AAS118 Introduction to Asian Studies

Provides students with information on subjects of common concern to people in both Asia and America, including education, health, religion and values, consumer issues, family and home, mobility (including immigration), children, careers and work, entertainment, and leisure, etc. In this context, Asia as a cultured space includes India, Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan. Students design their own maps and timelines to represent tongues, texts, and scripts, as well as ethnic identities.

AAS220 Language and Culture in China

A survey of regional languages and cultures of China. Addresses issues of diversity and standardization in the world’s most populous country, particularly the role of language as both a system of spoken and written signs as well as a resource for cultural reproduction and social change. Explores discourse norms, key cultural concepts, and the unique problems posed by cross-cultural translation and interpretation.

AAS221 Science and Civilization in China

An introduction to ancient Chinese science and technology, including engineering, medicine, mathematics, architecture, and military technology. The global, social, and historical impact of these inventions on Western civilization and the subsequent decline of the Chinese scientific paradigm will be examined.

AAS307 Women in US-Asian Relations

Critically examines the important and, at times, even crucial roles played by women in US-Asian relations over a roughly 125-year period, from the 1850s to the 1970s; and compares/contrasts these roles to those in the present day. We will study the transformative occupations (writers/poets, missionaries, journalists, diplomats, medical and social workers, scientists, scholars, and chefs) to understand how women used motivational discourse and social networking to interpret China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam for diverse audiences in America and their native lands in Asia.

AAS310 America’s Wars in Asia

Explores America’s involvement in and execution of wars in Asia in the 19th and 20th centuries notably in the Philippines, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, with an incisive analysis of American empire building. If war is “an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfill our will,” how far did these wars succeed in their aim? Focusing both on American and Asian perspectives on global conflicts, we draw upon international relations and historical interdisciplinary sources in our investigations, including newer tools such as online digitized oral history collections through the Library of Congress Veterans’ History Project.

AAS351 Revolutionary China

Explores the history of revolutionary nation-building efforts in 20th century China, examining social, cultural, economic, and political developments during the “Republican” and “Maoist” periods. Focuses on key terms and concepts used by agents and analysts of revolutionary change. Draws on interdisciplinary scholarly studies, government documents, media reports, auto-biographical accounts, and popular fiction to assess the consequences of major events on people’s lives, livelihoods, worldviews, and personal relationships.

AAS371 Ancient China

Explores the development of social, economic, political, and cultural systems in ancient China, from the Neolithic period through the Han dynasty. Draws on archaeological data and historical texts to examine the emergence of state-level polities and their subsequent unification under imperial authority. Analytical focus is on political economy, social organization, ritual exchange, and notions of power and rulership expressed in philosophical thought.

AAS379 Ethnicity and Ecology in China

This course explores issues of ethnic and national identity in the context of the social ecology of the Chinese state, both past and present. It focuses on the material and social relationships that have shaped perceptions of, and interactions between, cultural groups in China and along its frontiers. Drawing on case studies from the Himalayan plateau, Yunnan highlands, Inner Asian steppes, Taiwan, and elsewhere, students examine how sustenance strategies, economic organization, and political administration have influenced construct of ethnic identity.

AAS401/501 Capstone Combined Senior and MA Seminar

Introduces students to qualitative and quantitative research methods commonly used in social sciences and humanities, including narrative research, phenomenological research, ethnographic research, case study research, correlational research, and survey research. Students are expected to identify a topic of interest of their own choosing within Contemporary Asian and Asian American Studies and develop a pilot research project. The instructor plays the role of a facilitator by leading methodological as well as thematic discussions on research topics initiated by students. This course takes the format of lectures, workshops, student presentations, peer critique, and one-on-one instructor-student conferences.

GLI 340 Conflict Resolution, Coalition Building, and Peacemaking: Interpersonal, Local, Global Scenarios

Provides an interdisciplinary understanding and analysis of conflict and the development and practice of coalition building and peacemaking that may assist in bringing forth resolutions.  We will explore each of these issues at the inter-personal, local, and global levels. Students in this course will gain theoretical, historical, and practical knowledge about conflict and conflict resolution processes to start the work of de-escalating and solving conflicts.

GLI 450 Capstone Seminar in Globalization Studies and International Relations

Designed to put into practice the student’s accumulated training in the major by completing a single original research project. The project should combine the student’s area and global issue specializations as well as his or her foreign language expertise, and international study or internship experience. Students will choose a faculty mentor who specializes in either the area or the issue they are researching. The faculty mentor will provide additional and under supervision as the project progresses.

LDS 102 American Poets and China

An examination of poetry written or translated by American and Asian American poets from the early 1900s to the present day.  Reading aloud and exchanging views about how social, political, and global contexts within which “China” has been constructed over time. Includes relevant historical time periods (e.g., Chinese Exclusion laws, WWI, WWII, anti-war demonstrations, etc.)

WRT102 Intermediate Writing Workshop

A study of strategies for extended academic writing assignments including critical analysis, argument or point of view, and multi-source, college-level research essays. Students continue to develop rhetorical awareness, analytical proficiency, and academic research skills. At the end of the course students create a multimodal e-portfolio of final revised essays to be evaluated by their instructor and at least one outside reader.