About CJS Events Academics Faculty Funding Publications Resources & Links Supporting CJS Contact Us Home

 

Degree Programs
Admissions
Courses
 
 
 

Courses

WINTER 2006 COURSES

WINTER 2006 AMERICAN CULTURE COURSES

AMCULT 314 – Asian American History
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Kurashige, Scott T (kurashig@umich.edu)
The history of Asians in America dates back over 400 years. How much have you had a chance to learn? Readings will include first-hand accounts of life in America from the perspective of Asian American pioneers. Films and videos will complement readings. Course assignments provide an opportunity for students to examine the relationship between their family history and the experience of Asian Americans in U.S. history. Lectures and other course materials will critically analyze popular (mis)conceptions of Asians in America while also investigating historical issues rarely addressed by the mainstream media and K-12 education.

3 hours lecture and 1 hour discussion. No prerequisites.

AMCULT 325 – Pacific Literature and Cultural Studies
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Najita, Susan Y (najita@umich.edu)
This is a course for students who want to develop their abilities in critical and creative reading, thinking, and analysis. It is an interdisciplinary course that navigates film, fiction, poetry, novels and histories in order to engage with some of the critical processes at work in the modern world. From sunlit beaches, swaying palm trees, and happy tourists to tropical rainforest and menacing natives, the islands of the Pacific have been relentlessly depicted. Perhaps more than any other region of the globe, the Pacific has been “experienced” beforehand through the image-making of Hollywood, television, and advertisement. The huge success of films such as Whale Rider, The Piano, Lord of the Rings, and Once Were Warriors builds upon the early images of the region in films such as Blue Hawaii, Mutiny on the Bounty, and South Pacific. This course puts such texts into dialogue with the extensive body of historical and literary representations. What connections and contradictions emerge when we read popular culture in relation to fictional representations by authors such as Hermann Melville and Jack London, and indigenous authors such as Patricia Grace, Albert Wendt, and Keri Hulme? What other histories and experiences are obscured or misrepresented in these popular representations, including the emergence of indigenous self-determination movements, nuclear testing and U.S. military supremacy, and the multi-ethnic societies which emerged as a result of colonization? To answer these questions, we will read texts from a range of perspectives: EuroAmerican authors (Melville, London, Cook), indigenous Pacific islanders (Hulme, Wendt, Grace, Figiel, and Hau’ofa), as well as non-natives (Yamanaka and Murayama). Requirements include quizzes, 7-8 page paper, final exam, and presentation.

AMCULT 363 – Asian Pacific American Women
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Lawsin, Emily P (elawsin@umich.edu)
This interdisciplinary course focuses on the experiences of Asian American and Pacific Islander American women in the United States. Texts and films include an introduction to materials by and about Asian/Pacific Islander American (APIA) women, from historical, anthropological, sociological, psychological, musical, and literary perspectives, thereby allowing students to compare and contrast the experiences of different ethnicities and generations. Discussions and assignments will examine the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, and nationality in APIA women’s lives. Learning critical theories about feminism, immigration, and globalization will show how APIA women have become agents of social change, publicly and privately, at home and in their communities.

AMCULT 416 – Psychology of Asian American
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Akutsu, Phillip D (akutsu@umich.edu)
This course critically reviews the field of psychology that focuses on Asian Americans and examines historical, political, and cultural contributions to this research. It also investigates the reasons that Asian Americans have received little attention from "mainstream" psychology and the consequences of this practice on current knowledge about Asian Americans.

AMCULT 436 – Asian American Music
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Stillman, Amy K (akstill@umich.edu)
Examines the various musics of Asian Americans to discuss issues and processes of musical, personal, and ethnic identities in multicultural and multiracial America.

AMCULT 536 – Asian American Music
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Stillman, Amy K (akstill@umich.edu)
Examines music of Asian Americans as case studies of musical, personal and communal identities in multiethnic, multiracial and transnational contexts in the United States.

AMCULT 614 – Asian American History
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Kurashige, Scott T (kurashig@umich.edu)
Through extensive readings in Asian American history, this course surveys scholarship dating from the origins of ethnic studies in the 1960s to the present. Our discussions focus on the following questions: How does the study of Asian Americans challenges historians to rethink issues of race, class, and gender? Why and how did the original vision of Asian American Studies emphasize social history and community studies? What have Asian American historians learned from interdisciplinary approaches? How have literary theory and cultural studies influenced recent and current work? What is the future direction of the field?


WINTER 2006 ANTHROPOLOGY COURSE

ANTHRCUL 335 - Tokyo-Tel Aviv
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Robertson, Jennifer E (jennyrob@umich.edu)
Instructor: Tsoffar, Ruth (rtsoffar@umich.edu)
This is an interdisciplinary, team-taught, multi-media course that explores two major cities— Tokyo and Tel Aviv—in two countries— Israel and Japan—that are located on either side of the Asian continent. Both countries are a product of cultural histories evolving over millennia, and both represent new democracies. Whereas Israel can be conceptualized as a new state (1948)-old nation, Japan can be understood as an old state-new nation (1868). The coastal cities of Tel Aviv and Tokyo have become dynamic centers of museums and archives that display and document, virtually and artifactually, official ideologies and genealogies. Both are the sites of new forms of modernity that erupted in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and today, both represent, in their respective regions, the global city. Tokyo and Tel Aviv also share a history punctuated by war(s), waves of permanent and temporary immigrants, and social spectacles, such as festivals and mass demonstrations. Using ethnographies, films, theater, poetry, prose, art, photography and the mass media, we will explore the unique affinities between Israel and Japan, Tel Aviv and Tokyo.

WINTER 2006 - ASIAN LANGUAGES COURSES

ASIANLAN 102 - First Year Chinese II
Undergraduate Credits: 5
Primary Instructor: Tao, Hilda His-Huei (htao@umich.edu)
ASIANLAN 102 is a continuation course of ASIANLAN 101. In this course, the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing are emphasized. The class meets five hours a week — 2 hours of lecture and 3 hours of recitation. In the lectures, Chinese characters and grammar will be introduced; in the recitation classes, patterns and conversational skills will be developed. 320 Chinese characters will be introduced in this course. It is our goal that at the end of the term, students should be able to carry on simple conversations with each other. Towards the end of the term, each student and his/her conversation partner will prepare a 6-minute conversation that will be videotaped and evaluated by the instructor. Daily attendance is required. Textbooks: (1) Integrated Chinese (Level One, Part 2) — textbook, workbook, character workbook (all in Traditional Character Edition); (2) Getting Around in Chinese — Chinese Skits for Beginners. No visitors are allowed. If you already speak Chinese (Mandarin), this is not the right course for you. You should try ASIANLAN 104, Reading and Writing Chinese I, offered in the fall academic term.

ASIANLAN 126 - First Year Japanese II
Section 001

Undergraduate Credits: 5
Primary Instructor: T.B.A.
In this course, students continue to develop the basic language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) while becoming familiar with aspects of Japanese culture which directly contribute to language competence. Drill sessions are conducted in Japanese and emphasize the ability to produce and comprehend Japanese at a natural speed. Analyses and explanations delivered in English and Japanese are reserved for lecture sessions. The end-of-year project is a Japanese speech contest, for which prizes are given.

ASIANLAN 136 - First Year Korean II
Undergraduate Credits: 5
Primary Instructor: Cho,Haewon (hwcho@umich.edu)
ASIANLAN 136 (first-year, second-semester Korean) is a continuation of ASIANLAN 135 (first-year, first-term Korean). This course is for students who have completed ASIANLAN 135 or have placed into ASIANLAN 136 through a language placement test. The aim of this course is to provide a solid basis in speaking, listening, reading, and writing Korean by building on material covered in ASIANLAN 135. Throughout the academic term, we will cover You Speak Korean Volume II and supplementary materials. Cultural material (both deep and surface) will be integrated with language practice activities and students will learn how to use all four speech styles (polite formal and informal, plain and intimate) in appropriate contexts. In addition to being able to talk about oneself in the past, present, and future tenses, and handle most basic social situations, students will be able to talk (and write) about a variety of topics including weather, food, personality and mood, clothing, etc. The checkpoints for evaluation include homework assignments, weekly quizzes, midterm and final exams, and oral exams.

ASIANLAN 202 - First Year Chinese II
Undergraduate Credits: 5
Primary Instructors: Grand, Laura Ann Smith (lsgrande@umich.edu) for Sections 1-4; Sung, Yi-Nan (yns@umich.edu) for Sections 5 and 6
This course is a continuation of work begun in ASIANLAN 201. Students electing the course should have command of the material presented in the first 10 lessons of Integrated Chinese (Level Two). Lessons 11-20 from that text constitute the focus of the winter course. The primary goals are (a) continued improvement of aural understanding and speaking competence and (b) achievement of a basic level of reading and writing competence. These goals are approached through lectures, classroom drills/discussion, oral presentations, writing exercises, and regular quizzes/tests, collectively covering all four proficiency areas — listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students who are native or near-native Mandarin Chinese speakers are not eligible for this course; they should enroll in ASIANLAN 204, Reading and Writing Chinese II.

ASIANLAN 204 – Reading and Writing Chinese II
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Gu, Karen (guk@umich.edu)
This course, a continuation of ASIANLAN 104, is designed for students with native or near-native speaking ability in Chinese. The class will meet four hours a week and be taught in Chinese. Students who have completed both ASIANLAN 104 and ASIANLAN 204 should be able to read simple articles and write short essays. Students who have not take ASIANLAN 104 must have the instructor's permission in order to register for this course.

ASIANLAN 205 – Mandarin Pronunciation
Undergraduate Credits: 2
Primary Instructor: Grand, Laura Ann Smith (lsgrande@umich.edu)
This course, designed as a supplement to core Chinese courses and offered both Fall and Winter terms, gives students at varying proficiency levels the opportunity to fine-tune their production of standard Chinese consonants, vowels, and tones. By learning principles of Mandarin syllable structure and articulation, students will learn how to recognize and correct their own pronunciation/tone errors. Rigorous in-class drills and regular mini-quizzes, as well as several oral assignments (recordings submitted on-line), will build students' competence from word- to phrase- to discourse-level accuracy. A semester-initial assessment will identify each student's needs (so that the course can be customized accordingly) while a semester-final evaluation will assess each student's progress. Knowledge of Pinyin Romanization is presumed.

Note: This is strictly a pronunciation course; students aiming to improve their overall proficiency should consider core courses or, to strengthen conversational fluency, ASIANLAN 305 and ASIANLAN 306. Native speakers of Cantonese with advanced literacy should opt for ASIANLAN 307 (which targets pronunciation problems unique to Cantonese speakers and presumes no knowledge of Pinyin) or ASIANLAN 308 (which focuses on Mandarin conversational fluency).

ASIANLAN 226 - Second Year Japanese II
Undergraduate Credits: 5
Primary Instructor: T.B.A.
This course provides further training in the core language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) for students who have acquired basic language proficiency. Deeper nuances of Japanese culture will be introduced (some by means of video clips in Japanese) and discussions conducted on the social and cultural use of language. Drill sessions are conducted only in Japanese and emphasize mastery of somewhat more complex structures than in the first year. Lectures are given primarily in Japanese. The end-of-year project is a Japanese skit contest, for which prizes are given.

ASIANLAN 228 - Japanese Calligraphy
Undergraduate Credits: 1
Primary Instructor: Suzuki, Masae (shoyo@umich.edu)
The goals of the course are to help you learn how to practice Japanese calligraphy and cultivate your mind through the practice. Six subjects, including Kanji and Hiragana, will be introduced with the focus on basic skills such as the manner of using brushes, balancing characters, etc. Throughout the course, students will work on clarity of thought throughout the writing of characters in a tranquil setting, concentrating on maintaining correct posture and behavior throughout the writing process.

ASIANLAN 229 – Intensive Japanese II
Undergraduate Credits: 10
Primary Instructor: Sato, Tetsuya (satoot@umich.edu)
This course is designed for you to learn Novice-High/Intermediate-Low-level Japanese language in an intensive, semi-immersion setting. It is "intense" because we will study a normally two-semester amount of materials in one semester. It is "semi-immersion" in that in our classroom we constantly simulate authentic communicative interactions with speakers of Japanese, and will use the target language as much as possible while minimizing the use of English. Through extensive communication practice in classroom activities, we will work on developing all four skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing, using hiragana, katakana and approximately 350 kanji) along with cultural understanding. Most course-related activities are collaborative in nature. You will learn to acquire a sentence/paragraph-level command in various topics around everyday life for college students and beyond. You are also required to attend minimum three hours of co-curricular activities, such as the Lunch Tables and Conversation Tables, per week. (Prerequisites: successful completion of RCLANG196/ASIANLAN129: Intensive Japanese I or its equivalent. In order to undertake ASIANLAN325: Third Year Japanese, you must pass the Placement Test at the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures).

ASIANLAN 236 - Second Year Korean II
Undergraduate Credits: 5
Primary Instructor: Park, Ok-Sook (ospark@umich.edu)
ASIANLAN 236 is a continuation of ASIANLAN 235. Students will consolidate knowledge of basic grammar and extend the range of grammar and vocabulary acquired in first-year Korean and ASIANLAN 235. Speaking, listening, reading, and writing are equally emphasized in this course in order to develop well-balanced functional proficiency in Korean. Through skits, compositions, homework, and simulations of real situations and contexts, students will have ample opportunities to develop communication skills in writing and speaking that are grammatically accurate and socio-linguistically appropriate. Various authentic materials such as news, literature, cartoons, etc., are integrated in this course to expose students to different aspects of Korean culture. Class meets five times a week - two hours of lectures and three hours of aural/oral practice. Through lectures, students will learn structures and various expressions of Korean, expand their vocabulary, and become acquainted with various aspects of Korean culture and society. Based on knowledge obtained through lectures, recitation classes will help students develop an ability to carry on conversations in various realistic situations.

ASIANLAN 302 - Third Year Chinese II
Undergraduate Credits: 5
Primary Instructor: Liu, Wei (weilyao@umich.edu)
This course is the continuation of ASIANLAN 301. The class meets five hours per week. All four aspects of the language – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – are emphasized. Student work is evaluated on the basis of daily attendance, exercises, homework, an oral presentation, a writing project, quizzes, and tests. The class is conducted mainly in Chinese. Native or near-native speakers of Chinese who want to improve their reading and writing skills should take ASIANLAN 304, Reading and Writing Chinese III, offered in the fall semester.

ASIANLAN 306 - Advanced Spoken Chinese II
Undergraduate Credits: 2
Primary Instructor: Liu, Wei (weilyao@umich.edu)
This course is a sequel to ASIANLAN 305 but does not have ASIANLAN 305 as a prerequisite. Like ASIANLAN 305, this course is designed as a spoken supplement to post-second year Chinese core courses and is intended to help non-native speaking students strengthen their oral/aural competence. Students will have two hours a week to talk, talk, and talk. Class sessions are structured around semi-weekly themes (different from ASIANLAN 305) with one day devoted to vocabulary building and discussion and the following day or two devoted to student presentations. Evaluation is based on in-class participation, aural/oral assignments (recordings), and oral presentations. Native or near-native speakers of Mandarin cannot earn credit for this course.

ASIANLAN 307 - Mandarin for Cantonese Speakers I
Undergraduate Credits: 2
Primary Instructor: Chen, Qinghai (chenq@umich.edu)
This course is specifically designed to help Cantonese-speaking students who have advanced Chinese reading and writing skills but lack oral Mandarin (Putonghua) competence. Classroom activities, based on intensive pinyin drills, exclusively consist of guided oral practice and corrections. Native Cantonese speakers without an advanced level in reading and writing are encouraged to attend Chinese core courses or, if qualified, ASIANLAN 305.

ASIANLAN 309 – Media Chinese I
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Sung, Yi-Nan (yns@umich.edu)
This course is specifically designed to help Cantonese-speaking students who have advanced Chinese reading and writing skills but lack oral Mandarin (Putonghua) competence. Classroom activities, based on intensive pinyin drills, exclusively consist of guided oral practice and corrections. Native Cantonese speakers without an advanced level in reading and writing are encouraged to attend Chinese core courses or, if qualified, ASIANLAN 305.

ASIANLAN 326 - Third Year Japanese II
Undergraduate Credits: 5
Primary Instructor: T.B.A.
Advanced training is given in all the language skills. Practice in the use of spoken Japanese is contextualized within simulated Japanese social settings. Essay writing skills are taught with an emphasis on beginning to develop a more sophisticated style through the use of appropriate vocabulary, including kanji, and use of more advanced grammatical structures. A variety of selected modern texts (essays, fiction, and newspapers) are read with emphasis on expository style. A mini-presentation is conducted each month and the end-of-the year project is a "group or individual research project", for which prizes are given.

ASIANLAN 336 - Third Year Korean II
Undergraduate Credits: 5
Primary Instructor: Kim, Junghee (kimssn@umich.edu)
Students gain knowledge on what to say when and how to whom in Korean at intermediate-high level. Students will gain competence to communicate in Korean with grammatical accuracy and socio-linguistic appropriateness in various components of the language: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Through this course, students will have opportunities to enhance Korean language skills developed in intermediate Second-Year Korean and Third-Year Korean I courses. Students will develop competence in handling a variety of advanced Korean language materials, such as newspapers, literature, films, TV dramas, and talk shows. Students will also be able to write about or discuss various topics and more sophisticated ideas with complicated grammatical structures and advanced vocabulary.

ASIANLAN 402 - Fourth-Year Chinese I
Undergraduate Credits: 5
Graduate Credits: 5
Primary Instructor: Chen, Qinghai (chenq@umich.edu)
ASIANLAN 402, the second part of the fourth-year Chinese language core courses, is intended to help students with three and a half years of Chinese studies to further develop their language ability in modern Chinese. All aspects of the language – listening, speaking, reading, and writing – are emphasized by way of carefully selected texts and meticulously developed exercises in the textbook Advanced Chinese: Intention, Strategy, and Communication. Through various forms of language activities, students are expected not only to read original materials with less reliance on a dictionary and at a faster speed, but also to improve their productive skills, oral and written, at the discourse and rhetorical levels. Another objective of the course is to enhance students’ cultural awareness. Classes are conducted in Chinese. Assessment will be based on attendance, participation, homework, tests, and exams. Students of ASIANLAN 402 are encouraged (but not required) to take ASIANLAN 306, Advanced Spoken Chinese II, simultaneously. Native-speaking Chinese students interested in improving their comprehensive foundation in the language can also benefit from this course.

ASIANLAN 404 – Reading and Writing Chinese IV
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Graduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Liu, Wei (weilyao@umich.edu)
This course is designed for native-speaking Chinese students who have acquired a relatively high level of language competence (typically through years of regular education in a Chinese-speaking country or area) and want to further improve their abilities in modern Chinese. It may also be taken as the continuation of ASIANLAN 304, Reading and Writing Chinese III. Requirements include both accuracy and speed in reading and writing in a variety of subjects and genres as well as an individually designed term project. Emphasis is placed on actual language use rather than linguistic knowledge. Instruction and discussion are conducted in Chinese. Assessment is based on attendance, participation, and quality of work. Non-native speaking students with exceptional comprehensive Chinese proficiency may also be accepted into this course.\

ASIANLAN 406 - Chinese for the Professions II
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Chen,Qinghai (chenq@umich.edu)
This course is the continuation of Asian Languages 405 , Chinese for the Professions I ( usually offered in the fall semester). AL 405, which provides language training by way of a comprehensive introduction to China 's economic situation and business environment, is a knowledge-based course that emphasizes reading and discussion. This course, however, is a task-based and computer-assisted course with an emphasis on "learning by doing." Under the instructor's guidance, students will be challenged by a number of real-world tasks, which are designed in five modules, namely, news report, commercial language design, business letter writing, oral presentation, and job interview. All the activities and assignments are intended to facilitate language use in the real business world as well as further studies of Chinese for specific purposes. Classes are conducted in Chinese, and feature collaborative learning and peer feedback.

ASIANLAN 410 - Literary Chinese II
Section 001
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Graduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Rolston, David Lee (drolston@umich.edu)
For more than three thousand years, down to the early 20th century, the vast majority of Chinese texts were written in Literary Chinese (wenyanwen). Literary Chinese also served for many centuries as the international written language for the countries of East Asia. Literature in Literary Chinese is an important part of the cultural heritage of all humankind. This course is designed to serve the needs of both undergraduate and graduate students, of both specialists (and would-be specialists) and those who are just curious about the Chinese literary heritage. This course, the second term of Literary Chinese, will focus on long, relatively easy texts rather than short, difficult ones, to maximize students’ exposure to the language. Readings will include selections from well-known classics, writings of famous people, and other genres. Requirements include regular exercises, a midterm, and a final.

ASIANLAN 426 - Fourth Year Japanese II
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Graduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Kozuka, Misao (misakozu@umich.edu)
This course focuses on the acquisition of linguistic, pragmatic, and sociocultural competence in all four skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) at an advanced level. The textbook is supplemented with a variety of reading materials on Japanese sociocultural issues in order to further develop reading and writing skills. The two-hour class period is devoted to the use of new vocabulary and expressions as well as the acquisition of more complex, advanced grammar patterns, along with discussion of the content of the readings. The course will also include practice in rapid reading and discussion/description of authentic Japanese drama viewed in the class. Written compositions will be assigned as homework. The end-of-year project is an individual research project.

ASIANLAN 430 - Business Japanese II
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Graduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Kondo, Junko (jkondo@umich.edu)
This course aims to develop effective communicative skills useful for a career-oriented professional in Japan. Students learn about Japanese business practices and operations as well as related economic and social issues through reading various magazine/newspaper articles, watching video clips, and listening to interviews of Japanese business people. The course includes rapid reading and reading/listening comprehension of moderately difficult materials. Winter term also puts an emphasis on participation in discussion and presenting ideas clearly and persuasively. The end-of-year project is an individual research project on a business-related topic.

ASIANLAN 435 - Readings in Modern Korean II
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Park, Ok-Sook (ospark@umich.edu)
This is a reading course designed to introduce selected contemporary articles on various subjects in the Korean Studies field to students who have advanced knowledge of Korean language and culture and want to know the state-of-the-art of Korean Studies in contemporary Korea. The selected readings include major articles in Korean history, literature, thought, and religion. The course will be conducted in Korean, and emphasis will be placed on developing reading skills for Korean scholarly materials and academic writing skills as well. Student participation in the classroom discussion is crucial for the effectiveness of the course. There will be a midterm, final, and writing assignments. A course pack will be used as a main textbook.

ASIANLAN 466 - First Year Classical Tibetan II
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Sparham, Gareth (gsparham@umich.edu)
This course is an introduction to the alphabet, grammar, and syntax of Classical Tibetan.

WINTER 2006 - ASIAN STUDIES COURSES

ASIAN 152 - Introduction to Japanese Civilization
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Robinson, Jeremy Roland (jrrobins@umich.edu)
Designed primarily for freshmen and sophomores, the course focuses on a few recurrent concerns in the Japanese tradition from the earliest times to the present. Topics to be considered include man and nature, language and culture, the individual and the state, men and women, and death and transcendence. Readings in mythology and representative works of the literature and religious texts, lectures, discussions, and short papers.

ASIAN 203 - Chinese Art and Religion
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Cheng, Wen-Chien (wecheng@umich.edu)
This course will explore the dynamic relationships between arts and religions in China from ancient times (c.1200 BCE) through the 19th century. We will learn how people in China imparted meaning to physical artifacts drawing upon China’s rich history of moral, philosophical, and religious thought. Special emphasis will be given to Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, and their artistic traditions. We will examine a wide range of media and monuments, including tomb objects--bronzes, jades, pottery, banners, stoneware; temple artwork such as sculpture and painting; relief panels from shrines; and pilgrimage sites adorned with murals and sculptures. The class will be primarily topical in approach, but will follow a roughly chronological sequence. Topics for discussion include, for example, devotional images and practices; funerary art; visualizations of the afterlife; artistic patronage; and the role of women in these arts.

The course is lecture-based, with weekly discussion sections. The lectures will introduce techniques of visual analysis in relation to the pageant of Chinese history, tracing the evolution of styles and their interactions over time. The discussion sections will enable students to develop their skills in visual analysis and their understanding of the readings. All are welcome.

ASIAN 205 – Modern East Asia
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Young, Ernest P. (epyoung@umich.edu)
The course treats the modern experience of China, Japan, and Korea. No background in the history of these countries is required. We shall discuss comparatively the social and political orders in each country before the advent of a powerful Western intrusion, and then explore the ways that these old civilizations handled the new calculus of power in the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics will include wars with the West, cultural turbulence and reconstruction, reform and revolution, colonialism and liberation, racism directed both against and by Asians, the changing roles of women, the economies of recent decades, and the interplay of authoritarianism and democracy. The course combines lectures and discussion.

Readings will be drawn from historical narratives (including a textbook: Ebrey, Walthall and Palais, Modern East Asia: From 1600), analytical essays and translated expressions of East Asian voices.

There will be a midterm exam, a term paper, and a final exam, which, along with participation in discussion sessions, will be the bases for grade evaluations.

ASIAN 220 - Introduction to the Study of Asian Religions
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Robson, James (robsonj@umich.edu)
This course is an introduction to the study of Asian religions. We will consider representative material drawn from some of the major Asian traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, etc.), from ancient times down to the present day. The course, however, is not intended to be a comprehensive or systematic survey; rather than aiming at breadth, the course is designed around major conceptual themes, such as ritual, death, image veneration, mysticism, meditation, ancestor worship, religious violence, and so on. The overarching emphasis throughout the course will be on the hermeneutic difficulties attendant upon the study of religion in general, and Asian religious traditions in particular.

ASIAN 221 - Great Books of China
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Lin, Shuen-Fu (lsf@umich.edu)
Introduction in translation to the great works of literature which have influenced the lives and culture of the Chinese people from ancient times to the present.

ASIAN 263 – Introduction to Chinese Philosophy
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Robins, Daniel (robinsdp@umich.edu)
This course focuses on the major philosophical schools of Classical China (through the unification of China in 221 B.C.). Special consideration is given to the ethical, religious and political thought of the Confucian, Mohist and Daoist schools.

ASIAN 265 - The Arts and Letters of China
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Lin,Shuen-Fu (lsf@umich.edu)
An interdisciplinary introduction to Chinese civilization through the study of significant and representative works from philosophy, art, drama, and literature. Taught jointly by a team of faculty specialists.

ASIAN 302 - Rewriting Identities in Modern Japan
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Ito,Ken K (kenkito@umich.edu)
This course in modern Japanese literature examines how novels and short stories written after 1868 engage the issue of national, cultural, and social identities. The inquiry in the course will simultaneously move in two directions: We will examine how fiction written in an age of national print-capitalism participates in the work of building a shared understanding of a nation and its people. But we will also see how the same fiction can spotlight divisions of gender, sexual orientation, class, generation, and region. Using the fiction written by some of the best known of Japanese writers — Mori Ogai, Natsume Sôseki, Kawabata Yasunari, Mishima Yukio, and Oe Kenzaburo — the course will pursue its inquiries on both formal and thematic levels. Attention will be paid to how different narrative genres and techniques either erase or emphasize social differences.

These are the questions that we will ask as we traverse the contested terrain of Japanese identities. No prior knowledge of Japanese language or literature is required. All readings will be in English translation.

ASIAN 380 - Topics in Asian Studies
Section 002: History of Buddhist Meditation
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Maithrimurthi, Mudagamuwe (yashodha@umich.edu)
Systematic cultivation of the mind through the perfect awareness which leads gradually to the realization of special elevated and altered states of consciousness is at the heart of Buddhist spirituality which ultimately paves the way to religious liberation.

In this intensive process of meditation, the practitioner strives to achieve full control of his or her thoughts, training them to be wholesome and pure. Thereby he or she improves and enhances awareness by concentrating the mind on a single given meditative object. By doing so, the practitioner aims to achieve an absolute purity of mind that is ultimately conducive to the total transformation of the personality which is called "enlightenment" or "awakening" according to Buddhist terminology.

In the Indian context, these meditative practices can possibly be traced back to the post-Vedic period. They were used both by the Brahmanic mainstream as well as the ascetic traditions such as Jainism and Buddhism. In this present course we explore the pre-Buddhist background of meditation by examining and comparing various methods of meditation in the light of the available textual evidence. Different mental and spiritual techniques which belong to the twofold division of "calm" (samatha) and "insight (vipassana) will then be discussed and their historical development and soteriological relevance in different schools of Buddhist thought considered.

ASIAN 380 - Topics in Asian Studies
Section 004: Modern Empires in Asia-Pacific
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Em, Henry H. (henryem@umich.edu)
Instructor: Nornes, Mark H. (amnornes@umich.edu)
This course will explore the histories and practices of nineteenth- and twentieth-century empires in Asia-Pacific. We will examine how these empires, both Western and Asian in provenance, shaped and linked the modern histories of a number of countries in Asia-Pacific and Euro-America. We will address questions about the origins and structures of these imperial regimes, including America's "informal" empire established in places like Japan, Korea, and the Philippines after the Pacific War, and the imprint they have left on cultures and collective memories. Our examination will cover a broad range of sources — both large historical narratives as well as "vignettes" from different disciplines and genres including film, literature, cartography, memoir, mass media, and material culture.

ASIAN 380 - Topics in Asian Studies
Section 006: Buddhist Scriptures
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor(s): Gomez, Luis Oscar (lgomez@umich.edu)
Course topics vary.

ASIAN 455 - Topics in Asian Studies
Section 001: Contemporary East Asian Cinema
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor(s): Chung, Hye Seung (chunghs@umich.edu)
This course is not a survey of the entire history of various East Asian cinemas; rather our focus will be exclusively directed to films made in Japan, mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea in the past two decades. We will examine how the global/local geopolitics specific to the post-Berlin Wall era (the dismantling of the Cold War; the passing of authoritarian regimes; the boom and bust of the Asian economy; the international popularity of Asian art and genre films) influenced the reshaping of New East Asian cinemas across borders.

The first section of our course will investigate the ways in which historical traumas (wars, massacres, revolutions, and uprisings) have been revisited and redressed in the post-Cold War cinemas of Japan, China, Taiwan, and South Korea. What is the relationship between history and national cinema? How do such concepts as imperialism, nationalism, postcolonialism, guilt and trauma play a role in films shouldering the “burden of history” and representing the “unrepresentable”? The second section explores selected auteurs and stars familiar to international cinephiles (such as Stanley Kwan, Zhang Yimou, Tsai Ming-liang, Kim Ki-duk, Hong Sang-soo, Oshima Nagisa, Maggie Cheung, Gong Li, and Kitano Takeshi). In the process, we will identify the themes, styles, genres and ideological/cultural contents of East Asian film canons in the West. Are there specific aesthetic trends and thematic echoes among these auteur films from different nations? Is canon-making itself an Orientalist act of cultural imperialism? The final weeks will be devoted to border-crossing films such as Ang Lee’s Wedding Banquet (1993), Wong Kar-wai’s Happy Together (1997), and the Korean-Japanese co-production Asako in Ruby Shoes (2000)—works that highlight such critical concerns as diaspora, hybridity, transnationalism, and globalization.

ASIAN 455 - Topics in Asian Studies
Section 003: Popular Culture in Greater China
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Li, Tuo (lituo@umich.edu)
This course introduces popular literature and image making from contemporary Chinese societies. Our goal is to understand the changing cultures of China and transnational Chinese societies in recent years. Readings and screenings range from literary works and social commentaries (in Chinese) to photo essays, art installations, documentaries, and selected feature films by Chinese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong filmmakers. Topics of discussion include visuality, commodity fetishism, love and romance, trans-local and transnational identities, sexuality and gender, as well as the changing meanings of labor and leisure in China.

The course is conducted in Mandarin and may be repeated for credit. Requirements consist of two short papers and a final exam.

ASIAN 460 – Gender and Nationalism in Korea
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Em, Henry H. (henryem@umich.edu)
Some see nationalist movements as rational attempts by the oppressed peoples of the world to achieve autonomy and liberty. Others see nationalism as "one of Europe's most pernicious exports" whose inevitable consequence has been the annihilation of freedom. In our survey of the history of Korean nationalism we will consider both democratic and oppressive aspects of nationalist thinking and practice, paying special attention to the politics of gender. No background in Korean history or language is required.

ASIAN 500 – Seminar in Asian Studies
Section 001: The Globalization of Print in the Early Modern World
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Safier, Neil F. (nsafier@umich.edu)
Instructor: Zwicker, Jonathan E. (jzwicker@umich.edu)
How did books and printed matter travel in the early modern period? What were the social, cultural, technical, and economic practices by which information circulated between countries and continents in an age of increasing connections between distant corners of the globe? Historians of the book and of print culture more generally have traditionally situated their studies within local, regional, and/or national contexts. This course will explore the transnational aspects of early modern print culture and will address the question of how early modern social and cultural practices affected the circulation of print, and how the phenomenon of print in turn transformed early modern society. We will look at how print technologies traversed cultural, social, and political boundaries and will attempt to follow developments in reading and typographical practices between, rather than within, particular social and cultural groupings. The first half of the course will be dedicated to examining some of the most recent debates within print history and will be followed by a period in which students and guest speakers will present works-in-progress for discussion by the seminar.

ASIAN 502 – Humanistic Studies of Historical and Contemporary China
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Lam, Joseph S. C. (jsclam@umich.edu )
Instructor: Liu, Lydia (lydialiu@umich.edu )
This course will examine the present state of research in selected areas of scholarly inquiry in Chinese studies – language, literature, history, religion material culture, and art history – as we interrogate such seemingly commonsense notions as "civilization," "culture," "tradition," "modernity," and above all, "Chineseness." Our goals are to develop good treading skills, stimulate critical thinking, and inspire imaginative approaches to humanistic problems.

ASIAN 552 – Medieval Japanese Prose
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Robinson, Jeremy Roland (jrrobins@umich.edu)
Readings in selected texts (normally Heike monogatari).

ASIAN 625 - Readings in Buddhist Literature
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Gomez, Luis Oscar (lgomez@umich.edu)
A critical survey of the field of Chinese Buddhism, focusing on seminal works in the field, as well as on new approaches to the study of Chinese Buddhist history, institutions, ritual, and doctrine. The course is intended for graduate students working in any area of East Asian history, literature, art history, religion, and so on.

ASIAN 692 – Buddhas and Bodies: Icons of the Ideal in Japanese Religious Art
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Carr, Kevin Gray (kgcarr@umich.edu)
This course examines the history of Japanese religions through the visual arts. Sculpture, painting, architecture, and decorative arts serve as the primary sources for our exploration of traditions of Buddhism, kami worship, Daoism, mountain cults, folk religion, and Christianity. Discussions engage in social issues such as gender, class, and identity; religious questions of salvation and absence; and institutional matters such as lineage, legitimacy, and shifting sources of religious authority. A major concern of the course is the different aspects of the ideal and real body that are presented in Japanese visual culture, paying special attention to the means by which raw materials of art are transformed into ideal “living icons.”

WINTER 2006 - BUDDHIST STUDIES COURSES

BUDDHST 502 - Beginning Modern Tibetan II
Graduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Sparham, Gareth (gsparham@umich.edu)
This course is continuation of BUDDHST 501. Students will continue to learn to speak colloquial Tibetan, as well as learn to read and write the script.

BUDDHST 512 - Intermediate Modern Tibetan II
Graduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Sparham, Gareth (gsparham@umich.edu)
This course is a continuation of BUDDHST 511, the introduction to Modern Tibetan. Students will learn to speak colloquial Tibetan and an intermediate level, as well as continue to earn to read and write the script.

WINTER 2006 - CENTER FOR CHINESE STUDIES COURSES

CCS 502 - Humanistic Studies of Historical and Contemporary China
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Lam, Joseph S.C. (jsclam@umich.edu )
Instructor: Liu, Lydia (lydialiu@umich.edu )
This class will focus on humanistic approaches in Chinese Studies. The course will discuss how knowledge is produced in the field and how different disciplines shape the field in different ways. It will examine the present state of research in selected areas of scholarly inquiry — primarily language, literature, history, music, and art history — as we interrogate such seemingly commonsense notions as civilization, culture, tradition, modernity, and, above all, “Chineseness.” We will investigate new ways of asking questions about text and context, narrative, gender, subjectivity, identity, and paradigms of knowledge. Our goals are to develop good reading skills, stimulate critical thinking, and inspire imaginative approaches to humanistic problems.

CCS 650 - Independent Study in Chinese Studies
Graduate Credits: 1-3
Directed readings or research in consultation with a member of the Center for Chinese Studies faculty on a topic related to Chinese Studies.

CCS 700 – Master’s Thesis in Chinese Studies
Graduate Credits:
1-3
The Master's thesis is a substantial research paper reflecting interdisciplinary training and the ability to use Western language literature and Chinese language sources. Thesis research is undertaken under the supervision of a faculty or research associate of the Center of Chinese Studies, usually in the last term of the degree program.

WINTER 2006 - CHINESE COURSE

CHIN 825 - Seminar in Chinese History and Society
Graduate Credits: 3
The essay is a substantial research paper reflecting interdisciplinary training and the ability to use the Western language literature and Chinese language sources. It is normally written in the three-credit interdepartmental research seminars (825 or 802) and registered for under the department most closely aligned with the thesis topic and readers. The essay must be read and approved by two Center for Chinese Studies faculty members from different disciplines, both of whom will grade it. Preliminary work on the Master's Essay could begin in any of the advanced research/writing courses. Students may petition to use two seminar papers that have received grades of "A" as a substitute for the Master's Essay. All such petitions should be submitted to the China Center as formal letters of request and accompanied by complete copies of both of the graded papers. These petitions will be forwarded for review by a committee selected by the CCS Director and consisting of at least two faculty members.

WINTER 2006 - CENTER FOR JAPANESE STUDIES COURSE

CJS 451 – Topics in Japanese Studies
Section 001: Women in Modern Japan: Anthropological Perspectives
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Goldstein-Gidoni, Ofra (ofrag@umich.edu)
The course is aimed at looking carefully and critically at themes related to the roles and positions women take in contemporary Japan. Reading mainly anthropological writings, we will try to construct a complex picture of the role women have played in Japanese society since the Meiji period. We will also look at the construction of cultural models for womanhood, such as that of the ‘good wife, wise mother’ (ryōsai kenbo), which was ‘imported’ from the West in the Meiji era. Our anthropological perspective on Japanese women will follow their rigid life courses. Starting from socialization, we will go on to look at gendered education, gendered perspectives on weddings, marriage and family life and the role of the ‘professional housewife (sengyō shufu). Specific attention will be given to issues related to the role of the Japanese middle-class urban housewife, which has become a folk model in modern Japan, and to women in the workplace (Office Ladies (OL)). We will also confront questions relating to Japanese women as ‘repositories of tradition’ or as ‘international’. We will conclude with a critical look at recent changes in the lives of women in present-day Japan.

WINTER 2006 - GREAT BOOKS COURSE

GTBOOKS 221 – Great Books of China
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Lin, Shuen-Fu (lsf@umich.edu)
Introduction in translation to the great works of literature which have influenced the lives and culture of the Chinese people from ancient times to the present.

WINTER 2006 - HISTORY OF ART COURSES

HISTART 103 - Arts of Asia
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Carr, Kevin Gray (kgcarr@umich.edu)
Over the past three thousand years or more, the cultures of Asia have been marked by continual change and lively contacts between different social and artistic groups. This course examines the visual arts as one of the primary relics of this interaction. We shall explore how identities are constructed and negotiated through the confluence of different cultural streams, and students will be challenged to analyze monuments of Asian art to understand the conflicts and positions they represent. This course does not attempt to be a comprehensive survey of Asian art, but rather offers an introduction to monuments, issues, and methods essential for further study of the traditions covered. Lectures are topically based, typically focusing on one or two monuments as in-depth case studies and delving into their meanings in relation to the history, culture, and religions of Asia. Because each topic area will examine objects from two or more traditions, there will be ample opportunity for exploring the basics of comparative art history. Apart from section participation, course work will include two short papers, a midterm and a final examination. The course presumes no previous exposure to the arts of Asia, and all are welcome to attend.

HISTART 203 – Chinese Art and Religion
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Cheng, Wen-Chien (wecheng@umich.edu)
This course will explore the dynamic relationships between arts and religions in China from ancient times (c.1200 BCE) through the 19th century. We will learn how people in China imparted meaning to physical artifacts drawing upon China’s rich history of moral, philosophical, and religious thought. Special emphasis will be given to Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, and their artistic traditions. We will examine a wide range of media and monuments, including tomb objects--bronzes, jades, pottery, banners, stoneware; temple artwork such as sculpture and painting; relief panels from shrines; and pilgrimage sites adorned with murals and sculptures. The class will be primarily topical in approach, but will follow a roughly chronological sequence. Topics for discussion include, for example, devotional images and practices; funerary art; visualizations of the afterlife; artistic patronage; and the role of women in these arts.

The course is lecture-based, with weekly discussion sections. The lectures will introduce techniques of visual analysis in relation to the pageant of Chinese history, tracing the evolution of styles and their interactions over time. The discussion sections will enable students to develop their skills in visual analysis and their understanding of the readings. All are welcome.

HISTART 387 - The Arts and Letters of China
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Lin,Shuen-Fu (lsf@umich.edu)
An interdisciplinary introduction to Chinese civilization through the study of significant and representative works from philosophy, art, drama, and literature. Taught jointly by a team of faculty specialists.

HISTART 504 - Humanistic Studies of Historical and Contemporary China
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Lam, Joseph S.C. (jsclam@umich.edu )
Instructor: Liu, Lydia (lydialiu@umich.edu )
This course will examine the present state of research in selected areas of scholarly inquiry in Chinese studies – language, literature, history, religion material culture, and art history – as we interrogate such seemingly commonsense notions as "civilization," "culture," "tradition," "modernity," and above all, "Chineseness." Our goals are to develop good treading skills, stimulate critical thinking, and inspire imaginative approaches to humanistic problems.

HISTART 692 – Buddhas and Bodies: Icons of the Ideal in Japanese Religious Art
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Carr, Kevin Gray (kgcarr@umich.edu)
This course examines the history of Japanese religions through the visual arts. Sculpture, painting, architecture, and decorative arts serve as the primary sources for our exploration of traditions of Buddhism, kami worship, Daoism, mountain cults, folk religion, and Christianity. Discussions engage in social issues such as gender, class, and identity; religious questions of salvation and absence; and institutional matters such as lineage, legitimacy, and shifting sources of religious authority. A major concern of the course is the different aspects of the ideal and real body that are presented in Japanese visual culture, paying special attention to the means by which raw materials of art are transformed into ideal “living icons.”

WINTER 2006 - HISTORY COURSES

HISTORY 142 – Introduction to Japanese Civilization
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Robinson, Jeremy Roland (jrrobins@umich.edu)
Designed primarily for freshmen and sophomores, the course focuses on a few recurrent concerns in the Japanese tradition from the earliest times to the present. Topics to be considered include man and nature, language and culture, the individual and the state, men and women, and death and transcendence. Readings in mythology and representative works of the literature and religious texts, lectures, discussions, and short papers.

HISTORY 205 – Modern East Asia
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Young, Ernest P. (epyoung@umich.edu)
The course treats the modern experience of China, Japan, and Korea. No background in the history of these countries is required. We shall discuss comparatively the social and political orders in each country before the advent of a powerful Western intrusion, and then explore the ways that these old civilizations handled the new calculus of power in the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics will include wars with the West, cultural turbulence and reconstruction, reform and revolution, colonialism and liberation, racism directed both against and by Asians, the changing roles of women, the economies of recent decades, and the interplay of authoritarianism and democracy. The course combines lectures and discussion.

Readings will be drawn from historical narratives (including a textbook: Ebrey, Walthall and Palais, Modern East Asia: From 1600), analytical essays and translated expressions of East Asian voices.

There will be a midterm exam, a term paper, and a final exam, which, along with participation in discussion sessions, will be the bases for grade evaluations.

HISTORY 352 - Imperial China: Ideas, Men, and Society
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Chang, Chun-Shu (cschang@umich.edu)
This is a systematic analysis of state, society, people, and ideas in Imperial China from 221 B.C. to the end of the 18th century. Each dynasty or period is examined by its characteristic development and unique features. The following topics are to be covered:

    1. the concept and structure of empire;
    2. emperors and political culture;
    3. great thinkers, influential political leaders, and powerful rebels;
    4. wars and foreigners;
    5. Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism;
    6. class, gender, and race;
    7. writers, literature, and the structure of feeling;
    8. science and technology; and
    9. eating culture, art of entertainment, and daily life.

Special features of the course include reading of Classical Chinese poetry, singing of Peking opera, and discussion of the Scientific Revolution and the birth of "Modern China" in the 17th century. The course is open to all undergraduates.

HISTORY 378 – History of Asian Americans in the U.S.
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Kurashige, Scott T. (kurashig@umich.edu)
The history of Asians in America dates back over 400 years. How much have you had a chance to learn?

  • What did Chinese immigrants in the 1800s do besides build the railroads?
  • Why did American efforts to liberate the Philippines from Spanish colonialism end with the U.S. establishing colonial rule over the Philippines?
  • What was it like to be an Asian woman in the early 1900s?
  • Who were the earliest Asians to come to Michigan and what did they do?
  • Why did the U.S. Supreme Court rule in 1923 that immigrants from India were barred from American citizenship?
  • What caused 120,000 Japanese Americans to be sent to concentration camps during World War II?
  • Why did the U.S. military cover-up a massacre of civilians during the Korean war?
  • Where do Asians fall within the history of racism and anti-racism in America? How does the experience of Asian Americans relate to that of other ethnic groups and communities of color?
  • How did the stereotypes of Asians as “coolies,” “dragon ladies,” and “gooks” arise?
  • Have Asians assimilated into America? What does it mean to be called a “model minority”?
  • How did new immigration and refugee laws of the 1960s and 1970s lead to the exponential growth of South Asian, Hmong, and Vietnamese communities in America?

These are some of the questions we will explore in “History of Asian Americans.”

Readings will include first-hand accounts of life in America from the perspective of Asian American pioneers. Films and videos will complement readings. Course assignments provide an opportunity for students to examine the relationship between their family history and the experience of Asian Americans in U.S. history. Lectures and other course materials will critically analyze popular (mis)conceptions of Asians in America while also investigating historical issues rarely addressed by the mainstream media and K-12 education.

3 hours lecture and 1 hour discussion. No prerequisites.

HISTORY 392 - Topics in Asian History
Section 001: Keywords and Concepts in Japanese History and Society
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Tonomura, Hitomi (tomitono@umich.edu)
This course is for students who can read Japanese newspapers with a dictionary.

The course aims to understand aspects of Japanese cultures as they appear in the original language, unmediated by the process of translation into English. We will choose select media-based keywords, examine their meanings within the context in which they appear, and seek to broaden our understanding of those meanings by examining related or relevant concepts in historical and other contemporary sources. Students will be evaluated on the basis of (1) class participation, preparation and discussion and (2) a ten-page (or less) paper based on each student’s select keyword. There are no books or coursepack to be purchased. The instructor will supply newspaper clippings and assign associated readings that are on JSTOR or otherwise easily accessible to students. Students also will choose readings when assigned to “host” a session. Terms we will investigate may include: Yasukuni jinja, Kan-ryû, Kenpô 9-jô, Josei tennô, Yûsei min’eika, Shôshika, Kôreika, kodomo gyakutai.

HISTORY 392 - Topics in Asian History
Section 002: Imperial Japan – Empire/War/Culture
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: George Wilson
The purpose of this seminar is to take up the topic of war & empire in recent Japanese history and assess it in cultural context. The time frame is the period since the Meiji Restoration (1868) with emphasis on the half-century life of the Japanese Empire from 1895 to 1945. A central focus of the seminar will be World War II in the Pacific and the issue of Japan’s war responsibility. All of this will be considered in terms of Japanese cultural history as a kind of exotic stepchild of the modern West.

There is no final exam, but there will be a take-home midterm over the assigned reading up to that point. In addition, two short papers are required, plus a 12-page “term paper.” The final grade for both HISTORY 392 and HISTORY 592 students will be based on the term paper and the midterm exam.

Readings (seven required paperback books) are from monographs in the academic literature on Japanese culture and imperial history. Special attention will be paid to the issue of Japan’s cataclysmic defeat at the end of WWII. Visual materials as well as a variety of texts will be used to illustrate course content. A nearby museum trip is also in the offing for this course.

Books to Buy

  • Buruma, Ian. Inventing Japan, 1853-1964. Random House, 2004.ISBN 0-8129-7286-4
  • Frank, Richard. Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. Random House, 2001. ISBN 0-14-100146-1
  • IENAGA Saburô. Pacific War. Pantheon, 1978. ISBN 0-394-73496-3
  • Smith, Martin Cruz. December 6. Pocket Books, 2003. ISBN 0-671-77592-8
  • TAKEUCHI Yoshimi, ed. What is Modernity?. Columbia, 2005. ISBN 0-231-13327-8
  • Williams, David. Defending Japan’s Pacific War. RoutledgeCurzon, 2005.ISBN 0-415-32315-0
  • Wilson, George. Patriots and Redeemers in Japan: Motives in the Meiji Restoration. Chicago, 1992. ISBN 0-226-90092-4


HISTORY 396 – History Colloquium
Section 002 : Ideologies and Empires in Chinese History
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Chang, Chun-Shu (cschang@umich.edu)
This course will examine the major ideologies behind the rise, constitution, and fall of the powerful empires in Chinese history. It will focus on one empire: the Qin (Ch'in), 221-207 B.C., popularly known as the empire of the Great Wall and Terracotta Warriors. The first empire in Chinese history, the Qin Empire marked the end of China's Classical Age and the beginning of Imperial China. Founded by one great mystic hero, the First Emperor (Ying, Zheng, r. 221-210 B.C.), its short life of fourteen years actually charted the course of Chinese history for the next two thousand years. This course will look into the complex ideological forces behind the enigmatic personality of the First Emperor and the founding and developing of the Qin Empire. Finally, through this study, some "big questions" in the current historical scholarship will be raised: Do ideologies matter in the rise and fall of powerful empires? Do powerful empires lead to the "end of history"? Do history-making heroes "live" forever?

HISTORY 450 - Japan to 1700
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Tonomura, Hitomi (tomitono@umich.edu)
The course aims to provide an understanding of various aspects of Japanese history from prehistoric times through the last phase of the age of the samurai. It seeks to illuminate the interconnected patterns of transformation that paved the way to Japan's modern age while exploring such key topics as aristocrats and warriors, emperors and outcasts, bureaucracy and feudalism, sexuality and religion, peasants and pirates, Mongol invasions and Buddha's power,and literacy and rebellions. The course introduces primary historical sources in addition to journal articles and books that represent historians' interpretations. Students will be evaluated on the basis of 2 in-class exams and papers.

HISTORY 451 - Japan Since 1700
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: George Wilson
The purpose of this course is to explore Japanese history in the “modern” period since the Meiji Restoration of 1868. There will also be an extensive introductory look at the “early modern” (Tokugawa) era from 1600 to 1868. Note that an effort will be made to grapple critically with the notion of modernity as applied to Japan.

To clarify the chronology of recent Japanese history, events will be subdivided according to institutional transitions that occurred (1) in the 1900-15 years, when Japan became an urban-industrial society, and (2) in the years surrounding 1945, when the empire was lost and Japan suffered cataclysmic destruction accompanying the end of World War II.

Finally, Japan since 1945 will receive careful attention, especially as concerns economic and social developments. Texts and visual materials will be used to illustrate historical change.

Books to be bought for 451: Eight books are required, seven of them paperbacks. The textbook for the course is a history in documents by James Huffman. On the book list are scholarly monographs, meant to present a thorough reading of key subjects, as well as two novels (in translation) to give a sense of the ambiance of Japanese society, one from the 1910s, the other from the postwar years.

Required Books

Frank, Richard. Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. Penguin, 2001. ISBN 0-14-100146-1
Huffman, James. Modern Japan: A History in Documents. Oxford, 2004. ISBN 0-19-514742-1 IENAGA Saburô. The Pacific War. Pantheon, 1979. ISBN 0-394-73496-3
Nathan, John. Japan Unboun. Random House, 2004. ISBN 0-618-13894-3
NATSUME Sôseki. Kokoro. Regnery, 1957. ISBN 0-89526-715-2
ÔE Kenzaburô. Hiroshima Notes. Grove, 1996. ISBN 0-8021-3464-5
———. A Personal Matter. Grove, 1970. ISBN 0-8021-5061-6
Wilson, George. Patriots and Redeemers in Japan: Motives in the Meiji Restoration. Chicago, 1992. ISBN 0-226-90092-4

HISTORY 472 - Topics in Asian History
Section 002: Gender and Nationalism in Korea
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Em, Henry H. (henryem@umich.edu)
This course is meant to examine an aspect, to be designated in the section title, of topics in Asian history.

HISTORY 548 – Humanistic Studies of Historical and Contemporary China
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Lam, Joseph S.C. (jsclam@umich.edu )
Instructor: Liu, Lydia (lydialiu@umich.edu )
This course will examine the present state of research in selected areas of scholarly inquiry in Chinese studies – language, literature, history, religion material culture, and art history – as we interrogate such seemingly commonsense notions as "civilization," "culture," "tradition," "modernity," and above all, "Chineseness." Our goals are to develop good treading skills, stimulate critical thinking, and inspire imaginative approaches to humanistic problems.

HISTORY 592 - Asian Topics
Section 001: Keywords & Concepts in Japanese Society and History
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Tonomura, Hitomi (tomitono@umich.edu)
This course is for students who can read Japanese newspapers with a dictionary.

The course aims to understand aspects of Japanese cultures as they appear in the original language, unmediated by the process of translation into English. We will choose select media-based keywords, examine their meanings within the context in which they appear, and seek to broaden our understanding of those meanings by examining related or relevant concepts in historical and other contemporary sources. Students will be evaluated on the basis of (1) class participation, preparation and discussion and (2) a ten-page (or less) paper based on each student’s select keyword. There are no books or coursepack to be purchased. The instructor will supply newspaper clippings and assign associated readings that are on JSTOR or otherwise easily accessible to students. Students also will choose readings when assigned to “host” a session. Terms we will investigate may include: Yasukuni jinja, Kan-ryû, Kenpô 9-jô, Josei tennô, Yûsei min’eika, Shôshika, Kôreika, kodomo gyakutai.

HISTORY 592 - Asian Topics
Section 002: Imperial Japan – Empire/War/Culture
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Hitomi Tonomura (tomitono@umich.edu)
The purpose of this seminar is to take up the topic of war & empire in recent Japanese history and assess it in cultural context. The time frame is the period since the Meiji Restoration (1868) with emphasis on the half-century life of the Japanese Empire from 1895 to 1945. A central focus of the seminar will be World War II in the Pacific and the issue of Japan’s war responsibility. All of this will be considered in terms of Japanese cultural history as a kind of exotic stepchild of the modern West.

There is no final exam, but there will be a take-home midterm over the assigned reading up to that point. In addition, two short papers are required, plus a 12-page “term paper.” The final grade for both HISTORY 392 and HISTORY 592 students will be based on the term paper and the midterm exam.

Readings (seven required paperback books) are from monographs in the academic literature on Japanese culture and imperial history. Special attention will be paid to the issue of Japan’s cataclysmic defeat at the end of WWII. Visual materials as well as a variety of texts will be used to illustrate course content. A nearby museum trip is also in the offing for this course.

Books to Buy

  • Buruma, Ian. Inventing Japan, 1853-1964. Random House, 2004.ISBN 0-8129-7286-4
  • Frank, Richard. Downfall: The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. Random House, 2001. ISBN 0-14-100146-1
  • IENAGA Saburô. Pacific War. Pantheon, 1978. ISBN 0-394-73496-3
  • Smith, Martin Cruz. December 6. Pocket Books, 2003. ISBN 0-671-77592-8
  • TAKEUCHI Yoshimi, ed. What is Modernity?. Columbia, 2005. ISBN 0-231-13327-8
  • Williams, David. Defending Japan’s Pacific War. RoutledgeCurzon, 2005.ISBN 0-415-32315-0
  • Wilson, George. Patriots and Redeemers in Japan: Motives in the Meiji Restoration. Chicago, 1992. ISBN 0-226-90092-4

HISTORY 624 - Asian American History
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Kurashige, Scott T. (kurashig@umich.edu)
Through extensive readings in Asian American history, this course surveys scholarship dating from the origins of ethnic studies in the 1960s to the present. Our discussions focus on the following questions: How does the study of Asian Americans challenges historians to rethink issues of race, class, and gender? Why and how did the original vision of Asian American Studies emphasize social history and community studies? What have Asian American historians learned from interdisciplinary approaches? How have literary theory and cultural studies influenced recent and current work? What is the future direction of the field?

HISTORY 825 - Seminar in Chinese History and Society
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: T.B.A.
The essay is a substantial research paper reflecting interdisciplinary training and the ability to use the Western language literature and Chinese language sources. It is normally written in the three-credit interdepartmental research seminars (825 or 802) and registered for under the department most closely aligned with the thesis topic and readers. The essay must be read and approved by two Center for Chinese Studies faculty members from different disciplines, both of whom will grade it. Preliminary work on the Master's Essay could begin in any of the advanced research/writing courses. Students may petition to use two seminar papers that have received grades of "A" as a substitute for the Master's Essay. All such petitions should be submitted to the China Center as formal letters of request and accompanied by complete copies of both of the graded papers. These petitions will be forwarded for review by a committee selected by the CCS Director and consisting of at least two faculty members.

WINTER 2006 - HONORS COURSES

HONORS 251 – Sophomore Seminar
Section 001: Women’s Lives in 20th-Century China .
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Instructor: Wang, Zheng (wangzhen@umich.edu)
This seminar will introduce you to recent scholarship on women’s experiences in twentieth-century China, with an emphasis on a history of the Chinese feminist movement. We will focus on the emergence and development of feminist discourse in modern China, discuss its relations with the rising nationalism, dominant political parties, and China’s pursuit of modernity. We will highlight diverse Chinese women's multiple roles in the 20th century, study and compare women in and outside the Chinese revolution, and examine women’s relations with the socialist state. The course will end at the contemporary Chinese society by discussing Chinese women's activism today. This is a course on a history of modern China with gender perspective, but knowledge of Chinese language is not required. All the books and articles assigned for the course are in English. Personal voices and life stories constitute the majority of the reading. The reading materials will be supplemented by a variety of visual materials shown in class, such as excerpts from the documentary TV series “A Chinese Women’s History in the Twentieth Century”. The course is organized as a seminar, with emphasis placed on reading, writing, and lively class discussion.

HONORS 493 - College Honors Seminar
Section 002: Modern Empires in Asia-Pacific
Undergraduate Credits: 1-4
Primary Instructor: Em, Henry H. (henryem@umich.edu)
Instructor: Nornes, Mark H. (amnornes@umich.edu)
This course will explore the histories and practices of nineteenth- and twentieth-century empires in Asia-Pacific. We will examine how these empires, both Western and Asian in provenance, shaped and linked the modern histories of a number of countries in Asia-Pacific and Euro-America. We will address questions about the origins and structures of these imperial regimes, including America's "informal" empire established in places like Japan, Korea, and the Philippines after the Pacific War, and the imprint they have left on cultures and collective memories. Our examination will cover a broad range of sources — both large historical narratives as well as "vignettes" from different disciplines and genres including film, literature, cartography, memoir, mass media, and material culture.

HONORS 493 - College Honors Seminar
Section 004: Altered Encounters: Global Change & Asian Cities.
Undergraduate Credits: 1-4
Instructor: Shatkin, Gavin Michael (shatkin@umich.edu)
This course will examine social and cultural change in Asian societies through the lens of the region's cities, and the changes they are undergoing in this era of globalization. Asia is rapidly urbanizing, and half of Asians will live in cities by 2025.

  • What has this transition meant for the lived experience of Asian people? For the development of political institutions? For culture?
  • How have women been affected by this transition, and what has it meant for household relations? What has it meant for the poor, and for the wealthy?

The course will specifically look at the ways that such change has been reflected in the social and cultural life, the literature, film, language, and religious practices in cities. It will combine readings and discussion, guest lectures from University of Michigan faculty, and films on urban topics. Finally, students will work during the academic term on group projects looking in depth at change in a specific city of their choosing.

WINTER 2006 - PHILOSOPHY COURSE

PHIL 263 – Introduction to Chinese Philosophy
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Robins, Daniel (robinsdp@umich.edu)
This course focuses on the major philosophical schools of Classical China (through the unification of China in 221 B.C.). Special consideration is given to the ethical, religious and political thought of the Confucian, Mohist and Daoist schools.

WINTER 2006 - POLITICAL SCIENCE COURSES

POLSCI 356- Government and Politics of Japan
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Gibbons, Margaret Florence (gibbons@umich.edu)
Japan is an ever-more interesting country to study, due both to its obvious importance, and to the fact that it is the only post-industrial non-western country. This course offers an overview of contemporary Japanese politics, designed for students with a general interest in Japan as well as political science concentrators. Special attention is given to how politics has affected and been affected by cultural patterns, social organization, economic growth, and Japan's position in the world. Grading will be by examination and short papers.

POLSCI 389 – Topics in Contemporary Political Science
Section 004: Political Economy of Asia
Undergraduate Credits: 3-4
Primary Instructor: Woo-Cumings, Meredith (mwoc@umich.edu)
This course is an introduction to the problems of development in Asia. Asia is an enormously heterogeneous and diverse area, host to countries with widely varying levels of economic development. There are a number of countries in Asia that have per capita incomes that average more than US$10,000 a year; and there are other countries with less than US$500 in per capita incomes. So, how to make sense of the problems of development in Asia? The approach in this course is primarily historical, and is designed to get students to think about the complex interplay of forces—historical, political, market, security—that have determined the structure of growth opportunity in Asia. The instructors will identify four distinctive paradigms of development that are found in the following four areas: Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, The People’s Republic of China, and South Asia. This course will be highly demanding, expecting students to absorb the contours of Asian history, as well as learn the basics of economic development, through great classical texts. The readings might include classic works by: Barrington Moore (Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy) Chalmers Johnson (MITI and the Japanese Miracle) Joseph Schumpeter (The Theory of Economic Development) Amartya Sen and Jean Dreze ( India: Economic Development and Social Opportunity).

POLSCI 688 – Selected Topics in Political Science
Section 001: Asian Security Issues
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Lieberthal, Kenneth G. (kliebert@umich.edu)
This seminar explores security issues in Asia with a focus on the major players: the United States, Japan, the ROK, China, and India. In a region as vast, complex, and diverse as is Asia, there is an enormous tension between covering key countries in greater depth and seeking broader coverage on a more superficial level. This seminar opts for greater depth regarding major players, but in the process it will bring into consideration every part of the region. The seminar will also take up broad functional issues and trends involving the region as a whole.

POLSCI 825 - Seminar in Chinese History and Society
Graduate Credits: 3
Instructor: T.B.A.
The essay is a substantial research paper reflecting interdisciplinary training and the ability to use the Western language literature and Chinese language sources. It is normally written in the three-credit interdepartmental research seminars (825 or 802) and registered for under the department most closely aligned with the thesis topic and readers. The essay must be read and approved by two Center for Chinese Studies faculty members from different disciplines, both of whom will grade it. Preliminary work on the Master's Essay could begin in any of the advanced research/writing courses. Students may petition to use two seminar papers that have received grades of "A" as a substitute for the Master's Essay. All such petitions should be submitted to the China Center as formal letters of request and accompanied by complete copies of both of the graded papers. These petitions will be forwarded for review by a committee selected by the CCS Director and consisting of at least two faculty members.

WINTER 2006 - RELIGION COURSE

RELIGION 202 - Introduction to the Study of Asian Religions
Undergraduate Credits: 4
Primary Instructor: Robson, James (robsonj@umich.edu)
This course is an introduction to the study of Asian religions. We will consider representative material drawn from some of the major Asian traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, etc.), from ancient times down to the present day.

WINTER 2006 - WOMEN'S STUDIES COURSES

WOMENSTD 150 – Humanities Seminars on Women and Gender
Section 001: Women’s Lives in 20th-Century China
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Wang, Zheng (wangzhen@umich.edu)
This seminar will introduce you to recent scholarship on women’s experiences in twentieth-century China, with an emphasis on a history of the Chinese feminist movement. We will focus on the emergence and development of feminist discourse in modern China, discuss its relations with the rising nationalism, dominant political parties, and China’s pursuit of modernity. We will highlight diverse Chinese women's multiple roles in the 20th century, study and compare women in and outside the Chinese revolution, and examine women’s relations with the socialist state. The course will end at the contemporary Chinese society by discussing Chinese women's activism today. This is a course on a history of modern China with gender perspective, but knowledge of Chinese language is not required. All the books and articles assigned for the course are in English. Personal voices and life stories constitute the majority of the reading. The reading materials will be supplemented by a variety of visual materials shown in class, such as excerpts from the documentary TV series “A Chinese Women’s History in the Twentieth Century”. The course is organized as a seminar, with emphasis placed on reading, writing, and lively class discussion.


WOMENSTD 341 - Special Topics in Gendered Lives
Section 001: Japanese Women: The Working Life in a Culture of Cuteness
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Course Attributes
Advisory Prerequisites: WOMENSTD 240.
Other Information: (Gendered Lives).
Repeatability: May be repeated for credit
This course deals with the social, economic, and political factors influencing women's position in postwar Japan. We will investigate the historical diversity in the operations of gender in social and cultural life through an interdisciplinary approach drawing on literature, social/historical studies, manga, and television. Some of the figures we will meet include entertainers (foreign bar hostesses and geisha), OL (office ladies), activists and politicians, factory workers, shufu (housewives), and shojo (young WOMEN). All readings are in English.

WOMENSTD 483 - Special Topics
Section 002: Women in Modern Japan: Anthropological Perspectives
Undergraduate Credits: 3
Graduate Credits: 3
Credit Exclusions: Degree credit is granted for a combined total of seven credits elected through WOMENSTD 481, 482, 483, and 484.
Course Attributes
Advisory Prerequisites: WOMENSTD 240.
Repeatability: May be repeated for 7 credit(s)
Meet Together Classes
CJS 451 - Topics Japan, Section 001
Primary Instructor: Goldstein-Gidoni, Ofra (ofrag@umich.edu)
The course is aimed at looking carefully and critically at themes related to the roles and positions women take in contemporary Japan. Reading mainly anthropological writings, we will try to construct a complex picture of the role women have played in Japanese society since the Meiji period. We will also look at the construction of cultural models for womanhood, such as that of the ‘good wife, wise mother’ (ryōsai kenbo), which was ‘imported’ from the West in the Meiji era. Our anthropological perspective on Japanese women will follow their rigid life courses. Starting from socialization, we will go on to look at gendered education, gendered perspectives on weddings, marriage and family life and the role of the ‘professional housewife (sengyō shufu). Specific attention will be given to issues related to the role of the Japanese middle-class urban housewife, which has become a folk model in modern Japan, and to women in the workplace (Office Ladies (OL)). We will also confront questions relating to Japanese women as ‘repositories of tradition’ or as ‘international’. We will conclude with a critical look at recent changes in the lives of women in present-day Japan.

WINTER 2006 - MUSICOLOGY COURSE

MUSICOL 556 - Music of Asian Americans
Graduate Credits: 3
Primary Instructor: Stillman, Amy K. (akstill@umich.edu)
Examines music of Asian Americans as case studies of musical, personal and communal identities in multiethnic, multiracial and transnational contexts in the United States .


WINTER 2006 - UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS COURSE

CORPORATE STRATEGY AND INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS (CSIB)
CSIB 582 – Business with China
Credits:
3
Instructor: T.B.A.
Doing Business with China --- China represents the type of semi-market, negotiated economy that is typical of high growth emerging markets globally. Western firms will increasingly need to know how to be effective in such economies. CSIB 582 analyzes China's changing roles in the global and regional economies and the implications for corporate strategy. The course then addresses China's political economy and, using this framework, develops the agenda that MNCs must bring to bear to achieve success. The course specifically analyzes entry and growth strategies, marketing and distribution, and country risks. It makes use of company experiences in China, brings in as guest lecturers several heads of China operations for major MNCs, and requires a team project and a final examination.

 

 

 

 
    ˆTop
   

UM Gateway | LSA Home | Rackham Home | International Institute | Asia Library

Center for Japanese Studies
The University of Michigan
Suite 3640, 1080 S. University Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106
Phone: 734.764.6307, Fax: 734.936.2948, E-Mail:
umcjs@umich.edu