Transnational Asian Studies

Transnational Asian Studies
https://asianstudies.rice.edu/
306 Herring Hall
713-348-5843

Lisa A. Balabanlilar
Department Chair and Director, Chao Center
balabanlilar@rice.edu

Rice's Asian Studies program, and the Transnational Asian Studies department, focuses on transnational, transhistoric, diasporic, and global movements of peoples and cultures of Asia. 

The Department of Transnational Asian Studies houses the BA degree with a major in Asian Studies, which offers a comprehensive overview of the geography, history, people, movements, and cultures of Asia at the undergraduate level. The program is structured to train its students as strong researchers. Additionally, the department offers a minor in Asian Studies.

Asian Studies (and the Transnational Asian Studies department) does not currently offer an academic program at the graduate level.

Department Chair

Lisa A. Balabanlilar

Director, Chao Center

Lisa A. Balabanlilar

Associate Director

Steven W. Lewis

Director of Undergraduate Studies

Sonia Ryang

Professors

Lisa A. Balabanlilar
Sonia Ryang

Associate Professors

Shih-Shan Susan Huang
Sidney Lu

Assistant Professors

Eric Huntington
Jaymin Kim
 

Professor in the Practice

Steven W. Lewis

Lecturer

Kevin "Casey" Shoenberger, Jr.

Adjunct Lecturer

Anne Chao

For Rice University degree-granting programs:
To view the list of official course offerings, please see Rice’s Course Catalog
To view the most recent semester’s course schedule, please see Rice's Course Schedule

Asian Studies (ASIA)

ASIA 201 - UNDERSTANDING NONVIOLENCE: A SURVEY OF RELIGIOUS TRADITIONS AND CONTEMPORARY PRACTICES

Short Title: NONVIOLENCE: RELIGIOUS/SECULAR

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: The doctrine of nonviolence affirms that humanity is more united than conflicted. This is not true for just South Asian traditions. The course examines Mahatma Gandhi’s nonviolence in light of three world traditions: Hinduism, Jainism, and Christianity. Along with theory, the course delves into the application of nonviolent principles. Distribution 1 credit effective Fall 2021.

ASIA 205 - EAST ASIAN FOOD HISTORY

Short Title: EAST ASIAN FOOD HISTORY

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This subject introduces students to the traditional dietary cultures of China, Japan, and Korea as seen from perspectives of geography, climate, material and social technologies, religion, philosophy, economics, and politics. Topics include hunter-gathering, farming, pastoral, and industrial foodways, state formation and empire, ritual significance of hunting and food sacrifice, trade and foreign relations, traditional medicine, gift-giving and hosting, tourism, and “soft power.” We will examine such practices as banquet etiquette, seasonal celebrations, tea ceremony, courtesan/entertainment culture, and traditional processing methods, like fermentation, stir fry, and distillation. Mutually exclusive with FWIS 155. Students cannot receive credit for ASIA 205 if they have previously taken FWIS 155. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for ASIA 205 if student has credit for FWIS 155/FWIS 255.

ASIA 210 - JAPANESE TRANSNATIONAL POPULAR CULTURE

Short Title: JAPANESE POP CULTURE

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Examines Japanese popular culture from transnational critical approach that consider ethnicity, race, gender, and class, demonstrating where East Asian cultures, languages, and histories overlap and shape popular cultural production and consumption. Using multiple methods of inquiry this course will equip students to explore how they participate in and converse with Japanese popular cultural texts in the global community of consumers. Materials include film, television, literature, music, manga, animation, tourism, and more, as examples of Japanese culture’s Soft Power. This course counts towards the electives requirement for the ASIA major.

ASIA 212 - PERSPECTIVES ON MODERN ASIA

Short Title: PERSPECTIVES ON MODERN ASIA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: A team-taught interdisciplinary course focusing on the political, social and economic forces that are shaping the lives of the nearly one half of the world's population that lives in Asia. Provides a selective, in-depth look at certain important areas of East, Southeast and South Asia that reflect larger themes and problems. Cross-list: ANTH 212.

ASIA 213 - TRANSNATIONAL ART AND CULTURE IN ASIA BEFORE THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Short Title: TRANSNATIONAL ART AND CULTURE

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This introductory course to art and culture in Asia explores transnational connections and exchanges before the twentieth century. Major topics include the Silk Road, Buddhist grottoes, maritime trade routes and shipwrecks, cosmopolis and urban lives, court art, literati culture, ink painting, gardens, the Mongol Empire, Jesuit influence, and East-West connections.

ASIA 214 - ART & WORLD CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES IN CHINA, JAPAN AND KOREA

Short Title: E ASIAN ART CULTURAL HERITAGE

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course introduces the art and premodern monuments designated as world cultural heritage sites in East Asia. Through a study of paintings, calligraphy, architecture, and issues related to cultural preservation, students will gain a multi-cultural perspective on the world’s past and develop analytical skills to better appreciate world cultural heritage.

ASIA 218 - HISTORY THROUGH FILM IN EAST AND NORTHEAST ASIA

Short Title: EAST/NORTHEAST ASIA FILM HIST

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Can we learn history by analyzing movies? Using documentary and feature films from Asian film culture's beginnings, we view 19th-20th century Chinese, Japanese, and Korean history. Collective in-class film viewing, discussion and reading required. Cross-list: FILM 218, HIST 218.

ASIA 219 - MODERN JAPAN

Short Title: MODERN JAPAN

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course will examine the modern history of Japan, roughly 1600 to the present. Through readings, discussion, exams and a research activity, students will engage with modern Japanese history, including warrior culture, engagement with the west, modernization and industrialization, empire, the role of women, democracy and popular protest, war, occupation, and economic growth.

ASIA 221 - THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD

Short Title: LIFE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course will examine the life of the Prophet Muhammad, focusing on its significance for Muslims and for non-Muslims. Readings in The Qur'an, Ibn Hisham, and Haykal. Cross-list: RELI 221.

ASIA 222 - THE WORLD AND SOUTH ASIA

Short Title: WORLD AND SOUTH ASIA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Introduction to important 20th and 21st-century writers in English from South Asia - the region that includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Readings include award-winning and bestselling works (fiction and non-fiction) by writers who address a wide range of issues including national and cultural identity, colonialism, sexuality, religion, globalization and political violence. Cross-list: ENGL 222.

Course URL: english.rice.edu

ASIA 223 - SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES

Short Title: SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Multi-disciplinary introduction to South Asia (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka). Grounded in historical context, we examine the region’s geography, politics, art and architecture, literary epics and poetry, religions and devotional practices, and cultural interactions and exchanges, from pre-history through the 20th century.

ASIA 224 - A HISTORY OF THE SILK ROADS

Short Title: A HISTORY OF THE SILK ROADS

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Course explores Inner Asian trade routes as both source and conduit for cultural encounters and transfers among Chinese, Greek, Persian, Arab, Turkic, and Mongol peoples, among others, 500 BCE-1600 CE. Focusing on the material and cultural exchange, religion, nomadic migration, state building that shaped the human and geopolitical landscape.

ASIA 229 - MODERN EAST ASIA: CULTURE, HISTORY, AND SOCIETY

Short Title: MODERN EAST ASIA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course helps students understand East Asia countries in the past few centuries through a variety of perspectives, such as historical, social and cultural. It moves beyond national and regional boundaries and places the relationship between East Asia and the world at the center of inquiry.

ASIA 230 - ASIAN RELIGIONS IN AMERICA

Short Title: ASIAN RELIGIONS IN AMERICA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: A survey course on Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Jainism in America, from the colonial period to the present, with a special focus on American metaphysical religion, the counterculture, the New Age, and the history of Western colonialism, transcultural encounter, translation and immigration. Cross-list: RELI 230.

ASIA 231 - AMERICAN METAPHYSICAL RELIGION

Short Title: AMERICAN METAPHYSICAL RELIGION

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Beginning with a historical survey of the American metaphysical tradition, this course turns to a close study of the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, as a unique window into some of the different ways the tradition has appropriated Asian religions, psychological models of the unconscious, and contemporary scientific paradigms. Cross-list: RELI 231.

ASIA 232 - RELIGIONS FROM INDIA

Short Title: RELIGIONS FROM INDIA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course surveys religions that originated in India and have spread globally, especially Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Examining important practices, texts, and artworks, we investigate topics such as devotion, liberation, ritual, sacred space, identity, diversity, and historical change from ancient South Asia to contemporary America and the world. Cross-list: RELI 232.

ASIA 236 - BUDDHISM AND SCIENCE

Short Title: BUDDHISM AND SCIENCE

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Modern science has found many connections to ancient Buddhist traditions, but Buddhism has always portrayed itself as rational and explanatory, developing cosmology, biology, and physics in concert with meditation, ritual, and art. This course explores connections between Buddhism and science from their earliest beginnings up to the present day.

ASIA 237 - TRADITIONAL JAPANESE POETRY AND PERFORMING ARTS

Short Title: JAPANESE POETRY & PERFORMANCE

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course introduces students to traditional verse forms and performing arts of Japan with a focus on their multimodal and cognitive characteristics. We will learn the history and rules of poetic forms, like waka and haiku, and the techniques and methods of performance arts like Noh, singing storytelling, Kabuki, and puppet theater. We will learn how verbal, vocal, visual, and architectural arts, including calligraphy, painting, and stage design, shaped each other, and how the special characteristics of written and spoken languages of Japan (including Chinese written and quoted by Japanese authors), along with universal cognitive mechanisms, like prediction and memory, interacted and gave rise to unique and moving artistic manifestations. Readings/viewings will be in translation/subtitled, and no background in East Asian languages is required, but interested students may request help with locating and analyzing original-language material.

ASIA 238 - SPECIAL TOPICS

Short Title: SPECIAL TOPICS

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study, Internship/Practicum, Laboratory, Lecture, Lecture/Laboratory, Seminar

Credit Hours: 1-4

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Topics and credit hours may vary each semester. Contact department for current semester's topic(s). Repeatable for Credit.

ASIA 242 - CHINA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS, 1500-PRESENT: FROM THE CELESTIAL EMPIRE TO AN ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE

Short Title: CHINA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: In this class, we will analyze China’s foreign relations from 1500 to 2000. By focusing on case studies of China’s foreign relations, we will learn how historians, international relations scholars, and political scientists have understood China’s foreign relations.

ASIA 243 - PREMODERN CHINA: HISTORY OF AN OPEN EMPIRE TO 1800

Short Title: PREMODERN CHINA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Drawing from interdisciplinary sources and methods (history, art history, literature, philosophy, religion, etc.), this course provides a historical survey on the formation and evolution of Chinese tradition to about 1800.

ASIA 244 - KOREA AND EMPIRES: FROM THE MONGOLS TO THE COLD WAR

Short Title: KOREA AND EMPIRES

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Nationalist historiography of Korea emphasizes Korea’s suffering at the hands of empires and the remarkable resilience of its people. Drawing from interdisciplinary scholarship, this course challenges that perspective and highlights Korea’s multifaceted interactions with the Mongol, Chinese, Japanese, Soviet, and American empires.

ASIA 251 - SEX, MONEY, AND POWER AROUND THE WORLD

Short Title: SEX, MONEY, AND POWER

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: An interdisciplinary course exploring lives and well-being in the context of gendered international and domestic politics and economic processes. Emphasis on the implications of power relations at levels from the household to the global for women and men around the world (with particular attention to Asia). Cross-list: POLI 250, SWGS 250.

ASIA 260 - ASIAN RELIGIOUS ENVIRONMENTS

Short Title: ASIAN RELIGIOUS ENVIRONMENTS

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: This course explores Asian religious concepts of space, place, and environment such as natural landscape, sacred boundary, built architecture, transnational connection, and ecological responsibility. Traditions addressed may include Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Daoism, Shinto, and Shamanism. A comparative approach reveals both local specificity and enduring global relevance.

ASIA 282 - TRANSNATIONAL ASIAN FOOD: DIVERSITY AND AUTHENTICITY

Short Title: TRANSNATIONAL ASIAN FOOD

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: Can food be both authentic and transnational at the same time? By looking into diverse Asian food items, their traditions, changing recipes and consumption, and the meanings attached to them in diaspora, this class invites students to inquire into the concepts of authenticity and diversity.

ASIA 295 - INTRODUCTION TO TRANSNATIONAL ASIAN STUDIES

Short Title: INTRO TO TRANSNATIONAL ASIA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Description: As a gateway course for the Asian Studies major, Introduction to Transnational Asia is designed to give students diverse perspectives of learning about Asia. The course combines lecture, historical and contemporary textual analysis, group study, mini research project, and presentation.

ASIA 296 - ASIAN STUDIES LAB: TRAINING IN DESIGN AND EXECUTION OF RICE ASIAN STUDIES REVIEW PUBLICATION

Short Title: TRANSNATIONAL ASIAN STUDIES LA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Laboratory

Credit Hour: 1

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Lower-Level

Prerequisite(s): ASIA 295 (may be taken concurrently)

Description: Taken in conjunction with the Introduction to Transnational Asian Studies (ASIA 295). Students who have already taken ASIA 295 do not need to take it again with ASIA 296. This course is designed to provide students with focused training in the execution of the journal publication project, Rice Asian Studies Review, which is a student-run journal published annually from the Department of Transnational Asian Studies. This lab training will enable students to identify the relevant themes in Asian Studies today and organize the rigorous collective vetting process, seeking external reviews and strategically planning for the effective publication (both online and print) that will make an impactful intervention in the field of Asian Studies.

ASIA 301 - EXPLORE & EXPERIENCE HISTORY, CULTURE, RITUALS, DEVOTION, AND MEDITATION THROUGH THE JAIN TRADITION

Short Title: THE JAIN WORLDVIEW

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Beginning with Jainism’s roots in India, we will understand the rich and diverse beliefs and practices of Jainism and then reflect upon its transnational form. Students will further inquire into the dichotomy of tradition and modernity, preservation and transformation to argue how religions migrate, as a result of their adherents. Distribution 1 credit effective Fall 2021.

ASIA 302 - ASIAN PHILOSOPHY IN CONTEXT

Short Title: ASIAN PHILOSOPHY IN CONTEXT

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course explores key topics of philosophy, such as existence, the self, language, cognition, social values, and environmental ethics, in traditions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Daoism, and Confucianism. Emphasis is placed on how philosophy changes over time and is applied to diverse real-world agendas.

ASIA 305 - ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH IN/OF HOUSTON ASIA

Short Title: ETHNOGRAPHY IN/OF HOUSTON ASIA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course offers comprehensive training to students interested in learning about ethnographic research, analysis, and writing in/of the contemporary Asia in a global context, with a special focus on Houston. Seminar-style discussion on ethnographic research methods and hands-on field research on several Asian-American communities will comprise the major course activities.

ASIA 306 - CLASSIC CHINESE NOVELS

Short Title: CLASSIC CHINESE NOVELS

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This subject introduces students to the five most influential traditional Chinese novels, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh, Journey to the West, Plum in the Golden Vase, and Story of the Stone. We will read key sections of each in English translation while considering their historical origins, contexts, and transnational cultural impact. Some such manifestations include tattoo, woodblock prints, graphic novels, movies, and video games.

ASIA 310 - ASIAN BORDERLANDS: FROM FRONTIERS TO BORDERED LANDS

Short Title: ASIAN BORDERLANDS

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course will investigate Asian borderlands from the 1500s to the present. We will look at how centralizing states sought to demarcate their porous frontiers (1500s to the 1800s). We will then explore fundamental transformations that Asian borderlands underwent in the modern period (1800s to the present).

ASIA 315 - GENDER AND ISLAM

Short Title: GENDER AND ISLAM

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Explores the lives of Muslim women in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and North America; analyzes constructions of gender in the Islamic world overtime; the challenges faced from such diverse quarters as colonial administrators, Western feminists, and states; as well as movements and individuals within the Muslim world. Cross-list: RELI 315, SWGS 315.

ASIA 322 - INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM: ARTS FOR LIFE

Short Title: INTRODUCTION TO BUDDHISM

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Buddhist ideas, art, and meditation. Exploration of the Buddhism in India, China, and Japan and their impact in the USA today. Readings include Buddhists classics and contemporary responses from mediators and scientists. Cross-list: RELI 322.

ASIA 323 - BUDDHIST AND DAOIST ART AND RITUAL

Short Title: BUDDHIST & DAOIST ART & RITUAL

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course examines key themes of art and ritual in Daoism and Buddhism. From southern Asia to China, commonalities and contrasts appear in cosmology, art, ritual, and soteriology. This team-taught course combines expertise in Daoist art, Chinese art history, and Buddhist traditions of India, Nepal, and Tibet. Distribution 1 credit effective Fall 2022. Cross-list: HART 323, MDEM 323.

ASIA 328 - MODERN GIRL AND ASIA IN THE WORLD

Short Title: MOD GIRL & ASIA IN THE WORLD

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Using the textbook "The Modern Girl Around the World," this course examines the phenomenon of the so-called modern girl in Asia and the world, 1890-1949. Topics include: modernity, consumer culture, sexuality, and liberation. Cross-list: HIST 384, SWGS 384.

ASIA 330 - INTRODUCTION TO TRADITIONAL CHINESE POETRY

Short Title: INTRO TO TRAD CHINESE POETRY

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course seeks to decode enchanting features of traditional Chinese poetry through examining the transformation of poetic genres, the interaction between poetic creation and political, social and cultural changes, and the close association of poetry with art. Thus, this course also serves to understand Chinese culture and history through poetic perspectives. All readings in English translation. Cross-list: CHIN 330, MDEM 370.

ASIA 332 - MODERN CHINESE LITERATURE AND ITS MOVIE ADAPTATIONS

Short Title: FILM & MODERN CHINESE LIT

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Exploration of modern Chinese literature through the visual imagery of Chinese films to show how and why different time periods and different media affect the theme of a story. One third covers movie adaptations of classical Chinese literature. Films subtitled in English, shown outside of class. All readings in English translation. Cross-list: CHIN 332.

ASIA 334 - TRADITIONAL CHINESE TALES AND SHORT STORIES

Short Title: TRADITIONAL CHINESE TALES

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Learning Chinese literature and culture through reading vernacular stories, fantastic tales, biographies, and philosophical parables. Discussion topics: literature and Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism; literature and history; self and other; fantastic world and reality; women as domestic aliens and aliens portrayed as women, etc. Readings are in English translation. Cross-list: CHIN 334.

ASIA 335 - INTRODUCTION TO CLASSICAL CHINESE NOVELS

Short Title: CLASSICAL CHINESE NOVELS

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Examination of the basic characteristics of classical Chinese novels, primarily through six important works from the 16th to 18th centuries: Water Margin, Monkey, Golden Lotus, Scholars, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Dream of the Red Chamber. All readings in English translation. Cross-list: CHIN 335, MDEM 375.

ASIA 336 - GENDER AND SOCIETY IN BUDDHISM

Short Title: GENDER AND SOCIETY IN BUDDHISM

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Gender, class, and social role are crucial in Buddhism despite its philosophical denials of the importance of self. Examining great works of literature and art, this course addresses the lived experiences and historical perceptions of numerous different types of individuals in Buddhist history, especially emphasizing considerations of gender.

ASIA 337 - SOUTH ASIAN RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPES

Short Title: S ASIAN RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPES

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course explores South Asian religions through topics of geography, landscape, and space, investigating concepts such as nationhood, architecture, pilgrimage, and diaspora. Broadly examining primary texts, ethnographies, and works of art, we discuss the experiences, practices, and histories of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism across Asia and beyond. Distribution 1 credit effective Fall 2022. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: ASIA 537. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for ASIA 337 if student has credit for ASIA 537.

ASIA 339 - CONSCIOUSNESS FROM INDIAN TRADITIONS TO MODERN SCIENCE

Short Title: CONSCIOUSNESS, INDIA, SCIENCE

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course explores consciousness from ancient Indian philosophies (Jain, Buddhist, and Samkhya-Yoga), alongside western concepts of consciousness from Pythagoras to modern neuroscience and animal consciousness, touching briefly upon Judeo-Christian and Taoist concepts. 2-3 guest speakers will aid our investigation.

ASIA 342 - EAST ASIAN ORTHODOXIES AND HERESIES: LAW AND SOCIETY IN TRADITIONAL CHINA, KOREA, AND VIETNAM

Short Title: E ASIAN ORTHODOXIES & HERESIES

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course will investigate orthodoxies and heresies in East Asia (second century BCE-twentieth century). We will focus on the establishment of Confucianism as the state orthodoxy, the reinforcement of the orthodoxy by the legal codes and the civil service examinations, and the relationship between the state orthodoxy and various heresies.

ASIA 349 - URBAN LAB ISTANBUL

Short Title: URBAN LAB ISTANBUL

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Laboratory

Credit Hour: 1

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Prerequisite(s): POLI 355 (may be taken concurrently) or POLI 362 (may be taken concurrently) or POLI 464 (may be taken concurrently) or POLI 562 (may be taken concurrently)

Description: This course examines the dynamics of urban politics and policy in an emerging global city - Istanbul. In addition to social, political and economic issues, we will also focus on history, culture, language, architecture and the arts. Weekly class sessions will include lectures, case studies, guest lecturers, and group work on research projects. The lab also features an 8-day field research trip to Istanbul. Prerequisites may be taken the same semester as POLI 349/ASIA 349. Instructor Permission Required. Cross-list: POLI 349.

ASIA 353 - EAST ASIAN DEMOCRACIES

Short Title: EAST ASIAN DEMOCRACIES

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group II

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course examines the functioning of the political system in the three principal East Asian democracies: Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Particular focus is paid to each country's democratic institutions, electoral politics, and political party system. Cross-list: POLI 353.

ASIA 355 - CINEMA AND THE CITY

Short Title: CINEMA AND THE CITY

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This class explores representations of the city in 20th and 21st century world cinema. Central concerns will include the city as cinematic protagonist, parallels between urban and cinematic space and the intertwined histories of both film and urban design over the last century. Cross-list: FILM 336, HART 336.

ASIA 356 - GENOMIC GOVERNANCE IN ASIA

Short Title: GENOMIC GOVERNANCE IN ASIA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: What are the genomic sciences and what impact are they having upon society? This course explores the impact of genomics—the study of genes and their functions—on society with a particular emphasis on India, China, and the U.S. where technological advances have outpaced regulatory oversight and social debate. The course develops skills to think critically about how genomics is reshaping the relationship between self and society, and the very nature of the social itself. The equivalent graduate course requires the final research paper to be about twice as long as the final research paper in this undergraduate course (10,000 vs. 5,000 words). Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: ASIA 556.

ASIA 357 - ALGORITHMIC CULTURES IN ASIA

Short Title: ALGORITHMIC CULTURES IN ASIA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Algorithms are a series of step-by-step instructions in a procedure that finishes and which is shown to work in all cases. This course addresses the formation of algorithmic cultures through the domains of digitality and ontology in South Asia and the Middle East. It introduces students to the concepts of algorithmic neutrality, discrimination, management and governance. The course explores how deep-learning algorithms may undergird an intensification of surveillance and securitization technologies with profound effects on human and post-human futures. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: ASIA 557.

ASIA 358 - FILM AND SOCIETY IN SOUTH ASIA

Short Title: FILM AND SOCIETY IN SOUTH ASIA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course explores how key issues in South Asian society and history are rendered through popular, documentary and parallel cinema. The course will draw upon contemporary historiography, social science, and literature to situate South Asian films in larger sociopolitical contexts. Distribution 1 credit effective Fall 2022.

ASIA 360 - TRANSNATIONAL CHINA: CHINA AND THE CHINESE DIASPORA

Short Title: CHINA AND THE CHINESE DIASPORA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Exploration of the political, economic, and social forces changing the lives of nearly a quarter of humanity, the 1.4 billion people of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the diasporic Chinese communities of East and Southeast Asia. Topics include political and economic liberalization, nationalism and urban identity, privatization and consumerism, environmentalism and public goods, and the globalization of communication technologies and Chinese cultural media.

ASIA 371 - HOW TO READ CHINESE PAINTING

Short Title: HOW TO READ CHINESE PAINTING

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course examines Chinese painting from ancient times to the early twentieth century. Issues of examination include themes, styles, and functions of Chinese painting; the interrelationship between paintings and the intended viewers; regionalism; images and words; foreign elements in Chinese painting. Cross-list: HART 371.

ASIA 372 - CHINESE ART AND THE WORLD

Short Title: CHINESE ART AND THE WORLD

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course is an introductory seminar studying the history of traditional Chinese art and visual culture from ancient times to the nineteenth century. This course draws upon masterpieces and monuments from both archaeological finds and museum collections, including bronze vessels, funeral objects, painting, calligraphy, sculptures, architecture, ceramics, and so on. Designed for students who have no background in Chinese art, Chinese history, or art history, the seminar uses diverse teaching materials in multiple media beyond traditional textbook-based readings to achieve four main goals: 1) Develop visual literacy through a direct encounter with objects. The development of specialized vocabulary to describe, analyze, and communicate function, composition, and meaning in art. 2) Understand major artistic movements of art and architecture within historical, social, political contexts. 3) Develop specialized knowledge in art from specific geographical locations (e.g. China), time periods, artists or artistic movements. 4) Evaluate and use primary and secondary source materials. Cross-list: HART 372, MDEM 373.

ASIA 377 - CHINESE POLITICS IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

Short Title: CHINESE POLITICS

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course explores the range of theories and empirical research methodologies from comparative political science, political-economy, and Asian studies commonly applied to understanding Chinese politics: political participation, political organizations, collective action and popular protest, political culture, and political institutional change. This course will be a seminar requiring weekly presentations, extensive readings at the graduate level in social science, and an original research paper. There is no prerequisite for this course, but participants are assumed to already possess extensive knowledge of Chinese history, culture, and society. Cross-list: POLI 377. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for ASIA 377 if student has credit for ASIA 489/POLI 489.

ASIA 378 - CLASSICAL, CONTEMPORARY, AND CROSS-CULTURAL ASIAN MUSIC

Short Title: CROSS-CULTURAL ASIAN MUSIC

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course will focus on traditional and contemporary art music from Asia. The classroom lectures are designed to introduce and accompany one or two events which will include live performances, workshops, lectures by invited performers and scholars. This course may be repeated since each year the countries and invited guest performers/scholars will represent different geographical areas. Cross-list: MUSI 378. Repeatable for Credit.

ASIA 380 - ASIAN AMERICAN HISTORY

Short Title: ASIAN AMERICAN HISTORY

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This interdisciplinary course will investigate the diverse cultural traditions and shared experiences of Asian Americans in the United States. By analyzing historical works, literary texts, and films, we will explore a range of topics including Asian immigration, gender roles, identity formation, and ethnic media. Distribution 1 credit effective Fall 2022. Cross-list: HIST 380.

ASIA 381 - SOUTH ASIAN DIASPORAS

Short Title: SOUTH ASIAN DIASPORAS

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: People of South Asian heritage constitute one of the largest, and most religiously, culturally, linguistically diverse diasporas in the world. This upper-division seminar examines the historical and contemporary experiences of South Asian men and women who established communities in Africa, the Americas, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

ASIA 382 - RUTH BENEDICT AND JAPAN: THE TEXT THAT SHAPED POSTWAR JAPANESE CULTURE

Short Title: RUTH BENEDICT AND JAPAN

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Written during WWII as part of enemy studies, Ruth Benedict’s Chrysanthemum and the Sword guided the postwar US occupation of Japan. Since its 1948 translation into Japanese, the book has remained one of the longest-selling titles in Japan. This course examines the historical influence of this book in (re)building postwar Japanese cultural identity against the backdrop of the changing US-Japan relations, focusing on the dramatic shift in Japan’s position from existential enemy of the US to staunch ally in the Cold War in East Asia. Not recommended for first-year students.

ASIA 383 - UNDERSTANDING NORTH KOREA

Short Title: UNDERSTANDING NORTH KOREA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Drawing from interdisciplinary and mixed-media sources, this course examines the challenges of studying North Korea in the United States today and explores the possibilities of understanding North Korea, its culture and society.

ASIA 399 - WOMEN IN CHINESE LITERATURE

Short Title: WOMEN IN CHINESE LITERATURE

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course examines women's roles in Chinese literature as writers, readers, and characters, focusing particularly on the tension between women's lived bodily experiences and the cultural experiences inscribed on the female body and how, in the process, women have contrarily gendered patriarchal culture into their own. It will also touch on Chinese women's incorporation of the Western Tradition. All readings in English translation. Cross-list: MDEM 379, SWGS 399.

ASIA 401 - INDEPENDENT STUDY

Short Title: INDEPENDENT STUDY

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 1-15

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Reading or research project to be determined by discussions between student(s) and faculty member(s). Department Permission Required.

ASIA 402 - INDEPENDENT STUDY

Short Title: INDEPENDENT STUDY

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 1-15

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Reading or research project to be determined by discussions between student(s) and faculty member(s). Department Permission Required.

ASIA 422 - THE ORIGINAL BEAUTY OF CHINESE LITERATURE

Short Title: ORIGINAL BEAUTY OF CHINESE LIT

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Distribution Group: Distribution Group I

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: The course will expose students to the best classical literary works created in the Chinese tradition, and give them a general introduction to different genres, including poetry, fiction, drama, and philosophical essays. While the course is taught in English, all the readings will be in original texts of Chinese literature so that students will be able to taste its original beauty. Cross-list: CHIN 422.

ASIA 441 - MAGIC AND POPULAR RELIGION

Short Title: MAGIC & POPULAR RELIGION

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: This course will examine the popular religion in the Middle East from Late Antiquity until the 19th century, focusing on healing practices, astrology, protection, amulets, seasoned/life-cycle rituals, and other popular beliefs common to Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Cross-list: RELI 441.

ASIA 477 - SPECIAL TOPICS

Short Title: SPECIAL TOPICS

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Internship/Practicum, Lecture, Seminar, Laboratory

Credit Hours: 1-4

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Topics and credit hours may vary each semester. Contact department for current semester's topic(s). Repeatable for Credit.

ASIA 488 - ASIA AND ENERGY

Short Title: ASIA AND ENERGY

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Description: Multi-disciplinary study of Asian countries and cultures as to a way to explain production, exchange, consumption and influence of energy on political, economic and social/cultural institutions, including energy security and energy policy formation and resource use theories. Assumes basic knowledge of history and politics of Asian societies and economies.

ASIA 495 - ASIAN STUDIES RESEARCH SEMINAR

Short Title: ASIAN STUDIES RESEARCH SEM

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Undergraduate, Undergraduate Professional or Visiting Undergraduate level students.

Course Level: Undergraduate Upper-Level

Prerequisite(s): ASIA 295

Description: This course is designed to elevate the knowledge on Asia acquired by Asian Studies majors in their first two years of study to a higher level and to train them in executing their original research an producing a substantial research paper. Department Permission Required. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: ASIA 695. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for ASIA 495 if student has credit for ASIA 695. Repeatable for Credit.

ASIA 501 - ASIAN STUDIES ADVANCED FIELD RESEARCH

Short Title: ADVANCED FIELD RESEARCH

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Research

Credit Hours: 6

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: In this course, students will learn to gather data first hand either by ethnographic fieldwork or by primary archival source research. Department Permission Required.

ASIA 511 - PRO-SEMINAR ON ADVANCED TRANSNATIONAL ASIAN STUDIES

Short Title: PROSEMINAR ASIAN STUDIES

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Targeted to be the MA gateway course. This course covers a broad range of topics and debates which have marked the tradition of Asian Studies as well as contemporary scholarship. As the course will cover areas and topics beyond students' immediate thesis subjects, it will equip students with the breath of reference points befitting a graduate degree holder in Asian Studies. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

ASIA 521 - ADVANCED READING AND WRITING IN ASIAN STUDIES

Short Title: ADV ASIAN READING & WRITING

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 4

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This course requires students to closely read and thoroughly comprehend a substantial amount of text written in Asian language(s). By so doing, the course will help students to: 1) refine translation and comprehension skills and 2) understand how to select and logically reference Asian-language texts for their research. Instructor Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

ASIA 531 - ASIAN STUDIES METHODOLOGY SEMINAR I

Short Title: METHODOLOGY SEMINAR I

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: The purpose of this course is to 1) introduce students to a wide range of humanistic and social scientific research methods and their theoretical implications, and 2) offer students practice in a method of their own choice on a mini-research practicum. Department Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

ASIA 532 - ASIAN STUDIES METHODOLOGY SEMINAR II

Short Title: METHODOLOGY SEMINAR II

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: The purpose of this course is to 1) introduce students to a wide range of humanistic and social scientific research methods and their theoretical implications, and 2) offer students practice in a method of their own choice on a mini-research practicum. Department Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

ASIA 537 - SOUTH ASIAN RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPES

Short Title: S ASIAN RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPES

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This course explores South Asian religions through topics of geography, landscape, and space, investigating concepts such as nationhood, architecture, pilgrimage, and diaspora. Broadly examining primary texts, ethnographies, and works of art, we discuss the experiences, practices, and histories of Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism across Asia and beyond. The graduate course requires the final research paper to be about twice as long as the final research paper in the undergraduate course (5,000 vs. 2,100-2,700 words). Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: ASIA 337. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for ASIA 537 if student has credit for ASIA 337.

ASIA 541 - THESIS RESEARCH IN ASIAN STUDIES

Short Title: THESIS RESEARCH: ASIAN STUDIES

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Research

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: This course is designed to guide students to identify the most optimal topic of research/thesis proportionate to their interest as well as ability, Department Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

ASIA 551 - ASIAN STUDIES GRADUATE SEMINAR

Short Title: ASIAN STUDIES GRADUATE SEMINAR

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: In this course, students will learn to present their research in an exciting broadly persuasive manner to a mixed audience. Department Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

ASIA 556 - GENOMIC GOVERNANCE IN ASIA

Short Title: GENOMIC GOVERNANCE IN ASIA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: What are the genomic sciences and what impact are they having upon society? This course explores the impact of genomics—the study of genes and their functions—on society with a particular emphasis on India, China, and the U.S. where technological advances have outpaced regulatory oversight and social debate. The course develops skills to think critically about how genomics is reshaping the relationship between self and society, and the very nature of the social itself. This graduate course requires the final research paper to be about twice as long as the final research paper in the equivalent undergraduate course (10,000 vs. 5,000 words). Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: ASIA 356.

ASIA 557 - ALGORITHMIC CULTURES IN ASIA

Short Title: ALGORITHMIC CULTURES IN ASIA

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Algorithms are a series of step by step instructions in a procedure that finishes and which is shown to work in all cases. This course addresses the formation of algorithmic cultures through the domains of digitality and ontology in South Asia and the Middle East. It introduces students to the concepts of algorithmic neutrality, discrimination, management and governance. The course explores how deep-learning algorithms may undergird an intensification of surveillance and securitization technologies with profound effects on human and post-human futures. The graduate course requires the final research paper to be about twice as long as the final research paper in the undergraduate course (10,000 vs. 5,000 words). Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: ASIA 357.

ASIA 561 - THESIS WRITING: INDEPENDENT STUDY IN ASIAN STUDIES

Short Title: THESIS WRITINGS: IND STUDY

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Independent Study

Credit Hours: 6

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: A continuation of ASIA 541, this course is designed to guide students in writing a complete thesis on their chosen topic proportionate to their interest as well as ability. Department Permission Required. Repeatable for Credit.

ASIA 677 - SPECIAL TOPICS

Short Title: SPECIAL TOPICS

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Internship/Practicum, Laboratory, Lecture, Seminar, Independent Study, Lecture/Laboratory, Research

Credit Hours: 1-4

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate or Visiting Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: Topics and credit hours vary each semester. Contact department for current semester's topic(s). Repeatable for Credit.

ASIA 695 - ASIAN STUDIES RESEARCH SEMINAR

Short Title: ASIAN STUDIES RESEARCH SEM

Department: Asian Studies

Grade Mode: Standard Letter

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Hours: 3

Restrictions: Enrollment is limited to Graduate level students.

Course Level: Graduate

Description: To elevate the knowledge on Asia acquired by AS majors in their undergraduate years to a graduate level with more depth and focus, and to train AS majors in designing and executing their original research and offer them an opportunity to produce a substantial research paper based on bibliographic research and other forms of data-gathering. In 695 (vs. 495), students will be assigned one additional reading per week throughout the semester. Department Permission Required. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: ASIA 495. Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for ASIA 695 if student has credit for ASIA 495. Repeatable for Credit.

Description and Code Legend

Note: Internally, the university uses the following descriptions, codes, and abbreviations for this academic program. The following is a quick reference:  

Course Catalog/Schedule 

  • Course offerings/subject: ASIA

Department (or Program) Description and Code

  • Asian Studies: ASIA

Undergraduate Degree Description and Code 

  • Bachelor of Arts degree: BA

Undergraduate Major Description and Code

  • Major in Asian Studies: ASIA 

Undergraduate Minor Description and Code

  • Minor in Asian Studies: ASIM

CIP Code and Description1

  • ASIA Major/Program: CIP Code/Title: 05.0103 - Asian Studies/Civilization
  • ASIM Minor: CIP Code/Title: 05.0103 - Asian Studies/Civilization