Asian Studies

This course deals with ethnic and cultural minority groups in contemporary Japan. Japan is often described as a homogeneous society; indeed, it has a very dominant ethnic and cultural mainstream. This course looks at how minority groups have positioned themselves vis-a-vis the mainstream in finding a place for themselves in Japanese society while exploring their many fascinating similarities and differences in experiences.  

This course provides an overview of notable historical dates, events, trends, and individuals in China, Korea, and Japan from approximately the 3rd century BCE until the early 17th century.

The course familiarizes students with India’s topographical, linguistic, and cultural heritage. Given the diversity of the subject, this course will only be giving an overview. Topics include an overview of India’s physical profile, tangible sites and intangible elements inscribed on UNESCO’s world heritage list, Indian music, major dance forms, and yoga.

The Asia Workshop is a dynamic working space where students and instructors work together to discuss emerging issues in Asia. Topics for discussion changes every year to keep up with changes at both regional and global scales.
 

This workshop discusses the following questions: What is Asia? Is Asia just a group of countries with different cultures, histories, and economies? What is so unique about Asia? What, in addition to its geographical location, makes Asia “Asian” and remain “Asian” in the context of globalization? 

The workshop provides an answer to these questions through a series of guest-speaker lectures on Asia and its member countries and presents fieldwork activities to engage students in intensive observation of what is around their living environment. Immersive technologies will be introduced to facilitate students’ first-hand observations.

This course on contemporary Asia focuses on the integration and synthesis of culture, economics, and politics in Asian societies to increase an understanding of the region in its contemporary social-political and cultural setting. This course transcends the borders of academic disciplines and domains and deals with topics such as modernity and public policy; politico-cultural obstacles for intra-regional cooperation; social change and prosperity; inter-cultural interaction; and cultural forces in society. 
No specific required knowledge. Exchange students should have finished their first year of Bachelor study.

This course adopts an interdisciplinary perspective to examine Korean digital cultures. The course covers topics ranging from the local histories of the internet and digital media to its censorship in the South and the North; from online activism to mukbang micro-celebrities and Instagram influencers; from right-wing trolls of ilbe to K-pop virtual idols; from gamers subcultures to Seoul's experiments with the metaverse. 

This course examines China's major traditions of philosophy and practice through English translations of key texts as well as authoritative secondary studies. It covers diversity and polemics in early Chinese thought, developments in Daoism, Buddhist thought and influence, and Neo-Confucian (Daoxue) thought.

This course introduces Taiwanese literature, film, and culture on a national and international level. It provides an overview of the basics of literary and film history in Taiwan, providing an opportunity to read literary works in English translation as well as watch movies by Taiwanese cultural producers.  Engagement with these selected literary works and films will provide insights into fundamental issues and keywords such as history, place, gender, and migration. 

The course aims to refine students' abilities to critically analyze and write about literature and film, as well as to develop a better understanding of Taiwanese literature and culture from the Japanese colonial period to the contemporary era. Class weekly meetings are divided into two parts: the first 50 minutes is devoted to lecture and the second 50 minutes is devoted to  discussion. 

This course examines the rapidly changing notions of gender and family against the historical and cultural transformations of East Asian societies. It focuses on the changing forms of families in East Asia and how families and relationships are portrayed in films and dramas.