ASIA 205     Modern China through Fiction and Film  (4)

How do film and literature inform our understanding of the evolving concepts of art, ideology and material conditions in modern China? How have literary and cinematic representations changed over the last century to accommodate and facilitate social transformations? What are the characteristics of the cultural productions from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan? This course helps students develop a critical sense and appreciation for Chinese cinema and literature. Taught in English.

ASIA 208     Modern Chinese Literature in Translation  (4)

This course surveys the four major modes of Chinese literature from the early twentieth century to the present: realism, modernism, socialist realism, and postmodernism Themes of modernity, nationalism, gender, class, and identity are explored through primary texts. The course emphasizes rhetorical, formal, and aesthetic critiques of literature. Taught in English.

ASIA 209     Japanese Literature and Culture  (4)

This course introduces students to the culture and history of Japan from the pre-modern period to the present through exposure to some of the most celebrated works in Japanese literature and cinema. Beyond analysis of the texts and films themselves, particular attention in is paid to the socio-historical contexts from which these works emerged. Taught in English.

ASIA 216     Intensive Study in Asia  (4)

Short-term intensive study abroad in Asia examining transnational topics from interdisciplinary perspectives such as art history, religious studies, history, and literature. Prerequisite: Open only to students admitted to the Intensive Study in Asia program.

ASIA 217     Modern Japanese Literature  (4)

This course is a survey of Japanese literature from the late nineteenth century to the present. Through the reading of seminal works, the course explores such key issues and events in modern Japanese history as modernization, westernization, World War II, and the postwar experience, in addition to contemporary Japanese life. Not open for credit to students who have earned credit for ASIA 317. Taught in English.

ASIA 237     Gender and Sexuality in Modern Chinese Literature and Culture  (4)

This course examines Chinese literary and cultural practices related to gender and sexuality from the turn of the twentieth century to the present. Using primary texts in translation, theoretical works, films, and visual materials, students explore the personal and collective politics involved in constructions of gender, sexuality, desire, and identity. Taught in English.

ASIA 240     Introduction to Traditional Asian Drama  (4)

This course introduces students to major works of pre-modern and early modern Asian dramatic literatures and some of the living performance arts associated with them. Readings include great works of Sanskrit, Chinese, and Japanese drama and dramaturgy, together with study through recordings of such performance arts as Kathakali, Kunqu, Peking Opera, and Noh. Among the topics addressed are ways in which traditional Asian philosophies as Buddhism and Daoism shaped the literary and performance aesthetics under consideration, as well as questions of theatre as ritual and theatre as imaginative space for social performance. All readings are in English translation.

ASIA 241     The Comic and Sublime: An Introduction to Chinese Theater  (4)

This course surveys the rich and varied traditions of Chinese theater from their origins in ritual and spectacle to their current formulations in traditional and modern productions. We will discuss both dramatic texts and theatrical performances. All readings will be in English. Course will be taught in English.

ASIA 444     Independent Study  (2 or 4)

A reading and research paper on a topic agreed upon by a sponsored faculty member and the student. Open only to students pursuing programs in Asian studies. Prerequisite: Instructor prerequisite override required.

ASIA 458     Senior Thesis  (4)

This course calls for students to write a senior thesis on a selected topic under supervision of a faculty advisor. May be taken either semester of the senior year. Open only to students pursuing majors in Asian studies. Prerequisite: Instructor prerequisite override required.