Upcoming Courses
Spring 2023
Cultures of China and Japan
Course Number: ASIA 1001
Instructor: Asami Nakano and Pengfei Li
Description: The seminar is designed to promote a complex and enriched understanding of culture through an exploration of what are considered Chinese and Japanese cultures. Using a combination of immersive activities and individual/collaborative research, learners will examine their previously held notions of culture and diversity, gain a broad understanding of the target cultures, enhance their critical cultural awareness, and develop attitudes of curiosity and critical questioning. Learning activities will involve engaging with a variety of resources (including academic and non-academic texts and guest speakers) that reflect the variety of experiences, challenges, and values of what are considered Chinese and Japanese cultures. Assessments will be centered around discussion, individual and group reflections, and scaffolded inquiry of different cultural aspects of China and Japan. Topics covered in this course include food, music, entertainment, and art. The course does not require background in any Asian language.
Attributes: iSeminar
Exploring Contemporary Korean Culture
Course Number: ASIA 1001
Instructor: Seok Bae Jang
Description: This course aims to provide an introduction to the contemporary culture of Korea focusing on the Hallyu (Korean Wave), K-Pop, K-Dramas, K-Movies, K-Food, etc. Major themes throughout the course will be the features of today’s Korean culture, the development of Hallyu, the globalization of K-Pops, the popularity of K-Food, K-Dramas and K-Movies in the global market, etc. Students will explore various aspects of today's Korean culture through different forms of cultural products; K-Pops, excerpts from K-Drama and K-Movies, various video materials, and articles, more. Students will get a comprehensive understanding of the ambivalence of contemporary Korean culture - local and global by actively participating in the class activities and discussions.
Attributes: iSeminar
Harmony and Balance through Tai Chi and Flower Arrangement
Course Number: ASIA 1001
Instructor: Hideko Shimizu and Xianmin Liu
Description: This course introduces to students the essential concepts of harmony and balance in Chinese and Japanese cultures through the physical and spiritual practice of Taijiquan, (or Tai Chi) and Ikebana, (or flower arrangement). These two art forms are typical representative of the constant and deliberate pursuit of harmony and balance between man and nature, man and the environment, and man and the inner self. Professors Liu and Shimizu will use their own expertise in Tai Chi and Ikebana to help students learn fundamental hands-on skills of these two oriental art forms. By learning Tai Chi's principles and meditative movements, students will understand "harmony" as the complementary forces of yin and yang, demonstrated by intertwined dynamic and static Tai Chi movements, and "balance" as equilibrium in motion and mind-body integration. In learning Ikebana, students will see how those ideals are achieved by the purposeful contrast and composition of shape and line, color and texture, movement and stillness, and aesthetic and nature. The course assessments will be based on participation and practice, projects, and performance.
Attributes: iSeminar
Cheap Things, Cheap Nature
Course Number: ASIA 1111
Instructor: Eric Gurevitch
Description: Cheap consumer goods dominate our lives. We wear fast fashion, purchase phones designed to break, and drink coffee out of disposable cups. The ubiquity of cheap things makes it difficult to see the long histories and complex pathways these objects take. This course traces the environmental impacts and global lives of cheap things. Engaging in histories of gender, race, empires, and the environment, we will follow commodities as they travel from Asia to the American South and investigate how cheap consumer goods came to shape our lives today and the world around us.
Attributes: First-Year Writing Seminar
Popular Culture of South Asia
Course Number: ASIA 2302
Instructor: Divya Chaudhry
Description: Film, sport, music, clothing, and other contemporary popular culture artifacts.
Attributes: AXLE: International Cultures
Transnational South Asia
Course Number: ASIA 2307
Instructor: Mabel Gergan
Description: Transnational processes in contemporary South Asian identity. Anti-caste and Indigenous/Tribal social movements in India; Indian Ocean histories; South Asian diasporic practices in the US; comparative histories of race and caste; contemporary nationalism and religious identity.
Attributes: AXLE: International Cultures
Global Korean Cinema
Course Number: ASIA 2412 / CMA 3771
Instructor: We Jung Yi
Description: From the colonial period to the Korean Wave in the new millennium. Film criticism, transnational and national contexts of film production, aesthetics of auteurs and genres, and local and global receptions of Korean cinema.
Attributes: AXLE: International Cultures
Writing and Gender in Traditional China
Course Number: ASIA 2609W
Instructor: Guojun Wang
Description: Pre-modern China: 1st century CE to 20th century CE. Women writers, women in family and society, gender relations, cross-dressing, and foot-binding. Poetry, prose, drama, fiction, and visual materials.
Attributes: AXLE: 2000-level and above W course, AXLE: Humanities and the Creative Arts
Overseas Encounters: Reading the World through Students Abroad
Course Number: ASIA 2610
Instructor: Guojun Wang
Description: History of studying overseas and international students with focus on US and Asia. Literary materials from Asian and other traditions. Difficulties encountered in global context. National identities, religions, languages, home, loneliness, romantic relations. Studying and living in a foreign country. Identifying struggles and coping strategies.
Attributes: AXLE: International Cultures, students will participate in The Vanderbilt Asian Alumni Project which fully or partially satisfies Immersion requirements
Chinese Culture Through Calligraphy
Course Number: ASIA 2620
Instructor: Pengfei Li
Description: Techniques of writing Chinese scripts using brush pen; aesthetic principles of appreciation; history and development of Chinese characters; master calligraphers and their masterpieces; relation between calligraphy and other art forms of China.
Attributes: AXLE: Humanities and the Creative Arts
Chinese Medicine
Course Number: ASIA 2630
Instructor: Ruth Rogaski
Description: Historical encounters and divergences between medicine in China and in the West. Chinese medical classics, including the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor and early herbal manuals. The creation of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the People's Republic of China and the emergence of Chinese medicine as alternative medicine in the U.S.
Attributes: AXLE: Perspectives, Eligible for Communication of Science and Tech, Eligible for History, Eligible for Medicine Health and Society
Blackness and the Asian Century
Course Number: ASIA 3155
Instructor: Ben Tran
Description: The solidarity movement between Africa and Asia from the turn of twentieth century into the current "Asian Century." Ongoing relevance of the color-line concept; racialized logics, processes of globalization, and the international division of labor.
Attributes: AXLE: International Cultures
Field Investigations
Course Number: ASIA 3363
Instructor: Elliott McCarter
Description: Site specific practicum in Asian Studies. Content varies according to location and disciplinary focus. May be repeated for credit more than once if there is no duplication in topic. Course requires travel to investigation site.
This course meets once weekly on campus and requires all enrolled students to undertake international travel during spring break. It is imperative that students have current passport and availability to travel March 10-19.
Attributes: AXLE: International Cultures
Readings in Chinese Religious and Philosophical Texts
Course Number: ASIA 3892
Instructor: Rob Campany
Description: Students required to have the ability to read Classical Chinese
Asian American History: From 1924 to the Present
Course Number: ASAM 2102
Instructor: Mark Sanchez
Description: The Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 until the present day. Labor, empire, and migration in Asian America. Japanese incarceration, social movements in the 1960s, the model minority myth, and Asian Americans in popular culture today.
Attributes: AXLE: History and Culture of the United States
Cold War Asian America
Course Number: ASAM 3102
Instructor: Mark Sanchez
Description: How the Cold War (1945-1989) helped shape Asian America. Transnational approach to the history of U.S. intervention in Asia in conjunction with Asian American experiences and popular culture of the period.
Attributes: AXLE: History and Culture of the United States
Race and the Environment in Asian America and the Pacific
Course Number: ASAM 3106
Instructor: Vivian Shaw and Mabel Gergan
Description: Interdisciplinary study of environmental inequality with focus on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Transnational, comparative-historical, and intersectional contexts.
Attributes: AXLE: Humanities and the Creative Arts
Science, Technology, and the Body in Global Asia
Course Number: ASAM 3107
Instructor: Vivian Shaw
Description: Social, cultural, and political dimensions of science, technology, and the body.
Attributes: AXLE: Humanities and the Creative Arts
Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Development, Reform, and Innovation
Course Number: HODI 3260
Instructor: Xiu Cravens
Description: This course focuses on an in-depth analysis of current developments in education and schooling in the vast and diverse Asia-Pacific Region. Students will examine perspectives from educational researchers, policy makers and practitioners on the major issues, concerns and prospects regarding educational developments in the region.
Attributes: Human & Organizational Development
Arts of East Asia
Course Number: HART 1200
Instructor: Boyoung Chang
Description: A survey of sculpture, painting, and architecture in China, Japan, and Korea. Historical, religious, philosophical, and cultural background.
Art and Ritual in Asia
Course Number: HART 1210W
Instructor: Susan Dine
Description: From prehistory to the present. Social and religious functions of the arts of China, India, Japan, Korea, and Himalayas. Select examples explored in museum visits, lectures, discussions, and varied writing projects.
Attributes: AXLE: 1000-level W course, AXLE: International Cultures
Environment and Economy in China since 1700
Course Number: HIST 2108
Instructor: Meng Zhang
Description: Economic activities and their interactions with the environment. Long-term patterns in imperial China, with focus on the modern period. Water control and the Chinese state. Property rights and resource management. Demography and food security. Waste and recycling. Development, revolution, and nature. Global China and ecological civilization.
Attributes: AXLE: International Cultures, Eligible for Econ/Hist Interdisciplinary
International Relations of East Asia
Course Number: PSCI 3895
Instructor: Brett Benson
Description: This course explores the politics and international relations of East Asia. We will examine several contemporary issues including the rise of China, shifts in the regional balance of power, implications for Sino-Japanese and Sino-Korean relations, US engagement and military alliances, nuclear weapons development in North Korea, Taiwan sovereignty, and maritime disputes in the East and South China Seas. We will also analyze several current economic trends and problems including the political implications of economic integration, ongoing trade wars, and China’s belt and road initiative. In examining contemporary issues in East Asia, we will look to international relations theory to gain insight into the root causes and potential solutions to these problems.
The Daoist Tradition
Course Number: RLST 3747
Instructor: Rob Campany
Description: Historical and thematic survey of the Daoist tradition in China. Philosophical classics and religious scriptures, as well as social history are covered. Daoism today.
Attributes: AXLE: Humanities and the Creative Arts
Global History of Tea
Course Number: HIST 2106
Instructor: Peter Lorge
Description: Origins in China to its spread around the world. Role of tea in culture and world events, as a driver of commerce, science, and exploration. Links to Buddhism and political power in East Asia. Diverse functions in different cultures. Tea as trade commodity. Manner of preparation and use.
Attributes: AXLE: International Cultures
China from Empire to the People's Republic
Course Number: HIST 1070
Instructor: Ruth Rogaski
Description: From the seventeenth century to the present. The establishment and expansion of the Qing empire and its clashes with European empires. Twentieth-century revolutions and war with Japan. Mao and the making of the Communist state; post-Mao economic and social reforms. Tibet and ethnic minority issues.
Attributes: AXLE: International Cultures
Gandhi
Course Number: HIST 1111
Instructor: Dennis Dickerson
Description: Mohandas K. Gandhi's marathon movement in the 20th century to end British colonialism in India reverberated globally. The course will examine Gandhi's moral methodology of nonviolence and how he deployed it to achieve Indian independence. How Gandhian nonviolence was diffused to the West, particularly to the United States, will be explored. Adoption of Gandhian nonviolence in resistance to the Third Reich in Germany and in the American civil rights movement are among the major topics.
Attributes: AXLE: First-Year Writing Seminar
India Before Europe: 3000 B.C.E.-1750 C.E
Course Number: HIST 1161
Instructor: Samira Sheikh
Description: South Asia from Indus Valley civilization to British imperialism. Era of Vedas, epics, Mauryas, and Guptas. Rise of Buddhism and Jainism. Overseas expansion and trade with Southeast Asia. Early encounters with Islam, followed by Turkic and Mughal rule over north India. Portuguese, Dutch, and British trading ventures in India. End of Mughal rule and beginning of British empire.
Attributes: AXLE: International Cultures
Art of Buddhist Relic and Reliquary
Course Number: HART 3164W
Instructor: Susan Dine
Description: From second century BCE to present. Relic veneration and construction of reliquaries from a visual perspective. Beautification, ritualization, use and abuse, and bodily issues spanning India, China, Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
Attributes: AXLE: 2000-level and above W course, AXLE: International Cultures
Basic Chinese
Course Number: CHIN 1011
Instructor: Qing Wei
Description: Designed exclusively for students with no previous exposure to the language. The basic pronunciation, grammar, and writing system of Mandarin Chinese. Simple conversation, the pinyin Romanization system, basic Chinese characters, and cultural elements embedded in the language.
Elementary Chinese II
Course Number: CHIN 1102
Instructor: Xianmin Liu, Qing Wei, and Yinghui Guo
Description: Continuation of 1101. Introduction to Modern Chinese pronunciation, grammar, conversation, reading, and writing.
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures
Intermediate Chinese II
Course Number: CHIN 2202
Instructor: Yinghui Guo
Description: Continuation of 2201. Language training in oral and written Chinese.
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures
Chinese for Heritage Learners II
Course Number: CHIN 2212
Instructor: Pengfei Li
Description: Continuation of 2211. Intended for students who have some informal training in listening and speaking Mandarin Chinese. Basic literacy and other aspects of language proficiency
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures
Advanced Chinese II
Course Number: CHIN 3302W
Instructor: Pengfei Li
Description: Reading and writing essays about modern Chinese culture and society.
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures
4th-Year Conversational Chinese II
Course Number: CHIN 4002
Instructor: Xianmin Liu
Description: Continuation of 4001. Idiomatic usage and strategies for oral communication and understanding of Chinese urban culture and society. Texts drawn from short TV clips reflecting ordinary lives of Beijing people.
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency
Readings in Modern Chinese Media
Course Number: CHIN-4404
Instructor: Xianmin Liu
Description: Continuation of 4403. Books, newspapers, and Internet sources pertaining to political, social, and cultural issues.
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures
Readings in Modern Literary Chinese
Course Number: CHIN 4406
Instructor: Yinghui Guo
Description: 1910 to the present. Chinese literature and poetry. Linguistic transformations that produced modern literary Chinese.
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures
Basic Japanese I
Course Number: JAPN 1011
Instructor: Hideko Shimizu
Description: Simple conversation, writing system, and reading. Designed exclusively for students with little or no previous exposure to Japanese.
Elementary Japanese II
Course Number: JAPN 1102
Instructor: Nozomi Imai
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures
Tadoku: Extensive Reading in Japanese
Course Number: JAPN-1231
Instructor: Asami Nakano and Yuh-Fen Benda
Description: Develop reading skills in Modern Japanese, using extensive reading method.
Intermediate Japanese II
Course Number: JAPN 2202
Instructor: Asami Nakano
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures, Eligible for Religious Studies
Language through Japanese Food Culture
Course Number: JAPN 2233
Instructor: Hideko Shimizu
Description: Oral and written language proficiency through the history, culture, and social issues related to traditional and contemporary Japanese food.
Advanced Japanese II
Course Number: JAPN 3302
Instructor: Hideko Shimizu
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures
Elementary Korean II
Course Number: KOR-1102
Instructor: Seok Bae Jang, Ji You Whang, and Ji Young Chung
Description: Basic skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing, with a focus on oral proficiency.
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures
Intermediate Korean II
Course Number: KOR 2202
Instructor: Seok Bae Jang and Ji You Whang
Description: Speaking, listening, reading, and writing, with intensive exercises for spelling, basic grammar, and vocabulary. Cultural aspects of daily life in Korea.
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures
Advanced Korean II
Course Number: KOR 3302
Instructor: Ji Young Chung
Description: Emphasis on formal speaking and writing. Introduction of four-character idioms and basic Chinese characters.
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures
Elementary Hindi-Urdu II
Course Number: HNUR 1102
Instructor: Divya Chaudhry
Description: Reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Cultural contexts of speaking Hindi-Urdu.
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures
Intermediate Hindi-Urdu II
Course Number: HNUR 2202
Instructor: Elliott McCarter
Description: Reading, writing, speaking, and listening with authentic materials. Common and specialized vocabulary. Cultural contexts of spoken Hindi-Urdu.
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures
Advanced Hindi-Urdu II
Course Number: HNUR 3302
Instructor: Divya Chaudhry
Description: Reading, writing, speaking, and listening with authentic materials. Advanced vocabulary, literary, and cultural studies.
Attributes: AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: International Cultures
Elementary Sanskrit II
Course Number:
SNSK-1102
Instructor:
Elliott McCarter
Description:
Development of reading, pronunciation, recitation, and grammatical proficiency. Materials from classical works of religion, philosophy, folklore, drama, and poetry. Discussion of Sanskrit milieu and historical development.
Attributes:
AXLE: Foreign language proficiency, AXLE: Humanities and the Creative Arts