Asian Studies

This course explores various facets of modern Japanese society and culture, including family, education, gender, work, and life cycle through readings and (feature) films. The course considers the relationship between cinema and society, critically analyzing a body of film texts from the contexts of their production and reception, and considers what one can -- and how one can -- learn about any society through its feature films. Each semester focuses on different themes. 

China underwent dramatic changes through the course of the first half of the twentieth century in politics, society and culture. Colonial exploitation at the hands of many different foreign powers fired up a young revolutionary generation who expressed their desire for change in cultural movements and political action. Women and men, students and workers united to oppose imperialism and explore ways of transforming society. The development of a new form of urban capitalism was followed rapidly by the emergence of a Chinese communist movement, which grew from obscure beginnings to govern the country from 1949. Civil war and the Japanese invasion of China in China’s long Second World War accelerated some changes and stymied others.

This course enables students to explore these trends that shaped the world’s most populous country.

This cours centers on the theme of, "The Samurai across Time and Space." Focusing on the samurai as one of Japan’s most distinctive and enduring cultural icons, it examines various sources, including myths, warrior narratives, medieval tales, dramatic literature, paintings, and samurai films produced within and outside Japan. The course offers a comprehensive view of the history and diversity of samurai representations, revealing how images of premodern Japan and its people have been received and shaped both in Japan and abroad.

This course provides an overview of the various forms of popular culture in East Asia. It focuses on the question of how the rise of East Asian popular culture reflects the desire for "modernity" and "modernization" in each East Asian country and affects the interactions among them. The course explores numerous popular cultural forms such as music, film, TV drama, manga/anime, novels, entertainment, food, fashion and design in Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. The course also examines the increasing global fascination of or craze for East Asian popular culture and how such East Asian "soft power" has inspired and transformed the global aesthetics and popular imagination or understanding of East Asia. 

This course guides students in a shared exploration of the history of Chinese-US relations mainly from the 1770s to the present. It starts with the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), through the Republican period (1911-1949), and through the current era (1949-present). The course incorporates a collection of primary sources, secondary sources and non-traditional materials like art, music, new media, and films. One of the main themes of the course is examining the dominant national mythologies of the United States and China, and how these have developed since the respective nations’ beginnings. The course examines the layers of national narratives in different periods both in terms of how the two powers perceived and depicted themselves, and how they perceived and depicted each other. It also explores the most recent national narratives, incorporating popular and official voices in Beijing and Taipei, Hollywood and Washington, and more.

This is a special topics course in Global Korean Studies. Topics are subject to change. The course examines political, social and economic inequality in South Korea. Through rigorous analysis of scholarly literature and critical engagement with the readings, students develop a comprehensive understanding of various dimensions of inequalities, one of the fundamental challenges facing contemporary Korea.  In the second part of the course, students develop an academic research idea and design a research project exploring a specific aspect of Korean society, regarding inequalities. Expect to formulate a well-defined research question, construct a coherent research proposal, and present it in a scholarly setting. While the primary focus of this course is Korea, we adopt a comparative perspective to explore the academic advantages and broader contributions of studying Korean politics and inequality within the wider field of the social sciences.  

Topics include Facts and trends of inequalities in Korea, Unequal representation by age, Unequal representation by gender, Educational inequality, Trends in economic inequality in Korea, Facts and trends of inequalities in Korea, Social consequences of economic inequality, Medical consequences of economic inequality, Gender inequality, Ethnic minorities, Fighting against inequality. 

This course introduces students to modern Chinese literature from the early 20th century to the 1980s. Readings cover a range of genres, including poetry, prose, and fiction, supplemented by selected units on comics and film. The course begins with the May Fourth era and the rise of the “New Literature” movement, concluding with the literary transformations following China’s Reform and Opening in the 1980s. Each unit integrates key literary movements and foundational theories, guiding students to explore how writers’ life experiences and creative expressions reflect the broader historical evolution of modern China.

This course explores the Choson Dynasty, its scholars, and the history of Confucianism in Korea through readings from The Annals of the Choson Dynasty and related research works. It examines the dynasty’s founding, governance, and policy making while interpreting historical debates between kings and officials. Emphasis is placed on analytical approaches to historical materials, fostering independent judgment and an appreciation of Korean history within the broader East Asian context.

This course examines topics covering urban settlements, imperial tombs and burials, agriculture, handicrafts, sacrificial rituals and religions, as well as cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. Taking time as the fundamental axis, the course sorts out the development context of civilization during the Han and Tang dynasties through each thematic topic, comprehensively revealing the cultural features of the Han and Tang dynasties based on archaeological findings. 

This course builds upon an interpretation of the core text of the Zhouyi (the Book of Changes) and its commentaries (the I Ching (Yijing) and the Ten Wings (Yizhuan)). It progressively guides students to understand the foundational knowledge and key issues in Yixue. These include the historical context of the Zhouyi's emergence, the historical evolution of its doctrines, the various principles for interpreting the Book of Changes text, comprehending the philosophical spirit of the Ten Wings, examining the complex relationship between the Zhouyi and aesthetic culture, and reflecting on prominent issues within the cultural evolution of Zhouyi scholarship. With a focus on exploring the aesthetic and cultural dimensions of Zhouyi thought, the course aims to highlight its distinctive intellectual wisdom and conceptual allure, demonstrating the enduring and invaluable contributions this ancient classic has made to the course of human civilization.