Asian Studies

This course provides an overview of the history and characteristics of Taiwanese civil life and culture.  It covers regional developments and architecture; cultural power network and judicial life; religious organizations and folk beliefs; types and characteristics of civil and military formations as well as public ceremonies;  rituals, taboos, leisure, and pop culture in Taiwan.

This course covers the history modern East Asia from the 19th to the 20th century. It focuses on China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. The relations between these countries as well as the colonial forces from the West are among the topics covered.

This course reviews the modern history and examines key contemporary social issues of East Asian societies, namely China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

In this course students will study the aesthetic and political aims of South Korean cinema since 1960. By analyzing individual films, considering historical contexts, and reading texts in film theory, we will attempt to understand how cinema proposes new ways of being and relating to others within the context of a rapidly globalizing Korea. Filmmakers to be discussed may include Kim Ki-young, Im Kwon-taek, Park Kwang-su, Hong Sang-soo, Bong Joon-ho, Jeong Jae-eun, Park Chan-wook, and others. Issues to be covered include: the ethics of neoliberal capitalism, the spectacle of cinematic violence, morality and film genre, and the critique of melodrama. Assessment: Quiz(20%), Midterm (30%), Final(50%)

Education offers a useful lens for looking at Japan’s society (or societies), for it pertains to becoming a functioning member of society. It focuses on issues such as what one needs to know to act properly; whom to respect; when to speak, and who to become. Education is also a critical site of the ongoing debate surrounding globalization, bringing the spread of English along with an increased presence of ethnic and social minorities. Education also aids in understanding Japanese family structure, food, fashion, and the culture of the everyday, all of which reflect (and construct) culture, social structure, and worldview.  

This course critically explores Japanese education with a multidisciplinary perspective and a balanced objective so that one can gain a deeper understanding of contemporary Japan.  

This course provides an introduction to visual analysis of popular culture media in postwar Japan, specifically film, television, manga, and anime. As the course approaches each medium, the course uses film theory and formal analysis to discuss them. In analyzing issues specific to each of these media and across genres, the course discussion is framed by some key questions: How do form and genre affect content? How do texts address specific audiences, such as teenagers, boys, or girls? What is the role of fan culture?