Asian Studies

This course explores the urban experience as reflected in the Taiwan fiction from 1949 to the end of the 20th century. The focus is Taipei, but also includes the Peking experience of Lin Hai-yin, the New York and Chicago experience of Pai Hsien-yung, the Kyoto experience of Chu Tien-hsin and the Kaohsiung experience of Yang Ch'ing-ch'u. This first part readings include works of writers from different periods: Lin Hai-yin of the 50s (Memories of Peking), Pai Hsien-yung (Crystal Boys) and Wang Wen-hsin (Family Catastrophe) of the Modernist 60s, Chen Ying-chen (the “Washington Building” series) and Huang Chun-ming (“Two Sign Painters” and “The Young Widow”) of the Nativist-realist 70s, and Haung Fan (“Everybody Needs Chin Te-fu,” “Tung-pu Street,” and “Rainy Night”) and Chang Ta-chun (“A Guided Tour of the Apartment Complex,” “Alley 116, Liaoning Street,” and Wild Kids) of the urban-fiction 80s. The second group of readings focuses on five different themes, which are the city and marriage, the city and labor, the city and politics, the city and compounds of military families, and the city and consumption.

This course explores how Taiwan developed into a multilingual society from ancient times to the present, delving into: (a) How Taiwan's multilingual society was formed, and how language and phenomena appeared in Taiwanese society during each period; and (b) how the various language groups interact, and what kind of relationship between language and power is presented. The course also addresses interesting phenomena involving language and society, history, culture, and politics.

This course analyzes contemporary Korean politics from the four perspectives: international politics, political economy, political culture and political processes. From the perspective of international politics, it analyzes how Korean politics has been influenced by international politics surrounding the Korean peninsula. From the political economy perspective, the course introduces how Korean politics has influenced our economic development and vice versa. From the perspective of political culture, students learn to compare contemporary Korean culture with traditional political culture to find out what continuities and discontinuities there are between them. From the political process perspective. the course examines characteristics of Korean political process in comparison with other democratic countries.

This course provides students with an understanding of important issues that have shaped contemporary Korean culture and society since the late 20th century. Students examine the country's historical background before attempting to get an overall picture of everyday life in contemporary Korea. The course discusses Korean life as diversely manifest in literature, movies, television, newspapers, magazines, advertising, sports, shopping centers, theme parks, and other forms of popular culture. It emphasizes discovering the ways in which Koreans have responded and adapted to the rapidly changing world. As a part of the course, students visit cultural sites and events relevant to the course content.

This course examines the food experiences and practices and their ideological effects that shape diners and their city. It also traces the crystallization of a conscious distinction of Hong Kong food and their influences among the residents of the city and overseas.

This course applies political risk analysis to explain the linkage between luxury consumption and the anti-corruption movement in China. It cultivates students’ understanding about how economic behavior and commercial market are affected by political dynamics in a one-party regime like China. The course analyzes the anti-corruption campaigns during the two decades under the Hu-Wen and Xi-Li regime from 2003 to 2022, and the varieties of luxury goods that are commonly used to capitalize illegal gains. Quantitative, analytical tools, such as game theory and regression methods, are introduced.

This course resituates Japan in a global context from a transcultural perspective to consider how popular culture emerges, whose interests it serves, how it is disseminated, and what messages it communicates. It aims to identify Japan’s major historical and cultural developments; understand the long history of popular culture in Japan and analyze cultural products considering the contexts in which they emerged and the audiences towards which they are targeted. The course provides opportunities to acquire methodological and theoretical skills necessary to analyze and critique primary sources and construct a logical argument. 

The course offers a general introduction to the history, literature, and cultures of China. Emphasis is placed on the modern period from the nineteenth century onwards. Students develop basic knowledge on modern Chinese history, from the last empire to the republic to the current age of the socialist market economy. The course pays special attention to literature as a key expression of culture but also addresses Chinese linguistics as well as other cultural expressions such as film and philosophy. Throughout the course, theoretical and methodological questions are addressed concerning the study of China in a postcolonial and globalizing world.

One of the most important questions in studying international politics is how to promote cooperation under anarchy. This course studies different perspectives of international relations including realism, neorealism, liberalism, neoliberal institutionalism, constructivism, and strategic perspective and discusses global and regional governance for peace and stability of the East Asian region. Issues reviewed during include the North Korean nuclear issues, nuclear proliferation, the rise of China and the US-China hegemonic competition, South Korea`s foreign and security policies, Korea-Japan relations, Korea-Russia relations, and Korea`s national security and its middle power role in the region. Assessments: Class attendance, quiz, class participation (15%); group paper, presentation and Q&A participation (35%); final exam (50%).

Course may be offered in English or Korean as the language of instruction.