Asian Studies Course Descriptions

This course is a multidisciplinary introduction to the civilizations of South Asia, including an overview of the history and historiography of the region from its prehistory to the present.

A multidisciplinary introduction to the civilizations of India, including an overview of the history and historiography of South Asia from its prehistory to the present. This course satisfies area V.C. of the General Education Requirements.

(same as REL 212.) An introduction to major Asian religious traditions in their historical and cultural settings. This course satisfies area V.C. of the General Education Requirements.

(Same as JPN 270WR.) An introduction to aspects of the study of the culture of modern Japan. Includes exploration of writing systems, gender, memory and history, geography and the environment, science, aesthetics, and the formation of national identity. This course satisfies area V.C. of the General Education Requirements and post-freshman writing requirement.

(Same as Chinese 271WR and Literature 203.) An examination of twentieth-century Chinese society through cinematic productions and a critical reading of the writings of major Chinese writers in translation. This course satisfies area V.C. of the General Education Requirements.

(Same as CHN 273.) Introduction to the civilization of China: its literature, and customs. No knowledge of Chinese required. This course satisfies area V.C. of the General Education Requirements.

The course will survey and analyze the unique interaction of the sacred and the secular in literary India. We begin with the poetry of Vedic scripture, the oldest texts in the Indo-European family of languages, and the epics, the foundation texts of popular religion. The great works of classical Sanskrit are based on this early material.

(Same as Religion 301.)The purpose of this course is to provide an historical overview of the origins of the religious movements in India we now call ¿Hinduism.¿ Through the reading of mythological, philosophical and poetic primary texts, as well as historical and anthropological studies, we will show how such a tradition was constructed through a set of ongoing tensions: between ascetic and sacrificer, between villager and city-dweller, between outcaste and Brahmin, between poet and philosopher.

(Same as Religion 302.) Historical survey of religion in India, 1756 to the present, focusing on the impact of British colonial and post-colonial communities, rituals, modes of leadership, and the contemporary internationalization of Hinduism.

(Same as Religion 303.)This course identifies and examines central themes and issues in the study of modern Hinduism. The primary focus wil be on contemporary Hindu practice, including ways in which Indian religious texts are received, adapted, performed, and experienced today. After an introduction to key concepts and orientations within the Hindu tradition, we will focus on five interrelated topics: 1) the creation and worship of religious images; 2) various dimensions of the Ramayana tradition; 3) saints, gurus, and healers; 4) pilgrimages; and 5) Hinduism as it is being transmitted and practiced abroad, especially here in the USA.

(Same as Religion 305.) Doctrinal and meditative practices of Theravada, Tantric, and Zen Buddhism.

(Same as Religion 306.) Introduction to philosophical, psychological, and contemplative dimensions of Tibetan Buddhism.

(Same as CHN 359, Women¿s Studies 359) This course examines what impacts the religious traditions of China, including Confucianism, Taoism, and Mahayana Buddhism, have had upon shaping the social experiences, roles, and images of women in twentieth-century China and Taiwan. This course satisfies area V.C. of the General Education Requirements.

(Same as Chinese 360.) An examination of woman as trope in modern Chinese cinema and literature in the twentieth century. The course explores how the modern woman became a cultural construct and how that construct has redefined gender role and femininity. This course satisfies area V.C. of the General Education Requirements. When designated WR, this course satisfies the writing requirement.

(Same as Japanese 375W.) Lady Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari, late eleventh century) provides a sensitive, poetic portrait of life in the imperial court in the Heian period, Japan's classical age, and in subsequent generations served as a primary sourcebook for literature and culture in Japan. This course satisfies General Education Requirement area V.C. and the post-freshman writing requirement.

Same as JPN 352WR. An examination of the image of the warrior in Japan through literature and its effect on many areas of Japanese culture, including philosophy, literary history, religion, music, the visual arts. Emphasis is on the exploration of primary texts. Satisfies General Education Requirement post-freshman writing requirement.

(Same as JPN 363WR and Art History 363WR.) The goal of this course is to develop visual literacy in Japanese images and iconography. The course will begin with explorations of basic vocabulary and theory related to visual culture as it is studied in the American academy. We will then view examples of Japanese visual art from the 6th century to the present day, discussing ways to read paintings, picture scrolls, painted screens, sculpture, woodblock prints, theatrical performance, films, animated films, and comic books in the context of discussion of literary texts and aesthetic treatises contemporary to these works.

(May be repeated when topic varies). Possible courses include: The Indian Partition in Literature; Language, Classical Indian Literature; Visions of Youth in Postcolonial Literature, Ethnography, and Film; South Asian Politics since 1945; Mind, Body, Healing: Tibetan and Western Perspectives; Taoism; The Classical Texts of Vedanta; Dance and Embodied Knowledge in the Indian Context; Representations of Asian America; Asian American Literature.

(May be repeated when topic varies). Possible courses include: The Indian Partition in Literature; Language, Classical Indian Literature; Visions of Youth in Postcolonial Literature, Ethnography, and Film; South Asian Politics since 1945; Mind, Body, Healing: Tibetan and Western Perspectives; Taoism; The Classical Texts of Vedanta; Dance and Embodied Knowledge in the Indian Context; Representations of Asian America; Asian American Literature.

(Same as JPN 372WR and ARTHIST 372WR.) Surveys Japanese literature from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Introduces the nature and range of literary genres as they developed in the context of Japan's confrontation with modernity. The course opens for discussion issues in contemporary literary theory in order to understand aspects of Japanese literature and culture such as gender, nationalism, intertextuality, Orientalism, and identity. Texts are in English translation. Satisfies General Education Requirement area IV.A. (humanities-written) and post-freshman writing requirement.

(May be repeated when topic varies). Possible topics include as: Modern Japanese Women Writers; Confucian Classics; Spiritual Practices and Social Change: A Buddhist and Christian Approach; National Cinemas: Japanese Literature and Film; Culture of Buddhist Tibet; Beyond Orientalism: Hybrid Sounds and Social Identities.

(May be repeated when topic varies).

(May be repeated when topic varies).

(May be repeated when topic varies).