Asian Studies

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Spring 2006 Courses

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020. Global Media and Politics: Henry Laurence T 1:00 - 2:25, TH 1:00 - 2:25; Examines the impact of media including the internet, newspapers and television, on politics and society in cross-national perspective. Asks how differences in the ownership and regulation of media affect how news is selected and presented, and looks at various forms of government censorship and commercial self-censorship. Also considers the role of the media and �pop culture� in creating national identities; perpetuating ethnic stereotypes; providing regime legitimation; and explores the impact of satellite TV and the internet on rural societies and authoritarian governments. Focuses especially on Asia, including analysis of: the impact of "Western" TV on rural communities in India; censorship in China and Singapore; and public broadcasting, mass-media and pop culture in Japan.
103. Introduction to Asian Art and Architecture: De-nin Lee M 1:00 - 2:25, W 1:00 - 2:25; A selected survey of art and architecture, primarily in South and East Asia from the Neolithic period to the modern era. Material ranges from ceramics and bronze vessels to temples and icons to narrative painting and public buildings. Considers individual works and sites in stylistic terms and within religious, political, and social contexts. Not open to students who have taken Art History 140 or Asian Studies 140.
220. Modern and Contemporary Art of China: De-nin Lee M 9:30 - 10:25, W 9:30 - 10:25, F 9:30 - 10:25; Examines the multitude of visual expressions Chinese artists adopted, re-fashioned, and rejected from the late 19th century to the present day, a period marked by major political struggles, economic transformations, and social change. Major themes include the tension between identity and modernity, the relationship between art and politics, and the impact of globalization and an international art market.
223. Mahayana Buddhism: John Holt M 2:30 - 3:55, W 2:30 - 3:55; Studies the emergence of Mahayana Buddhist worldviews as reflected in primary sources of Indian, Chinese, and Japanese origins. Buddhist texts include the Buddhacarita (�Life of the Buddha�), the Sukhavati Vyuha (�Discourse on the �Pure Land��), the Vajraccedika Sutra (the �Diamond-Cutter�), the Prajnaparamitra-hrdaya Sutra (�Heart Sutra of the Perfection of Wisdom�), the Saddharmapundarika Sutra (the �Lotus Sutra�), and the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, among others. Also briefly studies the teachings of Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Chuang Tzu to better understand the encounter, assimilation, and transformation of Buddhism within Chinese and Japanese religious cultures.
225. Toward Creation: An Introduction to Korea through Literature and Film: Wayne de Fremery T 6:30 - 9:25; This course aims to provide a broad overview of Korean culture as it is presented in Korean literature and film. It also seeks to explore how our conceptions of Korea are created. To facilitate this exploration, the course will begin with readings and films from contemporary Korea (both North and South) and will then move backward through time to explore some of Korea's earliest extant legends and creation myths. Important authors and genres from both the modern and pre-modern period will be examined; each unit will center on a small number of literary works. Films will be shown to provide another perspective on Korean culture. (All readings will be in English. No previous knowledge of Korea or the Korean language is required).
228. Chinese Foreign Policy: Lance Guo M 2:30 - 3:55, W 2:30 - 3:55; An analytic survey of the history and evolution of China�s foreign relations from the inception of the People�s Republic of China in 1949. Emphasis is on China�s evolving strategic thinking in the context of changing international and regional (the Asia-Pacific) power configuration since the Cold War. Topics include actors, institutions, and processes of foreign policy decision-making; national security and the military; foreign economic relations; Sino-US relations; the Taiwan issue; the South China Sea dispute; the resurgence of nationalism; �greater China�; and the linkages between domestic politics and foreign policy.
232. Modernity in South Asia: Sara Dickey T 2:30 - 3:55, TH 2:30 - 3:55; What is modernity? How does it differ cross-culturally, and what forms does it take in South Asia? In the countries of South Asia�including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal�many aspects of everyday life are both affected by and shape modernity. Economic liberalization, religious nationalism, and popular media are examined, while investigating changes in caste, class, work, gender, family, and religious identities in South Asia.
239. Violence and Memory in Twentieth-Century India: Rachel Sturman T 2:30 - 3:55, TH 2:30 - 3:55; Seminar. Examines narratives of violence and remembrance across literary, historical, filmic, and other genres to consider the ways in which people have attempted to come to terms with, and create a language and a history for, the experience of violence in modern India. Key issues include: Gandhi�s efforts to develop a theory and practice of non-violence; the experience of massive religious violence, often considered ethnic cleansing or genocide, that accompanied the end of British colonial rule and the partition of the subcontinent to form the independent nations of India and Pakistan in 1947; and the recent proliferation of religious violence and caste- and gender-based atrocities, as well as state-sponsored violence in the post-colonial era.
246. The Fantastic and Demonic in Japanese Literature: Vyjayanthi Selinger M 11:30 - 12:55, W 11:30 - 12:55; From possessing spirits and serpentine creatures to hungry ghosts and spectral visions, Japanese literary history is alive with supernatural beings. Our study will range from the earliest times to modernity, examining these motifs in both historical and theoretical contexts. The readings will pose the following broad questions: How do representations of the supernatural function in both creation myths of the ancient past and the rational narratives of the modern nation? What is the relationship between liminal beings and a society�s notion of purity? How may we understand the uncanny return of dead spirits in medieval Japanese drama? How does the construction of demonic female sexuality vary between medieval and modern Japan? This course will draw on various genres of representation, from legends and novels to drama, paintings and cinema. Students will gain an understanding not only of the different representations of these fantastic beings in Japanese literature, but will also develop an appreciation of the hold that these creatures from the �other� side maintain over our cultural and social imagination.
252. Mass and Pop Culture in Contemporary China: Shuqin Cui M 11:30 - 12:55, W 11:30 - 12:55; Explores the role of mass and pop culture in contemporary China as it undergoes the transition from a socialist economy to a thriving consumer culture. Using various pop trends and artifacts as texts, emphasizes the question of how the state apparatus and the mass population negotiate, as well as participate, in cultural production and consumption.
258. Politics and Popular Culture in Twentieth-Century India: Rachel Sturman T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25; Examines the new forms of politics and of popular culture that shaped twentieth-century modernity in India. Topics include the emergence of mass politics, ideologies of nationalism and communalism, the partition of the subcontinent and communities of violence, urbanization and the creation of new publics, modern visual culture, democracy, caste, gender and social movements, and the politics of development. Focuses on the relationship between new socio-political forms and new technologies of representation and communication.
261. Contemporary Chinese Society, Part 1: Nancy Riley M 11:30 - 12:55, W 11:30 - 12:55; Examines several key elements of contemporary society, exploring how Chinese society has changed in recent years and how social institutions such as family, education, and community have been a part of the recent economic and social restructuring. Pays particular attention to how individuals, families, and communities have fared through the many changes. Part of a two-course sequence that includes Asian Studies 262.
262. Contemporary Chinese Society, Part 2: Nancy Riley; A continuation of Asian Studies 261, this course includes a six-week trip to China at the end of the spring semester. There, students see firsthand some of the issues studied during the regular semester at Bowdoin. The trip includes lectures and seminars on current issues in China. In addition, students continue work on projects developed during the semester. Grading for this course is Credit/D/Fail.
284. The Emergence of Modern Japan: Thomas Conlan T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25; What constitutes a modern state? How durable are cultures and civilizations? Examines the patterns of culture in a state that managed to expel European missionaries in the seventeenth century, and came to embrace all things Western as being �civilized� in the mid-nineteenth century. Compares the unique and vibrant culture of Tokugawa Japan with the rapid program of industrialization in the late nineteenth century, which resulted in imperialism, international wars, and ultimately, the postwar recovery.
317. Asian Diaspora: War and Displacement: Belinda Kong T 1:00 - 2:25, TH 1:00 - 2:25; Most of us can trace our roots to a place other than the one of our current residence. This place may be generations or continents removed from us, but nonetheless we feel an attachment toward it. We call this place �origin,� and the phenomenon of being dispersed from origin is given the name �diaspora.� Considers fiction written in English by Asian-descended authors, exploring how diasporic writers negotiate the tensions between their land of descent and their place of dwelling. Focuses on forms of displacement as a consequence of war. Authors may include Salman Rushdie, Timothy Mo, Kazuo Ishiguro, Joy Kogawa, Chang-rae Lee, Ha Jin, Wendy Law-Yone, Lan Cao, Le Thi Diem Thuy, and Vyvyane Loh.
333. Advanced Seminar in Chinese Politics: Lance Guo T 6:30 - 9:25; Develops an understanding of the process of political change in China by exploring the various underlying driving forces such as marketization, globalization, social dislocation, rampant corruption, etc.; how these are reshaping the socioeconomic foundation of the party-state, compelling changes in governance structure and in the ways power is contested and redistributed; how the CCP�s responses affect the outcome, and how it is transforming itself in the process of epic change.
339. Religions in Southeast Asia: John Holt T 1:00 - 3:55; An examination of Theravada Buddhist literature, myth, art, ritual, and other forms of religious practice (monastic and lay) in relation to medieval and modern moments of social and political history in Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Students read several monographs from various disciplinary perspectives before choosing a topic to research in consultation with the instructor.
380. The Warrior Culture of Japan: Thomas Conlan M 1:00 - 3:55; Explores the �rise� of the warrior culture of Japan. In addition to providing a better understanding of the judicial and military underpinnings of Japan�s military �rule� and the nature of medieval Japanese warfare, shows how warriors have been perceived as a dominant force in Japanese history. Culminates in an extended research paper.

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