Anthropology

ANT370 Cultures of East Asia (Meeker)*

This course provides an introduction to the cultural patterns of the East Asian societies of China, Korea and Japan. Throughout the course, we will compare a number of shared cultural practices and traditions that help define “East Asia” as a culture area. We begin with China, whose cultural influence in East Asia has been of great impact. We will then investigate Chinese cultural influences on and cultural differences with Korea and Japan over time. While the distinction between “then and now” or “traditional” and “modern” is in many ways an arbitrary or invented one, it too has been redefined and debated in different ways over time in East Asian societies. Therefore, while our primary focus is contemporary society, throughout the course, we will pay close attention to the changing historical, social and political contexts of cultural practices in the above countries of East Asia. In particular, we will examine how the concept of “traditional culture” has taken on new force in contemporary East Asian societies but also how many of the practices that seem at first glance to be simple revivals are, in fact, firmly rooted in modern life.

ANT 371 Culture and Society of Vietnam (Meeker)*

Were the Vietnamese people actually born of 100 dragon eggs? Do spirit mediums in contemporary Vietnam really incarnate the first socialist president, Ho Chi Minh, as a god? What is life really like in a rapidly urbanizing society? The answers to these questions provide a fascinating insight into Vietnamese culture and society, which we will explore in depth in this course. In particular, we will investigate how contemporary Vietnamese cultural practices have been shaped by the dramatic political, economic and historical events and upheavals of the
Twentieth Century and beyond. We will pay close attention to how Vietnamese have viewed
and redefined their culture under different historical circumstances including: anti-colonialism and revolution, socialism, and socialist nationalism, and, most recently, the market reforms that were initiated in the mid-1980s.

ANT 405 Anthropology of Morality*

In a time when the representation and treatment of groups of people—often those historically marginalized or discriminated against—is front and center in the news and at the heart of new social movements fighting injustice, it has become glaringly clear that definitions of moral or “right” behavior is widely variable. Thus, understanding the ways that people define themselves and others as moral subjects becomes all the more vital if we are to live together and converse with each other in a world where contact with difference is a given. Despite the fact that anthropologists have studied moral behavior all along as part of the work of studying how people live together, it is only in the past ten years or so that the discipline has begun to think critically about the nature of morality as a cultural phenomenon. This course will introduce students to the theoretical and philosophical background of the relatively new field of inquiry called the anthropology of morality. Focusing on several ethnographic case studies from around the world, students will explore the diverse ways that morality is embodied, intertwined with emotions, and experienced across fundamental domains of social and cultural life including family, work, politics, religion, healthcare, etc. in order to understand how people shape themselves, in dialog with others, into moral persons.

ANT414 The Anthropology of Performance (Meeker)*

This course introduces the anthropology of performance. The anthropology of performance is a branch of anthropology that emerged in the 1970s at the intersection of folklore studies, the ethnography of speaking and performance studies. Central to the anthropology of performance is its emphasis on process and action as opposed to symbolic content and textual analysis. Through cross-cultural examples, we will learn how performance can be used as a frame with which to analyze society. We will study a number of ethnographic examples of ritual drama, trance, and dance in order to understand both what these genres communicate about the societies in which they occur and what is created in the process of enacting these ritual performances. We will consider both how these genres reinforce certain societal values and how they may be used to affect the socio-political reality.

Three key issues in the study of performance that run through the course concern the role of aesthetics, belief, and audience. Questions to be explored include: What are the cultural conditions of aesthetic experience and what role do aesthetics play in the successful performance of ritual? Are aesthetic aspects of ritual necessary to its successful performance or are they merely ornamental? What is the relationship between aesthetics and belief? What is the relationship between religious or spiritual belief and mastery of a performance style? What or who makes up the audience of a ritual? Can we even speak of an audience in this situation?  Furthermore, what happens to a ritual if it is “performed” for a theatrical audience?

We will examine these questions through several case studies including, Ta’ziyeh (Iranian passion play), trance in Bali and Haiti, spirit mediumship in Vietnam, and several other examples of Western and non-Western performance.

This is a writing intensive course.

Art History

ARH210 Images & Ideas in Asian Art 

Asian art, representing one-third of the globe, makes up an enormous wealth of artistic and cultural traditions. This lower-division course is an introduction to some of these, focusing on selected art traditions and related monuments from South Asia (modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) and East Asia (China, Korea, and Japan). Rather than hoping to achieve “full coverage,” we shall focus on significant works through studying their imagery and functions, as well as analyze related readings, placing the material within its cultural and historical framework. Student input and research are integral to the success of this class. Our objective is twofold: 1) to lay the groundwork for a widened awareness of important forms, monuments, and mediums that have appeared in Asia, along with their varied functions, and 2) to explore and practice the application of terms and approaches that are commonly used in the appreciation and analysis of art from any culture.

Note: This course fulfills the WRLD category of GE3. Those interested in exploring more fully the individual artistic cultures of China or Japan are encouraged to take the relevant 300-level Asian Art History courses, usually offered by the same instructor, that provide more inclusive surveys of these art traditions. The Art History Department also offers an upper-division course on Indian art.

ARH340 The Arts of Early China 

“Early China” is normally understood as the period making up somewhat more than the first half of China’s historical span so far, or the time span ending around A.D. 900, around the end of the celebrated Tang dynasty (618-906). In this course we shall study and examine most of the major monuments and art traditions that were created in China during this period, with no pretense of being able to “cover” them all. Our approach will emphasize representative works’ functions within the societies that produced them, while also observing that the role of an art object can change dramatically over the course of its afterlife. Archaeological finds, mortuary arts, and religious works will be our early focus; further along we shall add to these the beginnings of secular traditions that were to take on a more prominent role during China’s later history. Our themes will include: varying definitions of art; the link between art (as currently defined) and authority; changing views of the afterlife; the relationship between man and the cosmos; the rise of individual expression; and the impact of Buddhism. Bronze ritual vessels, jades, pottery, and lacquer; as well as sculptures, paintings, and works of calligraphy; will be seen both as objects of intrinsic beauty and the products of larger contexts, so that by the end of this course students will have gained insights into the culture of early China, as well as familiarity with early China’s major art works and traditions.

• ARH341 The Arts of Later China
• ARH342 The Arts of Japan
• ARH343 Japanese Arts of the Edo Period
• ARH345 Art in Modern China
• ARH378 Sacred Space, Divine Images (Kerner)*
• ARH452 Chinese Painting: Figure in Landscape

History

HIS200 Ancient World (Shimada)*

This course will provide an introductory survey on the major cultures of the ancient world with a special focus on Asia. Major areas and periods to be discussed are early West Asia (ca. 4000 BCE-600 CE), South Asia (ca. 2500 BCE-600 CE), Central Asia (ca. 500 BCE-800 CE), East Asia (ca. 3000 BCE-900 CE) and Southeast Asia (ca. 500 BCE-900 CE). Each culture is considered first in its own context, and then with reference to how, when, and with what consequences ancient cultures and/or states affected one another.

HIS216 Modern China (Harris)

This survey course introduces students to the legacy of China’s late imperial past, the country’s experiments with democracy and socialism in the twentieth century, and the outcomes for politics, the economy, society, and culture in China. How did such radical changes occur, what continuities remain, and why? What have been the successes and challenges? To answer these questions, we study the lives, ideas, and activities of Confucian officials and Manchu emperors, foreign merchants and missionaries, peasant rebels and revolutionary activists, urban industrialists and entrepreneurs, regional warlords and party leaders, and the “new women” and student radicals, all of whom played significant roles in the contentious search to define modern China – a search that continues today.

HIS330 Staging China (Harris)

“What is China?” Dramatists and performing artists, alongside other artists, intellectuals, and political activists, have offered a wide range of responses to this seemingly simple question since the early 1900s, staging and re-staging diverse ideas and images of national culture and identity. Studying a range of audiovisual and printed texts from the past century, students will gain insight into the roles that theater and film have played in the turbulent historical development and representation of modern China. We consider the impact of cultural revolutions, new forms such as “spoken drama” and “revolutionary dance dramas”; the significance of Western theater in China and Chinese theater in the West; changing technologies and media; and changing relationships between local, regional, national, and transnational practices. Throughout, we pay close attention to the enormous changes occurring in the Chinese-speaking world and how the very idea of China has continually been reimagined in the modern era.

HIS 334 Gandhi (Shimada)

This course explores the political, economic, and cultural history of South Asia in 1857-1947 by focusing on M. K. Gandhi, arguably the most famous, influential and controversial social reformer/politician in British India. Students will learn the major narratives and interpretations of India’s Independence movement against the British Empire and the historical role of Gandhi for the foundation of modern India. The main themes of this course will be (1) political, economic and social problems of British India; (2) Indian responses to the British colonialism and a variety of freedom movements; (3) Gandhi’s achievements, legacy and problems.

HIS 336 Religions of Asia (Shimada)*

This course explores social and cultural history of Asian religions between ca. 1200 BCE-1200 CE with a special focus on the development and expansion of Indian religions (Buddhism and Hinduism) and their interactions with local religious traditions. The course will examine how these religions originated and expanded into wider parts of Asia, and how their expansions affected the political, economic and cultural transformations of each region, by analyzing some key texts (using English translations), inscriptions, architectures and arts. The essential beliefs, doctrines, institutions, and practices of these religious traditions also will be briefly surveyed to provide context for the above central focus of the course.

HIS337 Ancient India (Shimada)*

This course will provide a relatively comprehensive survey of the history of the Indian subcontinent— comprising modern Bangladesh, India and Pakistan — from the Indus Civilization to the establishment of the Muslim dynasties (ca. 2500 BCE-1300 CE). It will introduce students to the major narratives and interpretations of the ancient and medieval periods as well as to the sources upon which this history has been based. Its persistent themes will be historical continuity and disjuncture in the history of religious practices and ideas, the emergence of political forms and the nature of the ‘state’ in pre-colonial India. It will be of interest to students of history, art history, literature and religion. Prior knowledge of ancient Indian history and language is not required, but intellectual engagement and development are expected.

HIS339 Indian Ocean World (Shimada)*

This course will explore political, economic, and cultural history of the Indian Ocean world from the pre-historic period to ca. 1800 CE with special focus on the eastern part of the Ocean, covering the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Southern China. In the pre-modern times, together with the Mediterranean world, the Indian Ocean world developed complex commercial networks and undertook a crucial role for linking the western and the eastern worlds. The course will trace how this area historically developed by examining textual, epigraphic and archaeological sources. Prior knowledge of South and Southeast Asian history and languages are not required, but intellectual engagement and development are highly expected.

HIS 393 Chinese Cinema (Harris)

Tracing the history of film in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan from 1896 to the present, this course provides an overview of the major trends, themes, genres, and styles that have emerged over the past century to attract local and global attention. Each week we critically examine key works to discover the surprising ways that film and video technologies have been employed in changing contexts, paying special attention to the role of film in ongoing debates about history, society, and identity in modern China. Through readings, screenings, discussion, and home viewing, students gain new insight into the links between cinema and the social and political issues that have shaped the course of modern history in East Asia — including imperialism and nationalism, war and revolution, individualism and collectivism, tradition and modernity, cultural identity and radical change.

HIS480 Women in China (Harris)

In this course we explore continuities and changes in ideas about gender and the wide range of lived experience for women in China from the late imperial period to the present, with special attention to the modern era. Studying a variety of primary sources by and about women – including literature in translation, drama, visual images (documentary and narrative film; photography), memoirs, and oral histories – along with current scholarship in the field, we examine key themes and issues in women’s history, such as Confucian concepts of family, morality, and talent; revolutionary ideas about women’s liberation and roles in political change; and the relationship between Chinese and transnational feminism.

HIS492 Seminar in History (Harris/Shimada)

Languages, Literature and Culture

• ENG211 Great Books Asian Classics (Fenkl)*
• ENG299 Contemporary Asian Film (Fenkl)
• ENG366 Contemporary Ethnic Literature (Fenkl)
• JPN300 Japanese Aesthetics and Culture (Clerici)

JPN311 Japanese Fiction (Clerici)

This course is designed to examine a wide range of Asian American experience through writing, theory and film. We will look at the ways in which the narratives of the Asian diaspora construct and reflect concepts of immigration, community, social mobility, racism, colonialism and intergenerational conflict. How do race, ethnicity, gender, language ability, regional politics and the urban/rural divide contribute to what it means to be Asian and American? We will use both the stories and histories of Asian Americans to think about transcultural encounter and identity formation

Music

MUS 330 Music Culture of the World

Europe, Japan, and Ecuador. (Choice of cultures may change from semester to semester.) Each of these provides a unique approach to a music culture that could serve as a reference for the student’s own course-related fieldwork. The goal of the course is to help the student develop the ability to experience and explore unfamiliar music cultures on their own. Parallel with each music culture, the course deals with theoretical issues such as the function of music, the preservation of the world’s music, the theory and method of fieldwork, perspectives of insiders and outsiders of music, and gender and sexuality in music. Student will also study how to conduct and document field projects.

This course is an introduction to Ethnomusicology – the study of music within culture – and will explore many different world cultures and their music. We will establish a music vocabulary by discussing elements of musical structure (rhythm, meter, melody, harmony, form, style, genre, etc.), discuss components of music in culture and introduce an instrument classification system (Hornbostel-Sachs). We will discuss each culture in its traditional, “authentic” or “folk” state (ex. pre-Western or global influence). Finally, we will address the recent popular trends in 20th and 21st-century developments within the culture, acknowledging the “global community”.

Theatre

THE 328 Asian Theatre 

A survey course introduces Asian theatre of China, Japan and Korea. Students study traditional to contemporary Asian theatre, and analyze the Asian influence to Western theatre and the Western influence to Asian theatre.

Philosophy

PHI251 Indian Philosophy (Elstein)*

This course will examine classical and contemporary Indian philosophy, with particular attention to Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. Areas to be covered include metaphysics, epistemology, logic, and ethics. Indian philosophy is largely soteriological in nature. Most Indian philosophers believe our ordinary experience misconstrues the way the world is, and this leads to pain and suffering. Thus, the main questions for most Indian thinkers are: what is the world really like? How can we learn to grasp reality as it really is, and what results will that have? This means that, in contrast to much of Western philosophy, there is a strong experiential dimension to Indian philosophy. However, since I cannot teach you that aspect, we will approach these ideas more theoretically. All readings will be in English, but we will learn a few key terms in Sanskrit.

PHI252 East Asian Philosophy (Elstein)

This course will examine pre-modern Chinese and Japanese philosophy. In China, we will study Warring States classical philosophy, Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism, while in Japan we will focus on Zen. In contrast to other areas of philosophy, East Asian philosophy focuses less on speculative questions about the world in favor of questions about human life. Our thinkers ask: What is the best kind of human life? How does one attain this ideal and what role do culture and society play in reaching it? A common thread through all the works we will study is the problem of human nature: are people naturally good or bad? All readings will be in English. Knowledge of Chinese or Japanese is not necessary, but we will be learning a few key terms.

PHI330 Chinese Philosophy (Elstein)

This course will survey the thought of what is often referred to as the “classical period” of Chinese philosophy, roughly 500 to 200 BCE. This period set the agenda for much of later Chinese philosophical discourse. We will focus on the ethical and political philosophies of seven important thinkers: Kongzi (Confucius), Mozi, Mengzi (Mencius), Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, and Han Feizi, emphasizing several main questions. How do they define the ideal person? How does one attain this ideal and what role do culture and society play in reaching it? What should the goal of government be and what is the best way to achieve good government? We will also study some modern interpretations of these thinkers. All readings will be in English. Knowledge of Chinese is not necessary, but we will be learning a few key terms.

PHI332 Buddhist Philosophy (Elstein)*

This course will explore Buddhist philosophy in India, Tibet, China, Japan, and the US, from the origins of Buddhism to the present day. Buddhist philosophy takes challenging positions on the question of personal identity and the nature of reality, and these will be a focus of the course. We will also look at Buddhist views on knowledge and ethics, including Buddhist positions on contemporary ethical issues. Buddhism is a very broad tradition, and Buddhist philosophers have differed with each other in matters of interpretation for centuries. We will thus not look for the Buddhist view, but rather see how Buddhists debated among themselves and with other philosophies and arrived at a number of distinct positions. The practice of Buddhism, while a significant topic in its own right, will not be given substantial attention.

REL270 Religions of the World

A survey of several major religious traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This course emphasizes the form that religions take in the world today. Drawing especially from sociology, we will examine what shape religious traditions such as Hinduism and Islam have in the modern world. We will also make time to discuss the origins and histories of religions, and we will look at important scriptures and other texts. At the end of the semester we will look at religion in relation to violence and to gender, and we will conclude with the topic of secularism and secularization.
This course is open to students of any religion or none. The point of this course is to study and discuss religions, not to gain converts.

Political Science

POL363 Chinese Foreign Policy and US (Schwartz)

POL365 International Politics of the Asia-Pacific (Schwartz)*

In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt stated that “[t]he Atlantic Era is now at the height of its development and must soon exhaust the resources at its command.  The Pacific Era, destined to be the greatest of all, is just at its dawn.” (Yahuda)

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war, international attention has increasingly shifted towards the Asia-Pacific.  The Asia-Pacific has emerged as a focal point of international economic and political experimentation and dynamism.  Countries of the Asia Pacific are noted for their incredibly rapid economic growth and relative political stability.  Until recently, the international press has been filled with references to the “East Asian Miracle”.  However, the image of a successful Asia-Pacific has been increasingly tarnished by recent developments including the East Asian Financial Crisis, spreading pandemics, charges of human rights abuses, nuclear instability and growing environmental destruction throughout the region.

This region clearly offers both dangers and opportunities.

The goal of this course is to explore the factors driving the tremendous changes that are occurring in this region.  Culminating in a simulation of the Six Party Talks, the course seeks to evaluate the growing impact and influence of the Asia Pacific.  Was Roosevelt’s 1903 statement prescient?  One hundred (and 7) years later it is possible that the region has more than fulfilled his prediction? This course aims to find out.

POL369 Government and Politics of Japan & China (Schwartz)

Throughout history there have never been two dominant powers in East Asia. For much
of history, China dominated. This dominance was political, cultural, military and economic.
However, in the 19th century Japan grew increasingly powerful, forcing China out of her once dominant position. Through the 1980s the talk was of " Japan Inc." – the powerful economic and cultural juggernaut that threatened not only to dominate East Asia, but the West as well. With the approach of the 21 st century, change came again. China is increasingly powerful and confident, while Japan struggles to re-ignite a stagnant economy and an increasingly unsure country. We will analyze these developments through the comparative lens of political legitimacy. What are the characteristics of a legitimate state? What factors influence state legitimacy? How does legitimacy impact the ability of the state to achieve its goals?

The course is divided into four sections. In the first section, we learn the basics of these
two countries and the theories we will deploy throughout the course. In the remaining three
sections we will explore the impacts on state legitimacy of systems of governance (section 2); economic development (section 3) and nationalism (section 4). Throughout we will explore the differences in state legitimacy between China and Japan. We will conclude the course with a debate over which of these two countries enjoys greater state legitimacy.

Sociology

SOC381 Immigration and Identity (Bose)

America is a nation of immigrants – waves of colonists, indentured servants, slaves, refugees, undocumented workers and other arrivals have shaped American society for centuries. The purpose of this course is to introduce sociological ideas and concepts related to immigration in the U.S. as well as to provide an overview of global migration patterns. During this course we will focus on diverse immigration patterns and experiences of different immigrant groups, including the early immigrants (1820-1924) and contemporary immigrants (post-1965) in the United States. We will explore the social, economic, cultural and political contexts within which immigrants and their children have been incorporated into American society and the various theoretical perspectives that have been proposed to explain their possible future.