Asian Studies

This course explores the major developments in Japanese history and culture from the Meiji period to the end of World War II. The course focuses on key issues and transformations in Japanese society, politics, foreign relations, and culture. The course addresses the following questions: What were the major transformations in modern Japanese history? What factors explain these changes? How have Japanese society and culture evolved? How has Japan interacted with the world? The course provides a broad understanding of the key events and dynamics that shaped modern Japan’s historical development.

This course employs two perspectives to understand the histories of modern Japan in the context of East Asia and globalization from the early 20th century to the present. It examines how modern boundaries, identities, and cultures are shaped in a rapidly emerging modern world order. The course also looks at how individuals respond to and are shaped by the variety of modernity(ies).

This course explores contemporary Korean history at the introductory level. After its liberation from Japan in 1945, Korea sought to build a new modern state, but suffered from division and the Korean War. North and South Korea were at odds with each other even as they sought reunification, and South Korea sought economic growth and modernization but struggled with democratization. This course analyzes the historical development of a post-colonial underdeveloped country that made South Korea what it is today. 

This course explores social issues related to diversity in Japan, with a particular focus on racial and ethnic minority groups. The course examines how these groups’ identities have been socially constructed within Japan’s broader identity formation process and how their social circumstances and public discourse have evolved over time. The course emphasizes critical self-reflection of one's own identities and perspectives -how the social contexts and discourses are embedded in one's life and how these factors have shaped their identities and perspectives. 

This course provides opportunities to learn about the basics of Japanese society through its foreign language education system. The class develops a comparative view of the education/learning system and its practice between Japan and other countries/regions. 

Modern Japanese society is said to have emerged during the Edo period, in the 17th to 19th centuries. This course introduces Japanese society in the Edo period, chronologically, categorically (politics, economy, society, culture, etc.), and historically. Finally, the course touches on the transition from the Edo period to modern times in the 19th to 20th centuries.  

This course examines the intersection of involuntary labor, transnational migration, and sexual exchange, broadly categorized under “human trafficking.” While this issue has gained urgency with the adoption of the United Nations’ Palermo Protocol (2000), historical inquiries reveal that commercial sexual labor has existed in various forms and under different guises throughout history. This course situates contemporary human trafficking within a continuum with historically similar practices, some of which were considered “indigenous” to Asia. This course looks at traditional forms of servitude and sexual exchange in east and southeast Asia, as well as the contemporary transnational migration of women for the sex industry. It engages with historiographic and ethnographic accounts on slavery, dependency, and other forms of servitude in Asia as a necessary background to the examination of modern practices of using women for sexual services.  

The course delves into the social and economic conditions that have historically facilitated the growth of the sex industry, including colonial establishments, and military mobilization, and the so-called “white slave” trade that spurred abolitionist movements by feminist and religious groups in the early 20th century. For contemporary cases, it examines practices that have been associated with human trafficking, such as prostitution and international brokered marriages. The course investigates the possibility of agency among exploited women, potentially challenging the predominant victimhood narrative. It concludes with a discussion on the social norms surrounding payment for intimate relations. 

This course examines pressing global issues and the efforts of international organizations to address them in recent decades. The course explores the six principal organs of the United Nations and various UN Funds and Programmes as well as UN Specialized Agencies. The course also emphasizes the efforts made by national governments, including Japan's foreign policy towards the UN and Japan's ODA policy. 

This course examines the modern Japanese sense of cultural, social and national identity, as analyzed by social scientists, cultural historians, and scholars of Japanese thought. Well known studies of the Japanese self by psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists and sociolinguists will be discussed, supplemented by a historical perspective focusing on the samurai heritage and the ideas behind the Meiji Restoration. 

This course provides an introductory overview of Korean history up until the early 1800s, with a special focus on the Chosŏn era and its foreign relations. The course explores Korea’s ancient history, cultural developments, and interactions with neighboring countries, offering insights into the foundation of Korea’s social and cultural identity. Class activities include visits to museums or historical sites in Korea, providing opportunities to deepen understanding of Korean history and culture.