Asian Languages and Cultures Classes

Buddhism is increasingly well-known in the USA, but what is it, and how does Buddhism encourage people to organize and think about their lives? Organized on the basis of the Eightfold Noble Path, with a focus of 'morals, the Buddhist psychology of mind, and meditation,'  this course offers an introduction to the personalities, teachings, and institutions of Buddhism. Beginning in India at the time of the Buddha, this course focuses on Theravada Buddhism, asking students to think historically, philosophically, and anthropologically. Many Friday sessions will be dedicated to an exploration of the variety of Buddhist meditative techniques.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Asian Americans are often overlooked in the study of religion in the U.S., and yet the impact of Asian religious practices can be seen at every turn: yoga studios, mindfulness meditation, "zen" aesthetics of minimalism, and so on. What do we make of the gap between how Asian religions are practiced in Asian American communities and how these traditions have been reinterpreted by predominantly white, educated, middle class adherents? How do Asian American Christians negotiate their identities in the context of non-Asian Christian churches or the intergenerational tensions within their own ethnic churches? The approach of this course is interdisciplinary (and sometimes counterdisciplinary); it draws on theoretical and methodological insights from ethnic studies, religious studies, history, and sociology. Topics include: race and the racialization of Asian Americans; the politics of cultural and religious exchange; the commodification of Asian religious practices; and issues of assimilation and hybridity within Asian American Christian traditions.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

The sense of being out of place in one's society or one's nation, estranged from one's self or the world - this is the feeling that has motivated many of the narratives of modern Japanese fiction. Through stories of precocious adolescents, outcast minorities, vagabond women, disillusioned soldiers, and rebellious youth, this course examines the social implications of narrative fiction (including film, anime, and manga) within the context of modern Japanese history. While introducing methods of literary analysis and developing a familiarity with major works of Japanese fiction, the course aims to cultivate an understanding of how stories can be used to engage and think abou the quandaries of modern society. We will explore the way these narratives express marginal experiences, rethink the foundations of human and societal bonds, and articulate new ways of being in the world. Works covered include stories by Tanizaki Jun'ichiro, Kawabata Yasunari, Oe Kenzaburo, Mishima Yukio, and Murakami Haruki, as well as films by Akira Kurosawa, Koreeda Hirokazu, and Otomo Katsuhiro. No knowledge of Japanese required.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course contemplates the definition of Sacred Art and Sacred Space by focusing on religious visual culture in Asia and examining how intangible concepts of the divine have become tangible in art and architecture.  To better understand the multilayered functioning of devotional objects and spaces associated with religious doctrines such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shintoism, the class will explore foundations in iconography and then compare different religious objects and spaces through concepts such as gender, state power, the body, nature, ritual, the grotesque, and death.  To account for the shifting meaning of religious icons over time, the class also reflects on how the significance of religious objects changes in the space of a museum.  Ultimately, this course allows us to contemplate the multifaceted ways religious beliefs have been visualized and how these manifestations exemplify systems of cultural exchange in Asia.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course examines the art, architecture, and visual culture of Japan, spanning a broad temporal frame from the ancient Neolithic era to our own contemporary moment.  We will discuss a diverse array of art and architecture from ancient Jomon pottery, Shinto shrines, and print media to Buddhist sculpture, painting practices during World War II, anime (cartoons) and manga (comics). In addition to learning methods of formal visual analysis, students will gain insight into how these works articulated complex artistic, social, economic, political, and religious trends. Through this course, students will develop skills to reflect critically on the production of narratives of Japanese culture, while considering concepts such as tradition, hybridity, value, authority, authenticity, sexuality, commodity flows, nationalism, and militarism.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

A study of leading institutions and movements of nineteenth- and twentieth-century China. Major emphases include the impact of Western imperialism, the transformation of peasant society through revolution, the rise of Mao Tse-Tung, and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Special attention will be given to U.S.-China relations.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This discussion-based course is entirely focused on Bruce Lee, the actor and leading martial arts icon of the 20th century. Using American Studies and Critical Race Studies frames to examine the construction of racialized and gendered bodies, we will discuss Bruce Lee in terms of his biography, identities, politics, philosophy, and filmography. We will take time to appreciate the entertainment value and athleticism that Bruce Lee brought to his work, but we will also learn to distinguish the commercialized, commodified Bruce Lee (from t-shirts to posters to action figures) from the serious historical figure who symbolized the spirit of cultural independence and political sovereignty around the world. Among the required books and movies: The Tao of Jeet Kune Do, and "Way of the Dragon" (1972).

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This collaboratively taught course examines the literature and arts of two empires in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: Ming China, an ancient empire sitting at the apogee of its influence yet soon to be crushed by rebellion and invasion, and Tudor-Stuart England, a nascent empire clamoring to assert its dominance as a global superpower through mercantile capitalism, racialized enslavement, and cultural supremacy. Using a literary and comparativist approach, we analyze the function of literature in the winning and losing of empire. We focus, in particular, on the literary writer’s role in shaping the public understanding of law and justice, race and ethnicity, barbarity and civility. We will read courtly literature written for the Chinese and English literati as well as popular texts (plays, songs, poems) aimed at popular audiences. We will visit the Minneapolis Institute of Art and the Bell Museum to study Chinese and English material objects (including houseware, furniture, and maps), and practice holding conversation with scholars specializing in early modern China and England. No knowledge of Chinese (let alone classical Chinese) is needed. This course counts for the English Major period requirement (Renaissance).

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

In Chinese, writing is synonymous with culture: word for writing is synonymous with civilization itself. This course explores the central role of writing – especially the cultural history of Chinese characters – both in and beyond China from ancient times to the present. How did this unique writing system develop? How have the graphs changed over time? What binds Chinese characters to other art forms – like painting, poetry, calligraphy, sculpture, and dance – or to ethical or spiritual self-cultivation? How do characters, incised in stone or brushed onto paper, transmit meaning? And how did they become the predominant writing system used throughout East and Southeast Asia in premodern times? What myths have been told about their origins, how have they been misconstrued, and what accounts for their extraordinary longevity? No knowledge of Chinese is required.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Is caste a long-standing social structure or a recent construct? Does it belong to the past or continue to shape lives today? Is it unique to Hindus in South Asia, or does it have a global impact? In this course, we will delve into the intricacies of caste as a social practice. We'll analyze the historical development of caste and its interactions with other hierarchies, such as race, gender, and sexuality, not only in South Asia but around the world. Throughout the course, we will scrutinize how caste transcends geographical boundaries, examining its portrayal in diverse sources such as literature, ethnographies, censuses, and legal documents. We will also closely examine the histories and lasting effects of anti-caste movements. Our exploration begins in the 19th century when colonialism reshaped caste dynamics while also providing opportunities for marginalized communities to challenge established power structures. Additionally, we will investigate the emergence of caste practices within Afro-Caribbean diaspora communities. Lastly, we will explore the contemporary dimensions of caste, considering how it influences social mobility and marginalization within the context of global migration and social movements. In essence, this course will equip you with fresh perspectives on caste, with an emphasis on primary sources.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

In 1966, sociologist William Peterson published an article in the New York Times titled, “Success Story, Japanese-American Style,” which praised Japanese Americans, their family structure, and their culture for achieving education and financial success despite having been incarcerated en masse during World War II. This marks the first articulation of model minority myth, which stereotypes Asian American as being successful, hardworking, law-abiding, and dutiful, relative to other minoritized groups. So, how did Japanese Americans go from being perceived as enemy spies to the original “model minority”? This course will examine the history and experience of Japanese Americans from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, with an eye toward Japanese American activism and resistance. Topics will include: U.S. imperialism in Asia; the effects of incarceration during World War II; Japanese Americans in Hawai’i; Japanese American organizing against Islamophobia and the mass incarceration of migrants at the border; and Japanese American solidarity with the civil rights movement and reparations for African Americans.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Since the last century, Asia has experienced rapid urbanization. It is now home to over half of the world's most populated cities. By 2010, the urban population in the Asia-Pacific region has surpassed the population of the United States and the European Union combined. In this course, we will focus on cities in East, Southeast and South Asia. We will first contextualize the rapid urbanization in the region's changing political economy, and identify urban issues that are unique to this region. We will further explore different theoretical approaches to understand Asian cities; several of them challenge mainstream urban theories rooted in the experiences of West European and North American cities. Upon the completion of this course, students will acquire substantive knowledge on contemporary trends of urban development in Asia, and develop familiarity with related ongoing theoretical debates. In addition, students will conduct individual research projects to develop deeper and more concrete understanding of the contemporary urbanization processes in Asia.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

The development of art and identities in China over the last 400 years has been, literally, revolutionary. From the Manchu rule of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) and the emergence of the Chinese Republic (1912-1949) to the radical changes at work during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) under Mao Zedong and the appearance of complex reactionary artistic voices since the late 1970s, we have seen the dynamic development of modern subjectivities, evolving cultural connoisseurship, ethnic tensions, new definitions of citizenry, and counter-movements led by cynical agitators. Art and design have played a critical role in these developments, functioning as a formal and symbolic language through which communities and notions of personhood could form. This class draws on themes such as gender, sexuality, militarism, ethnicity, and commodity culture to delve into the rich resonance between the representation of the human figure and the expression of diverse identities. Students will not only learn to look closely at and write critically about a variety of media including paintings, calligraphy, prints, films, posters, performance art, and installations, but will also relate this historical cultural production to contemporaneous artistic, social, and political discourses. In the process, we will complicate notions of "Chinese" art and "Chinese" identity in Asia and on the global stage.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

An introduction to Cultural Anthropology, through the comparative study of the societies and cultures of Asia. Counts as the introductory course to Asian Studies, ASIA 111. Culture is the organizing concept underlying anthropology’s holistic approach, which seeks to understand what it means to be human in the broadest possible context. By understanding other cultural logics, anthropology seeks to hold up a critical mirror to our own assumptions, beliefs and ways of acting. In short, it provides you with a toolkit to engage with cultural difference, whether in a different country or at home. We will discuss the concept of culture and the way anthropologists use it to study humanity. The material is drawn from Asian societies, and will include such topics as kinship and marriage, politics and law, religion and ritual, and economic organization, examined comparatively. Students will be introduced to the method of ethnographic interviewing, and will complete a fieldwork-based research project during the semester based on three interviews with a consultant from a microculture of their choosing.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Internationalism OR U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

Buddhism is increasingly well-known in the USA, but what is it, and how does Buddhism encourage people to organize and think about their lives? Organized on the basis of the Eightfold Noble Path, with a focus of 'morals, the Buddhist psychology of mind, and meditation,'  this course offers an introduction to the personalities, teachings, and institutions of Buddhism. Beginning in India at the time of the Buddha, this course focuses on Theravada Buddhism, asking students to think historically, philosophically, and anthropologically. Many Friday sessions will be dedicated to an exploration of the variety of Buddhist meditative techniques.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Love, death, the natural world, friendship, desire, and gender. This course explores these themes through influential works of Chinese literature spanning two thousand years. Genres to be studied include poetry, short stories, philosophical writings, drama, letters, novels, chronicles, and more. Frequent class discussions will probe the materiality of writing, book culture, and the relevance of course themes to readers in and beyond China even today. Taught in English; no knowledge of Chinese is necessary.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

An introduction to the study of Asian religious traditions in South and East Asia (India, China and Japan). Open to everyone but especially appropriate for first and second year students.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course introduces the cultures and societies of China, Japan and Korea from the earliest times to the present day. Primarily an introductory course for beginners in East Asian civilization, this course considers a variety of significant themes in religious, political, economic, social and cultural developments in the region.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course introduces the basic issues and concepts of Asian American Studies. We begin by looking at the birth of Asian American Studies as a field in response to student protests in the late 1960s. We then proceed to an overview of Asian American history beginning with U.S. imperialism in Asia and moving up to the present moment. For the remainder of the course, we'll focus on particular topics such as: the model minority myth; anti-Asian violence; multiracial Asian American identity; and Asian American activism. The approach of this course is interdisciplinary; it draws on theoretical and methodological insights from academic disciplines such as history, ethnic studies, and sociology.

General Education Requirements:
U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Colonization and Empire; Race and indigeneity; Asia; Global/International. Encompassing a vast and diverse region that includes the present-day states of India,Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Bhutan, SouthAsia is home to a fourth of the world’s population. What was political, social, and culturallife in this region like before modernity? How did the plural religious, linguistic, andsocial identities that shape everyday life emerge? How did the encounter withcolonialism reshape the contemporary trajectories of South Asian cultures? Proceedingchronologically, we will explore important themes that continue to inspire a rich historicalscholarship, namely: processes underlying the integration of diverse cultural traditionsacross the Indian Ocean; the emergence, and consolidation of Indo-Persian kingshipand attendant forms of socio- cultural life; changes wrought upon this landscape by thearrival of European colonial rule; and the postcolonial trajectories of South Asiansocieties. We will explore these changes by engaging with sources and scholarship ondifferent genres and mediums of communication ranging from art, architecturalpractices, music, film, fiction, and ethnography. This course will not only introduce youto critical issues for understanding contemporary South Asia but also to culturalpractices and modes of representation unique to the region. By examining the past withan eye to its contemporary relevance, we will investigate why premodern identities andhistories remain at the center of debates about politics and culture in contemporarySouth Asia.

General Education Requirements:

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

Reading Plays guides students in close readings of dramatic literature, in particular of plays that are typically left out of the traditional theatrical canon. Students will learn about the socio-historical context of each play, and in-class exercises will introduce them to the foundation of script analysis: they will examine the play’s given circumstances, dialogue, dramatic action, characters, and style. Students will read a new play every week; assignments include weekly in-class writing exercises and short critical papers. Some playwrights we may explore are: Ayad Akhtar, Jaclyn Backhaus, Christopher Chen, Mashuq Mushtaq Deen, Prince Gomolvilas, David Henry Hwang, Naomi Iizuka, Rajiv Joseph, Hansol Jung, Haruna Lee, Kimber Lee, Young Jean Lee, Qui Nguyen, Jiehae Park, Lloyd Suh, Kristina Wong, Lauren Yee, and Chay Yew.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism OR U.S. Identities and Differences

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

Whether the twenty-first century will be dominated by the "rising Asia" has spurred recurring debates in policy and academic circles. But what is Asia? How can we understand this diverse region where more than half of the world's population resides? In this course, we will first deconstruct the idea of Asia as a cartographic entity to excavate the layered social-cultural meaning and geographical diversity of the "Asias." We will also place the "Asias" in a global context to reveal how contemporary Asia anchors the changing world political economy and cultural imaginations outside the West. We will begin with important theoretical debates on (East) Asian development that prevailed in the 1980s and 1990s, including discussions about the colonial past, the path-dependency of development and uneven industrialization, regional disparities and mega-urbanization. We will then use these debates as the foundation to explore the contemporary globalizing Asia. What are the important connections between Asian countries, and with other parts of the world? What are the roles of the "Asias" in international governance and geo-politics? Can China replace the United States as the dominant geo-economic power? These are the questions we will explore in this course.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WP
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course surveys the history of Japanese film from the "golden age" of Japanese cinema to the contemporary transnational genre of anime. While introducing methodologies of film analysis and interpretation, it develops knowledge of how major works of Japanese film and animation have expressed and critiqued issues of modern Japanese society. In doing this, we trace the development of two related archetypes: the middle-class salaryman and the adolescent girl (shojo). These figures - as well as their incarnations as cyberpunks and mecha-warriors, sex workers and teen rebels - help us explore Japanese film's engagement with the strictures of middle-class society, the constrained status of women, fantasy and escapism, sexuality and desire. Weekly screenings and discussion will be supplemented by readings in film theory and cultural criticism. Directors include Ozu Yasujiro, Akira Kurosawa, Oshima Nagisa, Miyazaki Hayao, Anno Hideaki, and Hosoda Mamoru. No prior knowledge of Japanese required.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course is an overview of China on the silver screen. Adopting the "nation" as its primary structuring device, the course examines how Chinese films represented the national identity, national issues, and the national past. The topics under discussion include how women's virtues became emblems of a nation that strived for modernity in the early 20th century; how films were politically appropriated for socialist purposes; how the revolutionary past was cinematically constructed, remembered and critiqued in the post-Mao era; how the national legacy and tradition were consciously or unconsciously re-created and revised as a spectacle to meet the curious gaze of the global market; and how Taiwan and Hong Kong cinema constantly reflected cultural and national identities. The course starts from the silent film period and extends to the fifth generation directors, underground filmmaking, and the revival of the martial arts genre in greater China. Feature films from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong will be screened and discussed. Secondary articles and books are also assigned in conjunction with the films. The course is organized thematically and moves chronologically. No prior knowledge of China or Chinese is required.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials

This course examines the art and visual culture of China from the Neolithic era to the twenty-first century. Lectures and readings will teach methods of formal visual analysis as well as provide the opportunity for students to think critically about how scholars write the artistic history of the region. Through this class, students will engage with a broad array of media, from jade carvings, Buddhist cave painting, architecture, calligraphy and monumental landscape paintings to ceramics, imperial palaces, and contemporary installations. While examining the intended meanings and functions of these objects and spaces, we will discuss the varied contexts and value systems that have informed visual production in China.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course aims to investigate the complex relationship between language and identity in Japanese, Asian American, and other diasporic communities. Language plays a significant role in conveying one's identity, as do other semiotic means such as clothing. By exploring scholarship that considers language as it relates to identity, students will discover how speakers/writers use their agency in expressing their identity and how identity emerges as a social and cultural phenomenon. They will learn about multiple interrelated factors that affect how speakers/writers view and use language such as race, ethnicity, nationality, and multilingualism. No knowledge of Asian languages is required.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Social science

Course Materials

This course addresses the art and visual culture of Japan from the mid-nineteenth century through the twentieth century, a period of Japanese history marked by dramatic cultural, political, and social change. The concepts of ‘modernism’ and ‘modernity’ were crucial elements in this change, sparking revolutionary shifts in the conception of art, empire, and identities (both personal and national) in Japan. Our class will discuss at length the visual arts from the 1850s to 1945, a time that saw foundational cultural, political, and social transformation in Japan as the nation developed from fledgling global power into a ultranationalist military hegemon in Asia; we will also consider artistic practices in the postwar era to understand the “crisis of the modern” that developed in the decades after the war as artists struggled to find their individual and national voices. Drawing on a diverse array of artistic forms and visual media, including painting, prints, sculpture, architecture, fashion, anime (Japanese cartoons), film, and photography, we will explore how themes such as trauma, nationalism, imperialism, war, protest, hybridity, and performativity have intersected with shifting notions of modern, artistic, and national identities inside and outside Japan. No prerequisites. First Years are welcome.

General Education Requirements:
Writing WA
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Fine arts

Course Materials

This course aims to give students the opportunity to find the joy of analyzing Japanese language by enhancing their understanding of its complex and rich sociocultural meanings. In Japanese language courses, students learn the norms (i.e., what is considered to be correct and proper) regarding honorifics, speech levels, orthography, the so-called gendered language, and other linguistic forms. In this linguistics course, they will find out how actual speakers/writers observe or deviate from the norms to create sociocultural meanings and how the adherence to or subversion of the norm often reflects language ideologies. In the process they will reflect on their own as well as others' speech and writing, and learn how to critically evaluate and analyze language in the media. In addition to reading and discussing academic articles in English, students will collect and analyze authentic Japanese data such as anime, TV drama, films, manga, novels, and blogs. Japanese Language and Culture majors who are juniors and seniors may count this course as their capstone experience. The course also fulfills the Asian Studies, Japanese, and Linguistics major and minor requirements. Prerequisite(s): JAPA 204 or permission of the instructor.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:

Course Materials

Have you ever thought to yourself - What should I be doing with my life? And what should all of us be doing with our lives, in our local communities and our world at large? Generations of South Asian philosophers have addressed these fundamental moral and political questions. In this class, we’ll be tackling these big life questions, seeing what lessons we can learn from the rich philosophical thought of South Asia. Topics might include: Buddhist arguments that the non-existence of a self should lead us to care about other people’s well-being just as much as our own well-being; arguments for and against abolishing the caste system as a system of social organization; South Asian feminist ideas and practices; and more.

General Education Requirements:
Internationalism

Distribution Requirements:
Humanities

Course Materials