Course Catalog - 2014-2015

     

ASIA 211 - INTRO TO ASIAN CIVILIZATIONS

Long Title: INTRODUCTION TO ASIAN CIVILIZATIONS
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: A team-taught interdisciplinary course focusing on certain major philosophical, religious and artistic traditions of pre-modern Asia, with an emphasis on the historical processes by which ideas, people, products, technologies and skills circulated within and beyond state boundaries. Cross-list: HART 211, HIST 206.
 

ASIA 212 - PERSPECTIVES ON MODERN ASIA

Long Title: PERSPECTIVES ON MODERN ASIA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Distribution Group: Distribution Group II
Credit Hours: 3
Description: A team-taught interdisciplinary course focusing on the political, social and economic forces that are shaping the lives of the nearly one half of the world's population that lives in Asia. Provides a selective, in-depth look at certain important areas of East, Southeast and South Asia that reflect larger themes and problems. Cross-list: ANTH 212.
 

ASIA 218 - EAST/NORTHEAST ASIA FILM HIST

Long Title: HISTORY THROUGH FILM IN EAST AND NORTHEAST ASIA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Can we learn history by analyzing movies? Using documentary and feature films from Asian film culture's beginnings, we view 19th-20th century Chinese, Japanese, and Korean history. Collective in-class film viewing, discussion and reading required. Cross-list: FILM 218, HIST 218.
 

ASIA 221 - LIFE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD

Long Title: THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course will examine the life of the Prophet Muhammad, focusing on its significance for Muslims and for non-Muslims. Readings in The Qur'an, Ibn Hisham, and Haykal. Cross-list: RELI 221.
 

ASIA 222 - WORLD AND SOUTH ASIA

Long Title: THE WORLD AND SOUTH ASIA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Introduction to important 20th and 21st-century writers in English from South Asia - the region that includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Readings include award-winning and bestselling works (fiction and non-fiction) by writers who address a wide range of issues including national and cultural identity, colonialism, sexuality, religion, globalization and political violence. Cross-list: ENGL 222.
Course URL: http://www.english.rice.edu
 

ASIA 230 - ASIAN RELIGIONS IN AMERICA

Long Title: ASIAN RELIGIONS IN AMERICA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: A survey course on Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Jainism in America, from the colonial period to the present, with a special focus on American metaphysical religion, the counterculture, the New Age, and the history of Western Colonialism, transcultural encounter, translation and immigration. Cross-list: RELI 230.
 

ASIA 231 - AMERICAN METAPHYSICAL RELIGION

Long Title: AMERICAN METAPHYSICAL RELIGION
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Restrictions:
May not be enrolled in one of the following Level(s):
Graduate
Description: Beginning with a historical survey of the American metaphysical tradition, this course turns to a close study of the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, as a unique window into some of the different ways the tradition has appropriated Asian religions, psychological models of the unconscious, and contemporary scientific paradigms. Cross-list: RELI 231.
 

ASIA 232 - RELIGIONS FROM INDIA

Long Title: RELIGIONS FROM INDIA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course will survey the religions of India, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam, and Sikhism. Emphasis will be placed on the study of scriptures of these traditions and their continuing global relevance, particularly in American history and culture. Cross-list: RELI 232.
 

ASIA 240 - GENDER & POLITICIZED RELIGION

Long Title: GENDER AND POLITICIZED RELIGION
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course examines the emergence of religion-based politics in various Asian countries-particularly Hindu and Muslim-focusing on the women participants in these movements as well as the movements' concern with gender roles in society. We will investigate, for instance, the extent to which women participants have been willing or able to reshape the central ideas of such movements. Cross-list: RELI 285, SWGS 240. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for ASIA 240 if student has credit for ASIA 340.
 

ASIA 250 - MEDITATION, MYSTICISM & MAGIC

Long Title: MEDITATION, MYSTICISM, AND MAGIC
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: The course moves between Buddhist religious and Western psychological literature, analyzing these as models of human development, as guides to a meditative life or critiques of it, and above all as expressions of deeply rooted cultural proclivities. Reading Freud, Khakar, Milarepa, Norbu, Obeyesekere, Sutric and Tantric literature, Taylor and Wangyal. Cross-list: RELI 250.
 

ASIA 251 - INTL POLITICAL ECON OF GENDER

Long Title: INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY OF GENDER
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: An interdisciplinary course exploring lives and well-being in the context of gendered international and domestic politics and economic processes. Emphasis on the implications of power relations at levels from the household to the global for women and men around the world (with particular attention to Asia). Cross-list: POLI 250, SWGS 250.
 

ASIA 302 - GLOBALIZATION - MIGRATION

Long Title: GLOBALIZATION, GENDER, AND MIGRATION
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: In this course we will explore several factures that shape a global world including the role of nation states, economic capital, and laws that permit or inhibit the movement of people across borders. This course will also closely examine patterns of migration in the 20th century and examine female migrants whose work plays a vital role in the contemporary global economy. Cross-list: SWGS 302.
 

ASIA 312 - CRIME AND THE CITY

Long Title: CRIME AND THE CITY
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Bringing together detective fiction and film noir, the course attempts to discuss how the city as a space of modernity is negotiated in Asia. It will use the figure of the detective as a conduit to elaborate issues of economy, sexuality and the encounter with the local and the global, the inside and the outside and notions of belonging. Cross-list: ANTH 307.
 

ASIA 315 - TAIWAN'S FILMS SINCE 1980

Long Title: TAIWAN'S FILMS SINCE 1980: ART, CULTURE, SOCIETY AND LANGUAGE
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisite(s): (CHIN 302 OR CHIN 312) or permission of instructor
Description: This course discusses influential Taiwanese films since 1980 as pieces of artwork and as reflections of Taiwan's cultural, social, economic, and political changes in the past three decades. Language assignments are designed to help students develop proficiency in reading authentic materials, writing essays, and giving reports. Current collaborations among Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong in film production also included. Cross-list: CHIN 315. Placement Test Recommended.
 

ASIA 321 - CHINA'S CULTURAL REVOLUTIONS

Long Title: CHINA'S CULTURAL REVOLUTIONS
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: 19th and 20th century China saw many revolutionary attacks on "culture." Course examines Chinese thinkers, ideologists, activists, revolutionaries and counterrevolutionaries who focused on the culture question. It also asks: what is "culture" that requires so much revolutionary attention and what effect have China's multiple cultural revolutions had on the world. Cross-list: HIST 322.
 

ASIA 322 - INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM

Long Title: INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM: ARTS FOR LIFE
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Buddhist ideas, art, and meditation. Exploration of the Buddhism in India, China, and Japan and their impact in the USA today. Readings include Buddhists classics and contemporary responses from mediators and scientists. Cross-list: ASIA 322, Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: RELI 572 with additional readings, more writing. Cross-list: RELI 322.
 

ASIA 323 - BUDDHISM, GENDER & SOCIETY

Long Title: THE KNOWING BODY: BUDDHISM, GENDER AND THE SOCIAL WORLD
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Western thought tends to regard mind and body dualistically, a view with significant impact on religious, cultural, gendered, and social processes. This course juxtaposes received Western assumptions with Buddhist perspectives (especially Tibetan Buddhist), mapping Western and Buddhist categories onto each other to better understand the implications of each. Cross-list: RELI 323, SWGS 323.
 

ASIA 328 - MOD GIRL & ASIA IN THE WORLD

Long Title: MODERN GIRL AND ASIA IN THE WORLD
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Using the textbook "The Modern Girl Around the World," this course examines the phenomenon of the so-called modern girl in Asia and the world, 1890-1949. Topics include: modernity, consumer culture, sexuality, and liberation. Cross-list: HIST 384, SWGS 384.
 

ASIA 329 - HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Long Title: HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IN GLOBAL AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisite(s): HUMA 280 OR SOCI 280 OR HUMA 371 OR SOCI 371
Description: This course explores poverty and gender in local and global communities. Readings consider human deprivations and well-being in the context of social norms, gender relations, and governmental structures. Also examined are policies meant to improve human capabilities, including both the overall effects of such policies and their differential consequences for children, women, and men. Cross-list: SOCI 372, SWGS 322.
 

ASIA 330 - INTRO TO TRAD CHINESE POETRY

Long Title: INTRODUCTION TO TRADITIONAL CHINESE POETRY
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course seeks to decode enchanting features of traditional Chinese poetry through examining the transformation of poetic genres, the interaction between poetic creation and political, social and cultural changes, and the close association of poetry with art. Thus, this course also serves to understand Chinese culture and history through poetic perspectives. All readings in English translation. Cross-list: CHIN 330, MDEM 370.
 

ASIA 332 - FILM & CHINESE LITERATURE

Long Title: CHINESE LITERATURE AND ITS MOVIE ADAPTATIONS
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Exploration of modern Chinese literature through the visual imagery of Chinese films to show how and why different time periods and different media affect the theme of a story. One third covers movie adaptations of classical Chinese literature. Films subtitled in English, shown outside of class. All readings in English translation. Cross-list: CHIN 332.
 

ASIA 334 - TRADITIONAL CHINESE TALES

Long Title: TRADITIONAL CHINESE TALES AND SHORT STORIES
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Learning Chinese literature and culture through reading vernacular stories, fantastic tales, biographies, and philosophical parables. Discussion topics: literature and Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism; literature and history; self and other; fantastic world and reality; women as domestic aliens and aliens portrayed as women, etc. Readings are in English translation. Cross-list: CHIN 334.
 

ASIA 335 - CLASSICAL CHINESE NOVELS

Long Title: INTRODUCTION TO CLASSICAL CHINESE NOVELS
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Examination of the basic characteristics of classical Chinese novels, primarily through six important works from the 16th to 18th centuries: Water Margin, Monkey, Golden Lotus, Scholars, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Dream of the Red Chamber. Cross-list: CHIN 335, MDEM 375.
 

ASIA 340 - GENDER & POLITICIZED RELIGION

Long Title: GENDER AND POLITICIZED RELIGION (ENRICHED VERSION)
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course examines the emergence of religion-based politics in various Asian countries-particularly Hindu and Muslim-focusing on the women participants in these movements as well as the movements' concern with gender roles in society. We will investigate, for instance, the extent to which women participants have been willing or able to reshape the central ideas of such movements. Credit may not be received for both ASIA 240 and ASIA 340. Cross-list: RELI 341, SWGS 340. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for ASIA 340 if student has credit for ASIA 240.
 

ASIA 344 - KOREAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE

Long Title: KOREAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Exploration of selections from modern Korean literature and Korean films. Includes background survey of Korean history, philosophy, and religion. All texts and films in English translation. No previous knowledge of Korean language required. Instructor Permission Required.Cross-list: HUMA 344, KORE 344.
 

ASIA 345 - URBAN LAB DUBAI

Long Title: COMPARATIVE URBAN POLITICS AND POLICY LAB DUBAI
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture/Laboratory
Credit Hours: 1
Prerequisite(s): POLI 362 OR POLI 562 OR POLI 464
Description: The course examines the dynamics of urban politics and policy in an emerging global city - Dubai. In addition to social, political, and economic issues, we will focus on history, culture, language, architecture and the arts. Weekly class sessions will include case studies, guest lectures, and group work on research projects. The lab also features an 8 day field research trip to Dubai. Department Permission Required.Cross-list: POLI 345.
 

ASIA 346 - KORE CULTURE & SOCIETY IN FILM

Long Title: KOREAN CULTURE AND SOCIETY THROUGH MULTIMEDIA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course will introduce important elements of Korean culture and society through readings and multimedia. Topics are in the areas of history, philosophy, and family life around the early 20th century to the present. Also, the class will explore the recent phenomenon of "Korean Wave" in East Asia. Korean language background is unnecessary. Cross-list: KORE 346.
 

ASIA 347 - URBAN LAB SHANGHAI

Long Title: URBAN LAB SHANGHAI
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Laboratory
Credit Hours: 1
Prerequisite(s): POLI 362 OR POLI 562 OR POLI 464
Description: This course examines the dynamics of urban politics and policy in an emerging global city - Shanghai. In addition to social, political and economic issues, we will focus on history, culture, language, architecture and the arts. Weekly class sessions will include lectures case studies, guest lectures, and group work on research projects. The lab also features an 8-day field research trip to Shanghai. Prerequisite(s) POLI 362 or POLI 562 may be taken concurrently. Instructor Permission Required.Cross-list: POLI 347.
 

ASIA 349 - URBAN LAB ISTANBUL

Long Title: URBAN LAB ISTANBUL
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Laboratory
Credit Hours: 1
Prerequisite(s): POLI 362 OR POLI 562 OR POLI 464
Description: This course examines the dynamics of urban politics and policy in an emerging global city - Istanbul. In addition to social, political and economic issues, we will also focus on history, culture, language, architecture and the arts. Weekly class sessions will include lectures, case studies, guest lecturers, and group work on research projects. The lab also features an 8-day field research trip to Istanbul. Prerequisite(s) POLI 362 or POLI 562 may be taken concurrently. Instructor Permission Required.Cross-list: POLI 349.
 

ASIA 350 - HISTORY/POLITICS CENTRAL ASIA

Long Title: HISTORY AND POLITICS OF CENTRAL ASIA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This is an introduction to the history, culture, lands, peoples, and contemporary importance of Central Asia. Topics to be discussed include the Great Game, Sovietization, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the War on Terror, and the new Great Game, the race for resources between Russia, China, and the United States.
Course URL: http://lang.rice.edu/Ludwig/asia350/Asia350.html
 

ASIA 351 - FAMILY DYNAMICS IN EAST ASIA

Long Title: FAMILY DYNAMICS IN EAST ASIA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course is designed for undergraduate students who seek a broad introduction to East Asian families. The course introduces students to a variety of family theoretical frameworks to question, examine, and understand interpersonal relationships and family dynamics in East Asian families.
 

ASIA 352 - JAPANESE WOMAN WRITERS

Long Title: GENDER, BODY, AND BELONGING: JAPANESE WOMAN WRITERS
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course introduces Japanese/transnational Japanese women's writings that are mostly modern and contemporary. We will examine the issues of gender and sexuality in various literatures, film, and other cultural forms such as visual arts and popular culture phenomena, by defining that gendered cultural phenomena are also often "written" by women.
 

ASIA 353 - EAST ASIAN DEMOCRACIES

Long Title: EAST ASIAN DEMOCRACIES
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course examines the functioning of the political system in the three principal East Asian democracies: Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Particular focus is paid to each country's democratic institutions, electoral politics, and political party system. Cross-list: POLI 353.
 

ASIA 355 - CINEMA AND THE CITY

Long Title: CINEMA AND THE CITY
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This class explores representations of the city in 20th and 21st century world cinema. Central concerns will include the city as cinematic protagonist, parallels between urban and cinematic space and the intertwined histories of both film and urban design over the last century. Cross-list: FILM 336, HART 336.
 

ASIA 360 - CHINA AND THE CHINESE DIASPORA

Long Title: TRANSNATIONAL CHINA: CHINA AND THE CHINESE DIASPORA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Exploration of the political, economic, and social forces changing the lives of nearly a quarter of humanity, the 1.4 billion people of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the diasporic Chinese communities of East and Southeast Asia. Topics include political and economic liberalization, nationalism and urban identity, privatization and consumerism, environmentalism and public goods, and the globalization of communication technologies and Chinese cultural media.
Course URL: http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~swlewis/asia360/
 

ASIA 371 - CHINESE PAINTING

Long Title: CHINESE PAINTING
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course examines Chinese painting from ancient times to the early twentieth century. Issues of examination include themes, styles, and functions of Chinese painting; the interrelationship between paintings and the intended viewers; regionalism; images and words; foreign elements in Chinese painting. Cross-list: HART 371.
 

ASIA 372 - CHINESE ART AND VISUAL CULTURE

Long Title: CHINESE ART AND VISUAL CULTURE
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: In this course, we will study how various artistic styles developed in historical, social, and cultural contexts from the ancient period to the present day. Through the careful examination of architecture, calligraphy, painting, sculpture, ceramics, bronze, and film, students will gain a deeper understanding of Chinese art and visual culture. Cross-list: HART 372, MDEM 373.
 

ASIA 376 - MEDIEVAL VISUAL CULTURE

Long Title: EAST & WEST: MEDIEVAL VISUAL CULTURE IN CHINA AND NORTHERN EUROPE
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course explores a series of issues that are critically important for the medieval art of both China and northern Europe. Topics include materials and techniques; public and private art: commerce, technology and prints; art and motion; archaeology; paradise and hell; maps and space; the gaze; erotica; patronage; and multiculturalism. . Cross-list: HART 376, MDEM 376.
 

ASIA 379 - JAPANESE ART & ARCHITECTURE

Long Title: POST-1945 JAPANESE ART & ARCHITECTURE
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course investigates post-1945 Japanese art and architecture, contextualized as part of the nation's modern history, and with a particular focus on the socially and politically turbulent decades of the 1950s and 60s. Using artistic collectivism as a methodology, the course examines a wide range of collaborations in visual art and architecture, as seen in exhibitions, performances, and publications. Cross-list: ARCH 371, HART 379.
 

ASIA 380 - ASIAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCES

Long Title: ASIAN AMERICAN EXPERIENCES
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This interdisciplinary course will investigate the diverse cultural traditions and shared experiences of Asian Americans in the United States. By analyzing historical works, literary texts, and films, we will explore a range of topics including Asian immigration, gender roles, identity formation, and ethnic media. Cross-list: HIST 380.
 

ASIA 381 - MEDIA: FOCUS ON MODERN JAPAN

Long Title: MEDIA: FOCUS ON MODERN JAPAN
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Survey of what makes Japanese media unique by analyzing trends from the Meiji Period to the present. Theoretical works of Western writers will be cross-culturally compared to those of Japanese writers to isolate similarities and differences of style and substance; focus on the organization of Japanese media and cultural traditions.
 

ASIA 382 - MOD. JAPAN THROUGH ITS NOVELS

Long Title: ANALYZING MODERN JAPANESE SOCIETY THROUGH NOVELS
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: An analysis of modern Japanese thought and behavior through the works of present-day novelists. We will break each novel down into its component parts while studying the reasons for the protagonists' and other characters' actions, compared to those of a Western novel. This cross-cultural analysis goes to the heart of modern Japan's national character.
 

ASIA 385 - QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

Long Title: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course examines qualitative methodological approaches for conducting social science research. Particularly, students will examine how qualitative methods allow social scientists to analyze the symbolic, religious, gendered, socio-economic, policies and historical forces and contexts that underlie and motivate beliefs, ideologies, practices and social change. Cross-list: SOCI 341.
 

ASIA 387 - ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES

Long Title: ASIAN AMERICAN CONTEMPORARY COMMUNITIES
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This interdisciplinary course will investigate the diverse cultural traditions and shared experiences of Asian Americans in the United States. By analyzing historical works, literary texts, and films, we will explore a range of topics including Asian immigration, gender roles, identity formation, and ethnic media. Cross-list: ANTH 387.
 

ASIA 388 - PHOTOGRAPHY IN CHINA

Long Title: PHOTOGRAPHY IN CHINA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture/Laboratory
Credit Hours: 3 OR 4
Description: Open to all students within the university who are interested in deepening their understanding of China and improving their photography skills. This course will study China through the history of photography, looking at ways in which China has been viewed by both Chinese and visiting photographers. Students will learn documentary skills and travel to China during spring break to gather materials for their own projects.
 

ASIA 389 - THE INDIAN OCEAN WORLD

Long Title: MIGRATIONS AND DIASPORAS IN THE INDIAN OCEAN WORLD
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: The Indian Ocean World presents an enormously varied arena of cultural exchange and interaction spanning coastal regions of Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia and Australia. Course introduces the region by examining societies and empires shaped by voyages of exploration, religious pilgrimages, trading diasporas and forced migration. Cross-list: HIST 389.
 

ASIA 390 - THE LANGUAGES OF ASIA

Long Title: THE LANGUAGES OF ASIA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Prerequisite(s): LING 200 OR ANTH 200
Description: This course surveys the remarkable linguistic diversity of the Pacific Rim Asia covering important grammatical features, including word origins, tones and sounds, writing systems, characteristic syntactic patterns, language families, cultural keywords and communicative styles of the major, as well as some minority languages of the region. Cross-list: LING 390.
 

ASIA 399 - WOMEN IN CHINESE LITERATURE

Long Title: WOMEN IN CHINESE LITERATURE
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course examines women's roles in Chinese literature as writers, readers, and characters, focusing particularly on the tension between women's lived bodily experiences and the cultural experiences inscribed on the female body and how, in the process, women have contrarily gendered patriarchal culture into their own. It will also touch on Chinese women's incorporation of the Western Tradition. Cross-list: MDEM 379, SWGS 399.
 

ASIA 401 - INDEPENDENT STUDY

Long Title: INDEPENDENT STUDY
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Independent Study
Credit Hours: 1 TO 15
Description: Reading or research project to be determined by discussions between student(s) and faculty member(s). Department Permission Required.
 

ASIA 402 - INDEPENDENT STUDY

Long Title: INDEPENDENT STUDY
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Independent Study
Credit Hours: 1 TO 15
Description: Reading or research project to be determined by discussions between student(s) and faculty member(s). Department Permission Required.
 

ASIA 403 - INDEPENDENT STUDY

Long Title: INDEPENDENT STUDY
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Independent Study
Credit Hours: 1 TO 6
Description: Asian Studies Director's permission required to register.
 

ASIA 412 - CINEMA IN INDIA

Long Title: CINEMA IN INDIA: TRANSNATIONAL TRAJECTORIES OF MODERNITY
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 4
Description: The course will introduce students to the complex history of and theoretical issues related to cinemas in India, outside the cinematic practices known as Bollywood. It will attempt to demonstrate that cinema is symptomatic of the profoundly transnational nature of modernity itself and that it will help us revisit the South Asian cultural politics outside the dichotomies of national/transnational, post-national. Cross-list: FILM 412.
 

ASIA 422 - BEAUTY OF CHINESE LITERATURE

Long Title: THE ORIGINAL BEAUTY OF CHINESE LITERATURE
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Distribution Group: Distribution Group I
Credit Hours: 3
Description: The course will expose students to the best literary works created in the Chinese tradition, both classical and modern, and give them a general introduction to different genres, including poetry, fiction, drama, and philosophical essays. It will improve their language proficiency through reading original texts of Chinese literature. Cross-list: CHIN 422.
 

ASIA 438 - GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL MEDIA

Long Title: GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL MEDIA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: How do everyday citizens develop their understanding of the environmental issues facing East Asian countries who fates are increasingly intertwined with our own? This course examines how the public develops their understanding of sustainability through environmental media with a focus on East Asia. Cross-list: FILM 438.
 

ASIA 439 - TRANSNATIONAL ASIAN MEDIA

Long Title: KUNGFU, HUSTLE: TRANSNATIONAL ASIAN MEDIA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: With the privatization of the Shanghai Film Group, and the Oscar win for British-Indian co-production "Slumdog Millionaire," film production between Asian and Euro-American companies is on the rise. Using the tools of media industries analysis, this course gives students the opportunity to understand dynamic new cultures of production. Cross-list: FILM 439.
 

ASIA 440 - DIGITAL MEDIA IN EAST ASIA

Long Title: TRANSNATIONAL DIGITAL MEDIA IN EAST ASIA: SOCIAL NETWORKS, STREAMING VIDEO, AND GAME CULTURE
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: From social networks to streaming videos, our lives are characterized by regular engagement with digital media. How does digital media act as a bridge between the U.S. and Asia? The course will examine how digital media is imbricated in the relationship between the U.S. and Asian countries.
 

ASIA 441 - MAGIC & POPULAR RELIGION

Long Title: MAGIC AND POPULAR RELIGION
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course will examine the popular religion in the Middle East from Late Antiquity until the 19th century, focusing on healing practices, astrology, protection, amulets, seasoned/life-cycle rituals, and other popular beliefs common to Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. Cross-list: RELI 441.
 

ASIA 451 - EA FAMILIES IN SOCIAL CONTEXTS

Long Title: EAST ASIAN FAMILIES IN SOCIAL CONTEXTS: GLOBAL, ECONOMIC, AND CULTURAL ISSUES
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course introduces students to the diverse social contexts of East Asian families. Social issues impacting families in East Asia such as global, economic, political, and cultural changes are covered in the course. In addition, the course addresses how families interact with and influence their social contexts.
 

ASIA 452 - GENDER AND TRANSNATIONAL ASIA

Long Title: GENDER, AFFECT, TRANSNATIONAL ASIA: THINKING OF THE BODY IN A TRANSNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: The course investigates issues of gender and sex in transnational Asian cultural and social spheres. Topics of immigration, sex tourism, Orientalism, and pop-culture will be accompanied by scholarly texts and examined as case studies. The students are expected to bring their own academic interests and expertise to discuss and contribute. Cross-list: ANTH 452.
 

ASIA 474 - BOUNDARIES LATER CHINESE ART

Long Title: BOUNDARIES LATER CHINESE ART
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This advanced class examines later Chinese art beyond the conventional dynastic, geographic, and media-based framework. We will discuss issues of boundaries and visualities, and review the historiographical and methodological issues involved in the study of Chinese art. Instructor Permission Required.
 

ASIA 484 - CONTEMP EAST ASIAN ART & ARCH

Long Title: MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY EAST ASIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Lecture
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course examines modern and contemporary art and architecture in East Asia (primarily Chinese, Korean, and Japanese) and examines them transnationally, chronologically (beginning in 19th century up to present day) and thematically, focusing on topics such as tradition, modernity, exhibitions, nationalism, the avant-garde, and globalization. Cross-list: ARCH 484, HART 494.
 

ASIA 488 - ASIA AND ENERGY

Long Title: ASIA AND ENERGY
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Multi-disciplinary study of Asian countries and cultures as to a way to explain production, exchange, consumption and influence of energy on political, economic and social/cultural institutions, including energy security and energy policy formation and resource use theories. Assumes basic knowledge of history and politics of Asian societies and economies.
 

ASIA 489 - CHINESE POLITICS

Long Title: CHINESE POLITICS IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This course explores the range of theories and empirical research methodologies from comparative political science, political-economy and Asian studies commonly applied to understanding Chinese politics: political participation, political organizations, collective action and popular protest, political culture and political institutional change. This course will be a seminar requiring weekly presentations extensive readings at the graduate level in social science, and an original research paper. There is no prerequisite for this course but participants are assumed to already possess extensive knowledge of Chinese history, culture and society. Cross-list: POLI 489.
 

ASIA 490 - COLONIAL MODERNITY: EAST ASIA

Long Title: COLONIAL MODERNITY IN EAST ASIA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: History of ideas, treaties, market and corporate strategies in imperialist and anti-imperialist movements in East Asia in 19th, 20th centuries. Uses theories of colonialism and specific case studies of fashion, architecture, mass media, urban planning, etc., to define colonial modernity transnationally. Three analytic essays and one research paper. Cross-list: HIST 490.
 

ASIA 492 - GENDER HISTORIES: MODERN CHINA

Long Title: GENDER HISTORIES OF MODERN CHINA
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: Seminar with some lectures considers late imperial through 21st century China using conceptual tools (masculinity, femininity, gynotechnics, globalization, representation). Examines late Qing gender order, revolutionary era, party-state formation, and the Great Transformations of late 20th and early 21st centuries using visual culture, film, primary texts, and secondary histories. Cross-list: HIST 492, SWGS 492.
 

ASIA 494 - SPECIAL TOPICS ASIAN STUDIES

Long Title: SPECIAL TOPICS IN ASIAN STUDIES
Department: Asian Studies
Grade Mode: Standard Letter
Course Type: Seminar
Credit Hours: 3
Description: This seminar course explores various cultural topics, not covered in other Asia courses, in Asian studies. The fields may include history, film, linguistics, sociology as well as other fields in the humanities and social sciences. Department Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.