Spring 2011

CT 374 Asian Theatre and Drama

This is an upper-level theater studies course in dramatic literature/criticism that will examine classic and contemporary performance traditions in Japan, China, India, and the Middle East.
Sunil Swaroop

EN 495 Asian Cinema

• Cross-listed as FM 495
• Satisfies cultural diversity core requirement

This class explores recent films from China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia. These films will be approached through a variety of critical perspectives. We will watch art films, commercial films, and films that fall between these two categories. We will ask how Asian film industries have been affected by globalization and how national cinemas are becoming increasingly transnational. there will be a weekly film screening on Tuesday nights. Movies may include: Beijing Bicycle, In the Mood For Love, Lagaan, and Spirited Away.
Christina Klein

FA 316 Eastern Influences on Western Art

• Satisfies cultural diversity core requirement

Nineteenth and twentieth century European and American painters were affected by Eastern paintings, prints, decorative arts, spiritual ideas as Chinese and Japanese trade opened. Results were new ways of depicting reality, light, space and invention of abstract line, shape, color and texture rendering spiritual states of mind. Through comparisons of Asian paintings, prints, decorative art objects and European and American paintings and prints, students will study the impact of Eastern art on path-breaking developments of modern art in the West.
Judith A. Bookbinder

HS 006 Asia in the World II

• Corequisite: HS 008
• Satisfies cultural diversity core requirement

This course examines Asia in the shaping of the modern world, from competing definitions of empires circa 1800 to the rise of the notion of the twenty-first as a "Pacific Century." It investigates the definition(s) of Asia as a world region, explores transnational interactions and emphasizes Asians as historical actors via written, visual and aural sources. Events are placed in the context of key historical paradigms, including varying definitions of modernity, the rise of the nation-state, the birth of mass politics, new mechanisms of war, the language of self-determination, changing views of gender, shifting types of media and consumption, etc.
Jeremy Clarke, S.J.

HS 302 From Sun Yat-Sen to the Beijing Olympics

• Prerequisite: Any two semesters of HS 001 through HS 094
• Offered periodically

The World Fair began in Shanghai on May 1, 2010. Sun Yat-sen was declared the first president of the Republic of China almost one hundred years earlier, thereby ending centuries of dynastic history. In the years since, in addition to great leaps forward and long marches, there have been wars civil and international, revolutions cultural and economic, and an Olympics thrown in as well. This survey course of twentieth-century Chinese history encompasses these tumultuous events as well as aspects of the political system, minorities, environment, human rights and contemporary culture.
Jeremy Clarke, S.J.

HS 385 Introduction to Modern South Asia

• Pre-requisite: Any two semesters of HS 001 through HS 094
• Satisfies cultural diversity core requirement
• Offered periodically
• Fulfills non-Western requirement for history majors

This course is a survey of the history of the Indian subcontinent from Mughal times to Independence. Topics to be covered will include: the decline of the Mughal Empire, the rise of British rule and its impact, the Mutiny and Civilian Revolt of 1857, the invention of a traditional India in the 19th century, law and gender in British India, Gandhi and Indian nationalism, and independence and partition.
Prasannan Parthasarathi

HS 691-03 Senior Seminar: The U.S. Occupation of Japan and Germany After World War II

• Prerequisite: Any two semesters of HS 001 through HS 094, as well as HS 300 The Study and Writing of History
• Restricted to History majors

The total defeat of Japan and Germany in 1945 resulted in a prolonged time of military occupation of both countries by the United States and other powers. These early years of "starting over" on the behest of the victors proved crucial in the making not only of postwar Japan and Germany and their respective regions, Asia and Europe, but also of the United States. In this course, students become comparative historians as they examine similarities and differences between these two experiences of occupation, from demilitarization and democratization to the making of America's most committed allies at the opening stage of the Cold War.
Franziska Seraphim

MU 307 Musics of Asia

• Cross-cultural course within the music major/minor
• Offered periodically

A survey of musics in Asia, focusing on East and Southeast Asia with attention to source traditions in South and Central Asia. Case studies include traditional and contemporary musics of China, Korea, Japan, The Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Burma. Music is studied in a variety of social contexts, including court, village, temple, theatre, and festive. the effects of migration, diaspora, conflict, government regulation, and globalization are considered.
Stephanie Khoury

PL 193 Chinese Classical Philosophy

• Satisfies cultural diversity core requirement

Starting from the general introduction to Chinese philosophy as a whole, the course will focus on three of the most important philosophical schools: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Emphasizing social harmony and order, Confucianism deals mainly with human relationships and human virtues. Centered on the harmony between nature, man, and society, Taoism teaches the most natural way to achieve this harmony, Tao. Synthesized as soon as it arrived in China, Buddhism reveals that the ultimate reality both transcends all being, names, and forms and remains empty and quiet in its nature.
Department

PL 453 Gandhi, Satyagraha, and Society

• Satisfies cultural diversity core requirement

Well known as a freedom fighter for India's independence, Gandhi's deep concern regarding the impact of industrialization and injustice on the social fabric is not as well known. His analysis of the effects of technological civilization on society was not provincial (limited to what is sometimes called the third world) but universal. We will examine Gandhian thought through his own writings and explicate their relevance to the contemporary society, and examine selections from classical and contemporary literature on the philosophy and ethics, which will help us understand Gandhi's integrated vision of the citizen as a reflective and active individual.
Pramod Thaker, M.D.

PO 444 Intellectuals & Politics in the Middle East

• Open to juniors and seniors only. Limited number of seats available to graduate students by permission of the instructor

This course examines the role of intellectuals, as producers of ideas and as agents of social change, in relation to the state, political movements, and civil society. Given the centrality of the religious discourse in the contemporary politics of the Middle East, a major focus of the course will be on the various ways in which intellectuals, both religious and secular, have used religious ideas and symbols to frame their own notions about resistance to the "onslaught of the West." modernity, secularism, social justice, social reform, and democracy.
Ali Banuazizi

PO 514 East Asian Security

• Prerequisite: PO 081, PO 500, or PO 507

This class offers an analytical perspective on the strategic conditions of post-Cold War East Asia. It examines the regional political structure, the strategic characteristics of the region's great power relationship, U.S.-China relations, and the implications for the conflicts on the Korean peninsula, in the Taiwan Strait, and in the South China Sea, and the role of alliance relationships in regional diplomacy. From these different perspectives, it attempts to understand the sources of state behavior and prospects for regional stability and instability.
Robert Ross

P0 638 Islamic Political Philosophy

What is the relationship between philosophy and Islam? Does the divine laws (Shari'a) need to be supplemented with purely rational reflections on the nature and purpose of political life? What is the place of toleration and individual rights int he Islamic legal and philosophic tradition? We will explore these and similar questions by focusing on two particularly fertile periods of Islamic thought—the encounter of Islam with Greek philosophy in the classical period and its encounter with the modern secular West in late modernity.
David DiPasquale

SL 062 Intermediate Chinese II

• Prerequisite: SL 061
• Corequisite: SL 069

The second semester of a continuation of course work in spoken and written modern Chinese (Mandarin).
Xu Guo Chan
Ying Wang
Huimin Li

SL 064 Intermediate Japanese II

• Prerequisite: SL 063 or equivalent
• Completion of this course satisfies the undergraduate language-proficiency requirement

The second semester of a continuation of course work in spoken and written Japanese with extensive practice in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Kazuko Oliver

SL 076 Continuing Korean II

• Prerequisite: SL 075 or equivalent
• Conducted mostly in Korean
• Completion of this course satisfies the undergraduate language proficiency requirement

The second semester of a continuation of course work in reading and writing literary Korean, with coextensive conversation practice.
Hyang-sook Yoon

SL 166 Third-Year Chinese II

• Prerequisite: SL 165 or equivalent
• Conducted in Chinese
• Completion of any semester of this course satisfies the undergraduate language-proficiency requirement

Continuing the development of active skills in modern Mandarin to beyond a high-intermediate level of proficiency in reading, writing, listening and speaking, with an emphasis on grammar, phrases and sentence patterns.
Xu Guo Chan

SL 168 Third-Year Japanese II

• Prerequisite: SL 167 or equivalent
• Conducted in Japanese
• Completion of any semester of this course satisfies the undergraduate language-proficiency requirement

Continuing the development of active skills in modern Japanese to beyond a high-intermediate level of proficiency in reading, writing, listening and speaking, with an emphasis on grammar, phrases and sentence patterns.
Ritsuko Sullivan

SL 246 Advanced Chinese II

• Prerequisite: SL 245 or equivalent
• Conducted in Chinese
• Completion of any semester of this course satisfies the undergraduate language-proficiency requirement

Continuing the advanced-level work toward a thorough proficiency in all aspects of modern Mandarin Chinese, with an introduction to important aspects of culture and society.
Fang Lu

SL 258 Advanced Japanese II

• Prerequisite: SL 257 or equivalent
• Conducted in Japanese
• Completion of any semester of this course satisfies the undergraduate language-proficiency requirement

Continuing advanced-level work toward a thorough proficiency in all aspects of modern Japanese, with an introduction to important aspects of culture and society.
Kazuko Oliver

SL 264 Wisdom and Philosophy of the Far East

• Offered periodically, normally in the spring semester

This course focuses on major philosophical schools of China, including Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism, and Legalism. These schools of thought, along with Buddhism, which came from India to China around the first century C.E. had profound influence on the development of government, religion, science, art, and literature of East Asian Civilization. Special attention will be paid to Chinese theories of human nature, which serve as the foundation of East Asian political, religious, and ethical views. Korean and Japanese interpretations of Chinese thought will also be discussed. No prerequisite. Taught in English.
Sing-chen Lydia Chiang

SL 358 The Linguistic Structure of Japanese

• Prerequisite: Exposure to Linguistics or to Japanese, but not necessarily to both

A linguistic outline of the Japanese language. The phonological and writing systems of Japanese and their origins, Japanese morphology, fundamentals of Japanese syntax, and characteristics of Japanese vocabulary.
Margaret Thomas

SL 365 Readings in Chinese Literature and Philosophy

• Prerequisite: SL 062 (Intermediate Chinese II) or instructor's consent
• Classes conducted in both modern Mandarin and English

By way of readings in Chinese literary and philosophical canons, this course introduces students to the basic diction and grammar of classical Chinese. Classical Chinese is the Latin of East Asian written traditions, gateway to the cultural and historical legacy of East Asia, and foundation of modern literary Chinese. We will read and translate selected passages from Chinese classics, including the Analects of Confucius, Mencious, the Daodejing, and Zhuangzi. Class discussion will center on major philosophical concepts and their historical contexts.
Sing-chen Lydia Chiang

TH 162 Religious Quest: Comparative Perspectives II

• Prerequisite: Must have taken Religious Quest I
• Satisfies Theology core requirement
• Satisfies cultural diversity core requirement

Section 3: Christianity and Buddhims
Section 5: Christianity, Judaism, and Buddhism
Section 7: Christianity and Daoism
Section 10: Christianity and Hinduism

Religious Quest courses present Christianity and at least one other world religious tradition. Students are strongly encouraged to take both semesters of the same Religious Quest class. If circumstances require switching sections, students need permission of the instructor of the spring term course and may be asked to do additional background reading and writing for the religious tradition(s) not covered in their first semester of the course. You must take both sections of the Religious Quest I and II (TH 161 and TH 162) to receive Core credit. Their are no exceptions.
John Makransky
Harry J. McDargh
Bede Bidlack
Erik Ranstrom

TH 454 Sacred Buddhist Texts

• Prerequisite: Department permission
• Cross-listed as PL 458

Readings in early Indian Buddhist scriptures and in Zen or Tibetan sacred literature. Attending to developments in Buddhist thought and practice and to social and cultural contexts. Graduate theology and divinity students are encouraged to notice parallel issues in other religious traditions raised by their study of Buddhist scriptures. Requirements: Weekly writing, midterm, and final papers.
John Makransky

TH 527 Meditation, Service and Social Action

• Cross-listed as TM 544

Tibetan Buddhist understandings of the nature of the mind with its capacities for stable attention, compassionate communion, and wisdom will be explored through contemporary writing and guided meditations. The meditations are adapted for students of any background to explore—to deepen understanding of Buddhism, to shed light on students' own spirituality and traditions, and to see how meditation may inform students' readings and reflections on contemporary social service and action. Restrictions: Department permission - contact professor.
John Makransky