, we use objects from the W&L Special Collections.
- ARTH 242 - Arts of India
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This course explores the artistic traditions of India from the earliest extant material evidence of the Indus Valley Civilization (circa 2500 BCE) to the elaborate painting and architectural traditions of the Mughal period (circa 16th - 18th centuries). The course analyzes the religious and ritual uses of temples, paintings, and sculptures, as well as their political role in expressing imperial ideologies.
- CHIN 105 - Supervised Study Abroad: Beginning Chinese
Credits 2 Prerequisite instructor consent This course is designed to introduce Chinese language and culture to students with little or no previous Chinese language background and prepare them for studying first-year Chinese. Combining language study with studies of other aspects of Chinese culture (literature, art. history, economy, etc.) provides students with first-hand experience of the development of contemporary China. Classes and discussions are held at the International College or Chinese Studies at East China Normal University in Shanghai. The program includes field trips to points of historical interests and many cultural activities. Students learn through personal experience about the emergence or modern China and its changing culture. Required course fee.
- CHIN 111 - First-Year Chinese I
Credits 4 An introduction to modern spoken and written Chinese. In addition to classroom drill in speaking and reading, extensive use is made of both the language laboratory and the computer in outside preparation.
- EALL 215 - East Asian Cinema
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 4 This course provides an introduction to and overview of contemporary East Asian cinema, including the Chinese-language cinemas of the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and those of Japan and Korea. It focuses on the flourishing cinema of East Asia since the 1980s and provides a solid foundation in the successes and dominant tendencies of contemporary East Asian cinema and culture. Among the aims of the course are examining ways in which the contemporary East Asian cinemas and cultures are in dialogue with one another and looking at specific conditions and cultural forces at work in each unique case. The course also explores how the cinemas of East Asia reflect the changing cultural, economic, historical, political and social conditions of each country and how these cinemas and cultures are part of a larger redefinition of the idea of a national culture. Screenings and readings consist of exemplary works from each East Asian culture, organized around specific motifs, such as history, memory, identity, communication, love, and death.
- ECON 274 - China's Modern Economy
Credits 3 Prerequisite ECON 100, ECON 180, or ECON 180A; or both ECON 101 and ECON 102 Economic analysis of the Chinese economy in the 20th century. Comparisons of pre- and post-revolutionary periods. Performance and policies of Taiwan and mainland China. Issues include the population problem, industrialization, provision of public health and education, alleviation of poverty and inequality. Microeconomic emphasis.
- ENGL 382 - Hotel Orient
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite an English course numbered between 201 and 295 and another English course numbered between 222 and 299 This seminar charts the historical encounters between East and West through the very spaces that facilitate cross-cultural transactions from the medieval to the postmodern. If modern hotel consciousness is marked by transience, ennui, eroticism, and isolation, we ask whether or not the same characteristics held true in premodern hotel practices, and if the space of the Orient makes a difference in hotel writing. Semantically, Orient means not only the geographic east. As a verb, to orient means to position and ascertain one's bearings. In this sense, to write about lodging in the East is to sort out one's cultural and geopolitical orientation.
- HIST 289 - Topics in Asian, African, or Islamic History
(on an Asia-related topic)
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3-4 A course offered from time to time depending on student interest and staff availability, on a selected topic or problem in Asian or African history. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
- HIST 285 - Seminar: Eunuchs, Concubines and Patriarchs: Family and State in Imperial China
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Relations between men and women are the basis of any human society, but the exact nature and interpretation of these relations differ from time to time and from place to place. The concepts of Yin (female) and Yang (male) were integral to the theory and practice of Chinese gender relations during the late imperial period, influencing marriage, medicine and law. This course examines the historical significance of late-imperial gender relations across these, and other, categories from both traditional and modern perspectives.
- HIST 386 - Seminar: Managing Mongols, Manchus, and Muslims: China's Frontier History (16th-20th Centuries)
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 The unprecedented expansionism of China's last dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911), produced an ethnically and geographically diverse empire whose legacy is the current map and multiethnic society of today's People's Republic of China. The Qing Empire's establishment, extension and consolidation were inextricably bound up with the ethnic identity of its Manchu progenitors. The Manchu attempt to unify diversity resulted in a unique imperial project linking East, Inner and Southeast Asia. This course explores the multiethnic nature and limits of this unification, as well as its 20th-century transformations.
- LIT 218 - Pre-Modern Chinese Literature in Translation
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 A survey of Chinese literature from the earliest period to the founding of the Republic in 1912. Taught in English, the course presupposes no previous knowledge of China or Chinese culture. The literature is presented in the context of its intellectual, philosophical and cultural background. Texts used may vary from year to year and include a wide selection of fiction, poetry, historical documents, Chinese drama (opera) and prose works. Audiovisual materials are used when appropriate and available.
- LIT 220 - Modern Chinese Literature in Translation
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3 This is a survey course to introduce students to the literature of 20th-century China. Through close reading of key literary texts from the 1910s to the present, students explore the social, historical and literary background that gave rise to the texts studied and the ways in which these texts address various issues that China faced at the time. Taught in English, the course presupposes no previous knowledge of China or Chinese culture. In addition to the selected literary texts, the course introduces several feature films that are cinematic adaptations of modern Chinese fiction and explore the complex and dynamic interchange between literary and cinematic language.
- LIT 295 - Special Topics in Literature in Translation
(on a China-related topic)
FDR HL Literature Distribution Credits 3-4 Prerequisite completion of FDR:FW requirement A selected topic focusing on a particular author, genre, motif or period in translation. The specific topic is determined by the interests of the individual instructor. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
- PHIL 130 - Classical Chinese Philosophy
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 An introduction to philosophy via classical Chinese philosophy. We cover major schools in classical Chinese philosophy, including Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism, and Legalism. Many ideas of these schools have significantly shaped cultural practice in East Asia. We focus on the philosophical articulation and defense of these schools, and we reflect on issues in cosmology, epistemology, ethics, and political philosophy. We also discuss the relevance of classical Chinese philosophy to Western philosophy as well as empirical research.
- PHIL 223 - Buddhist Philosophy
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 An introduction to Buddhist philosophy. We focus on the philosophical articulation and defense of Buddhism, and reflect on issues in metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and ethics. We see how different philosophical traditions—including Indian, Chinese, and Western—can be mutually informing. We also discuss the relevance of Buddhist philosophy to empirical research and everyday practice.
- POL 227 - East Asian Politics
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 An investigation of East Asian political systems and the global, historical, and cultural contexts in which their political institutions have developed. Students consider the connections between political structure and the rapid social and economic changes in East Asia since World War II, as well as the effectiveness of varied political processes in addressing contemporary problems. Emphasis is given to China, Korea, and Japan.
- POL 392 - Seminar in Asian Politics
(on a China-related topic)
FDR SS2 Social Science - Group 2 Distribution Credits 3 A topical seminar focusing on Chinese politics, other Asian countries, or selected subjects in Asian politics.
- REL 103 - Introduction to Asian Religions
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 A survey of the teachings, practices, and historical significance of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shinto.
- REL 131 - Buddhism
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 A survey of the historical development of the doctrines and practices of Buddhism. After a discussion of the Hindu origins of Buddhism, the course focuses on the development of the Theravada, Vajrayana and Mahayana traditions. A class trip to at least one Buddhist center is included.
- REL 132 - Hinduism
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 This course surveys Hindu religious traditions with a focus on the many ways in which Hindus visualize and talk about the divine and its manifestations in the world through mythic stories, use of images in worship, explanations of the nature of the soul and body in relation to the divine, and the belief in human embodiments of the divine in Hindu holy men and women. Topics include: the religious meanings of masculine and feminine in the divine and human contexts; the idea of local, family, and 'chosen" divinities; and differing forms of Hindu devotion for men and women.
- REL 231 - Body and Soul in India
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Seeking to understand the innermost self and its relation to the mind, the body, and the world, yogis and ascetics pursue extraordinary paths that invert the normal aims and values of society. This course surveys ideas on mental and physical training; their conceptual basis; the range of techniques used; and their philosophical development. Course material is drawn from a diverse range of religions that may include Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Islamic, and Christian. The course seeks to answer such questions as: "How can we live in our bodies while realizing spiritual potential?" "What roles do yogis and ascetics play in society?" and "What is their ethical status in the world?"
- REL 335 - Hindu Law in Theory and Practice
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 India produced one of the oldest legal systems in the world; one that offers some surprising contrasts with modern assumptions about the nature and scope of the law. Combining ethical and ritual obligations alongside rules for criminal and civil litigation, it was intended to cover every aspect of life, from personal habits to political institutions. The course begins with the ancient codes, Indian political theory, and documents from everyday legal practice in medieval times. The second half of the course begins with colonial-era British attempts to codify Hindu law; Hindu personal law in modern India; and the controversy over religion and secularism in the courts today, including the constitutional definition of Hindu; attempts to legislate against disapproved religious practices; and disputes over sacred spaces. We close with comparisons with legal reasoning about religion in America, Israel, and England, based on court cases.
- REL 340 - Seminar in Asian Religions
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Prerequisite instructor consent A study of specific topics in Asian religion and society.
- ARTH 140 - Asian Art