CEAS Courses 2023-2024

This list is subject to modification.

Some of the information contained here may have changed since the time of publication. Always check with the department under which the course is listed or on Yale University Course Search to make sure that the courses you are interested in are still being offered and that the times have not changed.

If you have questions about any of the courses listed here, please contact the offering department directly.

ANTH 213, EAST 313

Contemporary Japan and the Ghosts of Modernity

Yukiko Koga
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

This course introduces students to contemporary Japan, examining how its defeat in the Second World War and loss of empire in 1945 continue to shape Japanese culture and society. Looking especially at the sphere of cultural production, it focuses on the question of what it means to be modern as expressed through the tension between resurgent neonationalism and the aspiration to internationalize. The course charts how the legacy of Japan’s imperial failure plays a significant role in its search for renewal and identity since 1945. How, it asks, does the experience of catastrophic failure—and failure to account for that failure—play into continued aspirations for modernity today? How does Japanese society wrestle with modernity’s two faces: its promise for progress and its history of catastrophic violence? The course follows the trajectory of Japan’s postwar nation-state development after the dissolution of empire, from its resurrection out of the ashes after defeat, to its identity as a US ally and economic superpower during the Cold War, to decades of recession since the 1990s and the search for new relations with its neighbors and new reckonings with its own imperial violence and postwar inactions against the background of rising neonationalism. 

Instructor permission required.

Japan

ANTH 324, EAST 324

Politics of Memory

Yukiko Koga
T 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

This course explores the role of memory as a social, cultural, and political force in contemporary society. How societies remember difficult pasts has become a contested site for negotiating the present. Through the lens of memory, we examine complex roles that our relationships to difficult pasts play in navigating issues we face today. This course explores this politics of memory that takes place in the realm of popular culture and public space. The class asks such questions as: How do you represent difficult and contested pasts? What does it mean to enable long-silenced victims’ voices to be heard? What are the consequences of re-narrating the past by highlighting past injuries and trauma? Does memory work heal or open wounds of a society and a nation? Through examples drawn from the Holocaust, the atomic bombing in Hiroshima, the Vietnam War, genocide in Indonesia and massacres in Lebanon, to debates on confederacy statues, slavery, and lynching in the US, this course approaches these questions through an anthropological exploration of concepts such as memory, trauma, mourning, silence, voice, testimony, and victimhood. 

Instructor permission required.

Japan, Transregional

ANTH 342, EAST 346

Cultures and Markets in Asia

Helen Siu
M 9:25 AM - 11:15 AM
Fall

Historical and contemporary movements of people, goods, and cultural meanings that have defined Asia as a region. Reexamination of state-centered conceptualizations of Asia and of established boundaries in regional studies. The intersections of transregional institutions and local societies and their effects on trading empires, religious traditions, colonial encounters, and cultural fusion. Finance flows that connect East Asia and the Indian Ocean to the Middle East and Africa. The cultures of capital and market in the neoliberal and postsocialist world.

Instructor permission required.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

ANTH 362

Unity and Diversity in Chinese Culture

Helen Siu
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

An exploration of the Chinese identity as it has been reworked over the centuries. Major works in Chinese anthropology and their intellectual connections with general anthropology and historical studies. Topics include kinship and marriage, marketing systems, rituals and popular religion, ethnicity and state making, and the cultural nexus of power.

Instructor permission required.

China

ANTH 414, EAST 417

Hubs, Mobilities, and World Cities

Helen Siu
T 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

Analysis of urban life in historical and contemporary societies. Topics include capitalist and postmodern transformations; class, gender, ethnicity, and migration; and global landscapes of power and citizenship.

Instructor permission required. This course meets during reading period.

China, Transregional

ANTH 415

Culture, History, Power, and Representation

Helen Siu
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

This seminar critically explores how anthropologists use contemporary social theories to formulate the junctures of meaning, interest, and power. It thus aims to integrate symbolic, economic, and political perspectives on culture and social process. If culture refers to the understandings and meanings by which people live, then it constitutes the conventions of social life that are themselves produced in the flux of social life, invented by human activity. Theories of culture must therefore illuminate this problematic of agency and structure. They must show how social action can both reproduce and transform the structures of meaning, the conventions of social life. Even as such a position becomes orthodox in anthropology, it raises serious questions about the possibilities for ethnographic practice and theoretical analysis. How, for example, are such conventions generated and transformed where there are wide differentials of power and unequal access to resources? What becomes of our notions of humans as active agents of culture when the possibilities for maneuver and the margin of action for many are overwhelmed by the constraints of a few? How do elites—ritual elders, Brahmanic priests, manorial lords, factory-managers—secure compliance to a normative order? How are expressions of submission and resistance woven together in a fabric of cultural understandings? How does a theory of culture enhance our analyses of the reconstitution of political authority from traditional kingship to modern nation-state, the encapsulation of pre-capitalist modes of production, and the attempts to convert “primordial sentiments” to “civic loyalties”? How do transnational fluidities and diasporic connections make instruments of nation-states contingent? These questions are some of the questions we immediately face when probing the intersections of culture, politics and representation, and they are the issues that lie behind this seminar. 

Instructor permission required.

China, Japan, Transregional

ANTH 515, EAST 515

Culture, History, Power, and Representation

Helen Siu
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

This seminar critically explores how anthropologists use contemporary social theories to formulate the junctures of meaning, interest, and power. It thus aims to integrate symbolic, economic, and political perspectives on culture and social process. If culture refers to the understandings and meanings by which people live, then it constitutes the conventions of social life that are themselves produced in the flux of social life, invented by human activity. Theories of culture must therefore illuminate this problematic of agency and structure. They must show how social action can both reproduce and transform the structures of meaning, the conventions of social life. Even as such a position becomes orthodox in anthropology, it raises serious questions about the possibilities for ethnographic practice and theoretical analysis. How, for example, are such conventions generated and transformed where there are wide differentials of power and unequal access to resources? What becomes of our notions of humans as active agents of culture when the possibilities for maneuver and the margin of action for many are overwhelmed by the constraints of a few? How do elites—ritual elders, Brahmanic priests, manorial lords, factory-managers—secure compliance to a normative order? How are expressions of submission and resistance woven together in a fabric of cultural understandings? How does a theory of culture enhance our analyses of the reconstitution of political authority from traditional kingship to modern nation-state, the encapsulation of pre-capitalist modes of production, and the attempts to convert “primordial sentiments” to “civic loyalties”? How do transnational fluidities and diasporic connections make instruments of nation-states contingent? These questions are some of the questions we immediately face when probing the intersections of culture, politics and representation, and they are the issues that lie behind this seminar.

Instructor permission required.

China, Japan, Transregional

ANTH 542, EAST 546

Cultures and Markets: Asia Connected through Time and Space

Helen Siu
M 9:25 AM - 11:15 AM
Fall

Historical and contemporary movements of people, goods, and cultural meanings that have defined Asia as a region. Reexamination of state-centered conceptualizations of Asia and of established boundaries in regional studies. The intersections of transregional institutions and local societies and their effects on trading empires, religious traditions, colonial encounters, and cultural fusion. Finance flows that connect East Asia and the Indian Ocean to the Middle East and Africa. The cultures of capital and market in the neoliberal and postsocialist world.

Instructor permission required.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional, South Asia

ANTH 562

Unity and Diversity in Chinese Culture

Helen Siu
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

An exploration of the Chinese identity as it has been reworked over the centuries. Major works in Chinese anthropology and their intellectual connections with general anthropology and historical studies. Topics include kinship and marriage, marketing systems, rituals and popular religion, ethnicity and state making, and the cultural nexus of power.

Instructor permission required.

China

ANTH 575, EAST 575

Hubs, Mobilities, and World Cities

Helen Siu
T 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

Analysis of urban life in historical and contemporary societies. Topics include capitalist and postmodern transformations, class, gender, ethnicity, migration, and global landscapes of power and citizenship.

Instructor permission required.

China, Transregional

ANTH 759, ARCG 759

Social Complexity in Ancient China

Anne Underhill
T 9:25 AM - 11:15 AM
Fall

This seminar explores the variety of archaeological methods and theoretical approaches that have been employed to investigate the development and nature of social complexity in ancient China. The session meetings focus on the later prehistoric and early historic periods, and several geographic regions are included. They also consider how developments in ancient China compare to other areas of the world. Most of the readings emphasize archaeological remains, although relevant information from early historical texts is considered.

China

ARCH 3240

Spatial Concepts of Japan

Yoko Kawai
W 2:00 PM - 3:50 PM
Fall

This seminar explores the origins and developments of Japanese spatial concepts and surveys how they help form the contemporary architecture, ways of life, and cities of the country. Many Japanese spatial concepts, such as MA, are about creating time-space distances and relationship between objects, people, space, and experiences. These concepts go beyond the fabric of a built structure, and encompass architecture, landscape, and city. Each class is designed around one or two Japanese words that signify particular design concepts. Each week, a lecture on the word(s) with its design features, backgrounds, historical examples, and contemporary application is followed by student discussion. Contemporary works studied include those by Maki, Isozaki, Ando, Ito, SANAA, and Fujimoto. The urbanism and landscape of Tokyo and Kyoto are discussed. Students are required to make in-class presentations and write a final paper. 

Limited enrollment

Japan

CHNS 110

Elementary Modern Chinese I


M,T,W,Th,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Fall

Intended for students with no background in Chinese. An intensive course with emphasis on spoken language and drills. Pronunciation, grammatical analysis, conversation practice, and introduction to reading and writing Chinese characters.

This course meets during reading period.

China

CHNS 112

Elementary Modern Chinese for Heritage Speakers


M,T,W,Th,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Fall

First level of the advanced learner sequence. Intended for students with some aural proficiency but very limited ability in reading and writing Chinese. Training in listening and speaking, with emphasis on reading and writing.

Placement confirmed by placement test and by instructor.

China

CHNS 120

Elementary Modern Chinese II


M,T,W,Th,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Spring

Continuation of CHNS 110.

After CHNS 110 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

China

CHNS 122

Elementary Modern Chinese for Heritage Speakers


M,T,W,Th,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Spring

Continuation of CHNS 112.

After CHNS 112 or equivalent

China

CHNS 130

Intermediate Modern Chinese I


M,T,W,Th,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Fall

An intermediate course that continues intensive training in listening, speaking, reading, and writing and consolidates achievements from the first year of study. Students improve oral fluency, study more complex grammatical structures, and enlarge both reading and writing vocabulary.

After CHNS 120 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

China

CHNS 132

Intermediate Modern Chinese for Heritage Speakers


M,T,W,Th,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Fall

The second level of the advanced learner sequence. Intended for students with intermediate oral proficiency and elementary reading and writing proficiency. Students receive intensive training in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, supplemented by audio and video materials. The objective of the course is to balance these four skills and work toward attaining an advanced level in all of them.

After CHNS 122 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

China

CHNS 140

Intermediate Modern Chinese II


M,T,W,Th,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Spring

Continuation of CHNS 130. To be followed by CHNS 150.

After CHNS 130 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

China

CHNS 142

Intermediate Modern Chinese for Heritage Speakers


M,T,W,Th,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Spring

Continuation of CHNS 132.

After CHNS 132 or equivalent.

China

CHNS 150

Advanced Modern Chinese I


M,W,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Fall

Third level of the standard foundational sequence of modern Chinese, with study in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Use of audiovisual materials, oral presentations, skits, and longer and more frequent writing assignments to assimilate more sophisticated grammatical structures. Further introduction to a wide variety of written forms and styles. Use of both traditional and simplified forms of Chinese characters.

After CHNS 140 or equivalent.

China

CHNS 151

Advanced Modern Chinese II


M,W,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Spring

Continuation of CHNS 150.

After CHNS 150 or equivalent.

China

CHNS 152

Advanced Modern Chinese for Heritage Speakers


M,W,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Fall

This course is intended for heritage speakers with intermediate high to advanced low speaking and listening skills and with intermediate reading and writing skills. The class follows CHNS 142 in the heritage track. The goal of the course is to help students effectively expand their skills in reading and writing while concurrently addressing the need to improve their listening and oral skills in formal environments. The materials cover a variety of topics relating to Chinese culture, society, and cultural differences, supplemented with authentic video materials. 

After CHNS 142 or equivalent.

China

CHNS 153

Advanced Modern Chinese for Heritage Speakers


M,W,F 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Spring

This course is intended for heritage speakers at the low advanced level with advanced low speaking and listening skills and with intermediate high to advanced low reading and writing proficiency. This course follows CHNS 152 in the heritage track. The goal of the course is to help students effectively expand their skills in reading and writing while concurrently addressing the need to improve their listening and oral skills in formal environments. The materials cover a variety of topics relating to Chinese culture, society, and cultural differences, supplemented with authentic video materials.

After CHNS 152 or equivalent.

China

CHNS 156

Advanced Modern Chinese through Film for Heritage Speakers

Ninghui Liang
T,Th 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM or MW 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Fall

This course is designed to consolidate students’ grasp of the language through the use of films, TV programs, videos on social media, and authentic written materials. Activities include presentations, group discussions, written assignments, and projects. Open to heritage learners with intermediate to advanced oral proficiency and intermediate-low reading and writing proficiency. 

After CHNS 142 or equivalent.

China

CHNS 157

Advanced Modern Chinese through Film for Heritage Speakers

Ninghui Liang
T,Th 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Spring

This course is designed to consolidate students’ grasp of the language through the use of films, TV programs, videos on social media, and authentic written materials. Activities include presentations, group discussions, written assignments, and projects. Open to heritage learners with intermediate to advanced oral proficiency and intermediate-low reading and writing proficiency. 

After CHNS 142 or equivalent.

China

CHNS 158

Advanced Modern Chinese III through Films and Stories

Yongtao Zhang
M,W,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Fall

Fourth level of the standard foundational sequence of modern Chinese, with study in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Readings in a wide range of subjects form the basis of discussion and other activities. Students consolidate their skills, especially speaking proficiency, at an advanced level. Materials use both simplified and traditional characters.

After CHNS 151 or equivalent

China

CHNS 159

Advanced Modern Chinese IV through Films and Stories


M,W,F 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Spring

Continuation of CHNS 158.

After CHNS 158 or equivalent.

China

CHNS 162

Advanced Chinese through History, Culture, and Arts

Rongzhen Li
MWF 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Fall

This course is intended for both heritage and non heritage learners with advanced proficiency. Students develop sophisticated language skills through working with authentic written materials, images, and videos concerning historical events, historical figures, artists, writers, and philosophers. Activities include working with translation tools, discussions, debates, presentations, oral and written exercises on platforms such as Playposit and Perusall, and collaborative projects. 

After CHNS 153, CHNS 157, CHNS 159, or equivalent.

China

CHNS 163

Advanced Chinese through History, Culture, and Arts

Rongzhen Li
T,Th 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Spring

This course is intended for both heritage and non heritage learners with advanced proficiency. Students develop sophisticated language skills through working with authentic written materials, images, and videos concerning historical events, historical figures, artists, writers, and philosophers. Activities include working with translation tools, discussions, debates, presentations, oral and written exercises on platforms such as Playposit and Perusall, and collaborative projects.

After CHNS 153, CHNS 157, CHNS 159, or equivalent.

China

CHNS 164

Chinese for Reading Contemporary Fiction

Wei Su
MW 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM or T,Th 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Fall

Selected readings in Chinese fiction of the 1980s and 1990s. Development of advanced language skills in reading, speaking, and writing for students with an interest in literature and literary criticism.

After CHNS 155, 162, or equivalent.

China

CHNS 165

Readings in Modern Chinese Fiction

Wei Su
T,Th 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Spring

We read and discuss modern short stories, most written prior to 1949, for the purpose of developing advanced language skills in reading, speaking, and writing. 

After CHNS 153, 157, 159, or equivalent.

China

CHNS 166

Chinese for Current Affairs

William Zhou
MW 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM or T,Th 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Fall

Advanced language course with a focus on speaking and writing in formal styles. Current affairs are used as a vehicle to help students learn advanced vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, complex sentence structures, news writing styles and formal stylistic register. Materials include texts and videos selected from news media worldwide to improve students’ language proficiency for sophisticated communications on a wide range of topics. 

After CHNS 153, 157, or 159

China

CHNS 167

Chinese for Current Affairs


MW 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM or MW 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Spring

Advanced language course with a focus on speaking and writing in formal styles. Current affairs are used as a vehicle to help students learn advanced vocabulary, idiomatic expressions, complex sentence structures, news writing styles and formal stylistic register. Materials include texts and videos selected from news media worldwide to improve students’ language proficiency for sophisticated communications on a wide range of topics. 

After CHNS 153, 157, or 159

China

CHNS 168

Chinese for Global Enterprises

Min Chen
M,W 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Fall

Advanced language course with a focus on Chinese business terminology and discourse. Discussion of China’s economic and management reforms, marketing, economic laws, business culture and customs, and economic relations with other countries. Case studies from international enterprises that have successfully entered the Chinese market.

After CHNS 153, 157, 159 or equivalent.

China

CHNS 169

Chinese for Global Enterprises

Min Chen
M,W 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Spring

Advanced language course with a focus on Chinese business terminology and discourse. Discussion of China’s economic and management reforms, marketing, economic laws, business culture and customs, and economic relations with other countries. Case studies from international enterprises that have successfully entered the Chinese market.

After CHNS 153, 157, 159 or equivalent.

China

CHNS 170

Introduction to Literary Chinese I

Pauline Lin
T,Th 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Fall

Reading and interpretation of texts in various styles of literary Chinese (wenyan), with attention to basic problems of syntax and literary style.

Course conducted in English. After CHNS 151, CHNS 153, CHNS 157 or equivalent.

China

CHNS 171

Introduction to Literary Chinese II

Pauline Lin
MW 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Spring

Continuation of CHNS 170.

After CHNS 170 or equivalent

China

CHNS 172

Chinese for Scholarly Conversation

Jianhua Shen
M,W 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM
Fall

This course aims to bring students to advanced competence in all aspects of modern Chinese, and prepare students for advanced research or employment in a variety of China-related fields. Materials include readings on contemporary social, cultural, and political issues, which are written by prominent scholar writers in related fields. This level is suitable for students who have had four years of college Chinese prior to attending, or who have taken three years of an accelerated program meant for heritage speakers. 

Prerequisite: CHNS 155, 157, 159 or equivalent, or permission of instructor.

China

CHNS 570

Introduction to Literary Chinese I

Pauline Lin
T,Th 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Fall

Reading and interpretation of texts in various styles of literary Chinese (wenyan), with attention to basic problems of syntax and literary style.

After CHNS 151, 153 or equivalent. Instructor permission required.

China

CHNS 571

Introduction to Literary Chinese II

Pauline Lin
MW 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Spring

Continuation of CHNS 570.

After CHNS 570 or equivalent. Instructor permission required.

China

CPLT 612, EALL 588, EAST 616, RSEE 605, RUSS 605

Socialist '80s: Aesthetics of Reform in China and the Soviet Union

Jinyi Chu
M 3:30 PM - 5:20 PM
Fall

This course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of the complex cultural and political paradigms of late socialism from a transnational perspective by focusing on the literature, cinema, and popular culture of the Soviet Union and China in 1980s. How were intellectual and everyday life in the Soviet Union and China distinct from and similar to that of the West of the same era? How do we parse “the cultural logic of late socialism?” What can today’s America learn from it? Examining two major socialist cultures together in a global context, this course queries the ethnographic, ideological, and socio-economic constituents of late socialism. Students analyze cultural materials in the context of Soviet and Chinese history. Along the way, we explore themes of identity, nationalism, globalization, capitalism, and the Cold War. 

Students with knowledge of Russian and Chinese are encouraged to read in original. All readings are available in English.

China, Transregional

CPSC 190, EAST 201

Decentering Computer Science: Transpacific Computing History across U.S., East Asia, and Beyond

Yoehan Oh
T,Th 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Spring

Escalating conflicts between China, Taiwan, and the U.S. are mediated in part by semiconductor manufacturing and their advanced uses, like artificial intelligence. Inquiries into the transpacific history of computer science (CS) can teach us that these relationships have been much more dynamic than ‘Friend or Foe,’ and have shaped CS in various ways. When cutting-edge computing capabilities are at the forefront of national interests, studying CS and U.S.-Asia relations should no longer be separate intellectual tasks, and multi-view perspectives are needed to understand both processes. This seminar discusses decentered, international history of CS. We focus on the transpacific relations between the United States and East Asian countries, including Asian diasporas in North America. The course focuses on CS research and engineering, with less emphasis on (anti-)social implications such as mis/dis-information and data privacy. The subjects of study include: China-born first-generation digital computer pioneers; digitizing Asian characters; developing transpacific networks of computers and labor; transpacific works in building CS fundamentals. The course culminates with current moods of exclusionism, trade protectionism, and ‘friendshoring’ across Asia-Pacific regions.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

EALL 200, CHNS 200, EAST 240, HUMS 270

The Chinese Tradition

Tina Lu
M,W 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Fall

An introduction to the literature, culture, and thought of premodern China, from the beginnings of the written record to the turn of the twentieth century. Close study of textual and visual primary sources, with attention to their historical and cultural backdrops.

Students enrolled in CHNS 200 join a weekly Mandarin-language discussion section. No knowledge of Chinese required for students enrolled in EALL 200. Students enrolled in CHNS 200 must have L5 proficiency in Mandarin or permission of the course instructor.

China

EALL 203, HUMS 284, LITR 198

The Tale of Genji

James Scanlon-Canegata
T,Th 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM
Fall

A reading of the central work of prose fiction in the Japanese classical tradition in its entirety (in English translation) along with some examples of predecessors, parodies, and adaptations (the latter include Noh plays and twentieth-century short stories). Topics of discussion include narrative form, poetics, gendered authorship and readership, and the processes and premises that have given The Tale of Genji its place in “world literature.” Attention will also be given to the text’s special relationship to visual culture.

No knowledge of Japanese required. A previous college-level course in the study of literary texts is recommended but not required.

Japan

EALL 205, EAST 306, EVST 205, HSAR 477, HUMS 181

The Culture of Landscape in China

Pauline Lin
T,Th 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Spring

An introduction to Chinese philosophical, poetic, and visual explorations of landscape and the changing relationship between human beings and nature. Through texts, archaeological materials, visual and material culture, and garden designs from the 2nd c. BCE to modern times, we learn about the Chinese conception of the world, relationship to and experiences in nature, and shaping of the land through agriculture, imperial parks, and garden designs. We conclude with contemporary environmental issues confronting China, and how contemporary parks can help regenerate our ecosystem.

China

EALL 224

History of the Japanese Language

James Scanlon-Canegata
T,Th 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Spring

This course traces the history of the Japanese language from earliest times to the present through readings on the linguistic and orthographic changes it underwent through its history. The course introduces the basics of phonology and morphology, structural analysis and glossing of Japanese, as well as the development of the phonetic and exegetical writing systems, man’yōgana and kundoku. Readings and discussions include major theories of the origins and history of the Japanese language, as well as significant developments in the social and cultural meanings behind the linguistic study of Japanese in later periods.

The majority of readings will be in English, but students should have some familiarity with modern Japanese. An advanced level of reading knowledge, however, is not required. Background in linguistics is also helpful but not required.

Japan

EALL 230, EAST 242, HUMS 269, LITR 238

Poetry and Ethics Amidst Imperial Collapse

Lucas Bender
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

Du Fu has for the last millennium been considered China’s greatest poet. Close study of nearly one-sixth of his complete works, contextualized by selections from the tradition that defined the art in his age. Exploration of the roles literature plays in interpreting human lives and the ways different traditional forms shape different ethical orientation. Poetry as a vehicle for moral reflection. 

All readings are in English. Instructor permission required.

China

EALL 253, MUSI 494, THST 218

Remapping Dance

Amanda Reid, Ameera Nimjee, Rosa van Hensbergen
T 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

What does it mean to be at home in a body? What does it mean to move freely, and what kinds of bodies are granted that right? How is dance encoded as bodies move between various sites? In this team-taught class, we remap the field of dance through its migratory routes to understand how movement is shaped by the connections and frictions of ever-changing communities. As three dance scholars, bringing specialisms in West Indian dance, South Asian dance, and East Asian dance, we are looking to decenter the ways in which dance is taught, both in what we teach and in the ways we teach. Many of the dancers we follow create art inspired by migration, exile, and displacement (both within and beyond the nation) to write new histories of political belonging. Others trace migratory routes through mediums, ideologies, and technologies. The course is structured around four units designed to invite the remapping of dance through its many spaces of creativity: The Archive, The Studio, The Field, and The Stage. Throughout, we explore how different ideas of virtuosity, risk, precarity, radicalism, community, and solidarity are shaped by space and place. We rethink how local dance economies are governed by world markets and neoliberal funding models and ask how individual bodies can intervene in these global systems. 

No dance background is required, but students have the opportunity to take part in some accessible movement practice. Instructor permission required.

Transregional

EALL 259

What Happened to Socialism-Chinese Cinema and Society, 1905-2015

Tian Li
M 3:30 PM - 5:20 PM
Spring

What happened to socialism? This course offers an in-depth exploration of this question through the lens of Chinese cinema, from its early days in the early 20th century to the contemporary era. Students examine China’s social, political, and cultural transformations, from heteronomy to autonomy, and the ideological transition from socialism to postsocialism. Is socialism with Chinese characteristics interchangeable with capitalism with Chinese characteristics? What impact has revolutionary politics had on Chinese cinema? What is feminism with Chinese characteristics? How do the radical transformations that occurred in China during the 1980s and 1990s manifest in the aesthetics and narratives of Chinese films? How have spatial consciousness and construction of images informed filmmaking in China? How are the sentiments of alienation, disconnection, and displacement depicted in Chinese films? Does globalization bring us closer together or push us towards solitude? The course explores these questions by delving into the cultural dynamics of China’s changing identities and ideologies in response to its integration into capitalist globalization. Topics include the evolution of Chinese film generations, cultural politics, postsocialist decay, aesthetics and method of seeing, kinship and love, violence and solitude, fragmentation and disconnection, and feminism with Chinese characteristics in Chinese films. Students critically analyze films by renowned Chinese directors such as Xie Jin, Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, Jia Zhangke, Lou Ye, Zhang Yimou, and Huang Shuqin. 

All films have English subtitles and course readings are in English, while the dialogue in the films is in Chinese (Mandarin or local dialects). All films are screened with English subtitles.

China

EALL 265, EAST 253, LITR 251

Japanese Literature after 1970

Rosa van Hensbergen
MW 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Spring

This course is an introduction to Japanese literature written in the last fifty years, with a focus on women writers. We read poetry and prose featuring mothers, daughters, and lovers, novels that follow convenience and thrift store workers, and poetry about factory girls. Our reading takes us from the daily grind of contemporary Tokyo to dystopian futures, from 1970s suburbia to surreal dreamscapes. We attend carefully to the ways in which different writers craft their works and, in particular, to their representation of feelings and affects. Whether the dull ache of loneliness, the oppression of boredom or the heavy weight of fatigue, it is often something about the mood of a work–rather than its narrative–that leaves a distinct impression. We develop the tools to analyze and discuss this sense of distinctness, as well as discover ways to stage connections and comparisons between the works we read. 

Permission of instructor required.

Japan

EALL 267

Japan's Global Modernisms: 1880-1980

Rosa van Hensbergen
MW 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Fall

This course is an introduction to Japanese literature from the 1880s to 1980s. Our reading is guided by a different “ism” each week, from 19th-century eroticism and exoticism, through mid-century cosmopolitanism and colonialism, to second-wave feminism and existentialism in the wake of World War II. These distinct moments in the development of Japanese modernism (modanizumu) are shaped by encounters with foreign cultures, and by the importing of foreign ideas and vogues. All the same, we question—along with modernist writer Yu Ryutanji—the “critique that says modanizumu is nothing more than the latest display of imported cosmetics” (1930). We seek to develop a correspondingly nuanced picture of the specific and changing ways in which Japan understood and figured its relationship to the rest of the world through the course of a century.

All readings will be in translation, however there will be an opportunity to read short stories in the original language.

Japan

EALL 269

Topics in Modern Korean Literature

Kyunghee Eo
T,Th 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Fall

In this course, students read key works of Korean literature in English translation from the early twentieth century to the present day. The specific course topic varies by semester. Primary sources include long-form novels, short stories, poetry, and nonfiction writing by representative authors, as well as literary scholarship on themes and historical context relevant to the materials. The readings in this course are arranged in roughly chronological order, requiring us to examine Korea’s colonial modernization process in the first half of the twentieth century, the authoritarian regimes of South Korea from 1948 to 87, and South Korea’s integration into the neoliberal world order after democratization. Supplementary audio-visual materials such as artwork, video clips and music may be presented to students in class.

All class materials are in English translation, and no previous knowledge of Korean language is required.

Korea

EALL 274

Gender and Sexuality in Korean Literature and Film

Kyunghee Eo
T 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

In this course, students explore how cultural representations of gender and sexuality in Korea and the Korean diaspora have changed over the twentieth century. Primary sources include literary texts, narrative and documentary films, as well as scholarship on themes and historical context relevant to the materials. We begin by exploring how gendered selfhood in Korea was constructed in relation to the colonial modernization process in the first half of the twentieth century. We then move onto stories of how women and men survived the Cold War, developmentalist, and dictatorial regimes of South Korea from 1945 to 87. In the last segment of the course, we focus our attention to voices from the contemporary moment, to examine how present-day Koreans of various gender and sexual identities contend with the challenges of an increasingly neoliberalizing social order. 

All class materials are in English translation, and no previous knowledge of Korean language is required.

Korea

EALL 281, FILM 304

Japanese Cinema and Its Others

Aaron Gerow
MW 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Spring

Critical inquiry into the myth of a homogeneous Japan through analysis of how Japanese film and media historically represents “others” of different races, ethnicities, nationalities, genders, and sexualities, including blacks, ethnic Koreans, Okinawans, Ainu, undocumented immigrants, LGBT minorities, the disabled, youth, and monstrous others like ghosts. 

Japan

EALL 288, EAST 316, LITR 303, RUSS 316, RSEE 316

Socialist '80s: Aesthetics of Reform in China and the Soviet Union

Jinyi Chu
M 3:30 PM - 5:20 PM
Fall

This course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to the study of the complex cultural and political paradigms of late socialism from a transnational perspective by focusing on the literature, cinema, and popular culture of the Soviet Union and China in 1980s. How were intellectual and everyday life in the Soviet Union and China distinct from and similar to that of the West of the same era? How do we parse “the cultural logic of late socialism?” What can today’s America learn from it? Examining two major socialist cultures together in a global context, this course queries the ethnographic, ideological, and socio-economic constituents of late socialism. Students analyze cultural materials in the context of Soviet and Chinese history. Along the way, we explore themes of identity, nationalism, globalization, capitalism, and the Cold War.

Students with knowledge of Russian and Chinese are encouraged to read in original languages. All readings are available in English.

China

EALL 298, EAST 302, FILM 345

Politics of East Asian Digital Media Culture

Tian Li
M 9:25 AM - 11:15 AM
Spring

East Asian digital media culture, ranging from cinema, television, musical video, to online games, has (re)shaped the global and national/regional imaginings of East Asia. The Post-Cold War intensification of intra-Asian interactions has precipitated the rise of a Pan-Asian regional identity wherein the nation-state is not yet obsolete. What role does screen culture play in the border-crossing interplay among languages, ideologies, aesthetics, and affect? How do we understand the storytelling and politics of East Asian screen cultures in relation to its historical and social context? How does screen culture capture local/global desires in a digital time? Within the contemporary media ecologies, how does screen culture create an audiovisual relation that traverses screen and actuality? How do screen culture continue to push forward the history of transformation of sign system from the written words to visual moving images in the contemporary sensory over-loaded world of screens. This course deals with issues of (trans)nationalism, (un)translatability, locality and globality, (post)modernity, virtuality and actuality, and politics of gender. Students learn how to think and write about screen cultures of East Asia in particular and of contemporary screen culture in general.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

EALL 300, EAST 340

Sinological Methods

Pauline Lin
F 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

A research course in Chinese studies, designed for students with background in modern and literary Chinese. Explore and evaluate the wealth of primary sources and research tools available in China and in the West. For native speakers of Chinese, introduction to the secondary literature in English and instruction in writing professionally in English on topics about China. Topics include Chinese bibliographies; bibliophiles’ notes; specialized dictionaries; maps and geographical gazetteers; textual editions, variations and reliability of texts; genealogies and biographical sources; archaeological and visual materials; and major Chinese encyclopedias, compendia, and databases.

Prerequisite: CHNS 171 or equivalent. Instructor permission required.

China

EALL 308, PHIL 341

Sages of the Ancient World

Mick Hunter
MW 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Fall

Comparative survey of the embodiment and performance of wisdom by ancient sages. Distinctive features and common themes in discourses about wisdom from China, India, the Near East, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Topics include teaching, scheming, and dying.

China, Transregional

EALL 353

Studies in Korean Popular Culture

Kyunghee Eo
Th 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

This advanced seminar examines the dissemination, visibility, and prominence of Korean popular culture, both within and outside its national borders. We spend time exploring a wide variety of cultural forms such as music, film, television, fashion, performance, and new media from the early twentieth century to the present-day moment, focusing our attention to the following questions: How did Korean cultural values and historical experiences shape the content, style, and aesthetics of contemporary Korean popular culture? What is the ideological, economic, and socio-political function of popular culture in South Korea today? What makes Korean popular culture attractive to a global audience who are not necessarily familiar with the Korean language and culture? How do they embrace and smooth over linguistic and cultural differences in the process of consuming Korean cultural content? In answering these questions, we examine Korean popular culture in relation to major historical events that took place in Korea over the twentieth century such as Japanese occupation and the Korean War, as well as the military dictatorships, democratization and neoliberalization of South Korea. 

Students are not expected to be deeply familiar with Korean history, but some level of familiarity with Korean culture and language is helpful.

Korea

EALL 503

The Tale of Genji

James Scanlon-Canegata
T,Th 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM
Fall

A reading of the central work of prose fiction in the Japanese classical tradition in its entirety (in English translation) along with some examples of predecessors, parodies, and adaptations (the latter include Noh plays and twentieth-century short stories). Topics of discussion include narrative form, poetics, gendered authorship and readership, and the processes and premises that have given The Tale of Genji its place in world literature. Attention is also given to the text’s special relationship to visual culture. 

No knowledge of Japanese required. A previous college-level course in the study of literary texts is recommended but not required.

Japan

EALL 505

The Culture of Landscape in China

Pauline Lin
T,Th 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Spring

An introduction to Chinese philosophical, poetic, and visual explorations of landscape and the changing relationship between human beings and nature. Through texts, archaeological materials, visual and material culture, and garden designs from the second century BCE to modern times, we learn about the Chinese conception of the world; relationship to and experiences in nature; and shaping of the land through agriculture, imperial parks, and garden designs. We conclude with contemporary environmental issues confronting China and how contemporary parks can help regenerate our ecosystem.

China

EALL 507, CLSS 611, MUSI 507

Ancient Musical Thought from Homer to Confucius

Mick Hunter, Pauline LeVen
F 9:25 AM - 11:15 AM
Spring

Examines traditions of musical thought across ancient cultures with a particular focus on Greece (LeVen) and China (Hunter). How did ancient thinkers understand the place of music within society, the ideal state, and the cosmos? What role did musical training and connoisseurship play in education? What is the relationship between music and wisdom? And how do the answers to these questions inform comparative study? As the 2023–24 Archaia core seminar, this course is offered in conjunction with Archaia’s year-long Ancient Studies Workshop, through which students have the opportunity to learn from various experts in ancient musical thought.

China

EALL 523

Topics in Chinese Drama

Tina Lu
HTBA
Spring

We read a selection of Southern plays (also known as chuanqi) from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Discussions concern the formation of the genre, performance styles (including watching some kunqu), and the contents of the plays. Students produce a fifteen- to twenty-page research paper over the course of the semester. 

Prerequisite: ability to read Chinese (both classical and vernacular).

China

EALL 524

History of the Japanese Language

James Scanlon-Canegata
T,Th 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Spring

This course traces the history of the Japanese language from earliest times to the present through readings on the linguistic and orthographic changes it underwent through its history. The course introduces the basics of phonology and morphology, structural analysis and glossing of Japanese, as well as the development of the phonetic and exegetical writing systems, man’yōgana and kundoku. Readings and discussions include major theories of the origins and history of the Japanese language as well as significant developments in the social and cultural meanings behind the linguistic study of Japanese in later periods.

Prerequisite: reading fluency in Japanese.

Japan

EALL 530, CPLT 525, EAST 542

Poetry and Ethics Amidst Imperial Collapse

Lucas Bender
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

Du Fu has for the last millennium been considered China’s greatest poet. Close study of nearly one-sixth of his complete works, contextualized by selections from the tradition that defined the art in his age. Exploration of the roles literature plays in interpreting human lives and the ways different traditional forms shape different ethical orientation. Poetry as a vehicle for moral reflection. 

All readings are in English. Instructor permission required.

China

EALL 536

Japanese Poetry and Poetics

James Scanlon-Canegata
T,Th 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Spring

Core concepts and traditions of classical Japanese poetry explored through the medium of translation. Readings from anthologies and treatises of the ninth through early twentieth century. Attention to recent critical studies in transcultural poetic theory. Inspection and discussion of related artifacts in the Beinecke Library and the Yale Art Gallery.

Japan

EALL 565, EAST 553

Japanese Literature after 1970

Rosa van Hensbergen
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

This course is an introduction to Japanese literature written in the last fifty years, with a focus on women writers. We read poetry and prose featuring mothers, daughters, and lovers, novels that follow convenience and thrift store workers, and poetry about factory girls. Our reading takes us from the daily grind of contemporary Tokyo to dystopian futures, from 1970s suburbia to surreal dreamscapes. We attend carefully to the ways in which different writers craft their works and, in particular, to their representation of feelings and affects. Whether the dull ache of loneliness, the oppression of boredom, or the heavy weight of fatigue, it is often something about the mood of a work—rather than its narrative—that leaves a distinct impression. We develop the tools to analyze and discuss this sense of distinctness, as well as discover ways to stage connections and comparisons between the works we read. Comparative and creative perspectives are especially welcome, and assignments can accommodate a range of media and presentation formats to suit. No knowledge of Japan or Japanese is required, nor is any prior grounding in literature. For those wishing to work with Japanese-language materials, please contact the instructor directly to organize additional Japanese-language workshops.

No knowledge of Japan or Japanese is required, nor is any prior grounding in literature. For those wishing to work with Japanese-language materials, please contact the instructor directly to organize additional Japanese-language workshops.

Japan

EALL 567

Japan's Global Modernisms: 1880–1980

Rosa van Hensbergen
MW 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Fall

This course is an introduction to Japanese literature from the 1880s to 1980s. Our reading is guided by a different “ism” each week, from 19th-century eroticism and exoticism, through mid-century cosmopolitanism and colonialism, to second-wave feminism and existentialism in the wake of World War II. These distinct moments in the development of Japanese modernism (modanizumu) are shaped by encounters with foreign cultures and by the importing of foreign ideas and vogues. All the same, we question—along with modernist writer Yu Ryutanji—the “critique that says modanizumu is nothing more than the latest display of imported cosmetics” (1930). We seek to develop a correspondingly nuanced picture of the specific and changing ways in which Japan understood and figured its relationship to the rest of the world through the course of a century. Creative and comparative perspectives are especially welcome, and assignments can accommodate a range of media and presentation formats to suit.

There are no prerequisites for this course, beyond an enthusiasm for reading literature. All readings are in translation, however there is an opportunity to read short stories in the original language. To facilitate this, our second class each week is structured around break-out groups that allow students to focus on one of the following: (a) comparative works of Western literature, (b) works of Japanese literary theory, and (c) original-language short stories.

Japan

EALL 569

Topics in Modern Korean Literature

Kyunghee Eo
T,Th 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Fall

In this course, students read key works of Korean literature in English translation from the early twentieth century to the present day. The specific course topic varies by term. Primary sources include long-form novels, short stories, poetry, and nonfiction writing by representative authors, as well as literary scholarship on themes and historical context relevant to the materials. The readings in this course are arranged in roughly chronological order, requiring us to examine Korea’s colonial modernization process in the first half of the twentieth century, the authoritarian regimes of South Korea from 1948 to 1987, and South Korea’s integration into the neoliberal world order after democratization. 

Supplementary audio-visual materials such as artwork, video clips and music may be presented to students in class. All class materials are in English translation, and no previous knowledge of Korean language is required.

Korea

EALL 574

Gender and Sexuality in Korean Literature and Film

Kyunghee Eo
T 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

In this course, students explore how cultural representations of gender and sexuality in Korea and the Korean diaspora have changed over the course of the twentieth century. Primary sources include literary texts, narrative and documentary films, as well as scholarship on themes and historical context relevant to the materials. We begin by exploring how gendered selfhood in Korea was constructed in relation to the colonial modernization process in the first half of the twentieth century. We then move onto stories of how women and men survived the Cold War and developmentalist and dictatorial regimes of South Korea from 1945 to 1987. In the last segment of the course, we focus our attention to voices from the contemporary moment, to examine how present-day Koreans of various gender and sexual identities are contending with the challenges of an increasingly neoliberalizing social order. 

All class materials are in English translation, and no previous knowledge of Korean language is required.

Korea

EALL 581, FILM 873

Japanese Cinema and Its Others

Aaron Gerow
MW 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Spring

A critical inquiry into the myth of a homogeneous Japan through analyzing how Japanese film and media historically represent “others” of different races, ethnicities, nationalities, genders, and sexualities, including blacks, ethnic Koreans, Okinawans, Ainu, undocumented immigrants, LGBT minorities, the disabled, youth, and “monstrous” others like ghosts.

Japan

EALL 600, EAST 640

Sinological Methods

Pauline Lin
F 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

A research course in Chinese studies, designed for students with background in modern and literary Chinese. Students explore and evaluate the wealth of primary sources and research tools available in China and in the West. For native speakers of Chinese, introduction to the secondary literature in English and instruction in writing professionally in English on topics about China. Topics include Chinese bibliographies; bibliophiles’ notes; specialized dictionaries; maps and geographical gazetteers; textual editions, variations, and reliability of texts; genealogies and biographical sources; archaeological and visual materials; and major Chinese encyclopedias, compendia, and databases.

China

EALL 608

Sages of the Ancient World

Mick Hunter
MW 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Fall

Comparative survey of the embodiment and performance of wisdom by ancient sages. Distinctive features and common themes in discourses about wisdom from China, India, the Near East, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Topics include teaching, scheming, and dying.

China, Transregional

EALL 745

Readings in Medieval Chinese Thought

Lucas Bender
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

This class considers documents pertaining to the intellectual history of medieval China, roughly from the end of the Han dynasty in 220 CE to the end of the Tang dynasty in 907. 

Texts change from term to term. Readings are in the original, so prospective students should have a firm background in Literary Chinese. Prerequisites: CHNS 170 and 171 or equivalent, or permission of the instructor

China

EALL 804, CPLT 802, ENGL 804

Transpacific Performance in the Cold War

Rosa van Hensbergen
T 3:30 PM - 5:20 PM
Spring

During the Cold War, interdisciplinary artists were crisscrossing the pacific between Japan and the US, presenting their works in exhibitions, participating in performance festivals, and engaging in experimental collaborations. These crossings and crossovers took place with varying degrees of state involvement as the US government worked to promote its version of American culture abroad. In this course, we discover a series of transpacific performances and events against the backdrop of Cold War cultural politics, from collaborations between Japanese modern dancers and American jazz musicians in the early 60s to immersive works of Japanese video art presented in New York in the 90s. 

The rare archival and print materials that form an essential component of this course are made available in English. Japanese and other relevant language specialisms are welcome though not required, as are comparative and creative approaches. An aim of this course is to work closely together to produce a publishable or performable piece of work—critical or creative—related to your future research and career ambitions. For those wishing to work with Japanese-language materials, please contact the instructor directly to organize additional Japanese-language workshops.

Japan

EALL 805, FILM 871

Readings in Japanese Film Theory

Aaron Gerow
T 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

Theorizations of film and culture in Japan from the 1910s to the present. Through readings in the works of a variety of authors, the course explores both the articulations of cinema in Japanese intellectual discourse and how this embodies the shifting position of film in Japanese popular cultural history.

Japan

EALL 816

Special Topics in Modern Chinese Literature

Jing Tsu
W 9:25 AM - 11:15 AM
Fall

This is an advanced graduate course geared toward preparing students to gain a specific range of expertise in different periods of modern Chinese literature. It is held as a seminar-colloquium with weekly discussions and informal presentations. 

For third- or fourth-year graduate students. For others, instructor approval required. Instructor permission required.

China

EAST 389/MUSI 382

Critical Themes in Korean Popular Music

Bo kyung Blenda Im
M 3:30 PM - 5:20 PM
Spring

This advanced seminar examines Korean popular music from academic perspectives informed by ethnomusicology, Korean studies, and transpacific studies. The course first historicizes the Korean music industry’s dialogical formation with modern political, economic, religious, and military forces such as Western imperialism, Protestant missions, Japanese colonization, the Cold War, military dictatorship, state-sponsored internationalization, and global technosociality. While the first half of the course emphasizes the Korean domestic industry, the second half pivots outward, focusing on reverse directional flows obtained in the late 20th and early 21st century. We interrogate K-pop’s role in the constructions of Korea and Asia in the North Atlantic cultural imaginary and pay particular attention to continuities and disjunctures between K-pop and “world music,” a genre conventionally marking non-Westerners’ colonial difference in the Western music industry. Themes such as race and racialization, gender and sexuality, migration and diaspora, voice and voicing, and media and technology inform our conversations throughout the semester.

Permission of instructor required.

Korea

EAST 400, RLST 366

Religion and Politics in China, Xinjiang, and Tibet

Gyatso Marnyi
T 3:30 PM - 5:20 PM
Fall

This course explores the religious and political interactions among the Chinese, Tibetans, Mongolians, and Muslims living in today’s northwest China from the fourteenth to the twentieth century. Focusing on parallel spatial arrangements and historical narratives of these ethnoculturally diverse peoples, the first part of this course investigates the evolving political systems, religious institutions, and social structures in China, Xinjiang and Tibet. Shifting from the center-periphery perspective to the bottom-up perspective, the second part examines major issues associated with interethnic relations. We critically read both primary and secondary sources. Key themes include Chinese imperialism and colonialism, Tibetan Buddhist expansion, Mongolian conquest, Islamization and Muslim resettlement, transregional trade, frontier militarization, ethnic violence, and inter-ethnocultural accommodation.

China

EAST 401, RLST 343

Tibetan Buddhism

Meghan Howard Masang
MW 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Spring

This course is a broad introduction to the history, doctrine, and culture of the Buddhism of Tibet. We begin with the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet in the eighth century and move on to the evolution of the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhist literature, ritual and monastic practice, the place of Buddhism in Tibetan political history, and the contemporary situation of Tibetan Buddhism both inside and outside of Tibet.

China

EAST 402, PLSC 384

Political Psychology and Comparative Politics

Xiaoxiao Shen
Th 3:30 PM - 5:20 PM
Fall

Political psychology seminars typically focus on American political behavior, and most comparative politics seminars do not directly address political psychology. This seminar aims to bridge that gap by examining the important role of psychology within the broader context of comparative politics. The goal of the seminar is to develop your knowledge and understanding of how political attitudes and behaviors are shaped, how they evolve, and the ways they may influence behavioral outcomes. We explore why people engage in politics, what factors help them form or revise their political beliefs and perspectives, and how those attitudes are manifest (or not) through political action. The role of individual personality traits, human cognition, and both individual and collective identity are considered–in relation to both the general public as well as political insiders. (We also discuss whether making a distinction between the two is relevant and necessary.) Since the course focuses on comparative politics, it closely examines ways that diverse institutions, cultural values, and social environments affect individual political attitudes. We also explore whether there are universal political behaviors and attitudes–and if so, how they should be identified and studied.

China, Transregional

EAST 403, HIST 310

Law and Order in East Asia to 1800

Victor Fong
W 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

Law is not only a practical instrument but has also shaped East Asian civilization. In implementing the governance blueprints of rulers and thinkers, law formulated the operations of East Asian empires and kingdoms, as well as their people’s life in nearly all aspects. This course introduces students to the law and legal systems in premodern East Asia. Starting with early legal theories, it explores the traditional East Asian ideas of ‘justice’ and how the law attempted to achieve them under imperial rule and major religious beliefs. By careful and critical reading of premodern codes and court cases, we also seek to trace the life experiences of commoners under such laws and systems. We try to understand the conflicts and tensions among the people through their frustrations in disputes, their pains in different kinds of violence, and other issues.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

EAST 404, EALL 237, FILM 399

Nuclear Disasters and Trauma in Japanese Cinema and Beyond

Rio Katayama
T,Th 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM, Screenings W 7:30 PM - 10:30 PM
Fall

This course examines the ways nuclear disasters are depicted in contemporary Japanese cinema. More specifically, we look at atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki (1945), and the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster (2011), and how the dormant trauma towards nuclear power has influenced Japanese cinema/media. As the artists portraying disasters often face the limits of representation, their works raise the following questions: how can cinema depict disasters that are indescribable in nature? How might cinema cause or resist tendencies towards post-catastrophic nationalism? In what ways can cinema address disaster that other forms of media cannot? What filmic techniques can be used to dramatize disastrous moments? Can cinema “foresee” unfolding or upcoming disasters? While considering these questions, this course also introduces the methodologies to write/discuss about film as an art form by examining different cinematic elements such as visual, sound, narrative, performance, and touch.

Japan

EAST 405, RLST 410

Buddhism and Violence

Jonathan Feuer
T 3:30 PM - 5:20 PM
Spring

This course focuses on Buddhism and violence in the modern world, with a particular emphasis on Korean Buddhism. Buddhism is often perceived to be a pacifist religion; however, all across the modern Buddhist world, from Japanese Zen Buddhists during World War II, to Vietnamese Buddhists during the Vietnam War, to Buddhists in the contemporary United States, Buddhists have been complicit in and even supported state-sanctioned violence. Can Buddhism be deemed less (or more) violent than other major religions? We cover introductory topics on Buddhism, going back in history to see the fundamental philosophical debates on violence and killing in the tradition. Using Korean Buddhism as a case study, we explore in what ways, if any, these ancient debates relate to the modern world.

Korea, Transregional

EAST 406, HSAR 352

Introduction to Central Asian Art and Architecture

Dilrabo Tosheva
Th 3:30 PM - 5:20 PM
Spring

Overview of the art and architecture of Central Asia including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, in addition to Afghanistan and Xinjiang, from the Late Antiquity to the modern day. Examination of artistic, architectural-urban transformations as a reflection of the broader societal and cultural change. Through readings, we challenge ourselves 1) to reconsider some of the prevailing understandings of Central Asian history/art & architectural history and 2) to perceive the built environment as an artifact that uncovers secrets and affirms political, social, cultural, and economic aspects of the human past. Throughout, we focus on interactions across the Eurasian continent among Sogdians, Turks, Persians, Arabs, Chinese, Mongolian nomads, and Russians during the last millennium and a half, to understand how these cultures shaped Central Asian urban landscapes, art, and architectural styles.

Previous knowledge of Central Asian history is helpful but by no means necessary. Previous knowledge of Art & Architectural history is helpful but by no means necessary.

Transregional

EAST 410, EALL 234

Japanese Detective Fiction

Luciana Sanga
MW 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Fall

This class offers an overview of modern Japanese literature with a focus on detective fiction. Through detective fiction we can examine key concepts in literature such as narrative voice, point of view, genre, modernism and postmodernism, and learn about debates in Japanese literature, the distinction between highbrow and popular fiction, and the relation between Japanese literature and translated fiction. Detective fiction also allows for the exploration of key issues in Japanese history and society such as consumerism, colonialism, class, gender, and sexuality. Readings include a wide range of texts by canonical and popular writers, as well as theoretical texts on genre and detective fiction. 

All texts are available in English and no prior knowledge of Japanese or Japan is needed.

Japan

EAST 411, HSAR 415, WGSS 412

Women and Art in Premodern East Asia

Carolyn Wargula
W 3:30 PM - 5:20 PM
Fall

For over a thousand years, women in East Asia profoundly influenced the development of the visual arts, yet their formidable presence remains largely hidden. This seminar explores the critical roles women played as patrons, artists, and collectors of the arts in China, Korea, and Japan. We cover periods from the sixth through the nineteenth centuries and discuss a wide array of mediums including bamboo paintings, bijinga woodblock prints, bronze Buddhist sculptures, bojagi textiles, and even embroidered lotus shoes. This seminar focuses particularly on art objects made by anonymous women as a means to rethink and problematize the traditionally elite and male-dominated art historical canon. We also contextualize artistic production in light of emergent theorizations and readings on femininity, feminism, and the sexual politics of representation. Major themes of inquiry include subjectivity and intentionality; representations of women and the male gaze; and postcolonial definitions of female agency. 

No prior knowledge of East Asian art history is required or assumed.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

EAST 412, EALL 285

100 Years of Japanese Pop Literature

Luciana Sanga
T,Th 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Spring

We cover a variety of genres, from historical fiction to light novels, and authors ranging from Edogawa Rampo to Murakami Haruki. We analyze these works against the literary and socio-historical context of Japan and consider questions of canon formation, literary taste and value(s), and the concept of genre. Occasionally we discuss highbrow or canonical texts and interrogate the validity of the highbrow/popular distinction. 

All texts are available in English, no prior knowledge of Japanese or Japan is needed.

Japan

EAST 422, EALL 286

Reading and Translating Modern Japanese Literature

Luciana Sanga
W 9:25 AM - 11:15 AM
Spring

In this class, we read Natsume Sōseki’s canonical 1908 novel Sanshirō in its original Japanese. One of the most beloved works of modern Japanese literature, Sanshirō features an eponymous protagonist struggling to navigate college life, love, and friendship. I provide vocabulary lists as well as the historical background necessary to understanding the text, with a focus on its format as a newspaper serialization. Students are expected to come to class having carefully read the assigned chapter. We translate selected passages into English and discuss the text in the context of its initial publication venue and beyond. Students gain a deep understanding of this Japanese classic and become more aware of some recurrent challenges in translating Japanese into English.

Prerequisite: third year Japanese or equivalent. Graduate students from any discipline who wish to take the class should email the instructor.

Japan

EAST 426

Ethnic Art and Contemporary China

Katherine Dimmery
T,Th 4:00 PM - 5:15 PM
Spring

For thousands of years, imperial China found its deepest expression in a tradition of literary art—a tradition so potent that frontier and conquered peoples who learned to use it might, by conventional wisdom of the day, become Chinese. Today, the Chinese nation claims many such groups as “minority ethnicities,” and a tradition of Chinese language and literature remains the crucial conduit through which all residents of the nation must seek education and employment. At the same time, state policies increasingly codify and regulate the “different” artistic practices identified with minority ethnic groups. Running through this history is a common thread: aesthetic production, whether imperial, national, or culturally “other,” has been and remains a site of symbolic struggle over the terms of Chinese-ness. We trace such struggles from two angles, first considering the ways that ethnic art is (mis)interpreted in contemporary mainstream Chinese culture, and second, seeking an understanding of ethnic art practices in their own terms, with attention to how they comment on their popular representations. The course offers an introduction to ethnicity in China and to the sociality and politics of artistic production. Course materials include aesthetic objects, historical documents, ethnographic texts, and texts in social theory.

China

EAST 470

Independent Study

Valerie Hansen
HTBA
Fall

For students with advanced Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language skills who wish to pursue a close study of the East Asia region, not otherwise covered by departmental offerings. May be used for research, a special project, or a substantial research paper under faculty supervision. A term paper or its equivalent and regular meetings with an adviser are required. Ordinarily only one term may be offered toward the major or for credit toward the degree. 

Permission to enroll requires submission of a detailed project proposal, signed by the adviser, by the end of the first week of classes and its approval by the director of undergraduate studies.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

EAST 470

Independent Study

For students with advanced Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language skills who wish to pursue a close study of the East Asia region, not otherwise covered by departmental offerings. May be used for research, a special project, or a substantial research paper under faculty supervision. A term paper or its equivalent and regular meetings with an adviser are required. Ordinarily only one term may be offered toward the major or for credit toward the degree. 

Permission to enroll requires submission of a detailed project proposal, signed by the adviser, by the end of the first week of classes and its approval by the director of undergraduate studies.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

EAST 480

One-Term Senior Essay

Preparation of a one-term senior essay under the guidance of a faculty adviser. Students must receive the prior agreement of the director of undergraduate studies and of the faculty member who will serve as the senior essay adviser. Students must arrange to meet with that adviser on a regular basis throughout the term.

Permission required.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

EAST 480

One-Term Senior Essay

Preparation of a one-term senior essay under the guidance of a faculty adviser. Students must receive the prior agreement of the director of undergraduate studies and of the faculty member who will serve as the senior essay adviser. Students must arrange to meet with that adviser on a regular basis throughout the term.

Permission required.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

EAST 491

Senior Research Project

Two-term directed research project under the supervision of a ladder faculty member. Students should write essays using materials in East Asian languages when possible. Essays should be based on primary material, whether in an East Asian language or English. Summary of secondary material is not acceptable.

Permission required. Credit only on completion of both terms.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

EAST 492

Senior Research Project

Two-term directed research project under the supervision of a ladder faculty member. Students should write essays using materials in East Asian languages when possible. Essays should be based on primary material, whether in an East Asian language or English. Summary of secondary material is not acceptable.

Permission required. Credit only on completion of both terms.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

EAST 508, HSAR 612

Mapping Asia: A World-History Perspective (13th – 18th Centuries)

Angelo Cattaneo
W 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

Maps and mapping processes have become multilayered and transdisciplinary objects of study and analysis. Long considered and evaluated exclusively as objective scientific tools par excellence, in recent decades they have undergone a profound reconceptualization that has accentuated their being primarily devices of cultural interpretation framed in specific contexts of political, religious, colonial, social, and economic power. This stratification makes maps and mapping operations particularly interesting objects of historical analysis that have generated interest in many fields of knowledge, conveying perspectives, knowledge, interests, and worldviews through a combination of visuality and writing. These specific “intentionalities” aim to make an impact on the communities and societies they address: by representing worlds, they create worlds. It is these intentionalities that the course aims to bring out, study and analyze, particularly in the context of Asia, which has been mapped very precociously and has been a very important area of investigation and exploration by foreign travelers. Asia occupies a central place in the imagined geography of cartographers, as maps have been a fundamental tool that has shaped the continent, its self-perception, and its understanding of the world. Special attention is given to early modern mapping processes and cartography, from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century. This period became a turning point in the way both European and Asian cartographers saw their regions and represented them, also giving rise to cartographic productions that complemented or juxtaposed their knowledge systems. The circulation of knowledge and visual cultures among cartographers from both macro-regions, with a focus on Japan and China, is a focus of the course. The analysis of the cartographic construction of Asia and its regions is integrated with a world history– research perspective, from classical to modern times, spanning the cultures of Asia, Europe and Islamic Africa, in turn examined through the maps that different cultures made of their own worlds. Students also have the opportunity to analyze a selection of historical maps in the Beinecke Library collections to discover how maps have variously embodied cultural lenses, religious beliefs, scientific discoveries, and political concerns.

China, Japan, Transregional

EAST 900

Master's Thesis

Directed reading and research on a topic approved by the DGS and advised by a faculty member (by arrangement) with expertise or specialized competence in the chosen field. Readings and research are done in preparation for the required master’s thesis.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

EAST 900

Master’s Thesis

Directed reading and research on a topic approved by the DGS and advised by a faculty member (by arrangement) with expertise or specialized competence in the chosen field. Readings and research are done in preparation for the required master’s thesis.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

EAST 910

Independent Study

By arrangement with faculty and with approval of the DGS.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

EAST 910

Independent Study

By arrangement with faculty and with approval of the DGS.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

GLBL 302

U.S.-China Economic Relations: Globalization or Decoupling?

Hanscom Smith
T 3:30 PM - 5:20 PM
Spring

For three decades after China’s economic opening in 1979, and especially after China’s 2001 accession to the WTO, U.S.-China economic relations were based on a U.S. assumption that China would integrate into the U.S.-backed international economic order. China’s rapid growth and adherence to a state-oriented economic model, however, combined with globalization’s challenges to the liberal economic system, have significantly increased tensions between the world’s two biggest economies. This course examines the factors driving economic friction between the United States and China, and is divided into four sections. The course is taught by a practitioner who spent over a decade managing U.S. Government economic policy in and on China.

China

GLBL 317, PLSC 365

China's Sovereign Lending

James Sundquist
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

This is a course about when governments borrow from foreign lenders and the political causes and consequences of the decision to borrow. To enable us to focus on politics, some training in economics is required. We begin by reviewing the internal determinants of China’s external lending behavior. Next, we study how international finance collides with domestic politics creating both opportunities and challenges for borrowers. The second half of the course surveys topics of contemporary importance: how effective is Chinese economic statecraft? Can China expect to be repaid in full? Will the renminbi become a global reserve currency?

Prerequisite: Three Economics courses, including either ECON 122 or ECON 122. Instructor permission required.

China

GLBL 6285

China's Challenge to the Global Economic Order


T 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

In the decades after 1979, China’s adherence to key tenets of the U.S.-backed liberal international economic system enabled it to achieve middle income status. After the 2008-9 global financial crisis, however, weaknesses in the U.S. model combined with China’s own sustained growth increased Beijing’s confidence in an alternative, state-oriented model that increasingly underpins China’s foreign economic engagement. This course examines the Global Security and Belt and Road initiatives, trade, investment, and development policies, international organization advocacy, business practices, and other aspects of China’s growing international economic footprint. These factors are analyzed from the perspective of China’s internal dynamics, competition with the United States, and overall foreign policy goals, and are evaluated for their impact on the prevailing global economic order. The course is taught by a practitioner who spent over a decade managing U.S. Government economic policy in and on China. 

Instructor permission required.

China

HIST 030, EAST 030

Tokyo

Daniel Botsman
T,Th 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM
Fall

Four centuries of Japan’s history explored through the many incarnations, destructions, and rebirths of its foremost city. Focus on the solutions found by Tokyo’s residents to the material and social challenges of concentrating such a large population in one place. Tensions between continuity and impermanence, authenticity and modernity, and social order and the culture of play.

Enrollment limited to first-year students. Preregistration required; see under First-Year Seminar Program. Instructor permission required.

Japan

HIST 213, EAST 318, GLBL 320, RSEE 315

Against the West: Sino-Russian Relations

Jinyi Chu, Odd Arne Westad
Th 4:30 PM - 6:20 PM
Spring

This course is an investigation of four centuries of Sino-Russian relations. Joining techniques of historical and literary analysis, it examines how Chinese and Russian political and cultural developments mutually shaped the two countries’ ideologies, cultures, and social movements. By closely reading literary, historical, and visual materials, along with secondary sources, we uncover the global trends linking the two great nations’ peoples as they searched for the path to construct strong empires and nation-states. The legacy of this early Sino-Russian contact remains with us in the twenty-first century, as Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping evoke memories of early alliances, while Russian and Chinese dissidents appeal to Western liberal powers to support their resistance to authoritarian rule. The course engages us with a broader understanding of the critical global processes that define our present and point toward our collective future.

China

HIST 304J, EAST 304

Japanese Historical Documents

Daniel Botsman
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

Few pre-industrial societies anywhere in the world have bequeathed us a body of historical documents as varied and plentiful as those Tokugawa Japan (1600-1867). This class offers students who already have a solid command of modern Japanese an introduction to these remarkable sources, focusing particularly on what they can teach us about life in the great cities of Edo (now Tokyo), Osaka, and Kyoto—three of the largest urban centers anywhere in the pre-industrial world.

Prerequisite: JAPN 140 or equivalent. Instructor permission required.

Japan

HIST 307, EAST 301

The Making of Japan's Great Peace, 1550-1850

Fabian Drixler
T,Th 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Spring

Examination of how, after centuries of war in Japan and overseas, the Tokugawa shogunate built a peace that lasted more than 200 years. Japan’s urban revolution, the eradication of Christianity, the Japanese discovery of Europe, and the question whether Tokugawa Japan is a rare example of a complex and populous society that achieved ecological sustainability.

Japan

HIST 315

State of War: Conflict, Conquest, and Consolidation in Late Imperial China

Maura Dykstra
T, Th 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Fall

This course explores the many ways in which the functions of the state are intertwined with, determine, and develop with the making of war in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties. Students explore the manifold concerns of the throne in not only conducting war, but also financing it, consolidating its gains, and handling its political consequences. The role of evolving frontier strategies, ruler-subject relations, administrative institutions, and resource dilemmas will be foregrounded in a history of warfare and its impact on the development of the late imperial state.

China

HIST 321, EAST 220

China from Present to Past

Valerie Hansen
MW 2:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

Underlying causes of current issues facing China traced back to their origins in the premodern period. Topics include economic development, corruption, environmental crises, gender, and Pacific island disputes. Selected primary-source readings in English, images, videos, and Web resources.

Preference given to first years and sophomores.

China

HIST 355J, EAST 325

Song-dynasty China (960-1275): Modern Before Europe?

Valerie Hansen
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

Did any society attain early modernity before Europe did so in 1500-1600? China did so during the Song dynasty (960-1275). Consideration of economic output, meritocratic recruitment of the bureaucracy via civil service examinations, levels of education and literacy (among both men and women), urban life, and foreign trade. Readings include extensive primary sources in translation. Emphasis on using primary and secondary sources to do historical research papers and prepare for longer writing projects such as the senior essay.

Permission of instructor required.

China

HIST 364, EAST 364

Modern China

Denise Ho
T,Th 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Spring

Today’s China is one of the world’s great powers, and the relationship between the United States and China is one of the most consequential of our times. Yet we cannot understand China without examining the historical context of its rise. How have the Chinese searched for modernity in the recent past? How were the dramatic changes of the late imperial period, the twentieth century, and after experienced by the Chinese people? This introductory course examines the political, social, and cultural revolutions that have shaped Chinese history since late imperial times. The emphasis of this course is on the analysis of primary sources in translation and the discussion of these texts within the context of the broader historical narrative. It assumes no prior knowledge of Chinese history.

China

HIST 868

Documents in Tang, Song, and Yuan Dynasties

Valerie Hansen
T 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

A survey of the historical genres of premodern China: the dynastic histories, other chronicles, gazetteers, literati notes, and Buddhist and Daoist canons. How to determine what different information these sources contain for research topics in different fields. 

Prerequisite: at least one term of classical Chinese.

China

HIST 872

Sources and Methods in the History of the People's Republic of China

Denise Ho
W 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

This graduate research seminar introduces students to archival and other sources used in PRC history. Students learn how to read and use such sources and complete an independent research paper. 

Chinese reading knowledge and instructor permission required.

China

HIST 876

Empires of the Ming and Qing

Maura Dykstra
W 3:30 PM - 5:20 PM
Fall

This seminar is an introduction to the logistics, strategy, and rationale of the China’s late empires. Readings on the political economy, organization, and administration of the Ming Empire and former Ming territories later ruled by the Qing will introduce participants to the general considerations of the last two dynasties to rule over the territory now known as China. 

A working knowledge of both classical Chinese and modern academic Chinese will be necessary to participate in the course.

China

HIST 878

Readings in Japanese History to 1900

Fabian Drixler
W 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

A critical introduction to debates in the history of Japan up to about 1900, with particular emphasis on the Tokugawa period but some coverage of earlier times as well. 

Readings are in English but, depending on student interest, supplemental materials may also be assigned in Japanese.

Japan

HIST 881

China’s Age of Exploration

Valerie Hansen
T 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

Study of China’s maritime history focusing on the period 1000–1500, culminating with the Zheng He voyages and their cancellation. English-language readings in secondary sources and primary sources in translation; examination of relevant maps in Beinecke’s collection.

Separate section for those with a reading knowledge of classical Chinese.

China

HIST 883

Urban Japan Workshop: Cities and Society, c. 1500–2000

Daniel Botsman
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

Japan is not only home to the largest and, by some measures, most livable, city in the world today, but also it boasts one of the richest archives for the study of urban history.  The Urban Japan Workshop offers graduate students and advanced undergraduates the opportunity to explore the rich scholarly literature on Japanese cities across time, while also developing their own individual research projects.

Japan

HIST 884

Readings in the History of Modern Japan

Hannah Shepherd
T 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

This course offers students an opportunity to explore recent English-language scholarship on the history of modern Japan (post-1868).

Japan

HSAR 016, EAST 016

Chinese Painting and Culture

Quincy Ngan
T,Th 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Fall

This course focuses on important works of Chinese painting and major painters from the fourth century CE to the twentieth century. Through close readings of the pictorial contents and production contexts of such works of art, this course investigates the works’ formats, meanings, and innovations from social, historical, and art-historical perspectives. In this course, students become familiar with the traditional Chinese world and acquire the knowledge necessary to be an informed viewer of Chinese painting. Discussions of religion, folkloric beliefs, literature, relationships between men and women, the worship of mountains, the laments of scholars, and the tastes of emperors and wealthy merchants also allow students to understand the cultural roots of contemporary China.

Enrollment limited to first-year students. Preregistration required; see under First-Year Seminar Program. Instructor permission required.

China

HSAR 237, EAST 237

Arts of China

Quincy Ngan
T,Th 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Spring

Arts of China is a window to the nation’s history, culture, society, and aesthetics. This course introduces the visual arts of China from the prehistoric period to the twentieth century. We look at the archaeological findings (including pottery, jade, and bronze vessels) as well as ancestor worship and belief in posthumous souls and immortal mountains. We look at the art and architecture inspired by Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. We investigate the place of Chinese painting and calligraphy in court and elite cultures and explore how these arts intertwine with politics, printing culture, and popular culture. Lastly, we investigate the decorative arts, like ceramics, textiles, and furniture, as well as the art and architecture that reflect foreign tastes.

China

HSAR 427, EAST 427

Chinese Skin Problems

Quincy Ngan
T 9:25 AM - 11:15 AM
Fall

This seminar uses artwork as a means of understanding the various skin problems faced by contemporary Chinese people. Divided into four modules, this seminar first traces how the “ideal skin” as a complex trope of desire, superficiality, and deception has evolved over time through the ghost story, Painted Skin (Huapi), and its countless spin-offs. Second, the course explores how artists have overcome a variety of social distances and barriers through touch; we look at artworks that highlight the healing power and erotic associations of cleansing, massaging, and moisturizing the skin. Third, we explore the relationship between feminism and gender stereotypes through artworks and performances that involve skincare, makeup and plastic surgery. Fourth, the course investigates the dynamics between “Chineseness,” colorism, and racial tensions through the artworks produced by Chinese-American and diasporic artists. Each module is comprised of one meeting focusing on theoretical frameworks and two meetings focusing on individual artists and close analysis of artworks. Readings include Cathy Park Hong’s Minor Feelings, Nikki Khanna’s Whiter, and Leta Hong Fincher’s Leftover Women.  

Permission of instructor required

China

HSAR 449, EAST 449

Nanban Art: Japan's Artistic Encounter with Early Modern Europe

Mimi Yiengpruksawan
Th 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

Exploratory and investigative in nature, this seminar is conceived as a baseline engagement with the intersections of art, religion, science, commerce, war, and diplomacy at Kyoto and Nagasaki in the age of Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and English political and mercantile interaction in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It addresses a set of themes whose point of entry is the entangled character of visual production and reception in Japan at a tipping point in the emergence of global modernity, when what were called the Nanbans—“Southern Barbarians,” i.e. Europeans—began to arrive in Japan. The question of whether or not much-theorized nomenclatures such as baroque, rococo, mestizo, and even global modernity are pertinent to analysis from the Japanese and Asian perspective constitutes the backbone of the course and its primary objective in the study of a corpus of visual materials spanning the European and Asian cultural spheres. As such the seminar is not only about Japan, per se, or about Japanese objects, or the shogunal eye. It is equally about how Japan and Japanese objects and materials, along with objects and materials from other places, figured in a greater community of exchange, friction, confrontation, conquest, and adaptation in times when Portuguese marauders, Jesuit missionaries, Muslim traders, and Japanese pirates found themselves in the same waters, on ships laden with goods, making landfall in the domains of Japan’s great military hegemons.

Permission of instructor required.

Japan

JAPN 110

Elementary Japanese I


M,T,W,Th,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Fall

Introductory language course for students with no previous background in Japanese. Development of proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, including 50 hiragana, 50 katakana, and 75 kanji characters. Introduction to cultural aspects such as levels of politeness and group concepts. In-class drills in pronunciation and conversation. Individual tutorial sessions improve conversational skills.

This course meets during reading period.

Japan

JAPN 120

Elementary Japanese II


M,T,W,Th,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Spring

Continuation of JAPN 110, with supplementary materials such as excerpts from television shows, anime, and songs. Introduction of 150 additional kanji.

After JAPN 110 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

Japan

JAPN 130

Intermediate Japanese I

Kumiko Nakamura
M,T,W,Th,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Fall

Continued development in both written and spoken Japanese. Aspects of Japanese culture, such as history, art, religion, and cuisine, explored through text, film, and animation. Online audio and visual aids facilitate listening, as well as the learning of grammar and kanji. Individual tutorial sessions improve conversational skills.

After JAPN 120 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

Japan

JAPN 140

Intermediate Japanese II


M,T,W,Th,F 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Spring

Continuation of JAPN 130.

After JAPN 130 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

Japan

JAPN 150

Advanced Japanese I

Mika Yamaguchi
MW 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM; 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM
Fall

Advanced language course that further develops proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Reading and discussion materials include works by Nobel Prize winners. Japanese anime and television dramas are used to enhance listening and to develop skills in culturally appropriate speech. Writing of essays, letters, and criticism solidifies grammar and style. Individual tutorial sessions improve conversational skills.

After JAPN 140 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

Japan

JAPN 151

Advanced Japanese II


T,Th 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM
Spring

Continuation of JAPN 150.

After JAPN 150 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

Japan

JAPN 156

Advanced Japanese III

Hiroyo Nishimura
T,Th 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM
Fall

Close reading of modern Japanese writing on current affairs, social science, history, and literature. Development of speaking and writing skills in academic settings, including formal speeches, interviews, discussions, letters, e-mail, and expository writing. Interviews of and discussions with native speakers on current issues. Individual tutorial sessions provide speaking practice.

After JAPN 151 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

Japan

JAPN 157

Advanced Japanese IV


MW 4:00 PM - 5:15 PM
Spring

Continuation of JAPN 156.

After JAPN 156 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

Japan

JAPN 170

Introduction to Literary Japanese


HTBA
Fall

Introduction to the grammar and style of the premodern literary language (bungotai) through a variety of texts.

After JAPN 151 or equivalent.

Japan

JAPN 171

Readings in Literary Japanese

James Scanlon-Canegata
T,Th 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Spring

Close analytical reading of a selection of texts from the Nara through the Tokugawa periods: prose, poetry, and various genres. Introduction to kanbun.

After JAPN 170 or equivalent.

Japan

JAPN 570

Introduction to Literary Japanese

James Scanlon-Canegata
MW 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Fall

Introduction to the grammar and style of the premodern literary language (bungotai) through a variety of texts.

After JAPN 151 or equivalent.

Japan

JAPN 571

Readings in Literary Japanese

James Scanlon-Canegata
T,Th 11:35 AM - 12:50 PM
Spring

Close analytical reading of a selection of texts from the Nara through Tokugawa period: prose, poetry, and various genres. Introduction of kanbun.

After JAPN 570 or equivalent.

Japan

KREN 110

Elementary Korean I


M,T,W,Th,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Fall

A beginning course in modern Korean. Pronunciation, lectures on grammar, conversation practice, and introduction to the writing system (Hankul).

This course meets during reading period.

Korea

KREN 120

Elementary Korean II


M,T,W,Th,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Spring

Continuation of KREN 110.

After KREN 110 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

Korea

KREN 130

Intermediate Korean I


M,T,W,Th,F 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM, 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Fall

Continued development of skills in modern Korean, spoken and written, leading to intermediate-level proficiency.

After KREN 120 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

Korea

KREN 132

Intermediate Korean for Advanced Learners I

Seungja Choi
M,T,W,Th,F 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Fall

Intended for students with some oral proficiency but little or no training in Hankul. Focus on grammatical analysis, the standard spoken language, and intensive training in reading and writing.

This course meets during reading period.

Korea

KREN 140

Intermediate Korean II


M,T,W,Th,F 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM, 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Spring

Continuation of KREN 130.

After KREN 130 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

Korea

KREN 142

Intermediate Korean for Advanced Learners II


M,T,W,Th,F 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Spring

Continuation of KREN 132.

After KREN 132 or equivalent. This course meets during reading period.

Korea

KREN 150

Advanced Korean I: Korean Language and Culture through K-Pop Music

Angela Lee-Smith
M,W,F 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Fall

An advanced language course with emphasis on developing vocabulary and grammar, practice reading comprehension, speaking on a variety of topics, and writing in both formal and informal styles. Use storytelling, discussion, peer group activities, audio and written journals, oral presentations, and supplemental audiovisual materials and texts in class.

After KREN 140 or equivalent

Korea

KREN 151

Advanced Korean II: Language and Culture through Media

Angela Lee-Smith
M,W,F 11:35 AM - 12:25 PM
Spring

This course is content and project-based to further develop integrated language skills-spoken and written, including grammar and vocabulary, as well as intercultural competence through Korean media. Through a variety of media, such as print media, publishing, digital media, cinema, broadcasting (radio, television, podcasting), and advertising, students explore and reflect on a wide range of topics and perspectives in Korean culture and society. The course learning activities include interactive, interpretive, and presentational communication; critical analysis; creative and authentic language applications in formal/informal contexts. 

After KREN 150 or equivalent.

Korea

KREN 152

Advanced Korean III: Contemporary Life in Korea

Hyun Sung Lim
MWF 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM; 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Fall

This course is an advanced language course designed to further develop language skills through topics related to contemporary Korea, including lifestyle, society, culture, and literature, supplemented with authentic media materials. This course aims to expand students’ understanding of Korea while enhancing their multiliteracy. 

Intended for both non-heritage speakers and heritage speakers. Prerequisite: After KREN 142 or KREN 151, or equivalent.

Korea

KREN 153

Advanced Korean IV: Korean Sociocultural Practices and Perspectives


MWF 9:25 AM - 10:15 AM; 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Spring

This course is an interdisciplinary content-based advanced course in modern Korean. It aims to advance language skills in all four areas and cultural competence to communicate with fluency and accuracy. Students build up wide-ranging vocabulary and grammar, while registering and deepening their understanding of cultural aspects through authentic materials and communicative tasks across a variety of topics, such as social, academic, or career interests.

After KREN 152, or with permission of instructor.

Korea

LAW 20670, GLBL 6170

Chinese Law and Society

Taisu Zhang
M 10:10 AM - 12:00 PM
Fall

This course will survey law and legal practice in the People’s Republic of China. Particular attention is given to the interaction of legal institutions with politics, social change, and economic development. Specific topics include, among others, the Party State, the nature of political legitimacy in contemporary Chinese society, state capitalism, the judiciary, property law and development, business and investment law, criminal law and procedure, media (especially the Internet), and major schools of Chinese legal and political thought.

Prior familiarity with Chinese history or politics is unnecessary but helpful. All course materials will be in English. Paper required. Enrollment limited to fifteen.

China

PLSC 357, EAST 310, GLBL 309

The Rise of China

Daniel Mattingly
MW 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Spring

Analysis of contemporary Chinese politics, with focus on how the country has become a major power and how the regime has endured. Topics include China’s recent history, state, ruling party, economy, censorship, elite politics, and foreign policy.

China

REL 616

Introduction to East Asian Theologies

Chloe Starr
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

This course introduces a range of theological themes and key thinkers in twentieth- and twenty-first century Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. It surveys different theological movements within these countries (such as “homeland theology,” Minjung theology, the “no-church” movement, etc.) and encourages a critical response to the challenges that these theologies raise for Christians in Asia and elsewhere. The course considers contextualization and inculturation debates in each of these societies, as well as regional responses to Christianity. We read primary texts in English, with background reading for context, and students are encouraged to develop their own responses to the authors and their thought (e.g., students may submit theological reflections to count toward their grade).

Japan, Korea, Transregional, Taiwan

REL 983

China Mission

Chloe Starr
T 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

The Day Missions Collection at YDS is one of the strongest mission collections in the world, comprising about one third of the Divinity Library’s 600,000 volumes—and it is also the central repository in the United States for China-related mission papers. This course offers students the opportunity to complete an original research project in the library relating to mission in China, utilizing manuscript, microform, and monograph materials from the collections. For the first six weeks, we read intensively in mission history, theory, and practice, schematized through mission narratives. The next four weeks are “library lab” time: supervised reading time in special collection and archive materials within the library; and reading into and developing projects while help is on hand for deciphering handwriting, providing reference tools, etc. The final two weeks are dedicated to research presentations and evaluation, with each student offering findings to the class in their chosen media.

China

RLST 121, EALL 296, EAST 391

Religion and Culture in Korea

Hwansoo Kim
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

Introduction to Shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Christianity, and new religions in Korea from ancient times to the present. Examination of religious traditions in close relationships with social, economic, political, and cultural environments in Korean society. Examination of religious tensions, philosophical arguments, and ethical issues that indigenous and foreign religions in Korea have engaged throughout history to maximize their influence in Korean society.  

Korea

RLST 127, PHIL 118, SAST 261

Buddhist Thought: The Foundations

Eric Greene
MWF 10:30 AM - 11:20 AM
Fall

This class introduces the fundamentals of Buddhist thought, focusing on the foundational doctrinal, philosophical, and ethical ideas that have animated the Buddhist tradition from its earliest days in India 2500 years ago down to the present, in places such as Tibet, China, and Japan. Though there will be occasional discussion of the social and practical contexts of the Buddhist religion, the primary focus of this course lies on how traditional Buddhist thinkers conceptualize the universe, think about the nature of human beings, and propose that people should live their lives. Our main objects of inquiry are therefore the foundational Buddhist ideas, and the classic texts in which those ideas are put forth and defended, that are broadly speaking shared by all traditions of Buddhism. In the later part of the course, we take up some of these issues in the context of specific, regional forms of Buddhism, and watch some films that provide glimpses of Buddhist religious life on the ground. 

China, Japan, Transregional

RLST 175, EAST 431

North Korea and Religion

Hwansoo Kim
M 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

Ever since the establishment of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 1948 and the Korean War (1950–1953), North Korea has been depicted by the media as a reclusive, oppressive, and military country, its leaders as the worst dictators, and its people as brainwashed, tortured, and starving to death. The still ongoing Cold War discourse, intensified by the North Korea’s recent secret nuclear weapons program, furthers these negative images, and outsiders have passively internalized these images. However, these simplistic characterizations prevent one from gaining a balanced understanding of and insight into North Korea and its people on the ground. Topics other than political, military, and security issues are rarely given attention. On the whole, even though North Korea’s land area is larger than South Korea and its population of 25 million accounts for a third of all Koreans, North Korea has been neglected in the scholarly discussion of Korean culture. This class tries to make sense of North Korea in a more comprehensive way by integrating the political and economic with social, cultural, and religious dimensions. In order to accomplish this objective, students examine leadership, religious (especially cultic) aspects of the North Korean Juche ideology, the daily lives of its citizens, religious traditions, the Korean War, nuclear development and missiles, North Korean defectors and refugees, human rights, Christian missionary organizations, and unification, among others. Throughout, the course places North Korean issues in the East Asian and global context. The course draws upon recent scholarly books, articles, journals, interviews with North Korean defectors, travelogues, media publications, and visual materials.

Korea

RLST 327, EALL 238, EAST 394

Buddhist Monastic Experience

Hwansoo Kim
Th 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Spring

Is monastic life relevant in contemporary society, where religion is increasingly considered less significant in our secular lives? Can we find valuable aspects of a monastic lifestyle that can be integrated into our daily lives? If so, what are these aspects, and how can we incorporate them? This seminar represents a collaborative effort to gain insight into one of the major monastic traditions: Buddhist monasticism. Throughout this seminar, we delve into various facets of Buddhist monastic life, examining its origins, historical development, monastic identity, rules and regulations, practices, and the dynamics between monastics and the laity. We also explore the tensions that often arise between the ideals of monasticism and the realities it faces in today’s world. As part of this exploration, we embark on an eight-week monastic life project, during which students create their own set of daily rules (precepts), adhere to these rules, engage in meditation and other relevant practices, and establish a regular communal gathering with fellow students. 

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional

RLST 550, EALL 707

Translation and Commentary in Early Chinese Buddhism

Eric Greene
HTBA
Fall

This seminar introduces the literary sources relevant for the earliest era of Chinese Buddhism, during the (Eastern) Han and Three Kingdoms period, which primarily consist of early translations of Indian Buddhist literature and a few pioneering Chinese commentaries to them. Largely unstudied by modern scholars owing to their archaic language and vocabulary, these sources document the first recorded intellectual encounters between the Indian and East Asian worlds. Together with a careful reading of a selection of the relevant primary sources, we also take up secondary readings on the history of early Chinese Buddhism and broader works on the problematics of translation and commentary, in the context of China and elsewhere.

Instructor permission required.

China

RLST 598, EAST 511

Modern Korean Buddhism from Sri Lanka to Japan

Hwansoo Kim
Th 1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
Fall

This course situates modern Korean Buddhism in the global context of the late nineteenth century to the present. Through critical examination of the dynamic relationship between Korean Buddhism and the Buddhisms of key East Asian cities—Shanghai, Tokyo, Taipei, and Lhasa—the course seeks to understand modern East Asian Buddhism in a transnational light. Discussion includes analyzing the impact of Christian missionaries, pan-Asian and global ideologies, colonialism, Communism, capitalism, war, science, hypermodernity, and atheism.

China, Japan, Korea, Transregional, South Asia

SOCY 081, ER&M 081, MUSI 081

Race and Place in British New Wave, K-Pop, and Beyond

Grace Kao
M,W 4:00 PM - 5:15 PM
Fall

This seminar introduces you to several popular musical genres and explores how they are tied to racial, regional, and national identities. We examine how music is exported via migrants, return migrants, industry professionals, and the nation-state (in the case of Korean Popular Music, or K-Pop). Readings and discussions focus primarily on the British New Wave (from about 1979 to 1985) and K-Pop (1992-present), but we also discuss first-wave reggae, ska, rocksteady from the 1960s-70s, British and American punk rock music (1970s-1980s), the precursors of modern K-Pop, and have a brief discussion of Japanese City Pop. The class focuses mainly on the British New Wave and K-Pop because these two genres of popular music have strong ties to particular geographic areas, but they became or have become extremely popular in other parts of the world. We also investigate the importance of music videos in the development of these genres.

Enrollment limited to freshmen. Preregistration required; see under Freshman Seminar Program. Instructor permission required.

Korea, Transregional

SOCY 310, ER&M 363

Hallyu: The Korean Wave Through K-Pop and K-Dramas

Grace Kao
Th 3:30 PM - 5:20 PM
Spring

This class explores the Hallyu (한류  or 韓流) or The Korean Wave, primarily with respect to K-Pop and K-Dramas. No knowledge of Korea, K-Pop, or K-Dramas is required, but some familiarity with K-Dramas and/or K-Pop is helpful. Korea has been extraordinarily successful in exporting these cultural products and in doing so, it has exposed the friction in cultural understandings of national origin, race, gender, and sexuality. In addition to the readings, you are expected to watch some K-Dramas and K-Pop. Specifically, each student is part of a team that watches one entire short K-Drama (usually 8 episodes) or half of a typical length K-Drama (16 episodes) during the first part of the class. Once we turn to K-Pop, there are weekly YouTube playlists of music videos for you to watch. You also read and comment on two episodes of 2 Korean webtoons. 

Preference is given to juniors and seniors in Sociology and/or ER&M.

Korea