Asian Studies Course Descriptions

This is the complete list of non-language courses that are eligible for Asian Studies major and minor credit.  Note that not all courses are taught every year.

Except for ASIA 3901, 3902, and 3991, all ASIA courses are cross-lists of courses in various departments.  Asian Studies majors and minors should wherever possible enroll for courses under their ASIA prefix and number.

DU AHUM, SOCS and Core courses that focus on Asia may also be taken for Asian Studies elective credit.  See bottom of the page for details.

ASIA 2002 - Ethnology of China (ANTHROPOLOGY)

Anthropological study of contemporary Chinese society including birth, life and death; gods, ghosts, and ancestors; men and women; families and marriage; urban and rural life; and Han and ethnic minorities.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2101 - Survey of Asian Art (ART HISTORY)

This Survey of Asian Art explores the major monuments, traditions, and civilizations of India, China, and Japan. There is no prerequisite, and students do not need to know Asian languages for this course. You will be expected to learn the names of important Asian artists and historical figures, artistic terms, sites, and time periods. We will consider Asian art and architecture in terms of its social and historical context, and its political and religious functions. We will learn how to analyze and distinguish among various styles of art, and explore how and why certain styles are characteristic of specific times and places.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2102 - Topics in Chinese Art (ART HISTORY)

Selected topics in Chinese Art. Content changes. Course may be taken more than once.

5.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2103 - Art of India (ART HISTORY)

The art of South Asia from the civilization of the Indus Valley to the period of the Muslim conquest. Note: ARTH 2840 or ASIA 2101 recommended.

5.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2104 - Art of Southeast Asia (ART HISTORY)

This is a study, from early historical times, of art in Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia, where Buddhist and Hindu art flourished and had lasting influence.

5.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

Schedule Types: Lecture

ASIA 2105 - Topics in Japanese Art (ART HISTORY)

Selected topics in Japanese Art. Content changes. Course may be taken more than once.

5.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2107 - Seminar in Asian Art (ART HISTORY)

Selected topics in Asian Art, advanced research papers and presentations. Content changes. Course may be taken more than once.

5.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2301 - Asian Tigers (ECONOMICS)

This course is based on a comparative approach, examining several Asian economies' colonial background, their primary producing sectors, the developmental state in these countries, attempts at industrialization, trade policies, technological development, liberalization to attract foreign capital, currency and financial crises. Prerequisite: ECON 1030.

5.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2402 - Early Japan (HISTORY)

History of the politics and culture in the making of an Asian/Pacific nation; traces Japanese society from beginnings to late 19th century and its emergence as a founder of the modern world.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2403 - Modern Japan (HISTORY)

Themes in early and late modern Japanese history - ideology and politics, culture and society, class and gender, empire and nation, Japan from Tokugawa peace through modern wars to post-war world.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2404 - Contemporary Japan (HISTORY)

History of contemporary Japan.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2405 - Heritage of Traditional China (HISTORY)

Survey of Chinese history to the Ming dynasty.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2406 - Modern China: Search for Change (HISTORY)

China's early modern historical period; Sung dynasty as a cultural peak; domination by the Mongols; stabilization under Ming and Ch'ing dynasties.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2408 - Enemies/Friends/Rivals: Japan (HISTORY)

Japanese history from perspective of its relations with United States; World War II, post-war American occupation, and present-day trade relations; politics, culture and economics in our cross-Pacific relationship.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2409 - Japan & China: 19th-20th Century (HISTORY)

Remarkably different historical responses of Japan and China to impact of Western imperialism.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2410 - Japan in History and Film (HISTORY)

Dilemmas of contemporary society through the lens of Japanese cinema.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2413 - Social History of Modern Japan (HISTORY)

Patterns of social transformation from 18th to 20th centuries; emphasis on class and gender issues; interaction of politics, economics and culture in social change.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2414 - American Occupation of Japan (HISTORY)

Studies the important issues in a vital period of both U.S. and Japanese history.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2417 - Imperial Encounters 1757-1947 (HISTORY)

This seminar course examines how women and gender, both in the metropolis as well as in the colony were inextricably linked in the project of European imperialism. Using a comparative framework we look at examples from European imperialism in Africa, South and South East Asia to understand how women and gender are implicated in setting up empire, in legitimizing imperial rule and creating the structures of domination and differentiation and required to maintain imperial control.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2420 - History of Early India (HISTORY)

The course seeks to introduce students to important themes in early Indian history such as state formation, religious pluralism, social stratification and economic expansion. Treating historical change in South Asia over a long period of time, it examines the validity of popular conceptions of an ageless, spiritual Indian civilization rotted in the mythical past. In the process, the course acquaints students with competing interpretations of Indian history. Students are encouraged to participate through class discussion and debates thereby familiarizing themselves with historical argumentation.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2421 - History of Modern India (HISTORY)

This is an introductory course on modern Indian history intended for undergraduate students with no prior knowledge of the subject. Working within a broad chronological framework, it seeks to acquaint the student with some of the major themes of Indian history such as empire, colonialism, nationalism, communalism and economic development, which have shaped contemporary India. The effort will be to emphasize India's continuing historical connections with the rest of the world rather than its isolation from it.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2601 - Japanese Politics (POLITICAL SCIENCE)

5.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2602 - International Relations of East Asia (POLITICAL SCIENCE)

International relations study as an academic discipline has an unambiguous European root. Numerous studies have been conducted to explore the fit between theoretical contemplations and the realities in European history. This class shifts the focus of inquiry away from Europe to East Asia and tests how accurately major international relations theories describe what is going on in this part of the world. This class has two purposes: to help students become more familiar with major theories and debates in international relations, and to introduce students to the history of international relations of East Asia. Students will read works in major theoretical schools of international relations as well as works that apply these theories to East Asian cases.

5.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2701 - Topics in Asian Studies

1.000 TO 5.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2702 - Religions of East Asia (RELIGIOUS STUDIES)

Introduction to East Asian Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Shinto.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2703 - Modern Hinduism (RELIGIOUS STUDIES)

Doctrines, practices and history of South Asian Hinduism; conceptions of the sacred, paths to liberation and modern religious attitudes.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2704 – Buddhism (RELIGIOUS STUDIES)

Buddhist life and thought from origins to present in India, Tibet, Japan and China.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2705 - Food and Religion (RELIGIOUS STUDIES)

Writing-intensive course, focusing on the ways in which food and drink in religious contexts help construct meaning, create communities, signify and enact the differences between insiders and outsiders.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 2706 - Hinduism through Sacred Texts (RELIGIOUS STUDIES)

Historical development of Hinduism from its Vedic and indigenous antecedents to its medieval and modern manifestations in literature, doctrine, ritual, and art.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

ASIA 3901 - Asian Studies Directed Readings

Students will read deeply in a specific field of scholarship directed by a core faculty member in the Asian Studies program and will write a methodological essay that discusses the scholarship in their chosen field of research. This is the first part of a required, two-quarter sequence that will culminate in the senior thesis. Enrollment is restricted to Asian Studies majors.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

Schedule Types: Seminar

ASIA 3902 - Asian Studies Senior Thesis

Students will pursue a primary document research project under the supervision of their core faculty member in Asian Studies. The goal of this course is the writing and completion of the senior thesis in Asian Studies. Prerequisite: ASIA 3901.

4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Graduate, Undergraduate

Schedule Types: Seminar

ASIA 3991 - Independent Study

1.000 TO 4.000 Credit Hours

Levels: Undergraduate

AHUM & SOCS Foundations and CORE Courses

Asian Studies majors & minors:  You can take Asia-related AHUM and SOCS Foundations and Core courses for EITHER Asian Studies credit OR Foundations/Core credit, but not both.  If you wish, you may sign up for the courses below as regular Foundations or Core courses, then have the credits transferred into Asian Studies later. 

Examples:

AHUM 1216:  History: Gandhi's India

AHUM 1716:  Religion: Religions of East Asia

CORE 2447:  The Silk Road

CORE 2532:  Death & Dying in Hindu Traditions

CORE 2564:  Zen Buddhism and the Fine Arts

CORE 2646:  Dance in India

CORE 2622:  Modernity in Japanese Film

If you have any questions about obtaining Asian Studies credit for AHUM, SOCS, or CORE courses, please contact the Asian Studies Program Director, Prof. Ginni Ishimatsu.