Asian Studies

This course examines written Tibetan and some basic spoken Tibetan. It covers important grammatical structures, the Tibetan script pronunciation and essential speaking skills. The course also introduces cultural contexts of the Himalayan region.

The course examines the development of international relations in East Asia from the Opium War to the Korean War. It discusses major international events, such as conflicts, treaties, and alliances, and examines the interplay between domestic and foreign affairs, the spread of political ideologies, and the rise of nationalism and racial/ethnic identities.

This course examines the history of Asian immigrants in America and their literary and visual representation in American popular culture. It covers the early Asian immigration and discusses the cultural representation of Asians through watching several historical documentaries and reading literary texts. The course analyzes Asian American plays in order to see how each playwright uses different strategies and styles in order to communicate his or her political messages and ideologies to the audience. Considerable attention is given to understanding how diasporic experience and diasporic sensibility may be differ in terms of gender, ethnicity, and generation. For the first few weeks, the course provides an overview of the history of Asian American immigrants and European/American representation of Asians on stage, starting from the late nineteenth century. Next the course examines first generation of Asian American writers' major plays, essays, and critical writings in theatre and drama since the 1960s to 1980s, together with critical issues in Asian American communities. And finally, the course explores various themes, dramatic strategies, and aesthetics of contemporary Asian American playwrights including Korean American writers.

This course introduces students to the myriad of musical genres and their historical, political, and social contexts. Genres to be introduced include aboriginal music, traditional music of the Hokloand Hakka peoples and of the mainlanders, and popular music. Emphasis is placed on auditory and participatory experiences through in-class workshops by invited performers, concert attendance, fieldtrips, homework assignments, and group fieldwork projects. Each class consists of a two-hour lecture by the instructor followed by one-hour discussion period led by teaching assistants.

This course examines the features of the music of China, including genres and styles of Chinese Music. It covers musical works, sounds, and structures, as well as trying to understand the social, regional, and political contexts in which they developed, and the aesthetics and ideology that inspired the performers, composers, and listeners--as well as the writers of music history.

This course provides opportunities for both international and domestic students to develop a better understanding of Miyagi's traditional culture through learning about the Sendai Tanabata festival. Students will not only learn about the historical background of the festival, but also design and create Tanabata decorations.

The course aims to provide:          
1. Fundamental knowledge of the Sendai Tanabata festival.
2. An understanding of Miyagi's traditional culture, by studying the historical background of the Sendai Tanabata festival and its meaning to local community and businesses.
3. Effective engagement in interpersonal communication as well the exchange of information and opinion.

The 19th century saw a dramatic reversal of fortunes for Korea. From the longest-ruling dynasty in East Asia (518 years), the demise of the Choson dynasty (1392-1910) precipitated the loss of national sovereignty as Korea was colonized by Japan. Subsequent events - including colonial industrialization, the struggle for independence, and the division of the peninsula into North and South - have only added to the challenge of evaluating the legacies of the Choson dynasty. How did Confucianism influence Korean society? Why did Korea fail to maintain its sovereignty in the nineteenth century? What are the roots of capitalism in Korea? What set North Korea on a different trajectory than the South? This course answers these questions through a survey of the major historical issues that have shaped Korean society and culture from the early modern period through to the present. As well as covering developments in Choson society and Korea's turbulent experience of imperialism, capitalism, nationalism, conflict, and political change, this course also introduces students to the major historical debates that have shaped our knowledge of Korea today.

Japan, as recent history has powerfully illustrated, is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries. Today it is also one of the best prepared to face such extraordinary seismic risk. This was not always the case.

Using earthquakes as a window into Japanese society, this course examines when, how, and why contemporary Japan became a nation prepared for disaster as we know it today.  The course explores interconnections between nature, politics, education, economics, ideology, and the built environment in new and exciting ways. It considers earthquakes as events that not only cause suffering and devastation, but occurrences that inspire opportunism and unleash contestation. The themes and questions we explore remain relevant to Japan today.

This course will adopt an interdisciplinary approach and use a range of primary source material to explore topics including vulnerability and resilience; survivor accounts; visual representations of destruction in art and media; relief; reconstruction; political use of catastrophe; commemoration; disaster education and training.

Students will acquire a sophisticated understanding of the following: how earthquakes have been interpreted, explained, and remembered in Japanese culture and society; how governments use disasters and reconstruction processes that follow for political purposes; how and why earthquakes often expose underlying tensions in society and result in competing visions for post-disaster rebuilding and the future. Students completing this course will have a detailed understanding of how disasters have shaped Japanese history, culture, and society.