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Courses

This page contains all of the regular courses taught by this department. Not all courses are offered every year. Courses offered in the upcoming semester are linked to the searchable schedule, where you can also find information about instructor(s), schedule, and course description.

ASIA 201 The Silk Road

Credit: 0.5

"The Silk Road" is a rather misleading term coined in 1877 by Ferdinand von Richthofen. What it actually refers to is a vast network of trade routes that connected East, South, and Southeast Asia with the Mediterranean region, North Africa, and Europe. While travel and migration along these routes date back to prehistoric times and of course continue today, communication via the land routes across the Eurasian continent primarily flourished from the 2nd century BCE through the 15th century CE, most notably linking China with western Asia and the Mediterranean region. And while silk was one of the major products transported from China to the West as far back as the Roman Empire, the trade, especially in such other luxury goods as spices (from India) and gemstones (from western Asia), was active in both directions. Along with the trade in material goods, the Silk Road was the medium for cultural exchange. One of the prime examples of this was the spread of Buddhism from India into Afghanistan, China, Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia. As an extensive and many-layered system of economic and cultural exchange, the Silk Road can therefore be considered a premodern example of what today we call globalization.

This course will survey the history of economic and cultural exchange along the Silk Road from prehistoric times to the present day. We will specifically examine geographic factors, the various ethnicities and empires that contributed to Silk Road history, the exchange of goods and technologies, the religions of the Silk Road, and the spread of artistic traditions across Asia. The general aims will be to enable students to think critically about Asia (or Eurasia) in a more holistic way, to understand the interconnections of our various academic disciplines, and to appreciate some of the rich cultural heritages and exchanges that have contributed to our world. No prerequisites. Offered every year.

Instructor: Adler, Staff

ASIA 490 Senior Seminar: Asia in Comparative Perspective

Credit: 0.5

The Asian Studies capstone seminar is taught by Asian Studies program faculty in rotation, and organized around a common theme that integrates the various disciplines and regions of Asia. Through readings, films, guest lectures, and other activities, the course will lead students to synthesize their academic and personal (e.g., off-campus) experiences in a broader comparative perspective. Students will produce work that examines one or more topics of their own special interest within the comparative Asian framework. Open to Asian Studies concentrators and other students on a space available basis. Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. Offered every spring.

Foundation Courses

East Asia:

  • ASIA 201: The Silk Road
  • ARHS 114: Asian Art
  • HIST 160: Modern East Asia
  • HIST 161: East Asia to 1800
  • INST 131: China in Transition
  • PHIL 212: Early Chinese Philosophy
  • RLST 260: Buddhist Thought and Practice
  • RLST 270: Chinese Religions
  • RLST 275: Japanese Religions

South/Southeast:

  • ARHS 114: Asian Art
  • HIST 156: History of India
  • HIST 166: History of the Islamicate World (covers South Asia every other year)
  • HIST 260: Medieval Islamic Empires
  • RLST 250: South Asian Religions
  • RLST 260: Buddhist Thought and Practice

Western/Central Asia:

  • ASIA 201: The Silk Road
  • HIST 166: History of the Islamicate World
  • HIST 171: Modern Islamic World
  • HIST 260: Medieval Islamic Empires
  • HIST 261: The Mongol Empire in World History
  • RLST 240: Classical Islam

Area Courses

East Asia:

  • ARHS 238: Chinese Art Since 1840
  • ARHS 239: Contemporary Chinese Art
  • CHNS 321, 322: Advanced Chinese Language and Culture
  • CHNS 324: Modern China through Film and Fiction
  • CHNS 325: Chinese Literary Tradition
  • CHNS 326: Women of the Inner Chambers
  • HIST 262: Japan to 1850
  • HIST 263: Imperial China
  • HIST 353: Tibet Between China and the West
  • HIST 450: Topics in Chinese History
  • HIST 452: Women, Gender, and State in China
  • JAPN 322: Advanced Japanese: Language and Culture
  • JAPN 323: Advanced Reading and Composition
  • JAPN 325: Introductory Japanese Linguistics
  • PSCI 346: Riots, Ballots, and Rice: Comparative Asian Politics
  • RLST 360: Zen Buddhism
  • RLST 471: Confucianism
  • RLST 481: Daoism
  • SOCY 221: Global Religions in Modern Society
  • SOCY 249: Knowledge of the Other: Journey to the East

South/Southeast Asia:

  • HIST 260: Medieval Islamic Empires
  • HIST 345: History of the Indian Ocean
  • HIST 356: Vietnam
  • HIST 358: Imagined India: Film and Fiction
  • MUSC 206: Seminar in Ethnomusicology
  • MUSC 485: Asian Music Ensemble
  • PSCI 346: Riots, Ballots, and Rice: Comparative Asian Politics

Western/Central Asia:

  • HIST 258: Ottoman Empire
  • HIST 261: The Mongol Empire in World History
  • HIST 264: History of Modern Middle East
  • HIST 365: Middle East through Film and Fiction
  • HIST 370: Women and Gender in Modern Middle East
  • RLST 440: Seminar on Sufism
  • RLST 443: Voices in Contemporary Islam
  • RLST 447: Islam in America