Spring 2008: UMass Amherst Courses


AFRO-AMERICAN STUDIES 171: The Minority Experience in American Life and Culture II (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: Tu 9:30AM - 10:45AM
  • Instructor: Robert Wolff
  • Description: This course combines instruction in research tecnniques in a variety of Humanistic and Social Science disciplines, and hands-on experience with those techniques, with substantive materials focusing on the long struggle of minority populations for full participation in American cultural and public life.


ASIAN-STUDIES 491A: Senior Seminar (Required Certificate Course)

  • Time: TBA
  • Instructor: C.N. Le
  • Description: This is one of the two required courses that all Certificate students must eventually take, and most do so once they near completion of the Certificate. In this course, students will consult with the Program Director to design and conduct a final "capstone" research project that integrates the material and knowledge from all Certificate courses they've taken, along with their own personal lived experiences. Meeting times will be arranged individually with the Program Director.


CHINESE 120: Non-Intensive Elementrary Chinese I (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 10:10AM - 11:00AM, MWF 1:25PM - 2:15PM, or MWF 11:15AM - 12:05PM
  • Instructor: Chun-Ching Chang


CHINESE 150: Peoples & Languages of China (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 11:15AM - 12:30PM
  • Instructor: Yun Xiao


CHINESE 155: Chinese Myths & Legends (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 12:20PM - 1:10PM
  • Instructor: Donald Giertson


CHINESE 197S: ST-Chinese Civilization (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 1:25PM - 2:15PM
  • Instructor: David Schneider


CHINESE 241: Contemp Chinese Lit (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 9:30AM - 10:45AM
  • Instructor: En Hua Zhang


CHINESE 246: Intens Elem Chin II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 9:30AM - 10:45AM or TuTh 11:15AM - 12:30PM
  • Instructor: Shaodan Luo


CHINESE 247: Int El Chn II: Rdg & Wr (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 11:15AM - 12:30PM
  • Instructor: Shaodan Luo


CHINESE 285: Lang Suite Convrsatn (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TBA
  • Instructor: Ping Geng


CHINESE 327: intensive Intermediate Chinese II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 1:00PM - 2:15PM
  • Instructor: En Hua Zhang


CHINESE 391G: Sem Jr Year Writ Prg (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 2:30PM - 3:20PM
  • Instructor: Donald Gjertson


CHINESE 427: Advanced Modern Chinese II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 11:15AM - 12:30PM
  • Instructor: En Hua Zhang


CHINESE 433: Business Chinese (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 1:00PM - 2:15PM
  • Instructor: Shaodan Luo


CHINESE 451: Intermedia Classical Chinese (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 10:10AM - 11:00AM
  • Instructor: David Schneider


COMMUNICATION 397NN: Race, Gender, and the Sitcom (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 1:00PM - 2:15PM
  • Instructor: Demetria Shabazz


COMMUNICATION 397T: Contemporary World Cinema (Asian or Asian American Studies)

  • Time: MW 3:35PM - 5:30PM
  • Instructor: Anne Ciecko


COMPARATIVE LITERATURE 151: Fiction, East & West (Asian or Asian American Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 11:15AM - 12:05PM
  • Instructor: Nerissa Blace


ECONOMICS 144H: International Political Economy of Racism (Asian or Asian American Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 11:15AM - 12:30PM
  • Instructor: Lisa Saunders


ECONOMICS 177: Comparison of US and Japanese Economy (Asian or Asian American Studies)

  • Time: MW 12:20PM - 1:10PM
  • Instructor: Donald Katzner


ECONOMICS 397J ST: Comparison of US and Japanese Economy (Asian or Asian American Studies)

  • Time: MW 1:25PM - 2:15PM
  • Instructor: Donald Katzner


EDUCATION 115: Embracing Diversity (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: W 3:35PM - 6:00PM
  • Instructor: TBA


EDUCATION 210: Social Diversity in Education (Asian American Studies)

  • Time, Location, and Instructor: TuTh 11:15AM - 12:30PM , Van Meter House room 115, D. Chase Catalano; TuTh 11:15AM - 12:30PM, Hampden Dining Commons rm 200, Elaine Brigham; or TuTh 11:15AM - 12:30PM, Coolidge House room 508, Larissa Hopkins


EDUCATION 258: Educating for Social Justice & Diversity Through Peer Theater (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: TBA
  • Instructor: Kathy Sisneros


EDUCATION 377: Introduction to Multicultural Education (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: Tu 1:00PM - 3:30PM, Furcolo Hall room 228
  • Instructor: Masha Rudman


EDUCATION 392D: Social Issues Workshop: Racism (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: TBA
  • Instructor: Barbara Love


EDUCATION 395Z: Issues in Intergroup Relations (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: Th 4:00PM - 6:30PM
  • Instructor: Ximena Zuniga


ENGLISH 117: Ethnic American Literature (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: MWF 11:15AM - 12:05PM
  • Instructor: Brian Comfort


ENGLISH 270: American Identities (Asian American Studies)

  • Time and Instructor: M 4:30PM - 7:00PM with Dix Mccomas or TuTh 9:30AM - 10:45AM with Nicholas Bromell


ENGLISH 298C: Practicum in World Cinema (Asian Studies)

  • Time: W 6:30PM - 9:00PM
  • Instructor: Kirby Farrell


ENGLISH 491UU: American Orientalisms: Afro/Arab/Asian Connections (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: M 2:30PM - 5:00PM
  • Instructor: Karen Cardozo-Kane


FIN OP MGMT 413: International Finance (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 4:00PM - 5:15PM
  • Instructor: Nikunj Kapadia


HISTORY 110: Prob In World Civztn (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 2:30PM - 3:20PM
  • Instructor: Brian Bunk


HISTORY 115: History of China II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 11:15AM - 12:05PM
  • Instructor: Stephen Platt


HISTORY 116: History Of Japan (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 1:25PM - 2:15PM
  • Instructor: Richard Minear


HISTORY 131: Middle East History II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 4:00PM - 5:15PM
  • Instructor: Mary Wilson


HISTORY 253: Asian-Pacific American History, 1850-Present (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 11:15AM - 12:30PM
  • Instructor: Richard Chu
  • Description: This is an introductory survey course on the history of Asian Pacific Americans (A/P/A) within the broader historical context of imperialism in the Asia-Pacific region. We will compare and contrast the historical experiences of specific groups of the A/P/A community; namely, those of Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Southeast Asian (Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Hmong), Asian Indian, and Pacific Islander descent.


HISTORY 369: US Since Pearl Harbor (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 9:05AM - 9:55AM
  • Instructor: Christian Appy


JAPANESE 110: Non-Intensive Elementary Japanese I (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 10:10AM - 11:00AM, MWF 11:15AM - 12:05PM, or MWF 12:20PM - 1:10PM
  • Instructor: Ayana Inoguchi


JAPANESE 143: Lit-Classical & Medieval (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 11:15AM - 12:30PM
  • Instructor: Doris Bargen


JAPANESE 197N: Asian Homosexualities in Film & Literature (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 1:00PM - 2:15PM
  • Instructor: Stephen Miller


JAPANESE 246: Intens Elem Japan II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 9:30AM - 10:45AM or TuTh 11:15AM - 12:30PM
  • Instructor: Mako Koyama


JAPANESE 285: Language Suite Conversation (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TBA
  • Instructor: TBA


JAPANESE 327 - Intensive Intermediate Japanese II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 9:30AM - 10:45AM or TuTh 11:15AM - 12:30PM
  • Instructor: Yuko Kojima


JAPANESE 397M: Japanese Buddhism & the Literary Arts (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 4:00PM - 5:15PM
  • Instructor: Stephen Miller


JAPANESE 397R: ST-Gift Giving in Japan (Asian Studies)

  • Time: M 2:30PM - 3:20PM
  • Instructor: Reiko Sono


JAPANESE 497C: Readings in Modern Japanese II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 6:30PM - 7:45PM
  • Instructor: Stephen Forrest


JAPANESE 497D: Contemporary Japanese II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 1:25PM - 2:15PM
  • Instructor: Ayana Inoguchi


JOURNALISM 310: Press & The 3rd World (Asian Studies)

  • Time: Th 4:00PM - 6:30PM
  • Instructor: Nancy Muller


LEGAL STUDIES 397L: Citizenship & Race (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 9:30AM - 10:45AM
  • Instructor: Diana Yoon


LEGAL STUDIES 497R: Racial Conflict, Mediation & Social Justice (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: Tu 4:00PM - 6:30PM
  • Instructor: A Wing


MARKETING 437: International Marketing (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 1:25PM - 2:40PM or TuTh 1:00PM - 2:15PM
  • Instructor: Thomas Brashear-Alejandro or Charles Schewe


NURSING 312 - Cultural Diversity Hl & Ill (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: F 9:05AM - 12:05PM
  • Instructor: TBA


POLITICAL SCIENCE 397N: Race and Politics (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 9:30AM - 10:45AM
  • Instructor: TBA


PSYCHOLGY 391S: Psych Prejudice Stereotyping (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 2:30PM - 3:45PM
  • Instructor: Nilanjana Dasgupta


SOCIOLOGY 244: Sociology of Immigration (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: MWF 1:25PM - 2:15PM
  • Instructor: David Cort


SOCIOLOGY 291E: Sociol Change in the Middle East (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TBA
  • Instructor: TBA


SOCIOLOGY 340: Race Relations (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 4:00PM - 5:15PM, Machmer Hall W-26
  • Instructor: Catarina Fritz


SOCIOLOGY 361: Demography of Minority Groups (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: TuTh 1:00PM - 2:15PM
  • Instructor: C.N. Le
  • Description: This course has two separate but interrelated goals: (1) to introduce the student to using demography to study social groups and populations and (2) to explore the sociology of American racial/ethnic minority groups and various socioeconomic issues that reflect their histories and contemporary experiences. You do not need to be proficient in statistics or math to do well in this course. Instead, the course is about understanding how statistics can be used to help us understand important social and public policy issues such as immigration, employment, housing, criminal justice, education, etc. and how they affect the lives of people of color.


THEATER 130: Contemporary Playwrights Of Color (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: W 2:30PM - 5:00PM
  • Instructor: Priscilla Page



Spring 2008: Amherst College Courses


AMST 30-01 - Screening Asian Americans (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: MF 12:30PM-1:50PM
  • Instructor: Karen Cardozo
  • Description: Emphasizing contemporary issues, this course introduces students to various forms of visual media by and about Asian Americans. Using a chronological and thematic approach, various genres in advertising, television and film (including narrative dramas, documentaries, and experimental films) will be analyzed within the context of transnational Asian/American histories, cultures, and identities. Some of the issues we will address include: Orientalist stereotypes of Asians; the re/creation of history and memory; the intersections of race, class, and gender/sexuality; and interracial relations. Students will be expected to apply the critical languages of film and narrative theory to their analysis of visual texts-that is, to understand how form and content relate. Along with its broad survey of the panethnic category of "Asian Americans," the course will feature an in-depth case study of media representations of South Asian Americans (e.g., people from Bhutan, India, Pakistan). Among other assignments, students will independently review a text not covered by the syllabus and generate a final research paper.


ANTH 34: Religion: S Asian World (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 2:00PM – 3:20PM
  • Instructor: Lawrence Babb
  • Description: (Also Asian 60.) Observers have long marveled at the sheer number of separate religious traditions that flourish and interact with each other in South Asia. In this single ethnographic region, the Indian subcontinent, we find Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Christians, Jews, and others as well. Given this extraordinary diversity, South Asia provides an unparalleled opportunity to study interactions between religious systems in a broad range of social and political contexts. This course takes advantage of this circumstance by exploring, in South Asian settings, a variety of theoretical approaches to the study of religion. Among the subjects to be considered are religion and social hierarchy, religion and gender, religious responses to rapid social change, modern religious movements, religion and modern media, religious nationalism, and South Asian religions in diaspora. Although the course focuses on the South Asian region, it is designed to emphasize theoretical issues of current interest to anthropologists and others who study religion from the perspective of social science. While some background in South Asian studies would be helpful, it is not a prerequisite for this course. Limited to 15 students.


ASIAN LANG. & CIVILIZATION 19: Tea Ceremon & Japan Culture (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 12:30PM – 1:50 PM
  • Instructor: Samuel Morse
  • Description: (Also ARAH 83-01.) An examination of the history of chanoyu, the tea ceremony, from its origins in the fifteenth century to the practice of tea today. The class will explore the various elements that comprise the tea environment-the garden setting, the architecture of the tea room, the forms of tea utensils, and the elements of the kaiseki meal. Through a study of the careers of influential tea masters and texts that examine the historical, religious, and cultural background to tea culture, the class will also trace how the tea ceremony has become a metaphor for Japanese culture and Japanese aesthetics both in Japan and in the West. There will be field trips to visit tea ware collections, potters and tea masters. One class meeting per week. Limited to 20 students.


ASIAN LANG. & CIVILIZATION 30: India in Film (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 2:00PM – 3:20 PM
  • Instructor: David Reck
  • Description: A study of selected films from India, Europe, and the United States ranging from popular cinema (Meera Nam Joker, Taal, Indian, Kal Ho Na Ho, Gunga Din, Bhawani Junction, Black Narcissus, Gandhi, Passage to India) to art cinema (Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy, Charulata, Spices, Samskara, Salaam Bombay). In which ways are the themes, characters, plot, structures and techniques of the films culturally specific? Using Edward Said's book Orientalism as a starting point, this course will explore how Western films deal with the exotic and, conversely, how Indian films present the idea of Self and reaffirm (or contradict) the ideals and values of Indian society. Limited to 30 students.


ASIAN LANG. & CIVILIZATION 31: Asian Studies Colloquium (Asian Studies)

  • Time: 10:00AM – 11:20AM
  • Instructor: Maria Heim, Paola Zamperini
  • Description: (Also Religion 71.) A close study of a focused topic that has broad significance in Asian Studies. Normally to be team-taught by two faculty of the department. The approach will be multidisciplinary; the goal of the course will be to explore a subject of interest in Asian Studies that also has suggestive implications for issues in the humanities and social sciences. This course studies Buddhist literature and literary aesthetics from South Asia, China, Tibet, and Japan. We will consider several genres including biographies of the Buddha, hagiographies, sutras, epics, folk tales, poetry, short stories, plays, and novels. We will explore how literature may be uniquely empowered to generate and reflect certain sensibilities and to make certain truths known. We will also be focusing on what the texts mean for the people who write, hear, read, and preserve them and how these meanings occur over time. By examining how literary ideals inflect religious, ethical, and political values (and vice versa), we will be attentive to how literary communities and institutions work. Students in the course will experiment with writing and appreciating poetry by participating in a "Haiku Slam." Limited to 30 students.


ASIAN LANG. & CIVILIZATION 33: Mod & Contemp Japan Lit (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 10:00AM – 11:20 AM
  • Instructor: Timothy Van Compernolle
  • Description: (J) This course is an introduction to modern and contemporary Japanese literature through readings and discussions of short stories, novels, drama, and poetry from mainland Japan and Okinawa. The course deals with both literary and cultural issues from around 1800 to the present day, with particular emphasis placed on how literature has reflected and responded to the vertiginous transformations undergone by Japan in the last two centuries: the rise of a commercial economy, the encounter with the West, rapid modernization and the emergence of consumer culture, imperial expansion, war, defeat, democratization, and finally vaulting back onto the world stage as a postmodern economic superpower. This course assumes no prior knowledge of Japan or Japanese, and all texts are taught using English translations. Limited to 20 students.


ASIAN LANG. & CIVILIZATION 34: Japanese Cinema (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 2:00PM – 3:20PM
  • Instructor: Timothy Van Compernolle
  • Description: (J) This course will investigate the Japanese film as a narrative art, as a formal construct, and as a participant in larger aesthetic and social contexts. In particular, the relationship between the individual and the mise-en-scene will be a major theme throughout the term. We will cover the first hundred years of Japanese cinema, from the very first film footage shot in Japan in 1897 through the golden age of studio cinema in the 1950s, to important independent filmmakers working today. We will cover silent films, talkies, and animation. The course includes the major genres of Japanese film and influential schools/movements. Students will also learn and get extensive practice using the vocabulary of the discipline of film studies. This course assumes no prior knowledge of Japan or Japanese, and all films have English subtitles. Limited to 20 students.


ASIAN LANG. & CIVILIZATION 46: Modern China (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 2:00PM – 3:20 PM
  • Instructor: Jerry Dennerline
  • Description: (Also History 16) A survey of Chinese history from the Manchu conquest of 1644 to the present. Beginning with the successes and failures of the imperial state as it faced global economic development, expanding European empires, and internal social change, we will study the Opium War, massive nineteenth-century religious rebellions, Republican revolution and state-building, the "New Culture" movement, Communist revolution, the anti-Japanese war, Mao's Cultural Revolution, and the problems of post-Mao reform, all with comparative reference to current events. Readings, which include a wide variety of documents such as religious and revolutionary tracts, eye-witness accounts, memoirs, and letters, are supplemented by interpretive essays and videos. Two class meetings per week.


ASIAN LANG. & CIVILIZATION 47: Modern Japan (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 11:00AM – 11:50AM
  • Instructor: Trent Maxey
  • Description: (Also History 18.) This course introduces the modern history of the Japanese archipelago, from the late Tokugawa period through the rise of the modern Meiji nation-state, colonial expansion and total war. We will conclude with the postwar economic recovery and the socio-political challenges facing the Japanese nation-state in the early 2000s. Along the way, we will explore in the specific context of Japanese history themes that are relevant to modern societies, including the collapse of a "traditional" regime, industrialization, imperialism, feminism, nationalism, war, and democracy. Classes will consist of lectures along with close readings and discussions that engage primary texts, scholarship, and film. Requirements include short response papers and topical essays. Three class meetings per week.


ASIAN LANG. & CIVILIZATION 48: Middle East 1800 – Present (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 2:00PM – 3:20 PM
  • Instructor: Monica Ringer
  • Description: (Also History 20.) This course surveys the history of the Middle East from 1800 to the present. The focus is on the political, social and intellectual trends involved in the process of modernization and reform in the Middle East. General topics include the Ottoman Empire and its decline, the impact of European imperialism and colonialism, programs of modernization and reform, the construction of nationalism and national identities, Islamism, development and contemporary approaches to modernity. Two class meetings per week.


ASIAN LANG. & CIVILIZATION 50: Relig & Soc: Great China (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 10:00AM – 11:20AM
  • Instructor: Jerry Dennerline
  • Description: (Also History 58.) This course will focus on religious beliefs and practices in Chinese communities, past and present, in China and abroad. The goal is to develop comparative perspectives on the varieties of religious activity in Chinese societies by studying them in local and global contexts. Among the issues to be considered are the following: (1) Is there such a thing as "Chinese religion" as distinct from the specific rites and doctrines of Buddhism or Taoism? (2) What has been the role of states in shaping religion in China? What have been the roles of Confucianism, Nationalism, and Communism? (3) How are the activities of local cults related to particular social or political interests? (4) How are the beliefs and practices of household religion and ancestor worship compatible with or contradictory to those of Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam? (5) How do current religious developments in Chinese communities support or oppose what political analysts call "civil society"? Reading, discussion, and individual research projects. Two class meetings per week.


ASIAN LANG. & CIVILIZATION 61: Sacred Images & Space (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 10:00AM – 10:50AM
  • Instructor: Samuel Morse
  • Description: (Also Art and Art History 66.) An interdisciplinary study of the visual culture of the Buddhist and Shinto religious traditions in Japan. The class will examine in depth a number of Japan's most important sacred places, including Ise Shrine, Todaiji, Daitokuji and Mount Fuji, and will also look at the way contemporary architects such as Ando Tadao and Takamatsu Shin have attempted to create new sacred places in Japan today. Particular emphasis will be placed on the ways by which the Japanese have given distinctive form to their religious beliefs through architecture, painting and sculpture, and the ways these objects have been used in religious ritual.


ASIAN LANG. & CIVILIZATION 62: Hist/Mem: Asia-Pacific War (Asian Studies)

  • Time: W 2:00PM – 4:00PM
  • Instructor: Trent Maxey
  • Description: (Also History 90.) The varied names given to the fifteen years of war conducted by Japan-the Pacific War, the Great East Asian War, the Fifteen-Year War, World War II, and the Asian-Pacific War-suggest a number of conflicting perspectives arise from that war. How has the experience of a fifteen-year war during the 1930s and 1940s shaped memory and history in Japan, East Asia, and the United States? This seminar begins with this broad question and pursues related questions: How are the memory and history of war intertwined in both national and international politics? What forms of memory have been included and excluded from dominant historical narratives and commemorative devices? How does critical historiography intersect with the politics and passions of memory? We will use oral histories, primary documents, film, and scholarship to guide our thoughts and discussions. We will begin with a history of Japan's Fifteen-Year War and move on to prominent debates concerning the history and memory of that war. A reading response journal, short response papers, and a research paper will be required. Students will also serve as discussion initiators. One class meeting per week. Not open to first-year students. Limited to 15 students.


ASIAN LANG. & CIVILIZATION 64: Seminar: Mid East Hist (Asian Studies)

  • Time: W 2:00PM – 4:00PM
  • Instructor: Monica Ringer
  • Description: (Also History 93.) In the early twentieth century Turkey and Iran seemed to be on similar trajectories towards modernization. Turkey and Iran today, however, evidence very different societies, political systems, and relationships to religion and the West. This course will examine the programs of the authoritarian modernizers of the twentieth century in historical context and seek to illuminate the basis of their very different political, cultural and social legacies. Why does Turkey follow a secularism that is intolerant of sartorial freedoms and cultural and religious minorities? Why, in such a secular state, is Turkey experiencing a rise of Islamist movements? Conversely, why does Iran follow an Islamic government that is likewise intolerant of sartorial freedoms and religious minorities? Both claim to be democratic-how and why are these claims validated? What are the roots of their visions of the modern world and where are these societies headed? One class meeting per week. Not open to first-year students. Limited to 20 students. Preference given to students who have taken at least one course regarding the Middle East.


CHINESE 02: First Year Chinese II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: Please search the Five Colleges site for all available times
  • Instructor: Tong Shen
  • Description: A continuation of Chinese 01. By the end of the course, students are expected to have a good command of Mandarin pronunciation, the basic grammar structures, an active vocabulary of 700 Chinese characters, and basic reading and writing skills in the Chinese language. The class meets five times per week (lectures on MWF and drill sessions on TTh). This course prepares students for Chinese 05 (Second-year Chinese I). Requisite: Chinese 01 or equivalent. Limited to 30 students.


CHINESE 04: Heritage Chinese II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MTWTHF 1:00PM – 1:50PM
  • Instructor: Weljia Li
  • Description: A continuation of Chinese 03, the second intensive introductory course for heritage language learners who have near-native speaking ability in Chinese but want to develop their reading and writing skills. By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to master an active vocabulary of 1,200 Chinese characters, to have a good command of the basic grammar structures and idiomatic expressions, to conduct conversations and discussion with standard Mandarin pronunciation, and to comprehend and write short stories and essays on daily matters in modern Chinese. Three class hours are supplemented by two drill sessions. This course prepares students for Chinese 07 (Third-year Chinese I). Requisite: Chinese 03 or equivalent. Admission with consent of the instructor. Limited to 10 students.


CHINESE 06: Second Year Chinese II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 11:00AM – 11:50AM; TH 10:00AM – 10:50AM or MWF 11:00AM – 11:50AM; T/TH 9:00AM – 9:50AM
  • Instructor: Xiaoping Teng
  • Description: This course is a continuation of Chinese 05. By the end of the semester, most of the basic grammatical structures will be addressed. This course continues to help students develop higher proficiency level on the four skills. Class will be conducted mostly in Chinese. There will be three meetings and two drill sessions each week. This course prepares students for Chinese 07. Requisite: Chinese 05 or equivalent. Limited to 18 students.


CHINESE 08: Third-Year Chinese II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 2:00PM – 2:50PM, T/TH 11:30AM – 12:20PM
  • Instructor: Weijia Li
  • Description: A continuation of Chinese 07, a modern Chinese reading and writing course at the advanced level. Development of the basic four skills will continue to be stressed. It will emphasize both linguistic competence and communicative competence. Acquisition of additional characters will be through authentic readings of different genres. More training will be given on writing with more precision and details. Three class hours are supplemented by two drill sessions. This course prepares students for Chinese 09. Requisite: Chinese 07 or equivalent.


CHINESE 10: Fourth-Year Chinese II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 12:30PM – 1:50PM
  • Instructor: Xiaoping Teng
  • Description: This course is a continuation of Chinese 09. More advanced authentic texts of different genres of writings and literary works will be introduced to students. Development of a higher level of proficiency of the four skills will be stressed through class discussions, writing compositions, listening to TV news clips and watching movies that are supplemental to the themes of the reading materials. Class will be conducted entirely in Chinese. There will be two class meetings each week. Requisite: Chinese 09 or equivalent. Admission with consent of the instructor.


JAPANESE 01H-01: Into to Japanese I (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 11:00AM – 11:50AM
  • Instructor: Wako Tawa
  • Description: This course is the first-semester of a non-intensive version of Japanese 01, which is offered regularly in the fall semester. This course is designed for interested students to begin their Japanese study in the spring semester in a non-intensive way. The course content is exactly the same as Japanese 01, but this course in the spring semester covers the first half of a regular Japanese 01 course. The subsequent course, Japanese 02H in the fall semester, covers the second half of a regular Japanese 01 course. Upon completion of Japanese 02H in the fall, interested students are eligible to take a regular Japanese 02 in the spring semester, the next level after Japanese 01.


JAPANESE 02: Building Survival Skills (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 9:00AM – 9:50AM or MW 10:00AM – 10:50AM
  • Instructors: Ikumi Kayama, Wako Tawa, and/or Kozue Miyama
  • Description: t his course is a continuation of Japanese 01. The course will emphasize active learning by each student in the class by means of the materials in the course website and individualized or small group discussions with the instructor. Small groups based on the students' proficiency levels will be formed, so that instruction accords with the needs of each group. By the end of this course, students are expected to be familiar with most basic Japanese structures, to have acquired a substantial vocabulary, and to have gained sufficient speaking, listening, reading, and writing proficiency levels, which will enable the students to survive using Japanese in Japan. As for literacy, a few hundred new characters (Kanji) will be added by reading and writing longer passages. Two group meetings and two individualized or small group evaluations per week are normally required throughout the semester. Requisite: Japanese 01 or equivalent.


JAPANESE 04: Beyond Basic Japanese (Asian Studies)

  • Time: TBA
  • Instructor: Wako Tawa
  • Description: This course is a continuation of Japanese 03. The course will emphasize active learning from each student in the class by the use of the materials on the course website and individual or small group discussions with the instructor. By the end of this course, students are expected to be able to use basic Japanese structures with a substantial vocabulary and to have attained post-elementary speaking, listening, reading, and writing proficiency levels. As for literacy, a few hundred new characters (Kanji) will be added by reading and writing longer passages. Small groups based on the students' proficiency levels will be formed, so that instruction accords with the needs of each group. Students will be required to practice with the materials that are on the course website at the college. Two group meetings and two individualized or small group evaluations per week are normally required throughout the semester. Requisite: Japanese 03 or equivalent.


JAPANESE 06: Auth Japanese Materials (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 1:00PM – 1:50PM or T/TH 2:00PM – 2:50PM
  • Instructor: Wako Tawa
  • Description: This course is a continuation of Japanese 05. The course will provide sufficient practice of reading authentic texts and viewing films to prepare for the next level, Japanese 11, in which various genres of reading and films will be introduced. Throughout the course, the development of more fluent speech and stronger literacy will be emphasized by studying more complex and idiomatic expressions. Acquisition of an additional few hundred characters (Kanji) will be part of the course. The class will be conducted mostly in Japanese. Small groups based on the students' proficiency levels will be formed, so that instruction accords with the needs of each group. Students will be required to practice with the materials that are on the course website at the college. Two group meetings and two individualized or small group evaluations per week are normally required throughout the semester. Requisite: Japanese 05 or equivalent.


JAPANESE 10: Conquering Kanji II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T 3:00PM – 3:50PM
  • Instructor: Wako Tawa
  • Description: This course serves either as continuation of Japanese 09H or the equivalent of 09H. See Japanese 09H for the course content. Requisite: Japanese 01 at Amherst College or its equivalent.


JAPANESE 12: Reading to Learn (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 12:00PM – 12:50PM or MWF 1:00PM – 1:50PM
  • Instructor: Kozue Miyama; Wako Tawa
  • Description: This course will be a continuation of Japanese 11. Various genres of writing and film, of longer and increased difficulty levels, will be used to develop a high proficiency level of reading, writing, speaking, and listening throughout the semester. At this level, the students should gradually be moving from "learning to read" to "reading to learn." This important progression will be guided carefully by the instructor. Small groups based on the students' proficiency levels will be formed, so that instruction accords with the needs of each group. Students will be required to practice with the materials that are on the course website at the college. Two group meetings and two individualized or small group evaluations per week are normally required throughout the semester. Requisite: Japanese 11 or equivalent.


JAPANESE 14: Thematic Read & Write (Asian Studies)

  • Time: F 2:00PM – 5:00PM
  • Instructor: Ikumi Kayama; Wako Tawa
  • Description: This course is a continuation of Japanese 13. In addition to learning how to search for the relevant material, read it with comprehension, and produce a high level of writing, the students will learn to conduct a small research project in this semester. The course will also focus on the development of a high level of speaking proficiency through discussions with classmates and the instructor. Small groups based on the students' proficiency levels will be formed, so that instruction accords with the needs of each group. Two group meetings and two individualized or small group evaluations per week are normally required throughout the semester. Requisite: Japanese 13 or equivalent.


JAPANESE 16: Great Books and Films (Asian Studies)

  • Time: F 2:00PM – 5:00PM
  • Instructors: Fumiko Brown, Wako Tawa
  • Description: This course is a continuation of Japanese 15. The course is designed for students who possess a high proficiency level of speaking but need training in cover-to-cover reading or film comprehension. Class materials will be selected from well-known books and films. Writing assignments will be given to develop critical and creative writing skills in Japanese. Small groups based on the students' proficiency levels will be formed, so that instruction accords with the needs of each group. Two group meetings and two individualized or small group evaluations per week are normally required throughout the semester. Requisite: Japanese 15 or equivalent.


POSC 22: Modern Indonesia (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 10:00AM – 11:20AM
  • Instructor: Doreen Lee
  • Description: The title of the course is borrowed from Cornell University's landmark Modern Indonesia Project, situated in the Southeast Asia Program. Area Studies programs such as these were founded in the post-WWII era, and for the last 50 years have influenced US policy and regional geopolitics in Asia in significant ways. The rich body of literature generated by Western scholars (mostly Dutch and American) allows us to go beyond an area studies perspective, and to use the locality of Indonesia as a way to think through problems of colonialism, post colonialism, nationalism, the relationship of violence to the nation-state, and the margins of the nation-state. We will therefore explore the production of "Indonesia" through its history and through the ways in which our theories have represented its modernity. This course will use a number of primary sources such as archival films of the Dutch East Indies, transcripts of political speeches by early nationalists such as Sukarno, prison memoirs, and the controversial film about the 1965 Communist "Coup," "The Year of Living Dangerously" that was banned in Indonesia until recently. Limited to 25 students. Not open to first-year students.



Spring 2008: Hampshire College Courses


HACU 0275-1: Science in the Islamic World (Asian Studies)

  • Time and Location: 0:30AM-11:50AM M,W; Adele Simmons Hall 222
  • Instructor: Salman Hameed
  • Description: History of western science would be incomplete without the inclusion of Arab and Muslim contributions in the Middle-ages. In this course we will explore some of the reasons behind the outstanding growth of scientific reasoning in the Islamic world, including the motivation for translating Greek works and the role of religion in the early progress of science. While we are familiar with prominent Greek philosophers and scientific personalities of the post- Renaissance era, the lives of many Muslim scientists such as Al-Haytham (Alhazen), Ibn- Sina (Avicena), Ibn-Rushd (Averros) and their contributions remain largely unknown to many students. We will also explore the fascinating philosophical struggle between the rationalist and the traditionalist (orthodox) philosophers. The course will conclude with a look at the reasons for the later decline of scientific thinking in the Islamic world and the contemporary struggles to reconcile modern science with traditional religious systems.


HACU 0280-1: Iranian Cinema Close Up (Asian Studies)

  • Time and Location: 09:00AM-11:50AM W; 07:00PM-09:00PM T; Franklin Patterson Hall 102
  • Instructor: Simin Farkhondeh
  • Description: Iran is home to one of the oldest civilizations in the world, going back over 3500 years. Image making is not a new concept for this ancient culture. Americans and the West tend to associate two conflicting sets of images with Iran: Ayatolla Khomeini and the hostage crisis, "Axis of Evil," Islamic fundamentalism, Shi'ia terrorists, and the revolution; or Persia, as the English imperialists called Iran, is imagined as mysterious and exotic: home of spiritual poetry, sensual music, the land of gardens, Rosewater, and Thousand and One Nights. Both of these constructions render Iran/Persia as alien and other, representing everything that "we" are not. Studying Iranian Cinema provides an opportunity to examine some of our own silent, "privileged" constructions of the Western identity. Cinema came to Iran not too much later than its first screenings by the Lumier Brothers in Europe. This course will look at the development of Iranian Cinema over the decades taking into account the many socio-political upheavals, imperialist interventions and their impact on this art form. We will be looking at silent and sound films spanning a period of over a hundred years. Class activities include screening of Farsi language fiction and documentary films; in-class presentations and group discussion of selected screenings and theory readings. Class writing assignments can be interpreted as short video/film projects with prior instructor agreement. Wherever required technical workshops will be provided outside of class for those students who want to turn their written assignments into films. Some written assignments will be required of all students.


HACU 0323-1: Buddhism During Colonia Period (Asian Studies)

  • Time and Location: 02:30PM-05:20PM W; Franklin Patterson Hall 105
  • Instructor: Bong Joo
  • Description: Did you know that the popular image of Buddhism in the West has its roots in Asian reinterpretation of and Western fascination with Buddhism during the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century? Before its introduction to the West, particularly to the US, Buddhism became "prepackaged" as a rational, humanistic, ritual-free religion of direct Enlightenment experience as the result of Asian encounter with the West. This course will explore the history of Westerners' discovery of Buddhism as well as modernizing efforts made in various parts of Asia during the colonial period. Emphasis will be on the cases of Sri Lankan, Japanese and Tibetan Buddhism. In addition, the rhetoric of scientifically compatible Buddhism, the influence of German philosophy and Christian missionaries, Buddhism's rise to the World Religions and the "secondary" Orientalism among Asians will be closely examined. This course is designed to appeal to students interested in modern Asian history, Buddhism, and/or religion and modernity.


IA 0112-1: Elementary Chinese II (Asian Studies)

  • Time and Location: MTWTHF 5:00PM – 5:50PM; Franklin Patterson Hall 107
  • Instructor: Kay Johnson
  • Description: Elementary Chinese II: This course covers the second semester of beginning Chinese (LS/IA 111). It will be taught by a visiting professor of Chinese from the Hampshire College China Exchange program and K. Johnson. The course will continue to use the Integrated Chinese textbook series. The class will cover speaking, reading, and writing Chinese characters. Required books are: Integrated Chinese Textbook Level 1, Part 2; Integrated Chinese Workbook Level 1, Part 2; Integrated Chinese Character Workbook, Level 1, Part 2. The class will meet three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 5:00-5:50) for one hour each session; there are also two one-hour drill sessions per week (Tuesday and Thursday 5:00-5:50) for a total of five class periods per week. Students who complete this class will be able to continue studying Chinese at the intermediate level at any of the other Five Colleges. Prerequisite for this class is one semester of college level Chinese or the equivalent. PRJ, MCP, PRS


IA 0312-1: Advanc Intermed Chinese (Asian Studies)

  • Time and Location: MTWTHF 4:00PM – 4:50PM; Franklin Patterson Hall 101
  • Instructors: Yan Lu; Kay Johnson
  • Description: This course will be taught by a visiting professor of Chinese from the Hampshire College China Exchange program and supervised by K. Johnson. Students entering this class will be expected to have completed the equivalent of at least one semester of an intensive college-level Intermediate Chinese course. The class will cover the second half of Integrated Chinese Level 2. Materials from Chinese magazines and other primary Chinese sources will be used to augment the text as the course progresses. Emphasis will be placed equally on speaking, reading, and writing. By the end of the course, students will be expected to have mastered all of the grammar patterns and characters (both recognition and writing from memory) introduced in the Integrated Chinese series, Levels 1 and 2. Required books are: Integrated Chinese Textbook Level 2; Integrated Chinese Workbook Level 2; Integrated Chinese Character Workbook, Level 2. The class will meet three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 4:00-4:50) for one hour each session; there are also two one-hour drill sessions per week (Tuesday and Thursday 4:00-4:50) for a total of five class periods per week. Alternative drill session times may be scheduled if necessary to meet the needs of student schedules. Class is limited to 12 students. Pre-requisite: completion of a minimum of three semesters of intensive Chinese or equivalent is required to enter this class.


SS 0110-1: Oil & the MidEastern Economies (Asian Studies)

  • Time and Location: 02:00PM-03:20PM T,TH; Franklin Patterson Hall 108
  • Instructor: Omar Dahi
  • Description: This course is an introduction to economic development in the Middle Eastern focusing on the various influences of the discovery and export of oil. In what ways has the discovery of oil changed the oil (and non-oil) producing societies? How can we reconcile the existence of massive natural resources with the levels of poverty and underdevelopment throughout the region? Is this contradiction a result of inward orientation of the regimes or other cultural pre-dispositions, as is widely repeated in popular discourse? How have the processes of de-colonization, the clash of the various nationalist projects, and reoccurring wars, sanctions, and occupations hindered human development? By exploring novels, films, and scholarly articles we will examine the interaction between the various social actors, state structure and policy, and structural transformation within the region.


SS 0145-1: Islam/Democratization (Asian Studies)

  • Time and Location: 10:30AM-11:50AM T,TH; Franklin Patterson Hall 103
  • Instructor: Berna Turam
  • Description: Compatibility of democracy and Islam has remained a contestable issue. On the one hand, it has been argued that Islamic culture propels civic and egalitarian values, which makes Islamic cultures democratic. On the other hand, it has been argued that Islam is secularization-resistant, intolerable to individual liberties and thereby incompatible with democracy. Critically assessing the essentializing tendencies of both of these arguments, we will shift the question from compatibility to the dynamics of state-Islam interaction. By studying the diversity of Islamic forces and states, we will explore wide-ranging patterns of interaction that are pivotal to democratization in the Middle Eastern context. The class will discuss pro-democratic voices, actors and their movements as well as their various opponents. The major theoretical goal of the course is to introduce competing approaches to democracy and democratization as well as state transformation by using case studies from the Middle East.


SS 0173-1: Post Colonial Theory in S. Asia (Asian Studies)

  • Time and Location: MW 4:00M – 5:20PM; Franklin Patterson Hal 102
  • Instructor: Vishnupad
  • Description: In this course we will ask questions about elementary aspects of what is broadly known as post-colonial theory, and particularly so in the context of South Asia. Post-colonial theory as it emerged in the 1980146s in disciplines such as history complicated our understanding of the experiences of modernity, colonialism and capitalism in South Asia as it emphasized questions of race, gender, sexuality and other forms of identity alongside class. Apart from looking at South Asia we will also look at the impact of post- colonial studies in other regions of the world. In addressing these issues our perspective will be informed by a critical outlook where we will not only elaborate the salient and useful aspects of post-colonial theory but also invoke its limitations.


SS 0267-1: U.S. China Geopolitics (Asian Studies)

  • Time and Location: MW 10:30AM – 11:50AM; Emily Dickinson Hall 1
  • Instructor: Michael Klare
  • Description: This course will examine the problems that arise from the collision, interconnection, and coincidence of the strategic concerns of the United States and the People's Republic of China. As China gains in political, economic, and military strength, its interests will increasingly intersect with those of the United States, producing friction and conflict in some cases (e.g., over the pursuit of foreign energy supplies) but opportunities for addressing major problems (like North Korea's nuclear ambitions) in others. The course will consider both the underlying strategic principles that govern U.S. and Chinese foreign policy and the specific ways in which they are applied to particular problem areas, such as Taiwan, North Korea, Japanese militarism, Iran, the global energy predicament, global warming, and human rights. Students will be expected to select a particular problem in U.S.-China relations for intensive investigation and to present his/her findings in class.


SS 0226-1: Pacific Empires and A/P/A History (Asian American or Asian Studies)

  • Time and Location: T/TH 2:00PM – 3:20PM; Franklin Patterson Hall ELH
  • Instructor: Richard Chu
  • Description: This course focuses on the Chinese, Japanese, French, American, and British empires in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly during the 19th and 20th centuries, and includes a general overview of the countries and A/P/A communities impacted by their imperial projects. The approach is both chronological and thematic. Thus, it starts with the Chinese empire, linking it to the stream of Chinese migrants rushing to "Gold Mountain" (i.e., California) in search of gold during the 1850s, and ends with the U.S. empire, relating it to the influx of Southeast Asian (Vietnamese, Hmong, Cambodians) immigrants in the 1970s and 1980s. Thereafter, certain historical events that also had direct bearing on the A/P/A community but not exclusively related to one empire are included, such as World War II and the rise of nation-states in Asia. Themes to be discussed include imperialism, racism, gender, colonialism, neo-colonialism, globalization, transnationalism, and migration.


SS 0277-1: Socially Engaged Buddhism (Asian Studies)

  • Time and Location: MW 9:00PM – 10:20AM; Franklin Patterson 105
  • Instructor: Susan Darlington
  • Description: How is Buddhism engaged in the world? This course explores how Buddhism is being used in Asia and the United States to address contemporary issues such as human rights, environmentalism, economic development and gender relations. The historical development and application of engaged Buddhism will be examined in light of traditional Buddhist concepts of morality, interdependence and liberation in comparison with Western ideas of freedom, human rights and democracy. We will explore how globalization and cultural traditions influence the process of religious and cultural change as people deal with social problems. Cases of Burma, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Tibet, India, Vietnam and the U.S. will be studied comparatively within their broader cultural, historical and political contexts as we look at progressive and conservative responses to social change. Prior knowledge of Buddhist studies or Asian studies is strongly recommended.



Spring 2008: Mount Holyoke College Courses


ARTH 261-01: Arts of China (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 8:35AM – 9:50AM
  • Instructor: Ajay Sinha
  • Description: Sixteenth - through eighteenth-century European social dance, contemporary with the eras of Elizabeth I and Shakespeare in England, the Medicis in Italy, Louis XIV in France, and colonial America.


ASIAN 111-0: Elementary Chinese (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MTWTHF 10:00AM – 10:50AM or MTWTHF 1:15PM – 2:05PM
  • Instructor: Hui Zhang


ASIAN 121 – Elementary Japanese (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MTWTHF 11:00AM – 11:50AM, MWF 11:00AM – 11L50AM, or T/TH 1:15PM – 2:05PM
  • Instructor: Naoko Nemoto


ASIAN 131-01: Elementary Arabic II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 1:15PM – 2:30PM
  • Instructor: Mohammed Jiyad


ASIAN 213-01: Intermediate Chinese (Asian Studies)

  • Times: MTWTHF 9:00AM – 9:50AM, MWF 9:00AM – 9:50AM, or T/TH 2:40PM – 3:30PM
  • Instructor: Hui Zhang


ASIAN 220 – 01: Women Writing in India (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 11:00AM – 12:15PM
  • Instructor: Indira Peterson


ASIAN 223-01: Intensive Int Japanese (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MTWTHF 10:00AM – 10:50AM
  • Instructor: Naoko Nemoto


ASIAN 233-01: Intermediate Arabic II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 2:40PM – 3:55PM
  • Instructor: Mohammed Jiyad


ASIAN 254-01: Great Epics of India (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 11:00AM – 12:15PM
  • Instructor: Indiria Peterson


ASIAN 311-01 – Third Year Chinese II (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: MW 11:00AM – 12:15PM
  • Instructor: Shin-Yi Kao


ASIAN 313-01: Fourth-Year Chinese II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 11:00AM – 12:15PM
  • Instructor: Shulin Gao


ASIAN 320-01: Arab Women Novelists’ Work (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T 1:15PM – 4:05PM
  • Instructor: Mohammed Jiyad


ASIAN 326-01: Third Year Japanese II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 11:00AM – 12:15PM
  • Instructor: Fumiko Brown


ECON 202-01: East Asian Economics (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 11:00AM – 12:15PM
  • Instructor: Satyananda Gabriel


ENGL 334-01: Queer Kinship/Asian Amer Lit. (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: W 1:15PM – 4:05PM
  • Instructor: Iyko Day


ENGL 381-01: Asian American Literature in a Transnational Age (Asian American Studies)

  • Time and Location: Mondays 1:15-4:05, CLAP 127
  • Instructor: Iyko Day
  • Description: Transnational contexts of colonialism, war, free market expansion, and forced and voluntary migration have made enduring impressions on a complex and shifting Asian American imaginary. This seminar reconsiders the way transnational interactions and processes mediate literature and domestic cultural politics by examining Asian American literature in a comparative diasporic framework. Our primary objective will be to examine the extent to which Asian diasporic literature in the US, Canada, and Australia bear important similarities that expose broader transnational formations that are articulated across white settler nations surrounding the Pacific. Throughout the course we will pay close attention to the distinct and intersecting critical genealogies that accompany these cultural productions, focusing in particular on domestic and transnational critical debates; feminist and queer politics; and historical materialist, psychoanalytic, postcolonial, and deconstructive critical methodologies. Course materials will include selected criticism, film, and the following literary texts: Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston, Obasan by Joy Kogawa, Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn, Birds of Passage by Brian Castro, and Blu’s Hanging by Lois-Ann Yamanaka.


GNDST 204-01: Topic: Writing in India (Asian Studies)

  • Time: 11:00AM-12:15PM M,W
  • Instructor: Indira Peterson
  • Description: Critical study of women's writing in India, in genres ranging from classical and medieval poems, tales and songs (e.g., Tiruppavai) to novels, plays and personal narratives by modern women writers (e.g., Rokeya Hossain's Sultana's Dream, Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things), in translation from Indian languages and in the original English. We will focus on women's perspectives and voices, women's agency, and resistance to dominant discourses. Attention is paid to historical contexts, the socio-religious constructions of women and gender, and the role of ideologies such as colonialism and nationalism in the production and reception of women's writing.


GNDST 210-01: Topic: Women and Buddhism (Asian Studies)

  • Time and Instructor: TBA
  • Description: The course examines Buddhist representations of women and women's representations of Buddhism. We will study materials by and about Buddhist women from Thailand, India, China, Tibet, Japan, and the U.S. Some of the questions we will ask are: How are women portrayed in Buddhist literature? How do they portray themselves? How have Buddhist women responded to sexism in their communities? How have Buddhist women contributed to the development of new Buddhist institutions?


HIST 124-01: Modern South Asia (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 11:00AM – 12:15PM
  • Instructor: Kavita Datia


HIST 130-01: Intro to Chinese Civilization (Asian Studies)

  • Time: 02:40PM-03:55PM T,TH
  • Instructor: Jonathan Lipman
  • Description: A survey of the social, political, and cultural world of premodern China. Emphasis will be placed on the evolution and contrasts of elite and popular culture and the nature of change in an agrarian state. Readings will be drawn from Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist traditions, classical poetry and fiction, and the history of social and political movements.


IHIST 301-02: Col: Indian Ocean World (Asian Studies)

  • Time: 01:15PM-04:05PM W
  • Instructor: Kavita Datla
  • Description: In recent years, the Indian Ocean has become an exciting field of historical scholarship, contributing to new understandings of Indian and world history. This colloquium explores trade and travel, conquest, religious conversion, and migration across a large area, from East Africa to the islands of Southeast Asia. Its purpose will be to understand a complex and integrated commercial system, pivoted on the Indian subcontinent, by considering movements of goods and people across the Indian Ocean.


HIST 301-03: Col: Women & Gndr/Middle East (Asian Studies)

  • Time: 01:15PM-04:05PM T
  • Instructor: Nadya Sbaiti
  • Description: This course is designed to provide students with a nuanced historical understanding of issues related to women and gender in the region defined as the area from Morocco to Iran. After an introduction to the main themes and approaches in the study of women and gender, we will examine the development of discourses on gender and the lived experiences of women from the rise of Islam, through the Ottoman Empire, and up to the twentieth century. Topics: the politics of marriage, divorce, and reproduction; women's political and economic participation; Islamist movements; the new field of masculinity studies; and the highly contested topics of homosexuality and trans-sexuality in the Middle East.


HIST 331-01: Imperial Japan (Asian Studies)

  • Time: W 1:15PM – 4:05 PM
  • Instructor: Jonathan Lipman


INDPT 115-01: The Rise of China (Asian Studies)

  • Time: M 6:30PM – 8:00PM
  • Instructors: Satyananda Gabriel; Michael Klare; Johnathan Lipman; Eva Paus; Jon Western
  • Description: This course continues elementary Japanese. Emphasizes equally speaking, listening, reading, and writing modern Japanese. Includes approximately three hundred kanji. Supplements class work with audio- and videotapes and computer programs.


INTL RELA 316-01: The Vietnam War – International Relations (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T 1:15PM – 4:05PM
  • Instructor: W Anthony Lake
  • Description: A history of American involvement in Vietnam. This course includes a review of the origins of the war and US intervention; the domestic impulses for deepening involvement and then withdrawal; the negotiations to find a peaceful settlement; and the effects of the war on US foreign policies. Particular attention will be given to lessons which can be drawn about how American society makes its foreign policies, including the war in Iraq.


RELIG 241-01: Women & Buddhism (Asian Studies)

  • Time: 02:40PM-03:55PM M,W
  • Instructors: Susanne Mrozik
  • Description: The course examines Buddhist representations of women and women's representations of Buddhism. We will study materials by and about Buddhist women from Thailand, India, China, Tibet, Japan, and the U.S. Some of the questions we will ask are: How are women portrayed in Buddhist literature? How do they portray themselves? How have Buddhist women responded to sexism in their communities? How have Buddhist women contributed to the development of new Buddhist institutions?


RELIG 345-01: Topic: Islam in the 21st Cen (Asian Studies)

  • Time: 07:00PM-09:00PM M
  • Instructor: Daniel Brown
  • Description: This course will explore the history of the most important ideas and trends in contemporary Islamic thought, beginning with their roots in the great classics of the Islamic tradition by Ibn Khaldun, al-Ghazali, and Ibn Taymiyya. Close reading of the most important modern Muslim thinkers, including Muhammad Abduh, Muhamad Iqbal, Sayyid Qutb, Ali Shariati, Fazlur Rahman, and Mohammed Arkoun.



Spring 2008: Smith College Courses


AMS 230-01: Colloquium: The Asian American Experience (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 1:00 2:20PM
  • Instructor: TBA
  • Description: Through the course of the semester, students will consider the many histories, experiences, and cultures that shape and define the ever-changing, ever-evolving field of Asian American Studies, an interdisciplinary space marked by multiple communities, approaches, voices, issues, and themes. The course will cover the first wave of Asian immigration in the 19th century, the rise of anti-Asian movements, the experiences of Asian Americans duringWorld War II, the emergence of the Asian American movement in the 1960s, and the new wave of post-1965 Asian immigration. Topics will include but are not limited to racial formation, immigration, citizenship, transnationalism, gender, and class.


ANT 267-01: Power, History, and Communities in South Asia (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 10:30AM – 11:50AM
  • Instructor: Ruchi Chaturvedi
  • Description: This course proceeds from the early anthropological writings on religion and caste groups, and village and kin based studies that sought to delineate the structure and function of social organization in South Asia. Through work of historical anthropologists, we will go on to study how colonial interventions and its structures of power worked to order social networks and alliances, as well as ideas and opinions that communities hold about themselves in late colonial South Asia. Postcolonial South Asia has witnessed the emergence of new political languages and groups. Their own desire for recognition and power, which have often led to violent revolts against established nationalist concordances and state hegemony, will be our subject of study in the latter half of the course.


ARH 222-01: The Art of China (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 1:10PM – 2:30PM
  • Instructor: Marylin Rhie
  • Description: The art of China and peripheral regions as expressed in painting, sculpture, architecture, porcelain, and the ritual bronzes. The influence of India is studied in connection with the spread of Buddhism along the trade routes of Central Asia.


CHI 111-D03-D1: Chinese 1 Intensive (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 9:00AM – 9:50AM, MWF 10:00AM – 10:50AM, MWF 1:10PM – 2:20 PM, T/TH 9:00AM – 9:50AM, T/TH 10:30AM – 11:20 AM, T/TH 1:10PM – 2:00PM, or TTh 1:20-2:50
  • Instructors: Jing Hu; Grant Li; Sujane Wu
  • Description: A continuation of 110. Prerequisite: CHI 110 or permission of the instructor.


CHI 221-01: Chinese II Intensive (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 9:00AM – 9:50AM, MWF 10:00AM – 10:50AM, T/TH 9:00AM – 9:50AM, or T/TH 10:30AM – 11:20AM
  • Instructor: Wenjie Liu; Ling Zhao
  • Description: A continuation of 220. Prerequisite: CHI 220 or permission of the instructor.


CHI 302-01: Chinese III (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 11:00AM – 12:00PM
  • Instructor: Jing Hu
  • Description: Introduction to the use of authentic written and visual documents commonly encountered in China today, with an emphasis on television news broadcasts and newspaper articles. Exercises in composition as well as oral presentations will complement daily practice in reading and listening comprehension. Prerequisite: 301 or permission of the instructor.


CHI 351-01: Advanced Readings in Chinese: Modern and Contemporary Texts (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 11:00AM – 12:10AM
  • Instructor: Ling Zhao
  • Description: In contrast with CHI 350, this course focuses on readings of political and social import. Through the in-depth study and discussion of essays drawn from a variety of sources, students will increase their understanding of modern and contemporary China. Prerequisite: 302 or permission of the instructor.


EAL 232-01: Modern Chinese Literature (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 1:00PM – 2;50PM
  • Instructor: Deirdre Knight
  • Description: Selected readings in translation of Chinese literature from the late-Qing dynasty to contemporary Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. This course will offer (1) a window on twentieth-century China (from the Sino-Japanese War of 1895 to the present) and (2) an introduction to the study of literature: (a) why we read literature, (b) different approaches (e.g., how to do a close reading), and (c) literary movements. We will stress the socio-political context and questions of political engagement, social justice, class, gender, race and human rights. All readings are in English translation and no background in China or Chinese is required.


EAL 240-01: Japanese Language and Culture (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 2:40PM – 4:00PM
  • Instructor: Maki Hubbard
  • Description: This course is designed to enhance students' knowledge and understanding of the Japanese language by relating linguistic, social, and historical aspects of Japanese culture as well as the Japanese perception of the dynamic of human interactions. Starting with a brief review of structural and cultural characteristics of the language, we will move on to examine predominant beliefs about the relationship between Japanese language and cultural or interpersonal perceptions, including politeness and gender. Basic knowledge of Japanese is desirable. All readings are in English translation.


EAL 248-01: Foxes in Japanese Literature and Culture (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 3:00PM – 4:20PM
  • Instructor: Janet Goff
  • Description: Japanese literature abounds with tales about foxes that transform themselves into human beings, especially beautiful women. Examples presented in this course range from ancient folk tales and traditional drama to modern manga and films. In addition to providing an avenue for exploring recurring themes of love, loyalty, piety, and revenge, the stories underscore the importance -- and unique nature -- of the fox in Japanese culture. Through the reading materials, along with lectures, students will also gain an understanding of Japanese religious beliefs and attitudes toward the natural world and society.


EAL 249-01: Introduction to Classical Japanese Theater (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 1:00PM – 2:20PM
  • Instructor: Janet Goff
  • Description: This introduction to classical Japanese theater examines four theater forms that continue to delight and inform audiences today. The first part of the course will cover noh and kyogen (comedy), which developed side by side in the middle ages. The second part of the course will focus on kabuki and bunraku (puppet theater) as products of Japan's brilliant urban culture in the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition to reading representative plays and learning about the cultural and historical background behind the works, the course will familiarize students with basic performance practices through the use of audio-visual material.


EAS 200-01: Colloquium: Humans and Nature in China (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 3:00PM – 4:50PM
  • Instructor: Suzanne Gottschang
  • Description: Focusing on a theme of significance to the region, this course is designed to introduce students to the variety of methods of inquiry used for research in the interdisciplinary field of East Asian Studies. Students will be introduced to methods of locating and analyzing information and sources, developing research questions, and writing in the course of the semester. Normally taken in the Sophomore or Junior year. Also open to non-EAS majors. Recent reports of dramatic environmental destruction resulting from rapid economic development, a large population, and limited availability of arable land have incited global alarm about human impact on the environment in China. The human challenge to environmental health in China today must take into account a range of forces--philosophical, cultural, historical, political, and economic--that together shape Chinese ideas about nature and the relationship between human "progress" and the environment. This course examines these forces as a way to understand past and present Chinese society. Prerequisite: EAS 100. Enrollment limited to 18.


EAS 210-01: Colloquium: Culture and Diplomacy in Asia (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T 3:00PM – 4:50PM
  • Instructor: Dennis Yasutomo
  • Description: The course explores the influence of Asian cultures on the diplomacy and negotiating styles of East and Southeast Asian countries. Specific countries include Japan, China, North Korea, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Case studies will be based on current, on-going regional and global issues. Enrollment limited to 18.


EAS 216-01: Urban Modernity in Colonized Korea (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 10:30AM – 11:50AM
  • Instructor: Jina Kim
  • Description: With a population of 21 million, congested streets, and soaring skyscrapers, Seoul has become an important socioeconomic, political, and cultural center. This course explores the colonial history of the city beginning with Japanese colonization of Korea during the first half of the 20th century. It moves on to a consideration of the postwar U.S. military occupation of South Korea during the latter half of the 20th century and traces changes in the city's culture, people, politics, commerce, and industry. Attention will be given to the entrance of new technology, rise of new architectural spaces, emergence of new subjectivities, and migration of people.


EAS 270-01: Colloquium in East Asian Studies: Japanese Buddhist Art (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T 1:00PM – 4:00PM
  • Instructor: Marylin Rhie
  • Description: Study of the Japanese Buddhist art traditions in architecture, sculpture, painting, gardens and the tea ceremony from the 6th to the 19th centuries.


EAS 350-01: Seminar: Modern Girls and Marxist Boys: Consumerism, Colonialism, and Gender in East Asia (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T 1:00PM – 4:00PM
  • Instructor: Jina Kim
  • Description: This course explores discourses of modern femininity and modern masculinity through the study of the two iconic figures to emerge in the early 20th century: Modern Girls and Marxist Boys. Through these figures, the course seeks to enrich our understanding of gendered politics, consumer culture, colonial modernity, and international relations, and the important historical relationship between modernity and Marxism in East Asia. Enrollment limited to 12.


EAL 260-01: Health and Illness: Literary Explorations (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 2:40PM – 4:00PM
  • Instructor: Deirdre Knight
  • Description: How do languages, social norms and economic contexts shape experiences of health and illness? How do conceptions of selfhood, sexuality, belonging and spirituality inform ideas about well-being, disease, intervention and healing? This cross-cultural literary inquiry into bodily and emotional experiences will also explore Western biomedical and traditional Chinese diagnosis and treatment practices. From despair and chronic pain to cancer, aging and death, how do sufferers and their caregivers adapt in the face of infirmity or trauma? Our study will also consider how stories and other genres can help develop resilience, compassion and hope. Enrollment limited to 19.


ENG 387-01: Asian American Autobiography (Asian American Studies)

  • Time: Th 1:00PM – 2:50PM
  • Instructor: Floyd Cheung
  • Description: Asian Americans Abroad. A consideration of the best written and most thoughtful travel writings by Asian Americans. How are Asian Americans perceived and how do they perceive themselves when they are abroad, especially in their countries of heritage? In most cases, travel complicates rather than clarifies the relationship between identity and location. Likely authors to be studied include Lydia Minatoya, Katy Robinson, David Mura, Andrew Pham, Paiskey Rekdal, and Meena Alexander.


GOV 228-01-LEC – Government and Politics of Japan (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 2:40PM – 4:00PM
  • Instructor: Dennis Yasutomo
  • Description: An introductory survey and analysis of the development of postwar Japanese politics. Emphasis on Japanese political culture and on formal and informal political institutions and processes, including political parties, the bureaucracy, interest groups and electoral and factional politics.


GOV 344-01: Seminar on Foreign Policy of the Chinese People’s Republic (Asian Studies)

  • Time: W 7:30PM – 9:30PM
  • Instructor: Steven Goldstein
  • Description: After examining the historical roots of the foreign policy of the People's Republic of China both before and after its establishment in 1949, the seminar will focus on the process and substance of the nation's contemporary international behavior.


HST 213-01-LEC – Modernity with Chinese Characteristics (Asian Studies)

  • Time: T/TH 9:00AM – 10:20AM
  • Instructor: Jonathan Lipman
  • Description: A survey of China's twentieth century, from Confucian empire to Communist state. Achievements and decline of the last dynasty; the interaction between China and the West; reformist and revolutionary movements; creation of the People's Republic; and transformation of social relations over time.


HST 217-01-COL – World War Two in East Asia: History and Memory (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 9:00AM – 10:20AM
  • Instructor: Marnie Anderson
  • Description: Examination of the factors leading to the war in Asia, the nature of the conflict, and the legacy of the war for all those involved. Topics include Japan's seizure of Korea, the invasion of China, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the war in the Pacific, the racial dimensions of the Japanese empire, the comfort women, biological warfare, the dropping of the atomic bombs, and the complicated relationship between history and memory.


HST 221-01: The Rise of Modern Japan (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 1:10PM – 2:30PM
  • Instructor: Marnie Anderson
  • Description: Japan from the Tokugawa period to its occupation by the United States and the "economic miracle." Elite politics and political economy, the arrival of European imperialists, the Meiji Restoration, Japanese imperialism and war, cultural transformation and conflict within Japanese society.


JPN 111-01: Japanese I Intensive (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 9:00AM – 9:50AM, MWF 10:00AM – 10:50AM, MWF 1:10PM – 2:00PM, T/TH 9:30AM – 10:20AM, T/TH 10:40AM – 11:30AM, or T/TH 1:10PM – 2:00PM
  • Instructor: Yuri Kumagai/Maki Hubbard
  • Description: A continuation of 110. Prerequisite: JPN 110 or permission of the instructor.


JPN 221-01: Japanese II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 9:00AM – 9:50AM, MWF 10:00AM – 10:50AM, T/TH 9:30AM – 10:20AM, or T/TH 10:40AM – 11:30AM
  • Instructor: Atsuko Takahashi
  • Description: A continuation of 220. Prerequisite: JPN 220 or permission of the instructor.


JPN 302-01: Japanese III (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 11:00AM – 12:10AM
  • Instructor: Yuri Kumagai
  • Description: A continuation of 301. Prerequisite: 301 or permission of the instructor.


KOR 111-01: Korean I (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 11:00AM – 11:50AM
  • Instructor: Suk Massey
  • Description: A continuation of 110. Prerequisite: 110 or permission of the instructor.


KOR 221-01: Korean II (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 1:10PM – 2:00PM
  • Instructor: Suk Massey
  • Description: A continuation of 220. Prerequisite: 220 or permission of the instructor.


KOR 351-01: Advanced Studies in Korean Language and Literature (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 7:30PM – 8:50PM
  • Instructor: Suk Massey
  • Description: This course further develops advanced reading, writing and speaking skills through original literary texts in Korean. Students will read a wide selection of the most representative modern Korean literary works (including short stories, novellas, excerpts of novels, essays, poetry, and plays) by well-known Korean writers. Class will be conducted in Korean. Prerequisite: 350 or permission of the instructor.


REL 276-01: Religious History of India: Medieval and Modern Periods (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MWF 11:00AM – 12:10PM
  • Instructor: Andrew Rotman
  • Description: An introduction to the ideas and practices of South Asian Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, and Jews, with emphasis on how these religious identities are constructed and contested. Materials to be considered will include philosophical writings, ritual texts, devotional poetry, comic books, legal treatises, newspaper clippings, personal memoirs, as well as ethnographic and popular films.


REL 277-01: South Asian Masculinities (Asian Studies)

  • Time: MW 1:10PM – 2:30PM
  • Instructor: Andrew Rotman
  • Description: This course considers the role of religion in the construction of male identities in South Asia, and how these identities function in the South Asian public sphere. Topics to be considered will include: the postcolonial feminization of Parsi elites; Krishna devotion and transgender performance; the cinematic phenomenon of the "angry young man"; hijras and the construction of gender; wrestling and the cultivation of masculinity; masculine ideals in matrimonial advertisements; and the Lord Ram and the rise of militant Hindu nationalism.



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