Asian Studies

This course reviews and discusses the history of the notion of philosophy (as tetsugaku) within the history of modern Japan. In doing so, difficult questions relating to the very notion of philosophy itself will be asked. What is philosophy and what can make it “Japanese”? Is all philosophy done on Japanese shores “Japanese philosophy”? Otherwise, are there certain core or essential characteristics that make philosophy Japanese? In tackling these questions, the course seeks to learn more about the history of philosophical thought in modern Japan and seeks to reach a deeper understanding of the notion of philosophy itself. 

In the early 21st century, there were three techno-economic and strategic cores—Europe, North America, and East Asia, with East Asia being the fastest growing and most dynamic. Although the three regions are of approximately equal economic size, East Asia has been surging forward. East Asia includes China, the world's fastest growing continental economy and second largest economy; Japan, the third largest economy, the second largest source of global capital, and technological leader; South Korea, a technological leader, and Southeast Asia. East Asia is also becoming increasingly important militarily. East Asian strategic issues affect even geographically distant great power relations, including the trans-Atlantic relationship. 

This course focuses on the international relations of this crucial region. It begins by tracing the legacy of the Sino-Centric tributary system, a relatively hierarchical international relations system quite different from the anarchical Westphalian system. Then, it considers the impact of Western Imperialism; the rise and fall of Japanese Imperialism, and the Cold War. The remainder of the course focuses on the post-Cold War decade of the 1990s; the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-98; the rise of regional multilateral institutions; the influence of historical memory on regional politics; East Asia under unipolarity; the rise of China and its complex relations with Japan and the US; China -Japan relations, and more generally, Asia’s relationship with Europe. The course concludes by considering several scenarios for Asian regional politics and this region's place in, and impact on, the global system over the next decades.

This course deals with political, economic, intellectual and cultural events that occurred in the history of Asia from 1945-1989. The course covers the following topics: 

• The First Indochina War (1945-1954): the Cold War comes to Vietnam 

• The two Vietnams (1954-1964): The Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of Vietnam 

• The Second Indochina War (1964-1975): Vietnam in the Center of the Cold War  

• Cambodia and Laos (1945-1979): Decolonization and Cold War 

• Indochina at Peace? (1975-1989): Cambodia and Laos 

• Indochina at Peace? (1975-1989): Vietnam 

• Thailand and Myanmar (1945-1989) 

• The Philippines (1945-1989) 

• Indonesia (1945-1989) 

• The Cold War in Southeast Asia as an Intelligence War 

• Southeast Asia after the end of the Cold War 

This course introduces new trends in Chinese cultural studies. Through examining the evolving discourse of animal representations and their roles in Chinese history, it provides insight on how human-animal agencies evolved in time. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this course covers different fields and endeavors to connect animal studies to broader political questions such as religions, knowledge production and state-building. With a special focus on the Song, Ming, Qing, and Republican periods, this course pays close attention to literary sources regarding animal welfare during these eras. 

This course is an introduction to Buddhist thought, its Indian origins, and all three scriptural traditions including Southeast Asian Pali, East Asian Chinese, and Central Asian Tibetan. It explores the basics of Buddhist philosophy, religious doctrine, religious practices such as meditation, and Buddhism as an institutional religion in a Buddhist community. The course touches on the function and role of the Buddhist monastery in traditional Buddhist society and studies Buddhism both as a textual-philosophical tradition and a live religion. Other topics include early Buddhism's doctrines of non-substance and dependant-arising, Mahayana physical concepts of emptiness, conceptualization only, Buddhist ideas of knowledge and cognition, comparing the soteriological projects between Hinayana and Mahayana, and others. 

Development economics is a relatively new and unique field, emerging after post-World War II decolonization and is unique in certain aspects. This course covers the leading issues in economic development for social science students, promoting a balanced understanding based on theories and empirical research. Starting from a basic understanding of poverty, inequality and economic growth, this class focuses more on international issues that less developed economies face in present time, such as trade, foreign direct investment, balance of payment crisis, and structural adjustment, as well as other policy issues. 

This course examines Asia's cultures, track its political evolution from pre-colonial to post-colonial times, and explains its renewed prominence in contemporary global affairs.

This course examines Japanese culture, language, and way of thinking through current Japanese pop culture (movies, manga, and music) to gain a deeper understanding of “Modern Japan.”  Each class will divide international students and local students in pairs so they can discuss topics in Japanese and English effectively.

Prerequisite: International students must have completed at least one semester of college-level Japanese to enroll in this course. Japanese students should be able to express themselves in clear Japanese or English, ideally those interested in Japanese language teaching.

This course examines the history of early modern China and Japan (ca. 1600–1912) through the lens of gender and sexuality. By examining topics including Confucianism and the family, Samurai status, imperial expansion, commerce and leisure, medicine and religion, it makes a case for gender and sexuality as drivers of historical change in the early modern world. It examines not only women and women’s history, but also men and masculinity, gender-nonconforming communities, and the changing relationship between gender, sexuality and social, economic, and cultural power. It will introduce key questions and debates in the study of East Asian history and the history of gender and sexuality through a range of primary and secondary sources as well as film, fiction and multimedia.