Department of Asian Studies

Senior Seminar, Fall 1998
Course No. ANS 378
Unique No. 27115

John Nelson

475-6038, WCH 4.132

This seminar provides graduating majors in the Department of Asian Studies a chance to explore some of the histories, controversies, and contemporary issues shared by and relevant to many Asian nations and peoples. Beginning with the idea of the "orient" in the West, we will encompass south Asia, China, Korea, and Japan's reactions and responses to the colonializing politics of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As Asian nations and peoples continue to define themselves, what kinds of symbols, ideologies, and political rituals are amenable to the construction and maintenance of national and cultural identities? How does the media, popular literature and culture, business, tourism, and religious tradition (to list a few possibilities) participate in these constructions? Once we've identified a number of these patterns in their respective national and cultural contexts, we'll see how they are continually modified to meet new challenges such as the current economic recession in Asia, the policy issue of human/minority rights, or the exploding use of the Internet. When possible, guest lecturers will provide their expertise on specific topics and regions.

In brief, the theoretical and methodological orientations of the seminar will provide students with avenues and tools for creating their own research agendas. To this end, we will devote time and energy towards developing a sustained writing project on a topic of the student's choice. Presentations of these research projects at the end of the semester will be an integral part of the seminar experience.


Readings:

Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities
Keyes and Hardacre, Asian Versions of Authority
Ernest Gellner, National Identity
Rudyard Kipling, Kim
Edward Friedman, ed., The Politics of Democratization. Generalizing East Asian Experience
Edward Said,Culture and Imperialism
Zhu Hong, transThe Serenity of Whiteness:
Stories by and about Women in Contemporary China

not a final or definitive list

Reading Packet contents to be announced


Grading:

Class participation and presentations 25%

Field Reports 10%

Short Paper 15%

Research Paper 50%