Fall 2023

Course Code Title/Instructor Meets
CHIN 101-01 Elementary Chinese
Instructor: Christopher Peacock, Li Li
Course Description:
A study of the fundamentals of Mandarin Chinese, including grammar, reading, and writing using both traditional and simplified characters, pinyin romanization, pronunciation, and conversational skills.
09:30 AM-10:20 AM, MTWRF
STERN 12
CHIN 101-02 Elementary Chinese
Instructor: Li Li, Christopher Peacock
Course Description:
A study of the fundamentals of Mandarin Chinese, including grammar, reading, and writing using both traditional and simplified characters, pinyin romanization, pronunciation, and conversational skills.
10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MTWRF
STERN 12
CHIN 201-01 Intermediate Chinese
Instructor: Nan Ma, Li Li
Course Description:
An enhancement of the oral and written skills of elementary language study. In addition, students will learn to use dictionaries to translate original literary works. Extra conversational work will be included, geared to understanding and participating in Chinese culture. Prerequisite: 102 or the equivalent.
09:30 AM-10:20 AM, MTWRF
ALTHSE 206
CHIN 201-02 Intermediate Chinese
Instructor: Li Li, Nan Ma
Course Description:
An enhancement of the oral and written skills of elementary language study. In addition, students will learn to use dictionaries to translate original literary works. Extra conversational work will be included, geared to understanding and participating in Chinese culture. Prerequisite: 102 or the equivalent.
10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MTWRF
ALTHSE 206
CHIN 231-01 Advanced Chinese
Instructor: Nan Ma
Course Description:
Advanced reading, writing, speaking, and understanding of the Chinese language for students who have completed Chinese 202. This course aims to enhance the students' understanding of Chinese culture and introduce them to issues in contemporary China through reading and discussion. Prerequisite: 202 or the equivalent
11:30 AM-12:20 PM, MWF
BOSLER 321
CHIN 361-01 Advanced Chinese II
Instructor: Christopher Peacock, Li Li
Course Description:
Reading of selected literary works by modern Chinese writers and articles from Chinese newspapers and magazines. These courses involve more sophisticated conversation and composition on important social, political, and economics issues in China. Prerequisite: 232 or permission of the instructor.
12:30 PM-01:20 PM, MWF
BOSLER 310
Courses Offered in EASN
Course Code Title/Instructor Meets
EASN 108-01 Arts of East Asia
Instructor: Wei Ren
Course Description:
Cross-listed with ARTH 108-01. This course introduces students to a selection of objects and sites that elicit new modes of cultural perception and insight into the artistic cultures of China, Korea, and Japan. Loosely arranged in a chronological order, each week is devoted to in-depth examination of a different type of object, medium, and format. The diverse mediums (sculpture, ceramics, metalwork, lacquer, prints, painting, calligraphy, photography, performance, and architecture) and the long historical span covered in class will chart how culture traveled within East Asia, and later, globally, as well as each cultures distinctive methods of adaptation over time. Major themes include the relationship between artistic production and sociopolitical and socioeconomic development, cultural exchange, aesthetics, impact of religion, power and authority, gender, and issues of modernity. Lectures are supplemented by viewing sessions in the Trout Gallery.This course is cross-listed as ARTH 108.
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TF
WEISS 235
EASN 120-01 History of East Asia from Ancient Times to the Present
Instructor: Evan Young
Course Description:
Cross-listed with HIST 120-01. This course explores the diverse and interrelated histories of the region currently composed of China, Korea, and Japan, over the past two thousand years. We begin by studying the technologies and systems of thought that came to be shared across East Asia, including written languages, philosophies of rule, and religions. Next, we examine periods of major upheaval and change, such as the rise of warrior governments, the Mongol conquests, and engagement with the West. The course concludes by tracing the rise and fall of the Japanese empire and the development of the modern nation states that we see today.This course is cross-listed as HIST 120.
10:30 AM-11:45 AM, TR
BOSLER 314
EASN 203-01 Chinese Literature After Mao
Instructor: Christopher Peacock
Course Description:
China has undergone vast changes since the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, transitioning rapidly from a socialist society governed by mass political campaigns to the economic superpower we see today. Since the start of this "New Era," Chinese literature has both reflected and reflected upon these changes. Writers played a central role in the intellectual debates of the 1980s that culminated in the protests at Tiananmen Square, and they have cast critical lenses on China's meteoric growth and the consumer society, futuristic mega-cities, and steep rural-urban inequalities that it has produced. But as Chinese writers looked forward, they have also looked back, attempting to reckon with the legacy of Mao's rule. This course will be split into two parts: the first will examine how Chinese writers have processed and critiqued the upheavals and tragedies of the Mao era, notably the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. The second will consider recent developments in Chinese literature and what they tell us about contemporary Chinese society. We will study modern Chinese literature in its many forms (fiction, poetry, drama, film) and encounter the works of major writers (including Nobel Prize winners Gao Xingjian and Mo Yan). Through these texts, we will both appreciate the creative contributions Chinese writers are making to world literature and gain critical insights into the sweeping transformations China has experienced over the last decades. All texts in English translation; no prior study of Chinese language or China-related topics required.
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, MR
LIBRY E. ASIAN
EASN 205-01 Nature and the Environment in Japanese Fiction and Film
Instructor: Alex Bates
Course Description:
Cross-listed with FMST 210-01. This course explores the relationship between humanity and nature in Japanese literature and film. Though we will draw from earlier examples, the majority of the course will be focused on the modern era (post 1868). Some topics for exploration include: the role of animals in Japanese culture, nature as a reflection of the self, natural and industrial disasters, and nature in the imagination. As we move through the class, we will also work to understand and apply "ecocriticism" as an approach to cultural texts in relation to the science of ecology.
03:00 PM-04:15 PM, MR
EASTC 411
EASN 206-01 The Rise of Modern China
Instructor: Evan Young
Course Description:
Cross-listed with HIST 275-01.
09:00 AM-10:15 AM, TR
DENNY 303
EASN 236-01 Japanese Society
Instructor: Shawn Bender
Course Description:
Cross-listed with ANTH 236-01. This course is an introduction to contemporary Japanese society. The course examines what everyday life is like in Japan from anthropological and historical perspectives. It explores such major social institutions as families, gender, communities, workplaces, and belief systems. The course focuses as well on the ways in which modernization has affected these institutions and the identities of Japanese people.
10:30 AM-11:45 AM, TR
DENNY 103
EASN 306-02 Controversies in US-China Relations
Instructor: Neil Diamant
Course Description:
Cross-listed with POSC 390-01. This seminar takes a close look at some of the most contentious political, legal, and ethical issues in Sino-American relations in the post-Mao period (1978-), ranging from human rights, Tibet, Taiwan, the South China Sea, technology, environmental protection, religious freedom, trade, and intellectual property rights. Drawing on translated primary and secondary sources, the course focuses on the historical, political, and cultural forces that have often driven a wedge between the United States and China, but which also provide opportunity for cooperation.
01:30 PM-04:30 PM, T
EASTC 108
EASN 480-01 Critical Dialogues in East Asian Studies
Instructor: Neil Diamant
Course Description:
To help prepare students for completing their senior research project, this course introduces current dialogues and research strategies in East Asian Studies. Students will study influential scholarly texts on and from the region and apply insights gleaned from them toward analysis of primary source data. Students will also learn to better identify and evaluate competing views presented by secondary sources. By the end of the course, students will have chosen a research topic, identified suitable sources, and developed a proposal for their senior project. The content and direction of the course will reflect the research interests of students and the instructor.Prerequisite: EASN, CHIN or JPNS major and 200-level EASN course.
01:30 PM-04:30 PM, W
STERN 7
Courses Offered in JPNS
Course Code Title/Instructor Meets
JPNS 101-01 Elementary Japanese
Instructor: Akiko Meguro, Sota Takeda
Course Description:
These courses establish the basic language skills including listening, speaking, reading and writing. These courses also provide students with a brief overview of Japanese culture.
09:30 AM-10:20 AM, MTWRF
STERN 7
JPNS 101-02 Elementary Japanese
Instructor: Sota Takeda, Akiko Meguro
Course Description:
These courses establish the basic language skills including listening, speaking, reading and writing. These courses also provide students with a brief overview of Japanese culture.
10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MTWRF
STERN 7
JPNS 201-01 Intermediate Japanese
Instructor: Alex Bates, Sota Takeda
Course Description:
The aim of this course is the mastery of the basic structure of Japanese language and communicative skills. The student will have an opportunity to get to know more of Japanese culture. Prerequisite: 102 or permission of the instructor.
09:30 AM-10:20 AM, MTWRF
EASTC 112
JPNS 201-02 Intermediate Japanese
Instructor: Sota Takeda, Alex Bates
Course Description:
The aim of this course is the mastery of the basic structure of Japanese language and communicative skills. The student will have an opportunity to get to know more of Japanese culture. Prerequisite: 102 or permission of the instructor.
10:30 AM-11:20 AM, MTWRF
EASTC 112
JPNS 231-01 Advanced Japanese
Instructor: Akiko Meguro
Course Description:
The emphasis in this course is placed on enhancing the students' fluency and acquiring increasingly creative skills through composition, oral presentation and discussion. Prerequisite: 202 or permission of the instructor.
12:30 PM-01:20 PM, MWF
STERN 103
JPNS 361-01 Advanced Japanese II
Instructor: Alex Bates
Course Description:
The emphasis in this course is placed on polishing and refining the students' language skills. Emphasis is placed on covering more sophisticated materials such as newspapers, magazine articles, film and literature. Prerequisite: 232 or permission of the instructor.
01:30 PM-02:45 PM, TF
STERN 7