MDES W 3000x and y Theories of Culture: Middle East and South Asia

Critical introduction to theories of culture as they are related to the Middle East and South Asia. Enables students to articulate their emerging knowledge of these two regions and cultures in a theoretically informed language.
Prerequisites: Required of all majors. Enrollment limited to 35 students.
4 points

EAAS W 3901x Senior Thesis

Senior seminar required of all majors in East Asian Studies.
Prerequisites: Senior majors only.
3 points

EAAS W 3901x Senior Thesis

Senior Seminar required of all majors in East Asian Studies.
Prerequisites: Senior majors only.
3 points

ASST BC 3999x and y Independent Study

Specialized reading and research projects planned in consultation with members of the Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures teaching staff.

ASST BC 3999x and y Independent Study

Specialized reading and research projects planned in consultation with the Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures teaching staff. - R. McDermott, D.L. Moerman, G. Yang, H. Kamaly, A. Pitkin
Prerequisites: Open to majors who have fulfilled basic major requirements or written permission of the staff member who will supervise the project.
3-4 points.

EAAS V 3999y Research in East Asian Studies

Introduces students to research and writing techniques and requires preparation of a senior thesis proposal. Required for juniors who are East Asian majors.
1 point

EAAS V 3999y Research in East Asian Studies

Introduces students to research and writing techniques and requires preparation of a senior thesis proposal.
Corequisites: Required for juniors who are East Asian majors.
1 point

EAAS W 4101y Literary and Cultural Theory East and West

Designed to familiarize students with major paradigms of contemporary literary and cultural theory to generate critical constexts for analyzing East Asian literature and culture in a comparative framework. Takes up a wide but interrelated range of issues, including feminism critiscism, film theory, postcolonialism, social theory, post modernism, and issues of national and ethnic identity.
3 points

EAAS W 4102y Critical Approaches to East Asia in the Social Sciences

Introduces students to social science research on East Asia (primarily China, Korea, and Japan) by examining, first, the role of culture and the state in East Asian development, second, the social and political soncequences of economic development. - G. Yang
Prerequisites: Instructor's permission required. General Education Requirement: Social Analysis (SOC).
4 points

EAAS W 4890y Historiography of East Asia

Major issues in the practice of history illustrated by critical reading of important historical work on East Asia.
Prerequisites: Two-hour seminar plus additional one-hour workshop in bibliography and research methods. Designed primarily for majors in East Asian Studies in their junior year. Permission of instructor required for others.
3 points

EAAS V 3370y Social Change in East Asia

Nowhere in the world has the pace of social change been so rapid and its impacts so sweeping as in East Asia. This course provides sociological insights that will help us better understand the causes, processes, and consequences of social change in East Asia from a comparative perspective.
3 points

HSEA W 3718y Nation, Race, and Empire in East Asia
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

HSEA W 3891x The Asia-Pacific Wars, 1931-1975
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

HSEA W 3898y The Mongols in History
3 points

ASCE W 3925y Wisdom Literatures

Focus on the ancient literaty and philosophical traditions known as "wisdom literature," broadly defined as works that offer political and religious instruction on living an ethical life in a corrupt world. Exploration of commonalities and differences between East Asian, Near Eastern, and Greco-Roman modes of wisdom writing.
Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

HSEA W 3997x World War Two in History and Memory
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS W 4000x History of East Asian Writing
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS W 4011y The Lotus Sutra in East Asian Buddhism

Examines some central Mahayana Buddhist beliefs and practices through an in-depth study of the Lotus Sutra. Schools (tiantai/Tendai, Nichiren) and cultic practices such as sutra-chanting, meditation, confessional rites, and Guanyin worship based on the scripture. East Asian art and literature inspired by it.
4 points

EAAS W 4106x Global Genres and East Asian Cinema
Corequisites: Mandatory film screening on Tuesday's 6:00-8:00 pm. Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS W 4212y Topics in Early China and Japan

Explores rhetorical traditions of Early China and Japan, examining types of speech situation (instruction, persuasion, or court entertainment) and devices important to the construction of argument (anecdotes, parallel structures, and topical clusters).
Prerequisites: Some prior knowledge of Chinese or Japanese history or literature is required.
4 points

ASCV W 4320x Human Rights and Social Justice in Comparative Perspective

Considers issues of human rights through cross-national and cross-cultural studies of modern China and Korea.
4 points

EAAS W 4408x Social Movements in Contemporary East Asia

Examines basic theories and concepts of social movement literature and how it is utlized for the study of social movements in contemporary East Asia from a comparative perspective. By navigating through major studies of social movements in China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan, the course focuses on the varying contexts and dynamics through which social movements emerge, develop, and leave traces. This course will help us better understand how social, political and cultural history unfolds through the intricate interaction between the status quo and the incessant challenges against it.
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing. Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

HSEA W 4902x World War Two
Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

HSEA W 4918y Smuggling, Drugs, and States
4 points

EAAS V 3310x or y Rebellion and Revolution in Modern China
3 points

EAAS W 3315x Literature and Film in Modern China
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

HSEA V 3430x A Cultural History of "Revolution" in 20th Century China
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

HSEA V 3450y China's Sprouts of Capitalism
3 points

HSEA V 3650y China's Sprouts of Capitalism
Prerequisites: ASCE V2359.
3 points

HSEA W 3850x Contemporary Chinese Culture and Society

A sociological survey of contemporary China. Examines major institutions (economy, politics, media) and the sources and consequences of their transformation. Studies main forms of sicoal inequality and social conflicts. Explores popular culture, civic associations, the environmental crisis, and the prospects for democratic political change.
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

HSEA BC 3861x or y Chinese Cultural History 1500-1800

Introduction to visual and material cultures of China, including architecture, food, fashion, printing, painting, and the theatre. Using these as building blocks, new terms of analyzing Chinese history are explored, posing such key questions as the meaning of being Chinese and the meaning of being modern.
Prerequisites: An introductory Asian history course preferred but not required.
3 points

HSEA W 3880x History of Modern China I

China's transformation under its last imperial rulers, with special emphasis on economic, legal, political, and cultural change.
3 points

HSEA W 3881y History of Modern China II

The social, political and cultural history of twentieth-century China with a focus on issues of nationalism, revolution, "modernity" and gender.
3 points

EAAS V 3927x China in the Modern World

The rise of China has impacted world politics and economy in significant ways. How did it happen? This course introduces unique angles of self-understanding suggested by Chinese writers, intellectuals, and arists who have participated in the making of modern China and provided illuminating and critical analyses for their own culture, history, and the world. Our readings will cover a wide selection of modern Chinese fiction and poetry, autobiographical writing, photography, documentary film, artworks, and music with emphasis on the interplays of art/literature, history, and politics. We will pay close attention to the role of storytelling, the mediating powers of technology, new forms of visuality and sense experience, and the emergence of critical consciousness in response to global modernity. Our goal is to develop critical reading skills and gain in-depth understanding of modern China and its engagement with the modern world beyond Cold War rhetoric. Topics of discussion include historical rupture, loss and melancholy, exile, freedom, migration, social bonding and identity, captialism, nationalism, and the world revolution.
Corequisites: Open to all undergraduate students. This course fulfills Major Cultures requirement (East Asian Civilization List B) and may count as an elective. No prior knowledge of China or any of its languages is required.
3 points

EAAS W 4009x Introduction to Classical Chinese Poetry
Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

EAAS W 4024x Environment and Globalization: Chinese and Indian Experience

This seminar is a systematic analysis of the causes and consequences of environmental change in two national societies (China and India). Grounded in theories of global social change, social movements, comparative sociology, and environmental sociology, the course analyzes environmental change a the intersection of political institutions, economic development, globalization, and the practice and agency of citizens and civic associations.
3 points

EAAS W 4031x Introduction to the History of Chinese Literature (Beginning to 900)
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS W 4102y Critical Approaches to East Asia in the Social Sciences

Introduces students to social science research on East Asia with a focus on both research methods and substantive topics. Topics include the analysis of major formal and informal institutions, the role of culture, the state, and globalization in East Asian development, and the social and political consequences of development. - G. Yang
Prerequisites: Instructor's permission required. General Education
Requirement: Social Analysis (SOC).
4 points

HSEA W 4828y China's "Cultural Revolution" in History and Memory

Analyzes the origins and dynamics of China's "Great Proleteraian Cultural Revolution." Explores collective memories of the Cultural Revolution in contemporary China by examining memoirs, films, literature, and other cultural practices. - G. Yang
Prerequisites: Instructor's permission required.
4 points

HSEA W 4839x Sem/The Sources/Chinese History
3 points

HSEA W 4867x Civil Society, Public Sphere, and Popular Protest in Contemporary China

Systematics and critical assessment of the developments and challenges of civil society in reform era China by focusing on civic associations, public sphere, and popular protest.
Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

HSEA W 4869x History of China To the End of Han

In this upper level course, we will detail the development of early Chinese civilization and discuss a series of cultural and institutional inventions. The course will also provide a systematic introduction to the most fascinating archaeological discoveries in the past century. Group(s): A, C Field(s): EA
3 points

HSEA W 4871x Seminar on the City in Modern China
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

HSEA W 4881x Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors: Social History of Chinese Religion
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

HSEA W 4884y Economic History of Modern China
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

HSEA W 4886x Gender, Passions, and Social Order in China since 1500
Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

HSEA W 4891y Law in Chinese History
Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

HSEA W 4893x or y The Family in Chinese History

The history of the Chinese family, its changing forms and cultural expressions: marriage and divorce; parent and child; clan and lineage; ancestor worship; the role of women; the relation of family and state; Western parallels and contrasts. Major Cultures Requirement: East Asian Civilization List B.
Prerequisites: ASCE V2359.
3 points

EAAS W 3334x Introduction to Modern Japanese Literature
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS W 3338x A Cultural History of Japanese Monsters

From Godzilla to Pokemon (literally, "pocket monster") toys, Japanese monsters have become a staple commodity of late-capitalist global pop culture. This course seeks to place this phenomenon within a longer historical, as well as a broader cross-cultural context. Through an examination of texts and images spanning over thirteen centuries of Japanese history, along with comparable productions from other cultures, students will gain an understanding not only of different conceptions and representations of monsters, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures in Japan, but also of the role of the "monstrous" in the cultural imagination more generally. The course draws on various media and genres of representation, ranging from written works, both literary and scholarly, to the visual arts, material culture, drama, and cinema. Readings average 100-150 pages per week. Several film and video screenings are scheduled in addtion to the regular class meetings. Seating is limited, with final admission based on a written essay and other information to be submittd to the instructor before the beginning of the semester.
Corequisites: Some preference is given to EALAC and History majors, as well as to those who have done previous coursework on Japan. Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS V 3350x Supernatural in Japanese Fiction
Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

EAAS V 3352y Major Works of Japanese Cinema
Corequisites: Weekly Film screening required.
3 points

EAAS V 3360y Ozu, Mizoguchi, Kurosawa
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS W 3405x or y Women in Japanese Literature: Gender, Genre, and Modernity

This course engages in close readings of major works of Japanese literature from the 18th-century to the present with particular attention to the issues of gender and genre in the formation of modern Japanese literature. The course considers figures such as female ghosts, wives and courtesans, youth and schoolgirls, the new woman and the modern girl, actors/actresses and cross-dressers. Readings highlight the role of literary genres, examining the ways in which the literary texts engage with changing socio-historical conditions, especially with regard to gender and social relations. Genres include puppet plays, ghost stories, melodrama, Bildungsroman, domestic fiction, autobiographical fiction, and the fantastic. Related critical issues are the novel and the formation of a national community; women's writings; media and the development of urban mass culture; colonial and imperial spaces; history and memory. All readings are in English.
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS V 3613y Buildings and Cities in Japanese History
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS V 3615x Japanese Literature and Film
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS V 3660y Kurosawa Seminar
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

HSEA W 3869y Nineteenth-Century Japan
3 points

HSEA W 3869x Modern Japan, 1800 to the Present
3 points

HSEA W 3870x Japan in the 19th Century
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

HSEA W 3871y Japan in the 20th Century

apanese history from 1890 to the present, with particular emphasis on political, social, and economic developments. Major Cultures Requirement: East Asian Civilization List B.
3 points

HSEA W 3873x or y The Culture of Early Modern Japan

For over two centuries before reopening itself to the West in the 1850s, Japan remained relatively isolated from the outside world and enjoyed tremendous political stability and peace under samurai rule. Far from static, however, this era (known as the Tokugawa period, 1603-1868) was one of dynamic economic growth, social change, intellectual ferment, and artistic experimentation, when a vibrant culture emerged in the cities and spread to towns and villages across the Japanese archipelago. Many of the things we associate with traditional Japanese culture today-everything from Sumo and Kabuki to haiku, geisha, and the samurai ethic-developed and matured. It was also during this period of early modernity that the foundations of Japan's emergence as a modern nation-state were laid. Although elements of early modern Japanese culture circulate in today's global popular culture and inform our perceptions of Japan's past, their particular economic, social, and political circumstances are not generally known. This introductory course guides students through the historical circumstances of this culture by highlighting key dates, people, practices, ideas, places, and events, while building on this basic knowledge to pursue broader questions about the very meaning of culture and the nature of early modernity in the case of Tokugawa Japan. Class lectures make use of literature, visual art, maps, music, and films in order to set the stage for focused discussions of assigned readings, which draw on works by Japanese and non-Japanese writers of the period, as well as recent academic studies by scholars of Japan.
3 points

HSEA W 3876y Ideas and Society in Modern Japan, 1600-2004
3 points

EAAS W 3928x Japanese Literature: Beginning to 1900
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS W 4022y Japanaese Buddhist Visual Culture

This course explors the principal modes, media, and contexts of visual culture in Japanese Buddhist history. Through the analysis of selected case studies, the course examines of the modalities of perception, materiality, and reception that distinguish the form and function of visual media in Japanese Buddhist contexts. Students are expected to have completed preliminary coursework in relevant areas of East Asian history, religion, or art history.
3 points

EAAS W 4109y Japanese Religious Landscapes: Practices and Representations

Examination of the concept of landscape in Japanese religious culture, focusing on the ways in which physical and imaginary landscapes were represented, in theory and practice, in literature, art, and ritual. Topics to be explored include cosmology, pilgrimage, and syncretism, and the relationship such world views have on politics, gender, and social institutions.
Prerequisites: One course on Japanese or East Asian cultures or Art History or permission of instructor. Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS W 4115x Japanese Literature: Beginning to 1900
3 points

EAAS W 4118y Topics in Japanese Cinema
3 points

EAAS W 4120x A Cultural History of Japanese Cartography

Examines Japanese history through the media of cartographic self-representation and analyzes the ways of seeing and ways of thinking that the map allows. Chronological and thematic survey of the historical contexts and historical objects of Japanese cartography: agricultural estates, religious sites, roadways, cities, provinces, countries, and worlds. - D. Moerman
Prerequisites: Permission of instructor. Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

EAAS W 4357x Contemporary Japanese Cinema

By introducing important films and directors, this course examines issues both in the field of Japanese cinema and in popular cultural discourse from the 1980s to the present. Directors' oeuvres, social and cultural backgrounds, film theories, and analysis of the works are introduced. Reading assignments include writings drawn from perspectives of auteurism, formal analysis, feminist critique, national cinema, cultural studies, and theories of globalization. These various readins will assist students in critically examining filmic texts, and developing their own views of the works and issues that films raise. Moreover, the course is designed to enhance students' further understanding of Japanese society both in the domestic and global contexts by studying popular media. Mandatory film screening each week.
Corequisites: Film screening is mandatory.
3 points

HSEA W 4820x Japan Before Tokugawa
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

HSEA W 4845x Modern Japan in HIstory and Memory
Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

HSEA W 4870x Japan Before 1600
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

HSEA W 4894x Who Is the Samurai?
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS V 3214x Major Topics on Modern Korea

This course explores the vicissitudes of Korea since its encounter with the world in the late 19th century to the new challeneges in recent years. By exploring the events, thoughts, and the new developments and challeneges in the economic, political, socio-cultural spheres, the course aims to provide better undesrtanding of Korea's struggle to find its place in an increasingly globalizing world.
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS V 3215x Korean Literature and Film
3 points

EAAS V 3220 Korean Film/Making Cold War Culture
Corequisites: Mandatory film screening, Mondays 6:30-9:00 pm.
3 points

HSEA W 3862x The History of Korea to 1900

Issues pertaining to Korean history from its beginnings to the early modern era. Issues will be examined in the Korean context and also from a comparative East Asian perspective. Major Cultures Requirement: East Asian Civilization List B.
3 points

HSEA W 3863y The History of Modern Korea
3 points

EAAS W 4510y Contention and Democracy in South Korea

An examination of the interaction between popular contention and formal politics, long characteristics of the dynamic, if unstable nature of South Korean political processes. By examining major paradigms and testing them against historical realities, students acquire a better understanding of the interplay between contention and democracy in general and South Korean politics in particular.
3 points

EAAS W 4520y Modern Korean Literature in Translation
3 points

HSEA W 4862 Writing, the State & Communities in Choson Korea, 1392-1910

This seminar will examine the process through which the political ideology of the Choson state was constructed, and how it evolved on the one hand, and the way in which this was related to the development of genres of writing in public space. By analyzing and contextualizing such writings as edicts, memorials, circular letters, exhortations, joint memorials, petitions, and travel diaries, this seminar hopes to trace the political and cultural meaning of the expanding discursive and communicative public space of the Choson.
3 points

HSEA W 4869y Culture and Society of Choson Korea, 1392-1910
3 points

EAAS W 4545y Culture & Art in Contemporary Tibet
3 points

TIBT W 4550y Understanding Modern Tibet
3 points

EAAS W 4553 Survey of Tibetan Literature

Close readings of texts and discussion of the genres they represent are supplemented by biographical material for each author. Special emphasis is placed on vernacular and popular literature, as well as landmark works from the post-Mao period. The questions we will explore include: What are the origins or inspiration for the literary work(s) assigned? In what ways have Tibetan literary forms and content developed throughout history? How has the very concept of "Tibetan literature" been conceived, especially vis a vis works by Tibetan authors writing in Chinese and English? Above all, how have Tibetan writers and scholars - past and present - negotiated literary innovation?
Corequisites: A An introduction to Tibetan literary works (all in English translation) spanning fourteen centuries, form the Tibetan imperial period to the present-day.
4 points

EAAS W 4557x Envisioning the Snowland: Film and TV in Tibet and Inner Asia
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

EAAS W 4560y Women Visionaries in Tibet and East Asia

This course explores the lives, roles and creativity of Tibetan, Chinese and Korean women visionaries--meditators, shemans, oracles, nuns and yoginis--from traditions including buddhism and indigenous religions, and links between visionary practice and these women's work as teachers, artists, healers and patrons. Mateirals include first-person accounts, biography, poetry, and secondary sources - A. Pitkin
4 points

HSEA W 4700x Rise of Modern Tibet: History and Society, 1600-1913
Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

HSEA W 4710x Exploring Tibet: 17th-20th Century Travel Accounts
Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

HSEA W 4720y 20th Century Tibetan History
4 points

HSEA W 4725y Tibetan Material History
3 points

HSEA W 4866x Competing Nationalisms in East Asia: Representing Chinese and Tibetan Relations
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

MDES W 3004y Islam in South Asia

Assumes no previous background in Islam and South Asian studies.
General Education Requirement: Historical Studies (HIS).
3 points

MDES W 3620y Language, History, Catastrophe: Tamil Worlds

Though Tamil has been sung, spoken, and written since at least the first centuries of the Common Era the Tamil People are only about one hundred years old. We will interrogate this seeming paradox by exploring 1) Tamils deep literary tradition and history; 2) the politicization of a language and the creation of the Tamil People as a modern political community; and 3) how language and history themselves were deployed in the catastrophic clash of modern peoples the Tamils and the Sinhalese in contemporary Sri Lanka.
3 points

MDES W 3630y Survey of Indian Literatures in Translation
3 points

ASRL W 3772y Perspectives on Evil and Suffering in World Religions

Exploration of the problems of evil and suffering in Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Confucianism, with attention to such questions as what is "evil", why it exisits, how suffering fits into the religious world view, and how religious people cope with threats to their analytic capacities, powers of endurance, and moral insight. Draws on classical texts, myths, and modern fieldwork.
General Education Requirement: Cultures in Comparison (CUL).
3 points

ASRL V 3974y (Section 01) Hindu Goddesses

Study of a variety of Hundu goddesses, focusing on representative figures from all parts of India and on their iconography, associated powers, and regional rituals. Materials are drawn from textual, historical, and field studies, and discussion includes several of the methodological controversies involving interpretation of goddess worship in India.
Prerequisites: One course in Indian culture or religion or permission of the instructor.
4 points

ASST W 4001y Bengal: Culture and Identity

Introduces the history, culture, and literature of Bengal from the 12th century to the present, in West Bengal and Bangladesh, with a view to identifying components of what has been claimed as a specific "Bengali cultural identity." We will survey figures, ideological trends, and social structures; read Bengali primary texts in translation; and sample new monographs on the region.

MDES W 4640x or y Art and Aesthetics in Colonial India
3 points

ASRL W 4660y Judaism and Christianity in South Asia

Introduces indigenous traditions of Judaism and Christianity in the subcontinent, focusing on history, diversity, interactions with Hindus and Muslims, and contemporary controversies. South Asian Jews and Christians in the diaspora, especially New York, also highlighted.

HSEA W 3882x Introduction to Modern Southeast Asian History
3 points

MDES W 3000x Theories and Culture-Middle East and South Asia

Required of all majors. Enrollment limited to 35 students. Critical introduction to theories of culture as they are related to the Middle East and South Asia. Enables students to articulate their emerging knowledge of these two regions and cultures in a theoretically informed language. Required of all majors. Introduces theories of culture particularly related to the Middle East and South Asia. Theoretical debates on the nature and function of culture as a symbolic reading of human collectivities. Examines critical cultural studies of the Middle East and South Asia. Enables students to articulate their emerging knowledge of Middle East and Asian cultures in a theoretically informed language.
4 points

CLME W 3042y Palestinian and Israeli Politics and Society
General Education Requirement: Cultures in Comparison (CUL). Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

CLME W 3254y Contemporary Israeli Fiction
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

MDES W 3260x Rethinking Middle East Politics
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

MDES W 3345y Hewbrew Humanities--Clasicss of Hewbrew Culture
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

MDES W 3540y Introduction to Israeli Culture
Prerequisites: Reading proficiency in Hebrew not required. Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

MDES W 3541x Zionism: A Cultural Perspective

The course, based on Zionist texts of various kinds, will offer a view of Zionism as a cultural revolution aimed at redefining Judaism and the Jewish identity.
3 points

MDES W 3542x Introduction to Israeli Literature
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

ANCS BC 3610y Persian Literature Through English Translation

- H. Kamaly
3 points

MDES W 3620y Language, History, Catastrophe: Tamil Worlds

Though Tamil has been sung, spoken, and written since at least the first centuries of the Common Era the Tamil People are only about one hundred years old. We will interrogate this seeming paradox by exploring 1) Tamils deep literary tradition and history; 2) the politicization of a language and the creation of the Tamil People as a modern political community; and 3) how language and history themselves were deployed in the catastrophic clash of modern peoples the Tamils and the Sinhalese in contemporary Sri Lanka.
3 points

MDES W 3750y Islam, Science, and the West
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

HSME W 3854x East Mediterranean in the Late Bronze Age
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

CLME V 3900y Introduction to Comparative Literature & Society
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

MDES W 3920y Contemporary Culture in the Arab World

This seminar, designed for seniors, aims to acquaint students with the notion and theoretical understanding of culture and to introduce them to a critical method by which they can study and appreciate contemporary culture in the Arab World.
3 points

CLME W 3922y Text and Territory

The concept of "nation" and ongoing "national" struggles still remain potent, despite or perhaps because of unbound globalization. We will consider "nation" in relation to "state" and "diaspora," weighing its implications for literary nation-formation with readings in Armenian Diaspora literature. Theoretical readings from Renan, Bhabha, Anderson, Chatterjee, among others. Primary texts from Shahnour, Vorpuni, V. Oshagan and Beledian in translation. - N. Kebranian
3 points

MDES W 3923x Central Questions in Islamic Law

Through detailed discussions of certain landmarks in Islamic legal history (e.g., origins; early formation; sources of law; intellectual make-up; the workings of court; legal change; women in the law; legal effects of colonialism; modernity and legal reform, etc.), the course aims at providing an introductory but integrated view of Islamic law, a definition, so to speak, of what it was/is.
3 points

MDES W 3925x Introduction to Western Armenian Literature

- N. Kebranian
3 points

CLME W 3927y The Ethics and Aesthetics of Representation

This is an interdisciplinary course considering the ethical and aesthetic dimensions of texts witnessing to contemporary experiences of suffering. Coursework is thoroughly comparative and includes readings and viewings of literary and visual representations, including philosophy, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, painting, photography and film. Students are expected to engage with some of the following questions: Who is a/the witness? What are, if any, the ethical imperatives of representing suffering? What may be the aesthetic and/or ethical limits of such representations?
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

INSM C 3940y Science Across Cultures
3 points

ANCS W 4001y Ancient Empires
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

CLME W 4520y New Israeli Writing
Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

MDES W 4950y Late Ottomam State and Society
Not offered in 2012-2013.
3 points

ASCM V 2001x Introduction To Major Topics In Asian Civilizations: the Middle East and India

Interdisciplinary and topical approach to major issues and phases of Asian civilizations and their role in the contemporary world. - H. Kamaly
General Education Requirement: Cultures in Comparison (CUL).
4 points

ASCE V 2002x or y Introduction To Major Topics in Asian Civilizations: East Asia

An interdisciplinary and topical approach to the major issues and phases of East Asian civilizations and their role in the contemporary world.
General Education Requirement: Cultures in Comparison (CUL).
4 points

ASCM V 2003x Introduction to Islamic Civilization

Islamic civilization and its characteristic political, social, and religious institutions and intellectual traditions from its pre-Islamic Arabian setting to the present. - G. Saliba
General Education Requirement: Historical Studies (HIS).
4 points

ASCM V 2008x Contemporary Islamic Civilization

The contemporary Islamic world studied through freshly translated texts; recorded interviews with religious, political, and intellectual leaders; and films highlighting the main artistic and cultural currents. Topics include religion and society, religion and politics, issues of development, theories of government, gender issues, East-West confrontation, theatre, arts, films, poetry, music, and the short novel. - G. Saliba
4 points

ASCM V 2357x Introduction to Indian Civilization

Introduction to Indian civilization with attention to both its unity and its diversity across the Indian subcontinent. Consideration of its origins, formative development, fundamental social institutions, religious thought and practice (Vedic, Buddhist, Jain, Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh), literary and artistic achievements, and modern challenges.

ASCE V 2359x or y Introduction to East Asian Civilizations: China

The evolution of Chinese civilization from ancient times to the 20th century, with emphasis on characteristic institutions and traditions. - TBA
Corequisites: NOTE:Students must register for a discussion section, ASCE V2360 General Education Requirement: Historical Studies (HIS).
3 points

ASCE V 2361x or y Introduction to East Asian Civilizations: Japan

A survey of important events and individuals, prominent literary and artistic works, and recurring themes in the history of Japan, from prehistory to the 20th century.
Corequisites: NOTE: Students must register for a discussion section ASCE V2371 General Education Requirement: Historical Studies (HIS).
3 points

ASCE V 2363x or y Introduction to East Asian Civilizations: Korea

The evolution of Korean society and culture, with special attention to Korean values as reflected in thought, literature, and the arts.
General Education Requirement: Historical Studies (HIS).
3 points

ASCE V 2363x Introduction to East Asian Civilization: Korea

The evolution of Korean society and culture, with special attention to Korean values as reflected in thought, literature, and the arts.
4 points

ASCE V 2365y Introduction to East Asian Civilization: Tibet

The sweep of Tibetan civilization and its history from its earliest recorded origins to the present. - G. Tuttle
General Education Requirement: Historical Studies (HIS).
4 points

AHUM V 3340x or y Art In China, Japan, and Korea

Introduction to the distinctive aesthetic traditions of China, Japan, and Korea--their similarities and differences--through an examiniation of the visual and cultural significance of selected works. A survey of masterpieces of painting, sculpture, architecture, and other arts in relation to the history, culture, and religions of East Asia.
General Education Requirement: Cultures in Comparison (CUL). General Education Requirement: The Visual and Performing Arts (ART).
3 points

AHUM V 3342x Masterpieces of Indian Art and Architecture

Introduces students to 2000 years of art on the Indian subcontinent. Consists of discrete segments on the early art of Buddhism, rock-cut architecture of the Buddhists and Hindus, the emergence and development of the Hindu temple, the painted miniatures of the Mughals and Rajputs, and the art of British India.

AHUM V 3343y Masterpieces of Islamic Art and Architecture

Analytical survey of selected monuments and works of minor arts of the Islamic world. Special attention paid to historiographical and methodological problems and to issues of technological and aesthetic innovation.

AHUM V 3399x Colloquium on Major Texts: Middle East/India

AHUM V3399 and V3400 form a sequence, but either may be taken separately. V3399 may also be taken as part of a sequence with AHUM V3830. Readings in translation and discussion of texts of Middle Eastern and Indian origin. Readings include the Qur'an, Islamic philosophy, Sufi poetry, the Upanishads, Buddhist sutras, the Bhagavad Gita, Indian epics and drama, and Gandhi's Autobiography.
General Education Requirement: Cultures in Comparison (CUL). General Education Requirement: Literature (LIT).
4 points

AHUM W 3399y Major Texts: Middle East
- N. Kenderian
4 points

AHUM V 3400x or y Colloquium on Major Texts: East Asia

V3399&header=www.college.columbia.edu%2Finclude%2Fpopup_header.php&footer=www.college.columbia.edu%2Finclude%2Fpopup_footer.php" class="unify_course">V3399 and V3400&header=www.college.columbia.edu%2Finclude%2Fpopup_header.php&footer=www.college.columbia.edu%2Finclude%2Fpopup_footer.php" class="unify_course">V3400 form a sequence but either may be taken separately. V3399&header=www.college.columbia.edu%2Finclude%2Fpopup_header.php&footer=www.college.columbia.edu%2Finclude%2Fpopup_footer.php" class="unify_course">V3399 may also be taken as part of a sequence with Asian Humanities V3830&header=www.college.columbia.edu%2Finclude%2Fpopup_header.php&footer=www.college.columbia.edu%2Finclude%2Fpopup_footer.php" class="unify_course">V3830. Readings in translation and discussion of texts of Middle Eastern, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese origin, including (V3399&header=www.college.columbia.edu%2Finclude%2Fpopup_header.php&footer=www.college.columbia.edu%2Finclude%2Fpopup_footer.php" class="unify_course">V3399) the Quran, Islamic philosophy, Sufi poetry, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, Buddhist sutras, Indian epics and drama, Gandhi's Autobiography; (V3400&header=www.college.columbia.edu%2Finclude%2Fpopup_header.php&footer=www.college.columbia.edu%2Finclude%2Fpopup_footer.php" class="unify_course">V3400) the Analects of Confucius, Mencius, Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, the Lotus Sutra, Dream of the Red Chamber, Tale of Genji, Zen literature, Noh plays, bunraku (puppet) plays, Chinese and Japanese poetry.
General Education Requirement: Cultures in Comparison (CUL). General Education Requirement: Literature (LIT).
4 points

AHUM V 3830y Colloquium On Modern East Asian Texts

Introduction to and exploration of modern East Asian literature through close reading and discussion of selected masterpieces from the 1890s through the 1990s by Chinese, Japanese, and Korean writers such as Mori Ogai, Wu Jianren, Natsume Soseki, Lu Xun, Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, Shen Congwen, Ding Ling, Eileen Chang, Yi Sang, Oe Kenzaburo, O Chong-hui, and others. Emphasis will be on cultural and intellectual issues and on how literary forms manifested, constructed, or responded to rapidly shifting experiences of modernity in East Asia.
Prerequisites: AHUM V3400 is recommended as background. General Education Requirement: Cultures in Comparison (CUL). General Education Requirement: Literature (LIT).
4 points

INSM W 3920x-W3921y Nobility and Civility Seminar
Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

AHUM W 4027x Colloquium On Major Works of Chinese Philosophy, Religion, and Literature

Extends the work begun in AHUM V3400 by focusing on reading and discussion of major works of Chinese philosophy, religion, and literature, including important texts of Confucian, Daoist, Mohist, Legalist, Huang-Lao, and neo-Daoist traditions and recently discovered texts. Forms a sequence with AHUM W4028, but may also be taken separately.
Prerequisites: AHUM V3400, ASCE V2359, or ASCE V2002. Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

AHUM W 4028y Colloquium on Major Works of Chinese Philosophy, Religion, and Literature

Extends the work begun in AHUM V3400 by focusing on reading and discussion of major works of Chinese philosophy, religion, and literature, including important texts of Confucian, Daoist, Mohist, Legalist, Huang-Lao, and neo-Daoist traditions and recently discovered tests. Forms a sequence with AHUM W4027, but may also be taken separately.
Prerequisites: AHUM V3400, ASCE V2359, or ASCE V2002. Not offered in 2012-2013.
4 points

AHUM W 4029x Colloquium on Major Works of Japanese Philosophy

Reading and discussion of major works of Chinese philosophy, religion, and literature, including important texts of the Buddhist and Neo-Confucian traditions. Sequence including AHUM W4030, but either may be taken separately if the student has adequate preparation. - Wm Theodore de Bary
Prerequisites: AHUM 3400, ASCE V2361, or ASCE V2002.
4 points

AHUM W 4030y Colloquium on Major Works of Japanese Philosophy

Reading and discussion of major works of Japanese philosophy, religion, and literature from the 14th through 18th centuries.
Prerequisites: AHUM V3400, ASCE V2361, or ASCE V2002.
4 points

AHMM V 3320y Introduction To the Musics of East Asia and Southeast Asia

A topical approach to the concepts and practices of music in relation to other arts in the development of Asian civilizations.
General Education Requirement: Cultures in Comparison (CUL). General Education Requirement: The Visual and Performing Arts (ART).
3 points

AHMM V 3321x Introduction To the Musics of India and West Asia

A topical approach to the concepts and practices of music in relation to other arts in the development of Asian civilizations.
General Education Requirement: Cultures in Comparison (CUL). General Education Requirement: The Visual and Performing Arts (ART).
3 points

EAAS W 3960y Music & Ritual in East Asian Tradition
4 points

AFHI W 3911y Politics of Identity in Africa
3 points

MDES W 3951y Postcolonial African Cities

This seminar considers postcolonial African cities in historical and geographical perspective. Drawing from diverse literatures, including geography, history, anthropology, cultural studies, and development studies, it offers an interdisciplinary approach to reflect on experiences of urbanization on the continent and the socio-economic, cultural, and political aspects of contemporary African urban life.
3 points

CLME W 4031y Cinema and Society is Asia and Africa
General Education Requirement: The Visual and Performing Arts (ART).
3 points