Fall 2014 Course Offerings

Below you will find course offerings that count towards the Asian Studies major and minor.  

Major requirements
Minor requirements

ART 208 NON-WESTERN ART SURVEY (FA)  Fee $22
Staff, T/TH 9:35-10:55
Selected survey of great architecture, sculpture and painting of Asia and other non-Western cultures. A study of artworks in relation to religion, culture, philosophy and geography of the non-Western world.

ASIA 399: Asia Capstone
Dr. Richard Bohr, T/TH, 1:00, CSB
In this Asian Studies capstone, students will write a paper that showcases their understanding of the Asian Studies field by focusing in-depth on one topic selected in consultation with the course instructor and others.  Students will research and prepare a paper suitable for presentation on Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day during the spring semester of the junior or senior year, depending on progression through the major and when the student studies abroad.

 

CHIN 111 ELEM CHINESE I (4)
Limei, Danzeisen, MWF 10:40am-11:35am
Introduction to the basic elements of the Chinese language. Practice in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, including work with grammar, pronunciation, and culture.

CHIN 211 INTERMED CHINESE I (4)
Limei Danzeisen, MWF 11:50am-12:45pm
Review and continued study of grammar together with additional training in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. 211 and 212 emphasize Chinese culture and civilization. Satisfactory completion of Chinese 211 fulfills the global language proficiency requirement.

CHIN 311 CHIN CONVERSATION & COMP I (4)
Dr. Sophia Geng,  TR 8:20am-9:40am
Designed to help students solidify and further their communicative and writing ability in Chinese through contact with various written styles of modern Chinese. Advanced Chinese also provides a basic introduction to contemporary Chinese literature and culture

CHIN 321A Chinese Women in Literature (HM)
(cross-listed with Gender 290B)
Dr. Sophia Geng, T/TH, 11:30, CSB
This course aims to engage students with literature by and about Chinese women and the gender, class, and cultural issues that are intertwined with this intriguing topic. We will read ancient and contemporary Chinese women's writings, including poems, short novels, and autobiographies. Notable female authors that will discuss include4 Ban Zhao and Qingzhao Li from ancient China and Bingxin and Huiyin Lin from modern China. We will also discuss who the female writers were and the reasons they took up the pan, a practice often discouraged by the traditional patriarchal society. Furthermore, we will read portrayals of women's lives that were confined to the inner quarters of the household and the expectations imposed upon them by the society and customs of their times. Readings include tomb inscriptions for honorable ladies, biographies of deceased concubines, essays on the proper conduct of women, chapters of novels focusing on the domestic life, and diaries of foreign missionaries.

ENGL 383 Post-Colonial Literature (HM)
Dr Madhu Mitra, M/W/F, 9:30, CSB
A study of literature, partly in translation, from African, Asian and the Caribbean countries. The course examines the specific historical and cultural contexts in which these literatures arise

GEOG 230 World Regional Geography
Luke Feierabend, M, 6:15-9:15pm, CSB
Themes in this course include location, place, human/environment interaction, movement, and regions.  Asian regions such as Russia and Central Asia, Southwest Asia, South Asia, East Asia, South East Asia will be discussed. 

GBUS 300 Global Enterprise
(prereq GBUS 210, 220, 230, & 240)
Dr. Sanford Moskowitz, T/TH 9:35, SJU
This course covers the fundamental concepts, issues, and structure of 21st century global business.  It explores the historical, cultural, economic, and political underpinnings of the basic themes of, and critical actors operating within international business today.  The student learns about the nature of and relationships between the major components (or systems) that make up the international business system as a whole.

GBUS 337 Doing Business in Asia
(prereq: GBUS 210, 220, 230, 240, or permission of instructor)
Dr. Wendy Klepetar, T/TH, 9:55, CSB
Asia is increasingly important to business. Four billion people, or about 60% of the world's population lives in Asia. The average annual growth rate of the major Asian economies has been consistently outpacing that of Western nations since the nineties, and has been much less impacted by the recent recession. The scope of Asian economic activities has been growing, and includes finance, manufacturing, and a variety of high tech enterprises. By 2027 China is forecast to have the largest economy in the world. Asia's competiveness is based on an abundant supply of cheap labor, a highly developed infrastructure and a growing number of well educated, technologically sophisticated professionals.   These facts make it essential that business people learn about doing business in Asia to remain competitive in the 21st century. This course will focus on South and East Asia.

GEOG 230 World Geography
(SoSc & El. Ed given preference)
Luke Feierabend, M, 6:15-9:15 pm, CSB
Themes in this course include location, place, human/environment interaction, movement, and regions.  Asian regions such as Russia and Central Asia, Southwest Asia, South Asia, East Asia, South East Asia will be discussed along with non-Asian regions.

HIST 114 East Asia Before 1800 (HM)
Dr. Richard Bohr, T/TH, 11:30
A survey of the history of East Asia -- China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam -- from ancient times to 1800.  The course examines the distinctive characteristics of each country and the similarities among them; analyzes the common values and institutions underlying the East Asian world order; and explores the potential impact of the region's early interaction with the West on East Asia's post-1800 "modernization."

HIST 117 Indian Subcontinent since 1500 (HM)
Dr. Jeffrey Diamond, M/W/F, 11:50
This class examines the history of the Indian subcontinent, one of the largest and most populous world regions, from the rise of the Mughal Empire to the advent and decline  of the British Empire. Important themes include wealth and power in pre-colonial India, the impact of British colonialism, as well as nationalist movements and the rise of Gandhi.  We will explore how the concepts of religion, gender, and identity evolved and changed during this time from multiple perspectives.

HIST 315 Islamists, Modernists, Mughals: Muslims in S. Asia (HM, IC)
Dr. Jeffrey Diamond, M/W (flex) 3:20
This class focuses on the history of Islam in South Asia and the development of a modern Islamic identity in the region, from the Mughal Empire to the twentieth century. South Asia contains more Muslims than  any other region, and it is central to understanding the political, religious, and cultural concerns of the Muslim World. Important course themes include the continuities and changes of South Asian Islamic traditions in precolonial and colonial India, the diverse reaction of Muslim leaders to the rise of European colonial influence in the region, and the development of contemporary Islamic movements -- some moderate and some extreme -- that have impacted our world.

HIST 319:  Modern Japan (HM)
Dr. Richard Bohr, T/TH, 2:40, CSB
This course traces Japan's modern transformation from feudal kingdoms to economic superpower.  Beginning with the Meiji Restoration of 1868, we will analyze the role of domestic change and international forces in the political, social, intellectual, cultural, and economic aspects of Japan's dramatic emergence on the world stage.  Through biographies, novels, newspaper articles, and videotapes, we will pay careful attention to Japan's relationships with its Asian neighbors, its interchange with the West, and the development of Japan's unique form of capitalism and economic security.

JAPN 111 ELEM JAPANESE I (4)
Dr. Jeffrey Dubois, MWF, 9:30-10:25
Introduction to the basic structure of the Japanese language. Practice in speaking, listening, reading and writing, with a focus on an accurate command of grammar and culturally appropriate communication skills.

JAPN 211 INTERMEDIATE JAPN I (4)
Dr. Masami Limpert, MWF, 10:40 11:35
Review and continued study of grammar together with additional training in speaking, listening, reading and writing.

JAPN 311 ADV JAPANESE SPEAK/READ/WRIT (4)
Prereq JAPN 311 or permission of instructor
Dr. Jeffrey Dubois, MWF, 1:00-1:55
Review and continued development of grammar together with development of skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. 

JAPN 330A Transnational Japan (HM)
Dr. Jeffrey Dubois, T/TH, 11:30, CSB
This course surveys a broad range of themes related to Japan's cultural history through analysis of literary and visual media from ancient to modern times. However, rather than seeking to discover an essence or key to understanding Japan, this course aims to complicate the picture of a unitary, internally consistent, and monolithic Japan. We take as premise that Japan is and has always been hybrid, fractured, and transnational. Hence, we interrogate how understanding of what is "Japan" often has much to do with transnational exchange, migration, negotiation, and acknowledge that this "Japan" is in constant flux. For example, we explore not only how Japanese thinkers represented Japan to people within Japan, but how thinkers attempted to project a certain image of Japan onto an international stage. We will work with both primary sources in translation and secondary sources, considering perspectives of the people of Japan--including ethnic minorities--and outsiders looking in.

POLS 121 INTRO TO INT'L RELATIONS (SS)
Dr. Christi Siver, MWF, 10:20, SJU
Analysis of the fundamental structure of the international system, including power, development, war and peace and trade viewed from a political, economic and social perspective

THEO 365 Islam (TU)
Dr. Jon Armajani, MWF, 1:00, CSB
This course explores the history of Islam and its interpretations, as well as doctrines and practices among Muslims in various parts of the world. It examines the Quran and Hadith, and topics related to women and gender, Islamic law, and Islam and politics, and it examines the relationship between Islam and the Judeo-Christian tradition.

THEO 369B Modern Islam Political Movements (TU)
Dr. Jon Armajani, MWF, 10:40, CSB
After providing an introduction to the beliefs, practices, and history of Islam, this course will analyze some of the relationships between Islam and politics in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries among Islamist (or "fundamentalist Islamic groups") in the Middle East, South Asia, and other parts of the world. Specifically, the course will examine the histories, ideologies, and structures of groups. This course will examine the religious, theological, and political, foundations of these groups while analyzing their work in education, literacy, social service to people in many sectors of societies (including the underprivileged), religious and political instruction, and community-building. The course will also explore the various perspectives of members of these groups and movements toward peace and violence as well as their religiously- and politically-based reasons for attacking various targets. Finally, the course will compare and contrast those Islamist trends with those represented by some liberal Muslims.