Buddhsm 115 NEW!

115. Japanese Buddhism. A critical survey of the main themes in the history of Japanese Buddhism, as those are treated in modern scholarship. The course covers: the transmission of Buddhism from China and Korea to Japan; the subsequent evolution in Japan of the Tendai, Shingon, Pure Land, Nichiren, and Zen schools of Buddhism; the organization and function of Buddhist institutions (monastic and lay) in Japanese society; the interaction between Buddhism and other modes of religious belief and practice prevalent in Japan, notably those that go under the headings of "Shinto" and "folk religion"; and the recent emergence of so-called New Religions that derive their inspiration chiefly from the Buddhist tradition.. Prerequisites: None.

Buddhsm 124

124. Buddhism and Film. This course will use the medium of film to explore various themes and issues in the study of Buddhism. At the same time, we will use ideas culled from Buddhism to reflect back on the nature and power of film. We will be screening a wide variety of international and domestic films, from Hollywood blockbusters to small independent films and documentaries. Themes to be considered include: the epistemic status of the viewing subject, the place of imagination and visualization in Buddhist meditation and ritual, contesting Asian and Western notions of Buddhist authority, Orientalism, and the role of projection and fantasy in cinematic representations of Buddhism. The films will be accompanied by primary and secondary readings on Buddhist history and literature, religious studies, and film theory. Prerequisites: None.

Buddhsm 240 NEW!

240. Readings in Chan and Zen Buddhist Literature. This graduate seminar is an intensive introduction to primary sources used in the study of Chan and Zen Buddhism. It is designed to be of interest to a range of graduate students working on premodern Chinese and Japanese culture (literature, philosophy, intellectual history, religion, art, etc.). The seminar will also introduce students to Asian and Western language reference tools for the study of East Asian Buddhist texts, including web resources. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; and one year of Classical Chinese or Kanbun, as well as familiarity with East Asian history and culture.

Chinese Language and Literature Courses

Chinese 1B

1B. Elementary Chinese. A continuation of Chinese 1A, Chinese 1B provides elementary training in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Modern Standard Chinese. It is designed to help you learn enough Chinese to enable you to handle your needs adequately in Chinese-speaking places or communities. Building upon Chinese 1A, Chinese 1B will further introduce a core vocabulary and fundamental structures. You will be able to describe person/thing/event/place/time/feeling, describe and comment on food, provide and obtain information about borrowing/renting and returning, ask for and give directions, accept and reject invitations, describe health problems and give advice, and compare different places, sports, and prices. You will learn how to understand Chinese well enough to carry out routine tasks and engage in simple conversations. In addition to further mastering the Pinyin Romanization system, you will learn how to read and write 320 new Chinese characters and compounds derived from combining these characters, as well as read and write short messages, postcards, simple notes, and short descriptions. You will also learn about some aspects of Chinese culture. Prerequisites: Chinese 1A; or consent of instructor.

Please note: Chinese 1B is not open to native speakers of any Chinese dialect

Chinese 1BX

1BX. Elementary Chinese for Mandarin Speakers. Second semester of Elementary Chinese for heritage students. The course teaches both pinyin and traditional characters, introduces functional vocabulary, and provides a systematic review of grammar. The class meets three times a week, one hour a day. If you have not taken Chinese 1AX, to enroll in this class you must first take the online Chinese Language Placement Test. Find the online test at ealc.berkeley.edu. Students are responsible for enrolling in the appropriate level. They must also accurately inform instructors about their language proficiency level. Any student who enrolls in a class below his/her level will be dropped from the class. Prerequisites: Chinese 1AX; or consent of instructor.

Chinese 1BY

1AY. Elementary Chinese for Speakers of Other Dialects. Chinese 1BY, an elementary Mandarin Chinese course for non-Mandarin speaking Chinese dialect heritage learners, is a continuation of Chinese 1AY. The course provides further training in language skills. Linguistic forms and ways of using them are taught to meet learners' language needs. The course prepares Chinese dialect heritage learners to merge with Mandarin heritage learners at an intermediate level for continuous learning. Prerequisites: Chinese 1AY; or consent of instructor.

Chinese 7B

7B. Introduction to Chinese Literature and Culture-Modern. 7B. Introduction to Chinese Literature and Culture - Modern. Chinese 7B is the second semester in a year long sequence introducing students to the literatures and cultures of China. We will read many of the major authors, works, and literary genres from the Yuan Dynasty to modern times, and place these writings in their historical, cultural, and material contexts. This course does not assume or require any previous exposure to or coursework in Chinese literature, history, or language.

Chinese 10B

10B. Intermediate Chinese. Five one-hour meetings in class, two one-hour periods in the language or computer lab per week. The course, a continuation of Chinese 10A, is designed to develop the student's reading, writing, listening, and speaking abilities in Chinese, and teaches both simplified and traditional characters. Prerequisites: Chinese 10A; or consent of instructor.

Chinese 10BX

10BX. Intermediate Chinese for Mandarin Speakers. Continuation of Chinese 10AX, an intermediate-level course for Mandarin speakers. The course teaches both pinyin and traditional characters, develops a functional vocabulary, and provides a systematic review of grammar. Three one-hour meetings in class and two one-hour periods in the language or computer lab per week. Prerequisites: Chinese 10AX; or consent of instructor.

Chinese 100B

100B. Advanced Chinese. The goal of the course is to introduce modern Chinese culture while developing competence in reading, speaking and writing standard modern Chinese. The readings include stories, essays, and plays, mostly by leading writers of recent decades. Students prepare in advance, then read and discuss in Chinese in class. Literary aspects are discussed in addition to problems of vocabulary and syntax. Prerequisites: Chinese 100A; or consent of instructor.

Chinese 100BX

100BX. Advanced Chinese for Mandarin Speakers. Continuation of Chinese 100AX, an advanced-level course for Mandarin speakers with intermediate-level knowledge of reading and writing in Chinese. The goal of the course is to introduce modern Chinese society through reading materials and discussion. The reading materials include stories, essays, and plays, mostly by leading writers of recent decades. Three one-hour meetings in class and two one-hour periods in the language or computer lab per week. Prerequisites: Chinese 100AX; or consent of instructor.

Chinese 102

102. Readings in Modern Chinese - Social Sciences and Literature. The emphasis of this course is on Chinese social, political, and journalistic readings. The readings are further supplemented by newspaper articles. Students are required to turn in essays written in journalistic style in Chinese. Prerequisites: Chinese 100B; or consent of instructor.

Chinese 110B

110B. Introduction to Literary Chinese. The second half of a one-year introductory course in literary Chinese, continuing the set of grammar review topics from the first semester, and giving basic coverage of more relevant issues in the history of the language and writing system, and the use of basic reference sources. Readings for this semester will be drawn from early historiographical texts. Prerequisites: Chinese 110A; or consent of instructor.

Chinese 183

183. Traditional Chinese Culture. This course consists of lectures that provide a general overview of traditional Chinese culture from the early Zhou dynasty through the Tang (the 1st millennium BCE through the 9th century of this era). Special emphasis is given to the origins and development of philosophy, art, religion, prose, and poetry. The subjects to be covered include: the Chinese language and writing system, the classical canon, Confucianism and its opponents, historiography, the traditions and techniques of Taoism, hero cults and ancestor worship, burial practice, ghost stories, and the introduction of Buddhism and its role in early Chinese society. Prerequisites: None. [COURSEWEB] [BLACKBOARD]

Chinese 234

234. Texts on the Civilization of Medieval China: "Early-Medieval Literary Culture." In this course we will read and discuss a variety of sources in the literary culture of the period from the last decades of the Eastern Han through the Southern Dynasties (late second–sixth centuries). Specific topics to be addressed include the relation between literary production and elite self-fashioning (as for example in the parallel rise of discourses of character evaluation and of first-person lyric poetry); developments in hermeneutical thought in early-medieval academic culture (including for example the vogue of “discovery” and/or forgery of classic texts as a parallel to more conventional literary production); the implications of the developing culture of eremitic withdrawal for literary writing; and the appearance of a transcendent aesthetic of nature and the natural and the analogues to this development in early Chinese Buddhism.. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; good command of Classical Chinese.

Chinese 257

257. Modern Chinese Literature: "Fiction in Nineteenth Century China." In recent years, both literary scholars and historians have pushed back the temporal boundaries of Chinese modernity by examining the tumultuous and transitional late Qing era. In this seminar, we will survey mid-to-late Qing fiction and other literary works, review the current revisionist scholarship, and in doing so, attempt to situate Chinese fiction within the world-historical horizon of the Victorian era. Topics to be considered include the transformation of narrative modes in the late Qing, genre fiction (detective novels, novels of sentiment, science fiction, courtesan fiction), the translation, appropriation, and circulation of Western discourses and texts in China (including scientific works, social theory, and narrative fiction). In examining the emergence of new literary modes and new nationalisms in the last decades of the Qing, we will focus in particular on questions of coloniality, gender, race, and evolutionary theory. Original texts will include works by Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens, Han Bangqing, Li Ruzhen, Liang Qichao, Lin Shu, Ma Junwu, Wu Jianren, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Yan Fu, and others. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; excellent command of modern and classical Chinese.

East Asian Languages and Cultures Courses

EA Lang 100 NEW!

100. Reading Alternative Spaces: "Exile and Empire." Statements about being isolated or outcast articulate not only the conditions of seclusion and difference, but also the politics of space and identity that foreground a mode of ordering the world. The trope of exile as it appears in literature thus provides a useful site to comparatively examine the various texts’ critical engagement with both global and local spaces and identities. This course is a wide-ranging investigation of literary as well as other cultural representations that hypothesize exile, focusing particularly on the permutations of such cultural space in Korean literary imaginations. Our examinations will focus on the narratives of exile which developed in the context of three key historical moments that inspired rethinking of the world order: the late Chosôn interaction with the Qing empire and then with the West; the colonial interaction with the Japanese empire; and the postwar national division followed by the persisting postcolonial interaction with the United States.

Japanese Language and Literature Courses

Japan 1B

1B. Elementary Japanese. Continuation of Elementary Japanese 1A using the same general format (written and oral/aural quizzes every Friday) and textbook. Emphasis is on spoken, reading, and written Japanese. Grades will be determined on the basis of attendance, quiz scores, homework, in-class final examination, and class participation. Prerequisites: Japanese 1A; or consent of instructor.

Japan 1BS

1BS. Supplementary Work in Kanji. A course designed to be taken concurrently with 1B to help students improve overall kanji performance. The course will make the kanji learning process easier by providing exercises and background information about the relationships between characters and how they function.

Japan 7B

7B. Introduction to Japanese Literature and Culture — Modern. An introduction to Japanese literature in translation. This course provides a survey of important works of 19th- and 20th-century Japanese fiction, poetry, and cultural criticism. The course will explore the manner in which writers responded to the challenges of industrialization, internationalization, and war. Topics include the shifting notions of tradition and modernity, the impact of Westernization on the constructions of the self and gender, writers and the wartime state, literature of the atomic bomb, and postmodern fantasies and aesthetics. All readings are in English translation. Techniques of critical reading and writing will be introduced as an integral part of the course. Prerequisites: None.

Japan 10B

10B. Intermediate Japanese. In this course, students will learn how to integrate the basic structures and vocabulary which they learned in Japanese 1A/B and Japanese 10A in order to express a wider range of ideas, and will study the new structures and vocabulary necessary to express such ideas in a manner appropriate for many social situations. Students are expected to participate fully in classroom activities and discussions. Prerequisites: Japanese 10A; or consent of instructor.

Japan 10BS

10BS. Supplementary Work in Kanji - Intermediate. For students who are concurrently enrolled in 10B to acquire a better understanding of kanji writing system and to improve overall kanji performance.

Japan 100B

100B. Advanced Japanese. Continuation of J100A. This course aims to develop further communicative skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing in a manner appropriate to the context. It concentrates on enabling students to use acquired grammar and vocabulary with more confidence in order to express functional meanings, while increasing linguistic competence. Course materials include the textbook, supplemented by newspaper and magazine articles and short stories to provide insight into Japanese culture and society. Active student participation is not only encouraged but required. Prerequisites: Japanese 100A; or consent of instructor.

Japan 102

102. Fourth-Year Japanese B. This course is designed for students who have studied Japanese for three years or more at college level to improve their reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. It aims to develop further the vocabulary and knowledge of kanji and Japanese grammar needed to read books written for Japanese college students and the general public on various topics and to engage in discussions on what has been read. Althoug much class time will be spent on reading-related activities, students will also listen to mini-lections given by guest speakers and are expected to participate in discussions. Prerequisites: Japanese 100B; or consent of instructor.

Japan 112

112. Fifth-Year Japanese B. This course provides focused, high-level language training for those students who possess advanced ability in the modern Japanese language. Students will improve their skills in reading, writing, speaking and listening in their areas of specialty and in fields of particular interest to them. The course has a dual-track approach, requiring the completion of both class-wide and individually designed projects. The balance of the course focuses on perfecting reading and writing skills. With the instructor’s assistance, students pursue their own projects based on extensive reading of materials in their areas of specialization. These projects will be presented orally to the class. Further, when possible, visiting scholars from Japan are invited to the classroom to speak, their topics discussed afterwards. This provides a valuable opportunity for students to practice listening and speaking high-level, educated Japanese. Committed study at home is expected, and essential for success in this course. Prerequisites: Japanese 111 or equivalent; or consent of instructor.

Japan 142

142. Japanese Medieval Prose. This course focuses on a single formative text in the history of Japanese literature, the Heike Monogatari. Its principal subject is the political intrigue and civil war between the Taira and Minamoto clans that brought the Heian period to a close. The course in primarily designed to further skills in reading classical Japanese. We will do close readings in Japanese of selected sections from this long, episodic work, sections chosen to demonstrate the variety of subject matter encompassed in Heike Monogatari. There will also be a few supplementary readings in English. Prerequisites: Japanese 100A and Japanese 120; or consent of instructor.

Japan 161

161. Introduction to Japanese Linguistics: Usage. This course deals with issues of the usage of the Japanese language and how they have been treated in the field of linguistics. It concentrates on pragmatics, speech varieties (politeness, gender, written vs. spoken), topic management, historical changes, and genetic origins. Students are required to have advanced knowledge of Japanese. No previous linguistics training is required. Prerequisites: 100B or equivalent, may be taken concurrently.

Japan 170 NEW!

170. Classical Japanese Literature in Translation: "Love in Premodern Japanese Literature." In this course we will explore the complex topic of love in classical Japanese literature by focusing on two culturally important and in many ways contrasting eras of premodern Japan, the high-classical period of eleventh century Heian Japan and the Genroku culture associated with the pleasure quarters of seventeenth century Edo Japan. For the Heian period, we will read personal memoirs by women, narrative fiction, poetry, and prose vignettes based on poems. For the Genroku period, we will read short stories and plays. In both cases students will also be assigned secondary material that provides relevant historical and cultural information regarding these two periods. Where appropriate we will compare notions and ideals of romantic relationships as portrayed in these works with Western ideals that developed in classical and medieval Europe. Prerequisites: None. [HOMEPAGE]

Japan 173 NEW!

173. Modern Japanese Literature in Translation: "Marginal Identities in Modern Japanese Literature." Japan is rarely associated with the notion of diversity. The discourse surrounding Japanese society generally leans towards the idea of singularity and uniformity rather than of pluralism, rendering invisible those identities that do not fit the mold. This course is designed to introduce various aspects of Japanese sociocultural identity as represented in works of fiction from the early 20th century to the present. Topics include ethnic minorities, social class and non-normative sexuality, as well as crises of identity. We will also explore the problems concerning the representations of marginal identities and the process of their acceptance in the literary institution and society at large. All readings are in English translation. Prerequisites: None.

Japan 230

230. Seminar in Classical Japanese Poetry: Man'yôshû. Man'yôshû (The Collection of a Myriad Leaves / Ages) is the oldest extant anthology of poetry in Japanese. With the bulk of its 4,500 poems dating from the seventh and eighth centuries, it constitutes the inevitable starting point for any diachronic study of Japanese verse. The poems in the anthology provide the opportunity for literary archaeology of the first order, allowing us to disinter evidence about some of the most exciting dialectics in early Japanese literary history: between oral practice and the tentative beginnings of the written tradition, between religious ritual and literary art, between imported and native artistic systems, and between communal expression and the development of the individual literary consciousness.. Prerequisites: Graduate standing; or consent of instructor.

Japan 255

255. Seminar in Prewar Japanese Literature: Japanese Modernism 1923 - 1932." In this seminar we will read and discuss modernist literature against the backdrop of its contemporary culture, in an attempt to renegotiate its boundaries. We will focus, although not exclusively, on the years between the Great Kanto Earthquake and the Manchurian Incident, when modernist literature came to the forefront of the literary scene along with its "nemesis," proletarian literature. An emphasis of our exploration will be placed on the relationship between modernist and proletarian literature, two literary movements that shared many traits and even participants yet are commonly described to have been antagonistic to one another. Special attention will also be given to the short-lived phenomenon of modanizumu bungaku, which remains a blind spot in the scholarship of Japanese modernism as it continues to be marginalized in both literary and cultural studies. Prerequisites: TBA.

Korean language and Literature Courses

Korean 1B

1B. Elementary Korean for Non-heritage Speakers. The class meets five days a week, one hour per day. Building on the basic grammar of the Korean language learned from Korean 1A, Korean 1B will introduce more vocabulary and expressions that are useful for everyday conversation. Students will also learn about the Korean culture.. Prerequisites: Korean 1A; or consent of instructor.

Please note: Korean 1B is not open to heritage students who have some background knowledge in Korean.

Korean 1BX NEW!

1BX. Elementary Korean for Heritage Speakers. Continuation of Elementary Korean 1AX. The class meets three days a week, one hour per day. Building on the basic grammar of the Korean language learned from Korean 1AX, Korean 1BX will introduce more vocabulary and expressions that are useful for everyday conversation as well as for improving reading and writing skills of students. Students who wish to enroll in K1BX without prior taking K1AX will need to have an oral interview and take a short written proficiency test on the first day of the class. Prerequisites: Korean 1AX; or consent of instructor.

Korean 7B

7B. Introduction to Modern Korean Literature and Culture. This course explores various aspects of modern Korean literature and culture in the twentieth century. We will examine a range of literary works as well as art and film, in the broader contexts of the early twentieth century development of nationalism, the Korean War and national division, and the various issues that emerged in the process of modernization. All readings are in English translation.

Korean 10B

10B. Intermediate Korean. Korean 10B is a continuation of Korean 10A and will continue to use the materials and methods used in 10A. The aim of the course is to help the students develop the language skills necessary to pursue the study of Korean at a more advanced level. The course will introduce vocabulary and idioms beyond basic level, complex grammatical patterns, and varieties of speech styles. Prerequisites: Korean 10A; or consent of instructor.

Korean 100B

100B. Advanced Korean. Continuation of Advanced Korean 100A using similar methods and format to 100A. Readings in modern Korean selected as appropriate for the advanced Korean course, i.e., presupposing two and one-half years of college-level Korean. A variety of texts from textbooks, essays, journals, and newspapers will be introduced. About 100 Sino-Korean characters will be systematically introduced. Prerequisites: Korean 100A; or consent of instructor.

Korean 102

102. Fourth-Year Readings – Social Sciences and History. An advanced course in the reading and analysis of texts in modern Korean drawn from history, sociology, economics, etc. Advanced conversation, writing skills, and practice in the use of standard reference tools will also be emphasized, with the goal of preparing students to do independent research in Korean. Prerequisites: Korean 100B; or consent of instructor.

Tibetan Language Courses

Tibetan 1B NEW!

1B. Elementary Tibetan. This course is an intensive introduction to both standard spoken Tibetan (Lhasa dialect) and written literary Tibetan. As such, it will serve the needs of students who intend to continue the study of modern Tibetan so as to function in a Tibetan-speaking environment, as well as the needs of students who will concentrate on classical Tibetan and its rich literature. Prerequisites: Tibetan 1A.