Asian Studies (ASST)
Director: Professor James F. Fisher
Committee Members: Donna M. Gibbons, Roy F. Grow, Mark Hansell, Roger Jackson, Mariko Kaga, Adeeb Khalid, George H. Lamson, Burton Levin, Stephen Lewis, Jr., Melinda Russell, Kathleen Ryor, Kathryn W. Sparling, Nancy C. Wilkie, Seungjoo Yoon, Qiguang Zhao
A faculty and student committee is in charge of a wide variety of special programs and activities. Courses dealing with Asia are offered by various academic departments. There is no standard major in Asian Studies, but students interested in majoring may submit their own plan for a major to the Asian Studies Committee for its consideration. Students may also major in a regular department with a concentration in either East Asian Studies or South Asian Studies (see Concentrations).
Students interested in studying in Asia may apply to one of several overseas programs. Carleton cooperates with several other colleges to sponsor the Associated Kyoto Program, which takes 50 students and seven faculty members to Japan for an academic year. Carleton also participates in a one year program at Waseda University sponsored by ACM. The Program-in-India consists of a spring term orientation at Carleton or at Lawrence University followed by six months in Pune, where students continue Marathi language study, take academic courses centered on India, and investigate an independent study topic. The program in Hong Kong at the Chinese University, also for students from ACM institutions, normally lasts one year, though a semester-long program is also possible. Carleton students also participate in the Council on International Educational Exchange program in the People's Republic of China, where they study at Beijing, Nanjing, or Fudan Universities. Carleton, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Swarthmore, Grinnell, Holy Cross, and Whitman jointly sponsor the Inter-collegiate Sri Lanka Educational Program (ISLE) in which students and a faculty member study at Peradeniya University in Kandy, the old capital in the middle of the island. In 1989 and 1991 Carleton offered overseas study programs in Nepal. An alternate-year program emphasizing Political Economy was begun in 1990, in Beijing, China.
Asian Studies Courses
ASST 112. Introduction to Contemporary India Cross-listed with HIST 112. This course is intended both for students who want only a brief introduction to aspects of South Asian culture and for those who wish to add a multi-faceted look at contemporary India to a more serious study of South Asia. Lectures on aspects of India are presented in class with Monday evenings devoted to lectures by outside speakers, films, slide lectures, and performances. Topics change every year but may include: current political leadership; the status of women; modern writers; the untouchable movement; Indian classical music; the idea of a guru; the meaning of pilgrimage; and other topics. 3 credits cr., HU, Not offered in 2000-2001.
ASST 386. Comparing Mexico and China Cross-listed with POSC 386,LTAM 386. . This course will look at consequences of economic globalization in two very different countriesóChina and Mexico. Students will debate propositions from literature on globalization, study real-world applications, and prepare for on-site research during December. The course will focus upon impacts of economic change on political liberalization, the role of government in regulating social/economic dislocation, and importance of international institutions (e.g., NAFTA, WTO) in shaping local responses. During the off-campus component, students will collect data and make observations in China or Mexico. During the winter, students will prepare a research paper and a group presentation organized as a consulting project. 6 credits cr., SS, Fall,Winter—R. Grow, A. Montero
ASST 400. Integrative Exercise S/NC, ND, Fall, Winter, Spring 6 credits cr., Not offered in 2000-2001.
Overseas Seminar, China
Study in Beijing (Political Economy)
Overseas Seminar, Hong Kong
Study in Hong Kong under ACM Program.
Overseas Seminar, India
Study in India under ACM Program-in-India.
Overseas Seminar, Japan
Study in Kyoto under the Associated Kyoto Program (AKP).
Study in Tokyo under ACM Program.
Overseas Seminar, Sri Lanka
Study in Sri Lanka under ISLE Program.
Pertinent Courses:
ARTH 164: Buddhist Art
ARTH 208: Ritual and Rhetoric in Ancient Chinese Art
ARTH 209: Chinese Painting
ARTH 220: Gender and Genre in the Floating World: Japanese Prints (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
ARTH 224: Twentieth-Century Chinese Art: Identity and Modernity (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
ASLN 111: Writing Systems (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
ASLN 231: Intercultural Texts: Indian and Japanese Women Abroad (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
CHIN 101, 102, 103: Elementary Chinese
CHIN 115: The Taoist Way of Health and Longevity: Taichi (Taiji) and Other Forms
CHIN 204, 205: Intermediate Chinese
CHIN 206: Chinese in Cultural Context
CHIN 235: Beauty, Good, and Evil in Chinese Literature
CHIN 345: Advanced Readings in Chinese Literature: Selected Prose
CHIN 346: Advanced Readings in Chinese Fiction (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
CHIN 347: Advanced Readings in Contemporary Chinese Prose: Newspapers
CHIN 348: Advanced Chinese: Mass Media (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
CHIN 349: Advanced Chinese: Social Commentary (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
CHIN 350: Advanced Chinese: Poems and Stories (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
JAPN 101, 102, 103: Elementary Japanese
JAPN 204, 205, 206: Intermediate Japanese
JAPN 236: Classical Japanese Fiction: The Tale of Genji and Its World
JAPN 345: Advanced Readings in Modern Japanese Literature: The Short Story
JAPN 346: Advanced Reading in Modern Japanese Literature: Poetry and Drama (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
JAPN 347: Advanced Reading in Modern Japanese Prose: Newspapers
JAPN 348: Advanced Japanese Conversation and Composition (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
ECON 240: Economics of Developing Countries
HIST 110: Seminars for First Year Students (Yoon, fall)
HIST 112: Introduction to Contemporary India (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
HIST 151: History of Japan Since 1868 (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
HIST 152: History of Imperial China
HIST 153: History of Modern China
HIST 161: History of Modern India, 1525-Present
HIST 250: Twentieth-Century Japan (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
HIST 252: Chinese Revolution (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
HIST 258: Foreign Relations of East Asia in Modern Times
HIST 262: India Constructed/Contested (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
HIST 350: Yangtze: Nature, History and the River (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
HIST 363: Regions-Languages-Religions: Issues in Postcolonial India (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
MUSC 242: Music of East and Southeast Asia (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
MUSC 248: Music of India (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
POSC 235: Cold War: Soviet and American Foreign Policy (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
POSC 237: Asia and American Foreign Policy (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
POSC 253: Communist Political Thought: Marx to Mao (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
POSC 325: Japan: Politics and Foreign Policy (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
POSC 326: America's China Policy
POSC 329: Vietnam War and American Policy
POSC 378: Beijing Program: Chinese Social and Political Institutions (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
POSC 379: Beijing Program: Chinese Decision Making (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
POSC 381: Beijing Program: Political Economy of China (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
POSC 382: Beijing Program: Chinese Economy in Transition (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
RELG 122: Introduction to Islam
RELG 150: The Religions of South Asia
RELG 151: Chinese Religious Thought (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
RELG 152: Japanese Religion and Culture (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
RELG 153: Korean Religion and Culture
RELG 222: The Islamic Revival (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
RELG 250: The Hindu Tradition (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
RELG 251: Theravada Buddhism
RELG 253: Tibetan Buddhism (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
RELG 255: East Asian Buddhist Thought and Practice
RELG 273: Indian Philosophy
RELG 371: The Poetics of Englightenment (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
SOAN 254: Anthropology of South Asia (Not offered in 2000-2001.)
SOAN 312: Actors and Issues in Contemporary Third World "Development"