"Religion and Ethnicity in Inner Asia" will examine these two phenomena and their interaction in Inner Asia from earliest times to the present. The class will cover Mongolia, Tibet, Kazakhstan, and Turkic and Mongolian peoples of Russia and China. Religions addressed primarily include Buddhism, Islam, shamanism, and secularism. Why "ethnicity and religion"? In practice the scholarly research and literature on these two topics in Inner Asia have been closely related. In addition to theoretical works on ethnicity, nationalism, religion and identity, the class will focus on issues such as ethnicity and religious conversions, place-based ethnic and religious identities, ethnicity and the Chinese and Russian states, nationalism, nationality policy, reformist and atheist secularisms, revivalist and apocalyptic movements, and the intersection of ethnicity, race, sexuality, and international networks.

This course provides a rigorous training of cultural analysis to help students familiarize with the field of cultural studies. It examines some of the theoretical and methodological issues related to social analysis such as postcolonialism, postmodernism, transnationalism, and critical theories that had a huge impact on the development of humanities studies over past few decades. The course re-quirement includes three position papers, two exams, pop quiz, and possible additional assign-ments.

If you have ever wondered about the following questions, then this is the right course for you: Is Japan a hyper-feminine nation of smiling geisha and obedient wives? Is it a hyper-masculine nation of samurai and economic warriors? Is it true that Japanese wives control the household? Is it true that Japanese men suffer from over-dependence on their mothers? What do young Japanese women and young men worry about? What does the government think about the future of Japanese women and men? Assuming that expressions of gender and sexuality are deeply influenced by cultural and social factors, and that they also show profound differences regionally and historically, this course examines a variety of texts--historical, biographical, autobiographical, fictional, non-fictional, visual, cinematic, analytical, theoretical--in order to better understand the complexity of any attempts to answer the above questions.

Home to four of the five most populous states and four of the five largest economies, the Asia/Pacific is arguably the most dynamic region in the twenty-first century. At the same time, Cold War remnants (a divided Korea and China) and major geopolitical shifts (the rise of China and India, decline of the US and Japan) contribute significantly to the volatility of our world. This course will examine the political, economic, and geopolitical dynamism of the region through a survey of relations among the great powers in Asia from the sixteenth century to the present. Special emphasis will be given to regional and global developments from the perspective of the three principal East Asian states--China, Japan and Korea. We will explore the many informal, as well as formal, means of intercourse that have made East Asia what it is today. Graduate students should consult graduate syllabus for graduate reading list, special recitation time and graduate requirements.

Home to four of the five most populous states and four of the five largest economies, the Asia/Pacific is arguably the most dynamic region in the twenty-first century. At the same time, Cold War remnants (a divided Korea and China) and major geopolitical shifts (the rise of China and India, decline of the US and Japan) contribute significantly to the volatility of our world. This course will examine the political, economic, and geopolitical dynamism of the region through a survey of relations among the great powers in Asia from the sixteenth century to the present. Special emphasis will be given to regional and global developments from the perspective of the three principal East Asian states--China, Japan and Korea. We will explore the many informal, as well as formal, means of intercourse that have made East Asia what it is today. Graduate students should consult graduate syllabus for graduate reading list, special recitation time and graduate requirements.

Introduction to the classical written language, beginning with Shadick, First Course in Literary Chinese. Students with a background in Japanese, Korean, Cantonese, Taiwanese, and other East Asian languages are welcome; it is not necessary to know Mandarin. The course begins from scratch, and swiftly but rigorously develops the ability to read a wide variety of classical and semi-classical styles. Original texts from the 6th century BC to the 20th century AD are studied. This course is taught in English and there are no prerequisites.

This courses examines murals in Chinese temples and tombs from their earliest appearance in the first millennium BCE through the 20th century. Some are in situ; others are in museums. Murals are studied alongside paintings on silk and paper. Chinese wall painting is also studied alongside murals in temples and tombs in Korea, Japan, and Mongolia.

This seminar engages specific topics in Japanese art history from 1600 to the present, with the specific focus varying from year to year. Previous topics have included: the concept of the artist; gender and its representation; the visualization of place from the early modern to the present; collecting, the market, modernity, and the construction of the field; print cultures; among others. Sessions will be conducted on site, in museums, galleries, and libraries, as available. Assignments vary depending upon the focus of the seminar. Japanese language ability useful but not necessary; curiosity and engagement required.

"Korean Wave" (Hallyu) is currently raging throughout non-Western parts of the world, especially Asia, and may be making its way to the West. From South Korean tele-dramas and K-pop music to their respective celebrity icons, these popular cultural forms from Korea are increasingly becoming part of the everyday landscape and vocabulary. We will attempt to understand and evaluate this cultural phenomenon-its promises and limitations as well as its popularity and backlash against it. More specifically, this course explores the ways in which television, music, manhwa (comic books), and the internet participate in the transnational production and circulation of culture, modernity, tradition, ideology, and politics. Some of the more specific topics covered may include: Korean emotions and melodramas; imitation versus innovation in K-pop; fictions of history in period dramas; the marketing of new masculinity; revival of folk culture; preservation of traditional values in postmodern times; repatriation of Korean American pop stars to Korea; and youth culture. Requires outside viewing and listening.

This course is intended as an introduction to the foundational thinkers of Chinese civilization, who flourished from the fifth to the second centuries B.C. No knowledge of Chinese is presumed, and there are no prerequisites, although Introduction to Chinese Civilization is recommended. Graduate students should see the instructor to discuss requirements for graduate credit.