What does it mean to live life to its fullest capacity--personally, socially and ethically? What does it mean to succeed? To fail? To love? To fight? To dream? In search of answers to these questions, we read the classic foundational texts of China, Japan, and Korea from Confucian and Taoist philosophy to romantic tales, harrowing diaries and exquisitely crafted haiku. Bringing our knowledge as a China and a Japan specialist to bear, we formulate critical perspectives on key works with the goal of understanding East Asian culture as a whole and as different regional expressions. Join us as we explore the complexities of East Asian identity while discovering something about the big questions we all confront today wherever--and whomever--we are.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 25

Prerequisites:

Instructor: Goree

Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature

Typical Periods Offered: Spring

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Spring

Notes: No prior background in the study of East Asia is required; all readings will be in English.

The course begins with a brief introduction to an eleventh-century novel from Japan, Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji. This work shows considerable awareness of Chinese culture, but the design is entirely original and the aesthetics typically Japanese. There is no influence at all between Genji and our next subject, Cao Xueqin's eighteenth-century masterpiece, Dream of the Red Chamber, also known as The Story of the Stone. However, the similarities point to shared East Asian traditions, and the contrasts can be traced to major differences in the aesthetics of China and Japan. For students who have already studied The Tale of Genjii or Dream of the Red Chamber, alternative reading will be assigned. Later on we will take up three other pieces, two from Korea and one from Vietnam. These two, as well, fit into a larger East Asian syndrome, but exhibit national characteristics at the same time.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 15

Prerequisites: None. Not open to students who have taken EALC 325.

Instructor: Widmer

Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature

Typical Periods Offered: Fall

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered

Notes: This course is also offered at the 300-level as EALC 325.

In East Asia, the rise of the girl in literary and popular culture coincides with the appearance of modernity itself. Beginning with the ‘modern girl,' we move chronologically, exploring coming-of-age tropes in East Asian fiction, manga, anime, and film. How does the objectification of the adolescent girl illuminate issues around ethnicity, national identity, sexuality, even globalization? What national anxieties hover around girls' bodies? We read texts in English translation and explore models of female development that might aid us in our exploration of this cultural phenomenon. Secondary readings include works by Sigmund Freud, Julia Kristeva, Marianne Hirsch, Carol Gilligan, Elizabeth Grosz, among others.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 30

Crosslisted Courses: CPLT 236

Prerequisites: None

Instructor: Zimmerman

Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature; ARS - Visual Arts, Music, Theater, Film and Video

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered

Notes:

The course begins with a brief introduction to an eleventh-century novel from Japan, Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji. This work shows considerable awareness of Chinese culture, but the design is entirely original and the aesthetics typically Japanese. There is no influence at all between Genji and our next subject, Cao Xueqin's eighteenth-century masterpiece, Dream of the Red Chamber, also known as The Story of the Stone. However, the similarities point to shared East Asian traditions, and the contrasts can be traced to major differences in the aesthetics of China and Japan. For students who have already studied The Tale of Genjii or Dream of the Red Chamber, alternative readings will be assigned. Later on we will take up three other pieces, two from Korea and one from Vietnam. These two, as well, fit into a larger East Asian syndrome, but exhibit national characteristics at the same time.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 10

Prerequisites: One 200-level course in either Chinese or Japanese language and culture required. Not open to students who have taken EALC 225.

Instructor: Widmer

Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature

Typical Periods Offered: Fall

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered

Notes: This course is also offered at the 200-level as EALC 225.

Language constitutes an important marker of social identity at many levels, such as the individual, subcultures, ethnic groups, and nations. Language has contributed to establishing unity, socio-cultural diversity, and nationalism in East Asian Society. This course explores the function of language in forming national, ethnic, and cultural identity and nationalism throughout the modernization process for China, Korea, and Japan. The seminar will discuss how language has been interconnected with the shaping of intra-East Asian literary/cultural practices, modern identity, and globalization. Students will acquire fundamental knowledge of the dynamics of language and socio-cultural changes as well as comparative perspectives on nationalism/colonialism and national identity in East Asian communities. Basic knowledge of and familiarity with a particular language/region (China, Korea, or Japan) and its historical, socio-linguistic backgrounds are required.

Units: 1

Max Enrollment: 20

Prerequisites: One 200-level course in either Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language and culture required.

Instructor: Lee

Distribution Requirements: LL - Language and Literature

Typical Periods Offered: Every other year

Semesters Offered this Academic Year: Not Offered

Notes: