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Curriculum

Courses which are Cross-referenced with Asian Studies:

Additional Courses

ART 208        Non-Western Art Survey: Asia (4)
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.
ART 240        Topics in Art History (4)
A special interest course offered periodically on subjects or themes such as American Art, World Art, etc.
CHIN 111, 112           Elementary Chinese (4, 4)
Introduction to the basic elements of the Chinese language.  Practice in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing, including work with grammar, pronunciation, and culture.
CHIN 211, 212           Intermediate Chinese. (4, 4)
Review and continued study of grammar together with additional training in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing as well as Chinese culture and civilization.
CHIN 311, 312           Third-Year Chinese (4, 4)
Advanced study of Chinese grammar together with additional training in understanding, speaking, reading, and writing as well as Chinese culture and civilization.
ECON 316     Asian Economies (4)
Examines the rise of the Asia-Pacific as an important economic, cultural, and geopolitical region.  Concentrates primarily on the post World War II growth performance of the “Asian Tigers” in East, Southeast, and South Asia.  Studies how these countries transformed themselves from peasant societies into global industrial powerhouses within their regional and international contexts.
ENGL 385      Literature of the Indian Subcontinent (4)
Intended for subjects that are not readily treated in standard courses.
ENGL 386      Tinsel Dreams: Cinema and Social Change in India (4)
This course examines the intimate relationship between the Indian film industry — the largest in the world — and modern Indian society.  By analyzing representations of gender and national identity, it will explore the historical value of commercial cinema and relate this to the wider social, political and economic changes which have swept the world's largest democracy since 1947.  Course units will cover the following topics: early history and cultural role of Indian cinema in pre-independence India; social cinema and “nation-building” in post-independence India; the emergence of “Bollywood” from Mother India to Miss India: the changing role of women in Indian cinema; Hindi (“Bollywood”) cinema as consumerist utopia; South Asian diaspora and Hindi cinema; and going global: “Bollywood” in the twenty-first century
This course is for anyone interested in contemporary India and the relationship between popular culture and socio-political change.  We will view several films from India (primarily in Hindi and Bengali languages), both “art” and “commercial” varieties.  Requirements will include several short writing assignments, discussion assignments and a longer term project. A film viewing lab will also be required.
ENV 312/GEOG 312   Geography of Asia (4)
Asia is a complex and diverse part of the world with more than half of the world’s population, some of the world’s fastest growing economies, and diverse countries and cultures that are fundamentally linked to our everyday lives in North America.   In this upper-division, reading-intensive course, students will be introduced to the natural environments, political-economies, and cultures of Asia.  The course will emphasize globalization, current events, and cultural issues, and will draw on varied sources of information including books, academic and popular articles, films, and novels. 
The course is organized by a regional approach, and will include study of South Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.  For each region, students will understand important elements of the physical environment, including climate, landscape, and the challenges presented by factors such as pollution, desertification, and global sea level rise; cultural practices, including social and religious traditions; current political and socio-economic position of the countries in the region, as measured by comparison with other parts of the world; gender relations, including cultural pressures and demographic consequences; and key historical points and current events, especially as they relate to interactions with the United States.
HIST 114        East Asia Before 1800 (4)
Annual survey of East Asia-including China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam-from ancient times to the dawn of the modern era. Explores the building blocks of East Asian civilization and analyzes the changes set in motion by the region’s contact with the West between 1600 and 1800. 
HIST 115        East Asia Since 1800 (4)
Annual survey of continuity and change in the modern transformation of China (including the PRC, Hong Kong and Taiwan), Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Examines each country’s role in the other’s development; the impact of Western imperialism on the “modernization” of the region since 1800; and the implications of the “Asian Century.” 
HIST 116        South Asia Before 1500 (4)
Annual survey of the history of South Asia (the Indian subcontinent) from ancient times to 1500 CE.  The course focuses on topics such as the role of religions in South Asian societies, including Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam, as well as other religious traditions.  Forms of government, changing socio-economic formations, and art, literature, and culture will also be explored.  Where appropriate, the course will address the similarities and differences between South Asian development and that of the other regions in the world.
HIST 117        South Asia Since 1500 (4)
Annual survey ofthe history of South Asia (the Indian subcontinent) from the decline of the Mughal Empire, through the rise and decline of the British Empire, and to the period of independent nation-states.  Important themes include the development of international trading networks, the effects of colonial ideology in the British context, and the lives of every-day people in South Asia during this period.  We will explore how concepts of religion, gender, nationhood, and identity evolved and changed during this time.
History 300     Topics in Asian American History (4) (HMU Pending)
This course examines the experiences of those Americans Ronald Takaki has called “Strangers from a DifferentShore.”  I refer, of course, to the immigrants, refugees and adopted children of Asian origin who have been coming to America since almost the beginnings of this nation.  Relying heavily on readings and other sources that allow these people to “speak for themselves,” we will discuss such themes as the “push and pull” factors of Asian immigration, cultural adjustment and challenges, the native response, generational change, and many others.  Particular attention will be given to the Minnesota experience. 
HIST 300        Gandhi, Non-Violence and Islamic Movements in India (4)
This course will explore the life and times of one of the modern world’s greatest leaders, Mohandas K. Gandhi.  We will examine how Gandhi forged a long-term movement, centered on the practices of non-violence and civil disobedience, which helped bring down the mightiest empire in the world.  The period of Gandhi’s struggle was also a tie to numerous other powerful nationalist currents, including many based on Islamic ideas and symbols, which emerged in the Indian subcontinent.  We will therefore look at the historical forces and people which comprised these socio-political movements, in an effort to understand the complex and intriguing ways in which Gandhi’s movement intersected, combined, and conflicted with their nationalist trends.  The lives of a number of Gandhi’s contemporaries will be studied, as will such topics as political violence and non-violence as well as conceptions of masculinity and femininity, caste, class, and race.
HIST 300        Public Culture in Modern India (4)
In this course we will examine some of the major forms of culture, politics, and religion as well as the ways in which the acquisition and transmission of knowledge developed and was transformed in the modern Indian subcontinent.  We will initially focus on some key features of political, social, and religious thought that existed prior to the period of British rule.  We will then move on to study how colonial rule affected Indian thought and society, concentrating on ideas concerning just governance, the public sphere, social hierarchies, militarism, the respective roles of women and men in society, science and technology, and the meanings of religion and secularism.  British perspectives and Indian views will both be examined in detail, and while intellectual will be one of our topics of research, we will at all times give close attention to the social, economic, and political forces which shaped thought and culture in modern South Asia.  In addition to reading scholarly books and articles, our course material will include music, poetry, literature, journalism, television broadcasts, popular “Bollywood” cinema and art films. 
HIST 315        History of Islam in South Asia: Confronting Modernity (4)
This class explores the rich history of the expansion and growth of Islam in the Indian subcontinent. We will take account of the role of trade and conquest in the early centuries of Islamic expansion and study the development of specifically Indian forms of Islam. The nature and impact of the Indo-Islamic empires on Indian society will be examined, as will the interaction of Muslims with non-Muslim communities in the medieval and early modern eras. The period of British colonial rule, and an analysis of the specific historical contexts that gave rise to religious nationalist movements, and how these developed according to changing relationships to national liberation movements, secularism, state administrative systems, global economic shifts, and changing social demands. Over the course of the semester we will strive to view the history of Islam and Muslim societies in both highly specific contexts and broader historical milieus.
HIST 316        China in Revolution, 1800-1949 (4)
An analysis of China’s transformation from Middle Kingdom to People’s Republic. Explores traditional China’s decline amid rebellion and the Opium Wars with the West; efforts to combat dynastic decay, famine, poverty, foreign domination, warlords and Japanese invasion; U.S.-China relations; and Communism’s victory in 1949.
HIST 317        The People’s Republic of China. (4)
An analysis of China’s socialist revolution since 1949.  Explores the rise of Communism in China; the China of Mao, Deng, Jiang, and Hu; and U.S.-China relations since 1972.  Previews the integration of the PRC, Hong Kong and Taiwan into a post-communist “Greater China” during the current “Asian Century.”
HIST 318        The United States and China Since 1800 (4)
This course compares and contrasts developments within the United States and China during the years 1800-present, seeing the impact on their relationship over the past 200 years. The emphasis is on cultural, political and economic factors and how and why they cause ups and downs in the relations between these two nations.  Time-wise, most focus is on the past century, the 1890s through the 1900s—but looking to the future as well.
HIST 319        Modern Japan, 1868-Present (4)
A study of Japan’s transformation from feudal mosaic to economic superpower. Analyzes the “modernization” process set in motion by the Meiji Restoration of 1868; the impact of its Asian neighbors and the West on Japan’s economic and military rise; and U.S.-Japan relations since WWII.  Examines Japan’s role in the current “Asian Century.”
JAPN 111/112            Elementary Japanese (4, 4)
Introduction to the basic elements of the Japanese language.  Practice in understanding, reading, writing, and speaking, with a sufficient number of symbols, as well as an introduction to Japanese culture.
JAPN 211                   Intermediate Japanese (4)
Review and continued study of language skills. The course will emphasize Japanese culture and civilization. Satisfactory completion of this course fulfills the core foreign language proficiency.
JAPN 212                  Intermediate Japanese (4)
Review and continued study of grammar together with additional training in understanding, speaking, reading and writing.
JAPN 311/312
Review and advanced study of grammar together with additional training in understanding, speaking, reading and writing.
MCLT 315     Chinese Literature in Translation (4)
Study of selected translated Chinese literary texts.  Students will examine the periods from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to present-day China.
MCLT 319     East Asian Literature in Translation (4)
A study of Chinese and Japanese literary traditions.
PHIL 272       Asian Philosophy (4)
An introduction to the foundational texts of the South Asian and Chinese philosophical traditions.  Texts originating in South Asia (i.e., the Indian subcontinent) will include selections from the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and early sutras from the Theravada Buddhist tradition.  The Chinese traditions of Confucianism and Daoism will be approached through study of the Laozi a.k.a. the Daodejing) and the Analects of Confucius. 
PHIL 339       Chinese Philosophy (4)
An introduction to the Chinese philosophical tradition through selected foundational texts like the Tao Te Ching, the Chuang Tzu, the Analects of Confucius, the Mencius, the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch and selections from the writings of Chu Hsi.  Students will also study early Chinese philosophical teachings concerning the nature of male and female and their appropriate social roles, contemporary analyses of the role Confucian teachings played in constructing these gender categories and institutions, and philosophical discussions of the compatibility of Confucian teachings with contemporary (Western) egalitarian gender sensibilities. 
POLS 346       Asian Politics (4)
Examination of the politics and economics of three Asian countries, namely India, China and Japan.  Contemporary politics is examined through a broad study of history, cultural and social traditions, and economic conditions.  The U.S. relationships with each of these nations are also studied in light of distinct foreign policy approaches.
THEO 365      Islam and the Judeo-Christian Tradition (4)
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.

Additional Courses

CORE 390-03A: "The Tao of Lagom: A Middle Way for the Middle Kingdom" (4)
China must address its growing income and wealth inequalities, its aging population, its rapidly deteriorating health and social safety supports and the other related consequences of its rapid development and of its thirty years of the one-child policy.  Research into issues of ethical accountability, environmental sustainability, and corporate social responsibility (and its evolution into international corporate responsibility) clearly distinguish rival systems of organizing the relationships between the state, market and civil society spheres. The corporatist model of Sweden holds great promise for adoption by and adaptation to China's evolving socio-economic system.
The Swedish "Middle Way" arrangement emerged out of a situation similar to what is happening economically, socially and in the workplaces and families of China today.  The system adopted in Sweden reflected an understanding of the need for each side to both give and take but not give or take too much.  "Lagom" is the Swedish word for this phenomenon.  Such a system is necessary for a morally healthy and sustainable civil society, responsible government and a market system that is both vibrant and accountable while respectful of human dignity and vulnerability.  With occasional modifications, the "Middle Way" continues to serve the Swedish society well (itself arguably the first highly successful export-driven developing economy in the 20th century) to this day.  It provides a model of economic, social, environmental and cultural sustainability that ought to be most attractive to China as it addresses the challenges embedded in its long term growth and development strategy.
COLG 280: May Term: Economic Development & Social Change in China(2)                                                      
This region-appropriate course focuses on rapid economic development and social change in South China.  Given its proximity to Hong Kong, China's historic gateway to the outside world, Guangdong province has been at the forefront of economic development and social change in China during the past 25 years.  This course analyzes economic modernization in a rapidly-developing country and the impact of global trade and foreign direct investment on emerging markets; assesses the historical, political, and social consequences of rapid economic change; studies the role of government on social and economic development as well as environmental change at local, county, provincial, and national levels; examines diverse forms of intercultural communication; and explores new ways of seeing other peoples through cross-cultural immersion.
The course includes a study tour -- featuring lectures by local experts, group discussions, and visits to historical, manufacturing, educational, government, academic, cultural, and community facilities at important sites stretching from Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta westward to Zhanjiang -- and a series of classes on intercultural communication as well as Chinese language, history, culture, and martial arts, field trips, and home stays arranged by Zhanjiang Normal College (ZNC). 




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