We’re two months out from the start of term! See our recommendations for Winter Term 1 courses below.
All of the following are open to all students, regardless of your academic background. Whether you’re fulfilling requirements or seeking electives to explore, be sure to check them out!
Jump ahead:
Religion
ASIA 250: Introduction to Buddhism
Offered asynchronous online
Learn about the origins, basic teachings, and development of Theravada, Mahayana, and Tantric traditions, their historical spread first through Asia and later the world, and Buddhism in contemporary societies.
ASIA 336: Sufi and Bhakti Devotional Literatures
Offered in-person
Learn more about the Sufi and Bhakti religious movements and how they have manifested in great works of literature. Students will read Sufi and Bhakti literary pieces in English translation and learn how to critique, analyze, and discuss these pieces in this course.
ASIA 391: Classical Islam
Offered synchronous online
This course is titled, ‘Classical Islam’, but scholars and laypersons alike disagree both on what constitutes ‘Classical’ and what constitutes ‘Islam’. Examine the contested histories, texts, and major movements of Islam!
History & Identity
ASIA 309: South Asian Beyond South Asia
Offered in-person
Through critical explorations of the history, film, literature of the South Asians outside South Asia, this course examines the key question: What is the South Asian Diaspora? This course will explore themes such as imperialism and colonialism, gender and identity, globalization, labor and migration, as well as other topics.
ASIA 314: Premodern Japan
Offered in-person
This course covers the history of Japan from the emergence of its civilization to the unification in 1600. Students will explore common “myths” persisting in the field of Japanese history and contemporary society.
ASIA 373: History of Hong Kong
Offered in-person
Explore the history, culture, and identities of Hong Kong from the port’s pre-colonial settings in the early nineteenth century to its post-colonial contexts.
ASIA 410: International Relations in Premodern East Asia
Offered in-person
International relations in premodern East Asia were multidimensional, intersecting, and multilayered. Learn about diplomacy, trade, war, and ethnic perceptions in premodern East Asia through examining border-crossing interactions between China, Korea, and Japan.
Gender & Sexuality
ASIA 366D: Gender and Sexuality in Sikhi
Offered in-person
Explore the place of gender and sexuality in the Sikh tradition, surveying early modern, colonial, and post-colonial feminist readings of Sikh religious text, ritual, and life.
ASIA 461: Gender and Sexuality in Modern Iranian Narratives
Offered synchronous online
Students will study literary, cinematic, folk, and popular culture texts from modern Iran and put them in their historical and sociopolitical contexts to explore their representations, constructions, and contestations of dominant and/or marginalized notions of gender—as well as its intersection with sexuality, race, ethnicity, ability, religion, and class.
Literature
ASIA 347: Traditional Korean Literature in Translation
Offered in-person
In this course, you will be exposed to traditional Korean literature from Shilla, Koryo, and Joseon, such as hyangga, shijo, and Kisaeng poetry.
ASIA 351: Modern Chinese Fiction in Translation
Offered in-person
Learn more about contemporary Chinese society through exploring works of modern Chinese fiction in this course.
ASIA 380: Modern Arabic Literature from the Middle East and North Africa in Translation
Offered in-person
Identify key features of modern Arabic literature and situate them within the socioeconomic and political history of the Arab world. This course will take you on a journey through major developments in Arabic literature from the Nahda (Pre-1940s) to the post-Arab Spring era (2011-present).
ASIA 413: Pre-Modern Chinese Poetry (Tang to Qing)
Offered in-person
Become familiar with classical Chinese poetry (shi) and its conventions, as well as its developments and shifts in style and uses of poetry in this course! You will be reading poetic texts in English translation alongside English-language secondary readings.
ASIA 431: Tibetan Literature, Genres, and Book Culture
Offered in-person
Examine and discuss Tibetan literature and Tibetan text genres as well as material aspects of Tibetan manuscripts and block prints as religious objects. Students will have the opportunity to read and critically analyze key literary works of Tibet in English translation.
Media
ASIA 327: Korean Popular Music in Context
Offered in-person
Examine the emergence, growth, and transformation of Korean popular music (K-pop), from the 20th century to the present.
ASIA 383: Korean History Through Film
Offered in-person
Examine how film as cultural product reflects, challenges, and distorts history, with an emphasis on formations of gender, class, and national identities.
ASIA 394: Post-Revolutionary Iranian Cinema
Offered online (synchronous and asynchronous mixed)
Explore post-revolutionary Iranian cinema through the lens of critical gender, sexuality, and diversity studies. This course presumes no prior knowledge of Iranian cinema/culture or gender and sexuality studies on the part of the students.
ASIA 433: Representations of Muslims in Hindi/Urdu Films
Offered online (synchronous and asynchronous mixed)
Drawing on interdisciplinary South Asian film and media studies, postcolonial and cultural studies, as well as feminist and sexuality studies, this course introduces students to the study of film in the South Asian context.
