Spring 2018 Course Description
Chinese Language and Literature Courses
This course is designed for students who are of non-Chinese origin and were not raised in a Chinese-speaking environment; or who are of Chinese origin but do not speak Chinese and whose parents do not speak Chinese. The course develops beginning learners’ functional language ability—the ability to use Mandarin Chinese in linguistically and culturally appropriate ways at the beginning level. It helps students acquire communicative competence in Chinese while sensitizing them to the links between language and culture. The Hanyu Pinyin (a Chinese Romanization system) and simplified characters are introduced.
Note: For students who: 1) are of non-Chinese origin and were not raised in a Chinese-speaking environment; or 2) are of Chinese origin but do not speak any dialect of Chinese and whose parents do not speak any dialect of Chinese. Students are responsible for enrolling in the appropriate level and section. 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. All Chinese 1A students are required to attend a weekly half hour tutorial. The required tutorial sections will be scheduled once classes begin.
The course is designed for students who are of non-Chinese origin and were not raised in a Chinese-speaking environment, or who are of Chinese origin but do not speak Chinese and whose parents do not speak Chinese. The course continues to focus on training students in the four language skills--speaking, listening, reading, and writing with a gradually increasing emphasis on basic cultural readings and developing intercultural competence.
Note: Prerequisite of Chinese 1A. If you have not taken Chinese 1A, to enroll in this class you must first take the online Chinese Language Placement Exam Exam and be interviewed. Students are responsible for following the instructions at ealc.berkeley.edu to complete the placement process. 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. All Chinese 1B students are required to attend a weekly half hour tutorial. The required tutorial sections will be scheduled once classes begin.
This course is designed specifically for Mandarin heritage students who possess speaking skill but little or no reading and writing skills in Chinese. The course utilizes students’ prior knowledge of listening and speaking skills to advance them to the intermediate Chinese proficiency level in one semester. Close attention is paid to meeting Mandarin heritage students’ literacy needs in meaningful contexts while introducing a functional vocabulary and a systematic review of structures through culturally related topics. The Hanyu Pinyin (a Chinese Romanization system) and traditional/simplified characters are introduced.
Note: For students who: 1) were born in a non-Chinese speaking country but were raised in a home where Mandarin (or Mandarin and another dialect) was spoken but possess little or no reading and writing skills in Chinese; or 2) were born in a Chinese-speaking country and received zero or limited formal education in that country up to the second grade. All students must take the online Chinese Language Placement Exam and be interviewed. Students are responsible for following the instructions at ealc.berkeley.edu to complete the placement process. 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.
The second of a two-semester sequence introducing students to Chinese literature in translation. In addition to literary sources, a wide range of philosophical and historical texts will be covered, as well as aspects of visual and material culture. 7B focuses on late imperial, modern, and contemporary China. The course will focus on the development of sound writing skills.
This course is designed for students who are of non-Chinese origin and were not raised in a Chinese-speaking environment, or who are of Chinese origin but do not speak Chinese and whose parents do not speak Chinese. The course deals with lengthy conversations as well as narrative and descriptive texts in both simplified and traditional characters. It helps students to express themselves in speaking and writing on a range of topics and raises their awareness of the connection between language and culture to foster the development of communicative competence.
Note: Prerequisite of Chinese 1B. If you have not taken Chinese 1B, to enroll in this class you must first take the online Chinese Language Placement Exam and be interviewed. Students are responsible for following the instructions at ealc.berkeley.edu to complete the placement process. 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. All Chinese 10A students are required to attend a weekly half hour tutorial. The required tutorial sections will be scheduled once classes begin.
This course further develops students’ linguistic and cultural competence. In dealing with texts, students are guided to interpret, narrate, describe, and discuss topics ranging from real-life experience and personal memoire to historic events. Intercultural competence is promoted through linguistic and cultural awareness and language use in culturally appropriate contexts.
Note: Prerequisite of Chinese 10A. If you have not taken Chinese 10A, to enroll in this class you must first take the online Chinese Language Placement Exam and be interviewed. Students are responsible for following the instructions at ealc.berkeley.edu to complete the placement process. 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. All Chinese 10B students are required to attend a weekly half hour tutorial. The required tutorial sections will be scheduled once classes begin.
This course continues to develop students’ literacy and communicative competence through vocabulary and structure expansion dealing with topics related to Chinese heritage students’ personal experiences. Students are guided to express themselves on complex issues and to connect their language knowledge with real world experiences.
Note: Prerequisite of Chinese 1X. If you have not taken Chinese 1X, to enroll in this class you must first take the online Chinese Language Placement Exam and be interviewed. Students are responsible for following the instructions at ealc.berkeley.edu to complete the placement process. 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.
This course helps students further develop their linguistic and cultural competence in Mandarin Chinese. It trains students to use Mandarin more appropriately and confidently in speaking, reading, and writing. With the expanded repertoire of Chinese language use and the increased awareness of the differences between cultures and subcultures, students are equipped to negotiate their way in an intercultural environment.
Note: Prerequisite of Chinese 1Y. If you have not taken Chinese 1Y, to enroll in this class you must first take the online Chinese Language Placement Exam and be interviewed. Students are responsible for following the instructions at ealc.berkeley.edu to complete the placement process. 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. All Chinese 10Y students are required to attend a weekly half hour tutorial. The required tutorial sections will be scheduled once classes begin.
This course continues the development of critical awareness by emphasizing the link between socio-cultural literacy and a higher level of language competence. While continuing to expand their critical literacy skills, students interpret texts related to Chinese popular culture, social change, cultural traditions, politics and history. Through linguistic and cultural comparisons, students understand more about people in the target society and themselves as well as about the power of language in language use to enhance their competence in operating between languages and associated cultures.
Note: Prerequisite of Chinese 100A. If you have not taken Chinese 100A, to enroll in this class you must first take the online Chinese Language Placement Exam and be interviewed. Students are responsible for following the instructions at ealc.berkeley.edu to complete the placement process. 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. All Chinese 100B students are required to attend a weekly half hour tutorial. The tutorial sections will be scheduled once classes begin.
This course is designed for Chinese heritage language learners who have taken Chinese 100XA or an equivalent course. It guides learners to use their Chinese language knowledge and skills to survey portions of Chinese history and society and to comprehend Chinese cultural heritage in economic and socio-political contexts. Students read and analyze texts discussing cross-strait relations, Chinese people’s basic living necessities, and their changing lifestyles and mindsets since the economic reforms in mainland China. They are also introduced to several important historical figures in modern Chinese history and to modern literary works. In addition to the continuous development of reading techniques for communicative purposes, critical reading skills in the heritage language are also developed in order to interpret subtle meanings in texts. Different styles and genres of Chinese discourses in speaking and writing are further explored along with an increasingly sophisticated vocabulary, phrases, and structures. Moreover, students are required to be able to read both simplified and traditional versions of Chinese characters. The development of critical reading and writing skills enables students to understand more about people in the target culture and themselves, about what determines values and actions, and about the power of language.
Note: Prerequisite of Chinese 100XA. If you have not taken Chinese 100XA, to enroll in this class you must first take the online Chinese Language Placement Exam and be interviewed. Students are responsible for following the instructions at ealc.berkeley.edu to complete the placement process. 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.
This course is designed for Chinese heritage language learners who have taken Chinese 100YA or an equivalent course. It guides learners to use their Chinese language knowledge and skills to survey portions of Chinese history and society and to comprehend Chinese cultural heritage in economic and socio-political contexts. Students read and analyze texts discussing cross-strait relations, Chinese people’s basic living necessities, and their changing lifestyles and mindsets since the economic reforms in mainland China. They are also introduced to several important historical figures in modern Chinese history and to modern literary works. In addition to the continuous development of reading techniques for communicative purposes, critical reading skills in the heritage language are also developed in order to interpret subtle meanings in texts. Different styles and genres of Chinese discourses in speaking and writing are further explored along with an increasingly sophisticated vocabulary, phrases, and structures. Moreover, students are required to be able to read both simplified and traditional versions of Chinese characters. The development of critical reading and writing skills enables students to understand more about people in the target culture and themselves, about what determines values and actions, and about the power of language.
Note: Prerequisite of Chinese 100YA. If you have not taken Chinese 100XA, to enroll in this class you must first take the online Chinese Language Placement Exam and be interviewed. Students are responsible for following the instructions at ealc.berkeley.edu to complete the placement process. 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. All Chinese 100YB students are required to attend a weekly half-hour tutorial. The tutorial sections will be scheduled once classes begin.
This course is designed to assist students to reach the advanced-mid level on language skills and to enhance their intercultural competence. Students read the works of famous Chinese writers. Movie adaptations of these writings are also used. In addition to reading and seeking out information, students experience readings by interpreting and constructing meanings and evaluate the effect of the language form choice.
Prerequisites: Chinese 100B, 100XB, or 100YB. If you have not taken Chinese 100B, 100XB, or 100YB, to enroll in this class you must first take the online Chinese Language Placement Exam and be interviewed. Students are responsible for following the instructions at ealc.berkeley.edu to complete the placement process. 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.
The second half of a one-year introductory course in literary Chinese, continuing the topics from the first semester, and giving basic coverage of relevant issues in the history of the language and writing system.
This course examines the canonical texts of the late-imperial period, placing them in the context of literary culture of the Ming-Qing. The course focuses on a different set of texts each time it is taught; the aim is to introduce students to the primary issues in scholarship of late-imperial fiction and drama over a period of several years.
Prerequisite: Chinese 110A
This seminar provides an introduction to a broad range of Tibetan Buddhist texts, including chronicles and histories, biographical literature, doctrinal treatises, canonical texts, ritual manuals, pilgrimage guides, and liturgical texts. It is intended for graduate students interested in premodern Tibet from any perspective. Students are required to do all of the readings in the original classical Tibetan. It will also serve as a tools and methods for the study of Tibetan Buddhist literature, including standard lexical and bibliographic references, digital resources, and secondary literature in modern languages. In Spring 2018, the seminar focuses on 14th century Great Perfection (rdzogs chen) literature. In particular, we will read excerpts from Rindzin Godem's influential treasure revelation, The Unimpeded Realization of Samantabhadra (kun tu bzang po'i dgongs pa zang thel). Godem's revelation started the Northern Treasures (byang gter) tradition and contributed to the final synthesis of the Great Perfection. The five volumes of The Unimpeded Realization contain a large variety of literature, so we will read texts on Dzokchen contemplation, philosophy, narratives, tantras, severance practice (gcod), liberation through wearing (btags grol) and so forth. To support our understanding of the primary sources, we will read relevant literature in English and discuss it in class, but the main focus will be on reading Tibetan texts.
This course explores popular, realist, and avant-garde literature from mainland China and Taiwan since 1949. We will consider how writers have engaged with the cultural dislocations of modernity by exploring questions such as the presentation of cultural and gender identities and the politics of memory and place. Central to our discussion will be the problem of how literature not only reflects but also critically engages with historical and cultural experience through a variety of genres. A crucial aspect of this course will be the development of skills in close, critical, and historically contextualized reading.
Prerequisites: Chinese 100A or Chinese 100XA (may be taken concurrently)
This course examines the development of Confucianism in pre-modern China using a dialogical model that emphasizes its interactions with competing viewpoints. Particular attention will be paid to ritual, conceptions of human nature, ethics, and to the way that varieties of Confucianism were rooted in more general theories of value.
This semester we will focus on medieval Chinese Buddhist practices that go under the rubric of chan 禪 (meditation), nian 念 (mindfulness, contemplation), guan 觀 (discernment, visualization), and so on. We will be reading early meditation manuals dating from the sixth through the eighth centuries, beginning with the Xiao zhiguan 小止觀 (T.1915) by Zhiyi 智顗 (538–597). Among other issues, we will consider the epistemological import of these practices, and what they tell us about the nature of medieval Chinese Buddhist philosophy in general and Chan in particular.
The seminar will incorporate a week-long workshop by Eric Greene (Yale University), who will be looking at the transition from "small-c chan" to "capital-C Chan," and a two-week visit by Evan Thompson (University of British Columbia), who will focus on contemporary readings of Madhyamaka.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor
The period from the dissolution of the Eastern Han in the latter decades of the second century CE to the Sui unification in 581 witnessed the emergence of genres and discursive norms that were to become definitive for much of later tradition of elite writing, including a basic set of assumptions about the often complex relations between mastery of literary or philosophical disciplines and the exercise and projection of political or legitimacy and power. This seminar will be organized around a series of historical “nodes” (courts, salons, social cliques, or religious communities) that saw the rise of influential genres and discursive types, including the more or less definitive formulation of the principal genres of belletristic writing (much of which was also administrative/political in nature), the rise of new models of commentarial practice, a newly energized space of sectarian argument and polemic associated with the rise of organized Buddhist and Daoist communities, and the emerging systematization of the newly consolidated repertoire of literary genres as dimensions of a new language of imperial statecraft, forged particularly in the later “Northern” dynasty courts.
Prerequisite: advanced reading ability in literary Chinese.
This course examines the canonical texts of the late-imperial period, placing them in the context of literary culture of the Ming-Qing. The course focuses on a different set of texts each time it is taught; the aim is to introduce students to the primary issues in scholarship of late-imperial fiction and drama over a period of several years.
This semester, we will study the issues of space and emotion in drama, fiction, and poetry throughout Chinese history, with the focus on the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. The two issues are intertwined in the sense that emotion is reconceived not as an inner state of mind but as a spatio-ontological structure that has a history; conversely, such terms as space, time, and history will be understood anew through this spatiality of emotion. Covering literature, architecture, ritual practice, and intellectual discourse in antiquity to eighteenth-century in China, we pay special attention to the transformation from the ancient sphere of “winds” to medieval dreamscapes to early modern theatricality and sympathy. The goal is to chart an alternative history of Chinese philosophy, poetics, performance, and narrativity, explore diverse models of subject and community formation, and put on trial recent approaches of phenomenology, cognitive psychology, affect theory, and speculative realism."
East Asian Languages and Cultures Courses
The use of metaphor, metonymy, and other figurative schemas to frame one aspect of our experience in terms of another is a central feature not only of literary texts but of language use in general. Indeed, some have argued that thinking itself is an extremely complex process of analogy-making and figuration. In this class, we will look at how figurative language is used in Chinese literature by closely examining a series of selections from ancient philosophical texts, medieval poetry collections, and modern short stories.
This class has two main components. First, we will practice reading, outlining, summarizing, and evaluating a wide range of secondary literature drawn from the disciplines of philosophy, anthropology, psychology, and linguistics on the semantic, cognitive, and cultural dimensions of figurative language. Second, we will use the conceptual vocabulary we have built up through our reading of these secondary sources to describe and analyze the use of figurative language in a variety of different kinds of texts drawn from both premodern and modern Chinese literature. The hope is that by putting these two kinds of sources in dialogue, we will both enrich our own experience of reading and writing about these texts and re-sensitize ourselves to the ways we use figurative language in our own writing. No previous knowledge of China, the Chinese language, or Chinese literature is required.
How do we know what is funny? The experience of laughing at jokes, comedy films, cartoons, or even a satirical tale is a part of every day life, and yet notoriously difficult to write about analytically. At the same time, some types of social engagement and critique are only possible through comic culture, especially in eras of strict censorship. This course explores the theory of comic arts and the history of comic culture in modern East Asia, focusing on the second half of the 20th century. Each week will pair a primary literary text from Chinese cultures (continental China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan), Korean cultures (colonial, North and South), or Japanese cultures with a critical/analytical piece that both models strong academic writing and provides tools to analyze the comic presentation of the primary text. No previous knowledge of East Asian languages is required.
This seminar will look at some of the great works of contemporary East Asian cinema, featuring films that explore love, family and friendship through the manifold alignments of class, gender and sexuality. Screenings will include classics like Iwai Shunji’s Love Letter and Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love, along with other contemporary works by Kawase Naomi, Ann Hui, Tsai Ming-liang, and Park Chang-Wook.
Note: Enrollment is limited to 18 sophomores.
This course explores representation of romantic love in East Asian cultures in premodern and post-modern contexts. Students develop a better understanding of the similarities and differences in traditional values in three East Asian cultures by comparing how canonical texts of premodern China, Japan and Korea represent romantic relationship. This is followed by the study of several contemporary East Asian films, giving the student the opportunity to explore how traditional values persist, change, or become nexus points of resistance.
This course provides a forum for reading and discussing East Asia’s greatest and most iconic modern writers, Lu Xun. We will closely read Lu Xun’s major works , discuss his role in the reinvention of the Chinese language and literary tradition, explore the global literary and intellectual currents with which he was deeply engaged, as well as situating him within the tumultuous era of colonialism, modernization, and revolution. All readings will be available in English translation.
This course examines the multiple ways in which the enormous upheavals of modernity have impacted Buddhism and the ways in which Buddhist institutions, beliefs, practices, and values have responded, with a focus on Japan. Because the end of World War II changed the political landscape in fundamental ways throughout Asia, most notably the end of colonialism, the course will be divided into two sections: 1800 to 1945, and 1945 to the present. The course will focus on the example of Japan because of the unusual rapidity with which Japan began an accelerated process of Westernization and globalization at the end of the nineteenth, earlier than any other Buddhist nation, the rise of nationalism as an anti-Buddhist force, and the way in which Japanese Buddhist thinking has recovered from that period.
This course is a capstone experience that centers on the philosophies and religions of East Asia examined from multiple theoretical perspectives. It comprises several thematic units within which a short set of readings about theory are followed by chronologically arranged readings about East Asia. Themes will alternate from year to year but may include: ritual and performance studies; religion and evolution; definitions of religion and theories of its origins; and the role of sacrifice.
Prerequisite: Preference will be given to majors, especially those with junior or senior standing
This course investigates the theoretical and historical contexts under which "futurity" has emerged as a key concept in the environmental humanities and social sciences. Tracking the ways in which the concept has been made central to bio-political, ethical and neo-materialist articulations, we will be thinking about ideas of the future as they arise in concerns about surveillance technologies, securitization and risks, health and toxicity, reproduction, preservation and extinction, environmental disasters and global warming, mutant ecologies and multispecies attentiveness.
We will first engage with a few theoretical works on futurity (Edelman, Muñoz, Berlant, Puar, and Kafer). Moving across national boundaries, we will then explore new questions and possibilities these works and others have opened up for rethinking (and queering) relationships between nature and culture, humans and environment, agency, objects and networks. Readings will likely include Bruno Latour, Kimura Shuhei, Timothy Choy, Donna Haraway, Anna Tsing, Shiho Satsuka, Karen Barad, Jane Bennet, Tim Morton, Eduardo Kohn, Maria Puig de la Bellacasa, Naoki Kasuga, Kath Weston, Brian Massumi, Joseph Masco, and Rob Nixon.
Japanese Language and Literature Courses
Japanese 1A is designed to develop basic Japanese language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students will learn the Japanese writing system: hiragana, katakana and approximately 150 kanji. At the end of the course, students should be able to greet, invite, compare, and describe persons and things, activities, intensions, ability, experience, purposes, reasons, and wishes. Grades will be determined on the basis of attendance, quiz scores, homework and class participation.
Note: Enroll in Japanese 1A if you have minimal or no knowledge of Japanese.
Japanese 1B is designed to develop basic skills acquired in Japanese 1A further. Students will learn approximately 150 new kanji. At the end of the course students should be able to express positive and negative requirements, chronological order of events, conditions, giving and receiving of objects and favors, and to ask and give advice. Grades will be determined on the basis of attendance, quiz scores, homework and class participation.
Prerequisites: Japan 1A; or consent of instructor.
An introduction to Japanese literature in translation in a two-semester sequence. 7B 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.
The goal of this course is for the students to understand the more advanced language and culture required to communicate effectively in Japanese. Some of the cultural aspects covered are; pop-culture, traditional arts, education, convenient stores, haiku, and history. Through the final project, students will learn how to introduce their own cultures and their influences. In order to achieve these goals, students will learn how to integrate the basic structures and vocabulary they acquired in the previous semesters, as well as study new linguistic expressions. An increasing amount of more advanced reading and writing, including approximately 200 new kanji, will also be required.
Prerequisites: Japan 10A; or consent of instructor.
Introduction to contemporary Japanese culture and society. Various aspects of contemporary Japan will be explored through a readingof basic scholarly works on Japan and watching popular films (in English). Topics include popular culture and technology, family and gender matters, education and socialization, Japanese identity and diversity, fashion and tradition, globalization and localization. Class conducted in English.
This course aims to develop further context-specific skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing. It concentrates on students using acquired grammar and vocabulary with more confidence in order to express functional meanings, while increasing overall linguistic competence. Students will learn approximately 200 new Kanji. There will be a group or individual project. Course materials include the textbook supplemented by newspapers, magazine articles, short stories, essays, and video clips which will provide insight into Japanese culture and society.
Prerequisites: Japan 100A; or consent of instructor.
This course helps heritage learners of Japanese who have completed 10X to develop further their linguistic and cultural competencies. More sophisticated linguistic forms are introduced and reinforced while dealing with various socio-cultural topics. Close reading knowledge and skills, formal and informal registers, and different genres of Japanese reading and writing are practiced. The materials covered are equivalent to those of 100A-100B.
Prerequisites: Japan 10X; or consent of instructor.
This course provides students an opportunity to develop their reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills in order to express their opinions in argumentative discourse. Students read and discuss a variety of Japanese texts to deepen their understanding of Japanese society and people and to improve their intercultural communicative competence.
Prerequisites: Japan 100, Japan 100B, or Japan 100X; or consent of instructor
This course is an introduction to the study of medieval Buddhist literature written in Classical Japanese in its wabun (aka bungo) and kanbun forms (including kakikudashi). The class will read samples from a variety of genres, including material written in China that are read in an idiosyncratic way in Japan. Reading materials will include Chinese translations of Sanskrit and Central Asian Buddhist scriptures, scriptural commentaries written in China and Korea, Japanese subcommentaries on influential Chinese and Korean commentaries, philosophical treatises, hagiography, apologetics, histories, doctrinal letters, preaching texts, and setsuwa literature. This course is intended for students who already have some facility in literary Japanese.
Prerequisites: Japanese 120. One semester of classical Japanese. Prior background in Buddhist history and thought is helpful, but not required
This course will introduce students to the world of early modern Japanese travel writing through a close examination of Matsuo Bashō's 1702 Oku no hosomichi (Narrow Road to the Deep North). We will read Bashō's poetic travel account in the original as well as look at how Bashō was influenced by earlier writers and how his work and life were understood during the eighteenth century.
This course is an introduction to Japanese modernism through the reading and discussion of representative short stories, poetry, and criticism of the Taisho and early Showa periods. We will examine the aesthetic bases of modernist writing and confront the challenge posed by their use of poetic language. The question of literary form and the relationship between poetry and prose in the works will receive special attention.
An overview of the concepts of theoretical, contrastive, and practical linguistics which form the basis for work in translation between Japanese and English through hands-on experience. Topics include translatability, various kinds of meaning, analysis of the text, process of translating, translation techniques, and theoretical background.
Prerequisites: Japanese 100, Japanese 100B, or Japanese 100X; or equivalent
This course will examine the works of the novelist Murakami Haruki and the animator Miyazaki Hayao within the context of contemporary Japanese aesthetics and history. Both Murakami and Miyazaki debuted in 1979 and their work has very much defined Japan’s cultural experience from the tail end of the Era of High Growth Economics through the Bubble Era, the Lost Decade, and into the twenty-first century. Studentswill explore the works of these two figures in the context of the history of Japanese literature and film and its relation to larger political, social, and cultural trends of Japan from the 1980s to the present.
The course considers the different literary, social and ethical formations that arise or are destroyed in disaster. It explores how Japanese literature and media, before and after 3:11, attempt to translate the un-representable, and in so doing, to create a new type of literacy about 1) trauma and the temporality of disaster, 2) precarity, community and the public sphere and 3) sustainability and ecological scale. The course will pay particular attention to a range of works that explicitly or obliquely reframe iconic or popular representations of disasters in cinema, literature and other media, taking into account of the readiness with which certain cultural forms lend themselves to vistas of disaster.
Topics run from Japan's earliest extant poetic anthologies in Chinese (Kaifuso) or Japanese (Man'yoshu) to medieval linked verse (renga) and Edo haikai.
Reading and critical evaluation of selected texts in postwar (roughly the 1940s through the present) Japanese literature and literary and cultural criticism. Texts change with each offering of the course.
Prerequisites: Graduate standing and permission of instructor
Korean Language and Literature Courses
This course is designed for non-heritage students who have absolutely no prior knowledge of the Korean language. Students will learn written and spoken Korean on self-related and day-to-day topics, and present information both in oral and written forms using formulaic and memorized expressions. They will also engage in simple conversational exchanges on a variety of daily topics.
Prerequisites: None
This is a continuing course for non-heritage students who have completed K1A or demonstrated an equivalent proficiency level. Students will enhance and broaden their linguistic and cultural competence by learning more essential grammatical structures, daily life expressions and speech acts. The course is also intended to introduce certain cultural aspects through media sources and various activities.
Prerequisites: Korean 1A; or consent of instructor.
This is a continuing course for Korean-American heritage students who have completed K1AX or demonstrated an equivalent proficiency level. More emphasis will be paid on reading and writing in order to establish their balanced four language skills. Students will enhance their linguistic competence by mastering essential grammatical structures and more elaborated daily expressions, as well as accompanying cultures.
Prerequisites: Korean 1AX; or consent of instructor.
A survey of modern Korean literature and culture in the 20th century, focusing on the development of nationalist aesthetics in both North and South Korea. Topics include class and gender, urban culture, colonial modernity, war and trauma, and modernization. Texts to be examined include works of fiction, art, and film. All readings are in English.
This is an intermediate course for non-heritage students who have completed K10A or demonstrated an equivalent proficiency level. Students will continue to improve their linguistic skills with the goal of becoming more proficient and fluent in daily and extended communication needs, with a special emphasis on listening and speaking. The course will introduce expressions, vocabularies, and complicated sentence structure and students are expected to carry on more sophisticated conversations on various topics beyond daily life.
Prerequisites: Korean 10A; or consent of instructor.
This is a continuing course for Korean-American heritage students who have completed K1AX or demonstrated an equivalent proficiency level. More emphasis will be paid on reading and writing in order to establish their balanced four language skills. Students will enhance their linguistic competence by mastering essential grammatical structures and more elaborated daily expressions, as well as accompanying cultures.
Prerequisites: Korean 1AX; or consent of instructor.
This course is a continuation of K100A for non-heritage speakers. It will place more emphasis on listening and speaking through various authentic materials. Students will conduct individual projects on aspects where they intend to improve on. Various cultural aspects in addition to four-letter idiomatic expressions will be also covered.
Prerequisites: Korean 100A; or consent of instructor.
This course is a continuation of K100AX for Korean-American heritage speakers. Students will be introduced to advanced-level Korean by reading authentic texts and writing short compositions, summaries, essays, and critical reviews. They will be encouraged to use advanced vocabulary and expressions including various idiomatic expressions. This course particularly emphasizes on heritage speakers’ speaking and writing competency.
Prerequisites: Korean 100AX; or consent of instructor.
This course aims to help students acquire strong proficiency in reading and writing in Korean at the advanced level and deepen students’ knowledge of Korean culture and society through readings, film and discussion. The focus will be on understanding the society and history of Korea as well as acquiring advanced-level vocabulary and expressions. Through discussions and writing exercises students will be trained to speak and write clearly in a formal manner.
Prerequisites: Korean 100B/BX; or consent of instructor.
This course aims to help students acquire strong language proficiency in spoken and written Korean at the advanced-high (or superior) level required for academic research and in business or other professional fields. The focus will be on building advanced-level vocabulary that is useful in understanding and expressing their opinions on topics, such as social studies, politics, business, policy, and history. Students will gain knowledge in four-letter words, complex idiomatic expressions and proverbs that often appear on editorials, news discourse, and academic writings. Students will also learn skills in formal oral presentations and writing.
Prerequisites: Korean 101/102; or consent of instructor.
This course will examine the works of major poets in the first half of the 20th century and will consider the formation of modern Korean poetry. Particular attention will be given to the ideas of lyricism, modernism, and the identity of a poet in the context of the colonial occupation of Korea.
Prerequisites: 100B or equivalent
This course aims to facilitate critical understanding of persistent themes and diverse styles of modern Korean literature through close readings of canonical works from the colonial period (1910-1945). It encourages students to develop broad comprehension of “post-colonial” characteristics of Korean literature. Concurrently, it explores how Korean literature aspired to the expression of the universal aesthetic values and judgment against the particularistic historical condition of colonialism.
Prerequisites: Korean 100A; Korean 100AX; or equivalent (may be taken concurrently)
This course offers a historical overview of Korean cinema from its colonial development to its present renaissance. It covers Korean film aesthetics, major directors, film movements, genre, censorship issues, and industrial transformation as well as global circulation and transnational reception. In an effort to read film as sociocultural texts, various topics will be discussed. All readings are in English.
Mongolian Language and Literature Courses
This course examines the Mongol Empire founded by Chinggis Khan. We will study the empire from the time its founding in 1206 until its decline in the mid-14th century. The greater extent of the course covers the matter of the Mongol conquest: military technologies, methods and strategies, logistics, and the events of specific battles and actions. These events are framed in the context of the Mongolian culture: its scientific, political, and economic systems and over-arching worldview. The course also covers what comes from the conquest in terms not only of destruction but what the Mongols make of the world they've won. Readings for the course are of primary sources in translation.
This course covers the history of Mongolian Buddhism from its inception in the Yuan dynasty to the present. The importance of Mongolian Buddhism to the greater dharma lies not only with the ways of its priests but also with the means of its patrons, the Mongol aristocracy, in forging a distinctive tradition in Inner Asia and disseminating it throughout the world. While maintaining a historical thread throughout, this course will examine in detail some of the tradition’s many facets, including Mongolian-Buddhist politics, the politics of incarnation, the establishment of monasteries, economics, work in the sciences, astral science and medicine, ritual practice, literature, sculpture and painting, music and dance, and more.
Also listed as BUDDSTD C117.
Tibetan Language and Literature Courses
A continuation of Tibetan 1A, Tibetan 1B develops further listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in modern Tibetan (Lhasa dialect), with a gradually increasing emphasis on basic cultural readings and developing intercultural competence.
Prerequisite: Tibetan 1A
A continuation of Tibetan 110A, this course provides an intensive introduction to a range of literary Tibetan literature. Assuming knowledge of basic literary Tibetan grammar, the course focuses on selected readings from Buddhist texts in Tibetan.
Prerequisites: Tibetan 110A, or consent of instructor.
This course seeks to develop a critical understanding of contemporary Tibet, characterized as it is by modernity, invasion, Maoism, liberalization, exile, and diaspora. It explores the cultural dynamism of the Tibetans over the last 100 years as expressed in literature, film, music, modern art, and political protest. The core topics include intra-Tibetan arguments regarding the preservation and "modernization" of traditional cultural forms, the development of new aesthetic creations and values, the constraints and opportunities on cultural life under colonialism and in the diaspora, and the religious nationalism of the recent political protests.
This seminar provides an introduction to a broad range of Tibetan Buddhist texts, including chronicles and histories, biographical literature, doctrinal treatises, canonical texts, ritual manuals, pilgrimage guides, and liturgical texts. It is intended for graduate students interested in premodern Tibet from any perspective. Students are required to do all of the readings in the original classical Tibetan. It will also serve as a tools and methods for the study of Tibetan Buddhist literature, including standard lexical and bibliographic references, digital resources, and secondary literature in modern languages. In Spring 2018, the seminar focuses on 14th century Great Perfection (rdzogs chen) literature. In particular, we will read excerpts from Rindzin Godem's influential treasure revelation, The Unimpeded Realization of Samantabhadra (kun tu bzang po'i dgongs pa zang thel). Godem's revelation started the Northern Treasures (byang gter) tradition and contributed to the final synthesis of the Great Perfection. The five volumes of The Unimpeded Realization contain a large variety of literature, so we will read texts on Dzokchen contemplation, philosophy, narratives, tantras, severance practice (gcod), liberation through wearing (btags grol) and so forth. To support our understanding of the primary sources, we will read relevant literature in English and discuss it in class, but the main focus will be on reading Tibetan texts.
Prerequisites: Consent of instructor