Asian Studies

This course examines international affairs in Northeast Asia through a range of theoretical perspectives in international relations. The course is divided into three parts. The first part discusses how major international relations theories can help us better understand international politics of Northeast Asia and how the regional order has been shaped since the World War II and throughout the Cold War. It then moves on to assessing contemporary foreign policy of individual countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, and Taiwan. Finally, it explores key regional issues, such as territorial disputes, alliance management, and nuclear proliferation.

Using literature from sociology, urban planning, and geography, this course explores how cities have been employed to foster economic development and how they have reshaped social relations. Though the role of cities in development are explored primarily through an examination of Korea’s development history, examples are also drawn from throughout Asia and in some cases from the West.

This course examines the history of social movements in Japan from the 1940s to the 1990s. By focusing on the formation and transformation of “good citizenship” in the political discourse of postwar Japan, and by introducing several key Japanese intellectuals’ discourses on democracy and modernity, the class discusses how political ideas have affected the social process, especially in the attempt of re-establishing the relationship between the private sphere and the public sphere.

This course examines major intellectual, aesthetic, and philosophical trends in East Asian history. By reading translations of original source material, students will be able to see the principal modes of East Asian cultural and literary thought from their origins to the modern period. Cross-cultural issues will also be discussed. 

According to conventional wisdom, Chinese women in history were particularly oppressed. It was only in the modern period that the patriarchal system started to break down and gender equality was finally realized. Such a simplistic view of dividing Chinese women’s experiences into two mutually exclusive categories of “traditional” and “modern” is misleading. This course sets out to provide a more complex and nuanced picture of the life of Chinese women over time in China and elsewhere. Topics cover include marriage, women’s education, works and property rights, ideas about the female body and chastity and so on.

This course considers the religious, political, and cultural significance of Buddhism in modern Asia, with a particular focus on Japan. It surveys Japan's religious history and tradition, as well as recent issues facing Buddhist communities and modern society while covering topics such as religion and nationalism; gender issues in modern temple practices; religious violence and peace activities, and the role of tourism in temple affairs. The course provides a solid understanding of East Asia's religious heritage while developing critical perspectives on the impact of religion on modern Asian societies.

The course provides basic knowledge of Chinese political system and political developments after 1978. It analyses several key issues and challenges that characterize contemporary Chinese society such as environmental issues, socio-economic development, and issues related to regional differences and gaps in society. The course also focuses on developments in civil society and the human rights situation. Freedom of expression, the role of the media and digital developments, as well as the emergence of a surveillance society, are also studied. Domestic issues are viewed from a global perspective. The course discusses and analyses China's global ambitions and foreign and security policy.