Asian Studies
Program Director: Dr. Jason Weaver
Colorado College offers an interdisciplinary major and minor in Asian Studies. Both the major and minor are supported by a range of courses on the arts, histories, languages, cultures, and politics of the region and in Asian diaspora communities.
Major Requirements
In addition to the general college requirements, a major in Asian Studies must complete 12 units total as specified in the one of three tracks specified below
East Asia Track
Requirements
1 unit of an introductory course about Asia: PA111 "Introduction to Asian Studies", PA117 “Intro to Asian Art", PA110 "World War II in Asia", CC120 "Contemporary Asian Cultures" or other 100 level courses approved by the program.
PA290 Studying Asia
PA406 Senior Seminar
PA400 Thesis/Independent Study
2 units of Chinese or Japanese
Electives (6 units). A course may count for more than one category:
2 additional units of either Chinese or Japanese may count as electives
1 unit in the Global Asia or South Asia track
1 300-level course
At least one course from each of these three clusters/categories:
i)Literature & Arts
(East Asian Languages, English, Dance, Music, Theatre)
ii)Humanistic inquiry
(Philosophy, Religion, Art History)
iii)Social Science inquiry
(Anthropology, History, Politics, Economics, Sociology, Psychology)
South Asia Track
Requirements
1 unit of an introductory course about Asia: PA111 "Introduction to Asian Studies", PA117 “Intro to Asian Art", PA110 "World War II in Asia", CC120 "Contemporary Asian Cultures" or other 100 level courses approved by the program.
PA290 Studying Asia
PA406 Senior Seminar
PA400 Thesis/Independent Study
Electives (8 units). A course may count for more than one category:
Students may transfer 2 to 4 units of relevant language study from an accredited institution
1 unit in the Global Asia or East Asia track
1 300-level course
At least one course from each of these three clusters/categories:
i)Literature & Arts
(East Asian Languages, English, Dance, Music, Theatre)
ii)Humanistic inquiry
(Philosophy, Religion, Art History)
iii)Social Science inquiry
(Anthropology, History, Politics, Economics, Sociology, Psychology)
Global Asia Track
Requirements
1 unit of an introductory course about Asia: PA111 "Introduction to Asian Studies", PA117 “Intro to Asian Art", PA110 "World War II in Asia", CC120 "Contemporary Asian Cultures" or other 100 level courses approved by the program.
PA290 Studying Asia
PA406 Senior Seminar
PA400 Thesis/Independent Study
Electives (8 units). A course may count for more than one category:
Students may transfer 2 to 4 units of relevant language study from an accredited institution
1 unit in the East Asia or South Asia track
1 300-level course
At least one course from each of these three clusters/categories:
i)Literature & Arts
(East Asian Languages, English, Dance, Music, Theatre)
ii)Humanistic inquiry
(Philosophy, Religion, Art History)
iii)Social Science inquiry
(Anthropology, History, Politics, Economics, Sociology, Psychology)
Minor Requirements
Students pursuing a minor in Asian Studies must successfully complete a minimum of six blocks of Asian Studies courses. All students must take PA 290-Studying Asia as the Integrative Experience. A maximum of 2 units/blocks of language study (Japanese, Chinese or an Asian language taught through an accredited program in the United States or abroad) may apply towards fulfilling the minor requirements. Students pursuing a minor should consult with their minor advisor in developing an interdisciplinary course of study that includes Asia-focused classes in two or more disciplines.Courses
Asian Studies
(Summer only 2024-25).
Introduction to Mandarin Chinese, emphasis on basic grammar, speaking, and listening comprehension as well as mastery of some 500 characters for reading and writing. Language laboratory required. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
Introduction to Japanese language. Students will be introduced to basic spoken and written structures of 'standard' Japanese, the two Kana alphabets, approximately 70 kanji, and the development of the basic skills with attention to the cultural context. Language laboratory required. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
(Not offered 2024-25).
Conversation and limited reading and writing practice in Japanese language.
Conversation and limited reading and writing practice in Japanese language.
(Summer only 2024-25).
WWII presented a unique set of social and identity-based challenges for Japanese Americans. We examine the manner in which the events of WWII influenced Japanese American identity. We also examine the perspectives of policy makers and non-Japanese Americans. The course includes a field trip. Meets the Critical Learning: CP requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
The history and philosophy of Chinese arts will be introduced with its applications for meditation, relaxation, concentration, and physical development. Short forms of Taichi, Taichi sword and health-related techniques will be taught in conjunction with the art and practice of Chinese brush calligraphy and seal carving. Other art forms such as Chinese music, theater, and dance will be introduced briefly. The correlation/interface of the Chinese body movement and the arts practice would, hopefully, rekindle one's interest in and lead to further exploration of the Asian culture. (Offered through the Biology in China program.) (Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
This course will introduce students to major debates and diverse critical approaches in the study of Asia from an interdisciplinary perspective. To be taught in rotation by program faculty, the course will address the study of Asia thematically. Themes will vary but may include: colonialism/anti-colonialism; globalization & economic development; gender and sexuality; poetry & literature; performance; popular culture; art and architecture; climate change; public health, and Asian diasporas. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement.
Conversation and limited reading and writing practice in Chinese language.
Conversation and limited reading and writing practice in Chinese language.
Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean literature, art and politics with particular attention to interrelationships among Asian countries and their ongoing dialogue with Western cultures. Course includes a museum visit, a number of films, and opportunities to examine Asian art objects firsthand. (Also listed as AH 115.) Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Is an oral language functional review and extension class. The class is an intensive immersion with systematic reviews of modern standard Chinese. It is designed for students who have had two blocks of beginning Chinese or have taken Chinese previously. (Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
May meet either the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures or Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
Meets the Language Requirement requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
This course presents a critical appreciation of popular Japanese icons (Shintoism, Buddhism, budo, samurai, haiku poetry, tea ceremony, kabuki theatre, and rice) that scrutinizes how cultural practices and institutions have evolved and been adapted to symbolize Japan, both by Japanese and foreign observers. All readings, discussion, and writing will be in English. (Not offered 2024-25).
Study and performance of the Balinese gamelan angklung orchestral tradition. Group lessons for all levels, developing skills in technique, musicianship and repertory. Meets twice a week. Performances on and off campus. Open without audition. (Semester-long extended format.) (Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
Chinese art from ancient to modern times in its cultural context. Artistic and archaeological materials will be examined in order to learn where, when and how the culture we call Chinese evolved. Special attention will be given to attitudes toward art today, and to recent archaeological discoveries. (Not offered 2024-25).
Introduces students to the peoples and expressive cultures of Asia through interdisciplinary humanities perspectives, focusing on music and art but also referencing poetry, literature, dance, theater, and film. Considers case studies in the artistic and musical traditions of India, Indonesia, China, and Japan in three historical eras: classical (antiquity through ca. 1100 CE), early modern (ca. 1550-1800 CE), and modern (ca. 1800 to present). Central themes of the course include the representation of gender ideologies and social inequalities in Asian visual and performing arts, particularly in the wake of European colonialism. Coursework includes hands-on explorations through music performance, museum visits, and art projects, as well as a series of class presentations and papers. May meet either the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures or Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
A historical and thematic introduction to Hindu traditions from ancient India to the present day, focusing on classic texts, iconography, and popular rituals. Topics include the Upanishads and the rise of Buddhism, the Sanskrit epics (Mahabharata and Ramayana), Yoga, Indian art and music, devotional movements and poetry, and the ethical system and social hierarchy encompassed by Dharma. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement.
An introduction to the life and times of the Buddha, his basic teachings and central monastic and lay practices. Emphases include key elements in the development of Buddhist philosophy, the purposes and styles of meditation, and theory and practice in Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
A survey of the three major religions that originated and continue to thrive in China and Japan: Confucianism, Taoism, and Shunto. Will treat classical texts and practices as well as modern manifestations. Reference will be made to connections with the related traditions of Popular Religion and Buddhism. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
(Summer only 2024-25).
A historical and thematic introduction to Islamic traditions from the seventh century CE to the present day, focusing on fundamental texts and practices. Topics include the Abrahamic context of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, the Qur'an, the rise of sectarian movements (Shi'a and Sunni), ritual and pilgrimage, Islamic law, Sufism, women in Islam, the challenges of modernity, and Islam in America. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Writing in the Discipline requirement.
(Not offered 2024-25).
The course emphasizes the development of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills after the elementary level. Video materials supplement the course and place the language in a cultural context.
The course builds on the language proficiency gained in 201. Increased use of the written and spoken language designed to build proficiency. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
The out-of-body journey of the shaman, a quiet act of prayer, the ecstasy of the Christian mystic, the enlightenment of the Buddhist monk, the reverie of the nature lover, 'speaking in tongues' among Christian charismatics - these are examples of what many call 'religious experience' and regard as the very essence of religion. This course will examine primary texts that testify to the reality and power of religious experience in various traditions and will acquaint students with scholarly analyses of the claims of devotees and adepts. At least one previous course in Religion strongly recommended. (Not offered 2024-25).
The role of religion in the context of modern colonialism has been pivotal. European colonizers, in their global pursuits, consistently justified colonial dominance through Christianity. They sponsored missionary initiatives for conversion, while also regulating the traditions and practices of the colonized. Some scholars assert that modern conceptions of religion and world religions emerged from these colonial conquests. This course is a deep dive into the intrinsic relationship between colonialism and religion, guided by two overarching questions: How did the colonial encounter shape contemporary knowledge of religion? How did colonial tools of governance—such as law, education, census, surveillance, and welfare—bring about changes in the religious beliefs, traditions, and practices of both the colonizers and the colonized? Our exploration spans various modern empires in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The course delves into how religion played a constitutive role in modern colonialism, its intersections with other realms of social power like race, gender, and nation, and its influence on resistance to colonialism. Key themes include religious conversion and freedom of religion, reforms within religious institutions, textuality and interpretation, ritual and material cultures, and legal reforms and regulation. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Students will develop conceptual and affective tools with which to incorporate interdisciplinary global education into their teaching. Using Japan as a case study, students will examine experiential and hands-on methods of understanding and teaching the history, literature, economics, geography and cultures of another country while also placing that country in the context of regional and global connections, communications, responsibilities, and dependencies.
(Not offered 2024-25).
This course taught by a native Indonesian artist introduces traditional Balinese dance. (Semester-long extended format.) (Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
This course examines the way in which post-war Japanese literature reflects the transformation and enduring tensions within Japanese society. Topics include gender roles, the family, individuality, and dissension. Of central concern is the capacity of literature to reflect massive social and economic changes within contemporary Japan and to assess the assumptions of continuity, consensus, and conformity. Works by the following writers will be included: Ibuse Masuji, Yasuoka Shotaro, Hayashi Fumiko, Kawabata Yasunari, Abe Kobo, Enchi Fumiko, and Oe Kenzaburo. Novels and shorts stories will be supplemented with film and other readings. All readings, discussion, and writing will be in English. (Not offered 2024-25).
May meet either the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures or Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
The development of Indian philosophy from its roots in the Vedic tradition of Hinduism. The focus of the course will be both on the ethical, epistemological, and metaphysical systems that grew out of the Hindu tradition and on the challenges to this tradition posed by Buddhism and by 20th century developments. (Also listed as PH 281.) (Not offered 2024-25).
The course emphasizes the development of speaking, listening, reading and writing skills after the elementary level. Video materials supplement the course and place the language in a cultural context. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
The course builds on the language proficiency gained in 201. Increased use of the written and spoken language designed to build proficiency. Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
Special topics in ethnomusicology, approached through emphasis on a particular musical area, theoretical issue, genre or repertory, compositional technique, or instrument. The course is devoted to non-western musical cultures. (Not offered 2024-25).
This course will focus on a comparative study of the voice of Chinese women writers in the 1920s and 1980s, examine women writers' works in a social-historical context, and discuss the difference of women's places and problems in traditional Chinese culture and modern Chinese society. The course will also try to define the similar and different expressions of 'feminism' as a term in the West and the East. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
Examines the history of East Asia from the height of the imperial system before the Mongol invasion to the changes in society, economy, and culture during the Late Imperial Period (14th-19th centuries). Political and social history of China, Japan, and Korea will form the focus of this course. This course will prepare students for advanced study on China and Japan. (Not offered 2024-25).
This course will follow the turbulent history and politics of China from the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 through the post-Mao reforms. Using primary documents, personal accounts, and scholarly studies, students will assess China's political and cultural changes and continuities in historical context. May meet either the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures or Social Inequality requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
This course will trace the social, political, and cultural developments in Japan from the first Parliamentary elections in 1890 to the current fiscal crisis in the 1990s. Using a wide range of sources, students will explore major themes in Japan's empire, World War, economic miracle, and troubled role as Asian leader. Major themes will include cross-cultural contact, world systems, and women's history. May meet either the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures or Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
The history of mainland and maritime Southeast Asian societies from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, with special attention to Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Burma and the Philippines. How did the social, cultural, and ecological diversity of the region impact the evolution of these societies? What role did Chinese and South Asian diasporas play in this process? How did the colonial experiences of British, French, Spanish and American rule shape their emergence as modern nations? Explores these and other questions via a variety of visual and textual sources including novels, photographs, film, and historical narrative. (Not offered 2024-25).
A thematic survey of Korean history from the earliest times to the present covering social, cultural and political developments from the Three Kingdoms period through the Silla unification, Koryo and Choson dynasties to the modern era. Special emphasis on the twentieth century. (May meet either the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures or Social Inequality requirement.) May meet either the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures or Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Study of a selected topic in Asian Studies. The course will cover subjects not listed in the regular curriculum and may vary from year to year; taught by Asian Studies faculty and visiting faculty.
Japanese women writers wrote the most heralded novels and poetic diaries in the classical literary canon; this celebration of women's literary contributions is an anomaly among world literatures. Yet for over five hundred years, women's literary voices were silenced before reemerging in the modern era, when a renaissance of 'women's literature' (joryu bungaku) captured popular imagination, even as it confronted critical disparagement. This course traces the rise, fall and return of writing by women and the influence of attitudes toward gender on what was written and read through a wide array of literary texts, historical documents, and cultural artifacts. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
This course explores how Japanese writers have dealt with issues of gender and sexuality from the Heian Period through the modern era. Drawing on literary sources such as The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu (11th c.), Five Women Who Loved Love by Ihara Saikaku (17th c.), and Kitchen by Yoshimoto Banana (20th c.), as well as films and manga, we will analyze how both male and female authors have portrayed gender and sexuality within an ever-changing landscape. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
An exploration of constructions of gender and the status of women in Hindu and Islamic cultures, with attention to both texts and practices. Primary and secondary readings survey a variety of topics from classical and modern periods, including marriage, sexuality and reproduction, sati, Islamic law, devotion, renunciation and tantra. (Not offered 2024-25).
Early Chinese funerary art examined in relation to the Chinese religious philosophies of Confucianism and Daoism. Relationships between Chinese painting and poetry explored, particularly in relation to the handscroll format. The rise of scholar-literati painting in the Song followed by issues of politics, commerce, and art. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement.
Classical relationships between Heian-period court art, poetry, and aristocratic patronage; medieval Kamakura and Muromachi periods, dominated respectively by Pure Land Buddhism and Zen Buddhism; consolidation of the tea ceremony and unique qualities of castle architecture and screen paintings in the Momoyama; the Edo-period shift towards more inexpensive and widely-reproducible formats, such as the woodblock print. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement.
This course explores changes in gender and sexual relations across social communities and through time in South Asia. Key topics covered in this course include the impact of colonialism, nationalism, and socio-religious reform movements; law and the postcolonial state; the cultural politics of sexuality; masculinities; and local and transnational feminisms. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
An examination of gender and power in Hindu traditions, through an in-depth study of divine figures or historical women identified with goddesses, such as Sītā, Rādhā, and Kālī, or medieval saints and contemporary global gurus. May meet either the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures or Social Inequality requirement. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement.
Since the Enlightenment, philosophers and historians have argued that individual freedom and autonomy depend upon the confinement of religious beliefs and practices to the private sphere. On their view, the spread and entrenchment of institutions of modernity would result in the decline of religion as an active moral and political force. These modern ways of thinking assume that there are discrete entities called religion and the secular, where the latter is conceived as the arena of activities such as politics, economics, and science in which religion as no place. In this seminar, we will examine the phenomena of religion and the secular and their place in the modern world through close readings of historical, sociological, philosophical, and anthropological works that address the question of religion and its relationship to politics in diverse contexts such as the Middle East, South Asia, Europe, and the United States. Our aim will be to acquire an understanding of the variety of ways in which the relationship between religion and politics is configured and debated and to complicate our understanding of key concepts and problems such as modernity, progress, freedom, citizenship and belonging, religious difference, toleration, and the question of religious minorities. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
An exploration of classical Chinese philosophy (~600-200 BCE). The course focuses on primary texts in English translation – the Analects of Confucius, Mozi, Mengzi, Laozi (the Daodejing), Zhuangzi, and Xunzi– and considers topics and themes such as ethics, moral development, governance, and human nature. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Considers the impact on art of expanding sea trade between Europe and East Asia in the early modern period. Begins by examining what goods went where, how increasingly global trade affected particular economies; how the East India companies operated, and what effects stepped up contact had stylistically and iconographically on art forms such as porcelain, prints and paintings. On a theoretical level, the course addresses 'things foreign' as a means of asserting the artist's practice and identity. (Not offered 2024-25).
The premodern poetic traditions of China and Japan focusing on Daoist, Buddhist, and Shinto influences. This course explores connections between poetry, meditation, painting, spirituality, and the natural world. Students will study individual poet’s lives and historical contexts and will examine the impact of Zen aesthetics on haiku expression. (Not offered 2024-25).
A critical interrogation of the ways Asian societies have been viewed, studied, and represented in the west from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. How has the study of Asia in the west been shaped by historical processes of colonialism and geopolitics? How do disciplinary epistemologies construct these understandings of Asia? In this course, students will read sources from multiple disciplines in order to think critically about the construction of Asia as a discourse and object of study in the west, and to situate their own understanding of Asia’s plural societies and cultures. 1 unit. May meet either the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures or Social Inequality requirement. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement.
Music is a cornerstone of Asian expressive traditions, providing a lens through which the complex social interactions within the region may be understood. This course introduces the musical cultures of India, China, and Japan in historical and contemporary perspectives, surveying diverse repertories including ritual, court, folk, popular, and film music. It focuses on three pivotal time periods in each region—the classical era, the early modern era, and the twentieth century—and on the elements of style that create a distinctive sound within each culture. Students participate in hands-on performance workshops led by masters of Asian musics. Assignments are project-based and discussion-oriented. Course material is enhanced by guided listening and films. All students are welcome; no prior musical background needed. This course meets the ethnomusicology requirement for the music minor. As a cross-listing with Anthropology, it centers on humans as producers of music, situates musical activity comparatively, and makes meaningful connections with the body of knowledge and theory of cultural anthropology. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
Gamelan orchestras, featuring a variety of bronze, bamboo, and wooden percussion instruments, are a global icon of Indonesian culture. This course introduces the vibrant and dynamic gamelan traditions of Bali and Central Java in historical and contemporary perspectives, surveying diverse repertories including ritual, court, village, dance, theater, and popular musics. Students learn the fundamentals of Indonesian music theory and the elements of form and design that create the distinctive sounds of gamelan music. The role of Hinduism and Islam in Indonesian musical life is discussed, along with the impact of Dutch colonization, decolonization, and tourism. Emphasis is placed on performance and creative components; students compose and perform gamelan music and participate in hands-on workshops with Indonesian musicians. The class culminates in a public performance, in which students present music learned during the course. All students are welcome; no prior musical background needed. The class is team-taught by an Indonesian musician and an ethnomusicologist. This course meets the ethnomusicology requirement for the music minor. As a cross-listing with Anthropology, it centers on humans as producers of music, situates musical activity comparatively, and makes meaningful connections with the body of knowledge and theory of cultural anthropology. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement.
(Summer only 2024-25).
Intensive practice in reading, writing, speaking and comprehending modern Japanese. (Offered as an extended format course Blocks 1-8.) Meets the Language Requirement requirement.
Intensive practice in reading, writing, speaking, and comprehending modern Chinese. (Semester-long extended format.)
Meets the Language Requirement requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
Supervised projects in Chinese language, literature and culture for advanced students. Consent of department required. Offered as a block course (1 unit) or semester extended format (1/2 unit).
A comparative analysis of the political experience and responses of major ethnic minorities and women to the American political process. (Not offered 2024-25).
This survey course, covering Chinese history and politics from the Boxer Rebellion and the first Western influences to the successful revolution by the Chinese Communist Party, will provide a basic understanding of Chinese history and politics in the modern era. (Not offered 2024-25).
Survey course on the development of modern politics in Japan, from the Meiji restoration to the contemporary corporatist partnership between the state and the business and financial communities. (Not offered 2024-25).
(Summer only 2024-25).
Emphasis on the period of reform and opening to the world after 1976 and the contemporary politics of the People's Republic of China.) Meets the Critical Perspectives: Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
This course focuses on the common characteristics and diversity of East Asian growth experiences and the rise and fall of belief in a uniquely East Asian model of economic development. (Not offered 2024-25).
Selected readings in Islamic literature in translation. (Not offered 2024-25).
Exploration of contemporary Chinese perspectives on modern Western political thinkers. (Not offered 2024-25).
Study of a selected topic in one or more Asian societies and cultures. The course will cover subjects not listed in the regular curriculum and may vary from year to year; taught by Asian Studies faculty or visiting faculty.
Cults of masculinity have been intrinsic to South Asian culture for millennia. Whether in ancient vedic literature, or in the heterodox traditions of Buddhism and Jainism and the Hindu epics that followed; whether in the ascetic traditions of yoga, the popular puranas, or the lives of modern-day saints -- the leading Man has been carefully fashioned to represent power, purity and prestige. This course examines such texts and traditions from diverse periods in Indian history in order to identify and deconstruct the ideologies that divinize masculinity and masculinize divinity. Meets the Critical Learning: AIM requirement. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
An exploration of constructions of gender and the status of women in Hinduism and Buddhism, with primary focus on normative developments in ancient and medieval India and the impact of this formative history on the lives of contemporary women. Readings from primary and secondary materials, with attention to both ideology and practice. May meet either the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures or Social Inequality requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
A study of diverse Hindu devotional movements from classical and medieval periods. Primary readings include poetry by both men and women, devotees of Vishnu, Krishna, Shiva, Rama, and the Great Goddess. Critical articles help situate the devotees and their songs in cultural context. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
A study of various Hindu goddesses, including their iconography and particular powers, as well as the ritualistic ways in which they are worshipped in diverse regions of India, with a glimpse of feminist appropriations of Kali in the West as well. Primary and secondary readings include poetry, theology, and historical-critical studies. Films depict a variety of rituals. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
A study of the devotional, contemplative, liturgical, and philosophical dimensions of the ritually and artistically rich traditions of Pure Land and Tantric Buddhism. Will investigate historical examples from various Buddhist countries, with particular emphasis on Tibet and Japan. (Offered alternate years.) Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
An in-depth treatment of important themes, or textual traditions, in the history of Buddhist thought. Examples might include topics such as karma, death and rebirth, compassion, or possibly a body of writings from a particular author or Buddhist school. (Also listed as Asian Studies 372.) (Meets the Critical Perspectives: Diverse Cultures and Critiques requirement.) (Offered in alternate years.) Prerequisite: RE 170 or COI. 1 unit - Gardiner. Meets the Critical Perspectives: Global Cultures requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
The most widely read and translated Japanese philosophers of the modern era, Nishida Kitarô and Nishitani Keiji flourished in the early through late twentieth century. Their distinctive school of thought builds upon both European and Asian sources in an effort to comprehend the fundamental character of experience, the limits of reason, and the possibility of overcoming nihilism. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement.
Social and cultural history of China under the last two imperial dynasties, the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911), with emphasis on print culture and popular literature, examination culture, religious belief and practice, social structure and statecraft.
Japanese ways of life and thought and the interaction of local social patterns with government and the elite ideals. Focuses on the Tokugawa shogunate in the 18th century. (May be offered with Writing Emphasis.) (Not offered 2024-25).
Analyzes the relationship between law, society and culture in China during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1910) dynasties. Considers the classical foundations of Chinese jurisprudence, then examines late imperial culture using legal codes, case records, popular fiction and contemporary historical scholarship to explore the relationship between state and society in this period, in particular the relationship between social hierarchies and configurations of power. Culminates in a substantial research project based on primary sources. Meets the Critical Learning: HP requirement. Meets the Equity and Power: EPG requirement. (Not offered 2024-25).
(Not offered 2024-25).
Thesis subject chosen by student and approved by the program prior to the beginning of the course.
Thesis subject chosen by student and approved by the program prior to the beginning of the course.
(Not offered 2024-25).
Application of Chinese language skills in the study of Chinese culture, including literature, history, or business. Taught as an extended format course over the full academic year.
Independent study for advanced students who wish to do work supplementary to that offered in the Catalog
Preparation for the senior thesis; opportunity for students to discuss their work, the work of their colleagues, and theoretical texts of common interest in a workshop setting. Examination of what it means to engage in the study of Asian Studies. Majors will work on independent thesis projects and meet as a group to discuss their works in progress.