Facilities
Modified 7/12/2000 aileen

East Asian Languages and Cultures

 

Associate Professor:  Dooling (Chinese); Assistant Professor:  Harb (Japanese); Senior Lecturer:  King (Chinese); Lecturer:  Liu (Chinese); Senior Lecturer Kobayashi (Japanese), Japanese coordinator; Associate Professor Huang, chair and Chinese coordinator

 

The Major in East Asian Studies

 

Students majoring in East Asian Studies must choose to concentrate either on China or Japan.  The major requires ten courses.

 

China Concentration:  Majors concentrating on China must take East Asian Studies 101, Chinese 101, 102, 201, 202, one Chinese literature course, History 115, one China seminar, one China elective, and one Japan or Korea elective.

 

Japan Concentration:  Majors concentrating on Japan must take East Asian Studies 101, Japanese 101, 102, 201, 202, History 116, one Japan seminar, one Japanese literature course, one Japan elective, and one China or Korea elective.

 

CORE COURSE

                East Asian Studies 101

 

BASIC LANGUAGE

                China:     Chinese 101, 102, 201, 202

                Japan:     Japanese 101, 102, 201, 202

 

INTRODUCTORY HISTORY

                China:     History 115

                Japan:     History 116

 

SEMINARS

China:     East Asian Studies 493B, 494B, 493C, 494C, 493D, 494D, 493G, 494G, 493L, 494L; History 420, 421

                Japan:     East Asian Studies 493B, 494B, 493C, 494C, 493D, 494D

 

ELECTIVES

China:     Chinese 232, 236, 238, 244; 300 or 400-level Chinese language course; East Asian Studies 203, 225; History 224, 262, 278, 324, 325; Religious Studies 206

Japan:     East Asian Studies 225; Government 225; Japanese 217 and 317, 300 or 400-level Japanese language course; Religious Studies 206

 

The Minor in East Asian Studies

 

The minor consists of the two-year basic language sequence in Chinese or Japanese, East Asian Studies 101, and at least one additional course listed under the major in East Asian Studies at or above the 200 level.

 

The Major in Chinese Language and Literature

 

Twelve courses are required:  Chinese 101, 102, 201, 202, 236, 238, 301, 302, 401, and 402; East Asian Studies 101 and 493 or 494.  Students are strongly encouraged to take a Chinese history course and other literature courses in the department.  In place of Chinese 301 and 302, students may substitute two Chinese language courses above the second-year level taken in a study abroad program.  Chinese 401, 402 must be taken at Connecticut College; courses taken at another institution will not satisfy this requirement.  In order to complete a major in Chinese Language and Literature, students will be required to study for at least one semester of the junior year in China.  Under special circumstances the department may approve a summer program in China or the United States.  The major also requires an ACTFL oral proficiency rating of at least intermediate-high by the end of the senior year.

 

The Major in Japanese Language and Literature

 

Twelve courses are required:  Japanese 101, 102, 201, and 202; four additional advanced Japanese language courses; East Asian Studies 101 and 493 or 494; History 116; and one Japanese literature course.  Students are strongly encouraged to take other literature courses in the department.  At least two 400-level language courses must be taken at Connecticut College; courses taken at another institution will not satisfy this requirement.  In order to complete a major in Japanese Language and Literature, students will be required to study for at least one semester (and preferably two semesters) of the junior year in Japan.  Under special circumstances the department may approve a summer program in Japan or the United States.  The major also requires an ACTFL oral proficiency rating of at least intermediate-high by the end of the senior year.

 

Courses

 

East Asian Studies

 

EAST ASIAN STUDIES  101  BEYOND "THE ORIENT":  CRITICAL APPROACHES TO EAST ASIAN LITERATURE AND FILM  Examination of critical issues in modern East Asian literature and film.  Study of selected works of Chinese and Japanese fiction and film, history, and contemporary literary and cultural theory will address topics including modernity, national and ethnic identity, translation, Orientalism, and globalization. 

This course satisfies General Education Area 4.  S. Harb

 

EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES  202  EMPIRE AND EXPANSION IN EAST ASIA, 1840s-1950s  This is the same course as History 202.  Refer to the History listing for a course description.

 

EAST ASIAN STUDIES  203  MODERN CHINESE ART  This is the same course as Art History 203.  Refer to the Art History listing for a course description.

 

EAST ASIAN STUDIES  217  AFTERLIVES AND APOCALYPSES:  POST-WAR JAPANESE CINEMA  This is the same course as Japanese 217.  Refer to the Japanese listing for a course description.

 

EAST ASIAN STUDIES  225  INTRODUCTION TO ASIAN ART  This is the same course as Art History 225.  Refer to the Art History listing for a course description.

 

East Asian Studies  230  Gender in Communist and Post-communist SocietieS   This is the same course as Gender and Women's Studies/Slavic Studies 230.  Refer to the Slavic Studies listing for a course description.

 

EAST ASIAN STUDIES  254  CONFRONTING IMAGES OF MODERN JAPAN  This is the same course as History 254.  Refer to the History listing for a course description.

 

EAST ASIAN STUDIES  254f  CONFRONTING IMAGES OF MODERN JAPAN  (In Japanese)  This optional section of East Asian Studies/History 254 will meet for an additional hour each week to discuss supplemental readings in Japanese.  Students participating in the foreign language section will receive one additional credit hour, pass/not passed marking.  Students electing East Asian Studies/History 254f must concurrently enroll in East Asian Studies/History 254.  This is the same course as History 254f.  T. Watanabe

 

EAST ASIAN STUDIES  312  BUDDHIST ART:  INDIA, CHINA, AND JAPAN  This is the same course as Art History/Religious Studies 312.  Refer to the Art History listing for a course description.

 

EAST ASIAN STUDIES  317  HEROES AND HEROINES IN JAPANESE LITERATURE AND FILM  This is the same course as Japanese/Film Studies 317.  Refer to the Japanese listing for a course description.

 

East Asian Studies  318  Representations of War and Disaster in japan, 1000-1945  This is the same course as History 318.  Refer to the History listing for a course description.

 

East Asian Studies  318f  Representations of War and Disaster in japan, 1000-1945  (In Japanese)  This is the same course as History 318f.  Refer to the History listing for a course description.

 

East Asian Studies  320  The Japanese Tea Ceremony:  warriors, Merchants, and Monks, 1350-2008  This is the same course as Art History/History 320.  Refer to the History listing for a course description.

 

EAST ASIAN STUDIES  320f  THE JAPANESE TEA CEREMONY:  WARRIORS, MERCHANTS, AND MONKS, 1350-2008  (In Japanese)  This is the same course as Art History/History 320f.  Refer to the History listing for a course description

 

EAST ASIAN STUDIES  493, 494  ADVANCED SEMINAR IN EAST ASIAN CULTURE  In-depth examination of a topic in modern and contemporary East Asian Culture (focusing primarily on China and Japan).

                Open to junior and senior majors in the department, and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment in each seminar limited to 15 students.  Staff

 

EAST ASIAN STUDIES  493B, 494B  NARRATIVES OF THE EAST ASIAN DIASPORA  A study of the past century of Asian Diaspora through literary works by writers of Japanese and Chinese descent.  We will read texts against various historical forces that have spurred recent migrations, and consider the multiple cultural resources Asian diasporic writers draw upon to craft their stories.  A. Dooling

 

East Asian Studies  493C, 494C  The Fantastic Other:  Travel, history, Utopia  A comparative examination of the theme of seeking the Other in 20th century literature and theory concerning China and Japan.  Authors may include Lu Xun, Zhang Chengzhi, Yukio Mishima, Haruki Murakami, Hegel, Paul Claudel, Victor Segalen, Saint-John Perse, Henri Michaux, James Hilton, Edgar Snow, Susan Sontag, and Roland Barthes.  Y. Huang

 

EAST ASIAN STUDIES  493D, 494D  TRANSNATIONAL ASIA AND THE POST-EXOTIC  A critical exploration of changing conceptions of modern and contemporary Asia (and subjective locations therein) within a dynamic global context.  The course examines cultural texts (novels, poems, films, anime, multimedia) dealing with memory, history, technology, identity, and otherness, as well as the (im)possibility of escape in a post-exotic age.

                Prerequisite:  Course 101 or permission of the instructor.  History 115 or 116 is recommended.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  S. Harb

 

East asian studies  493G, 494G  ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY ALONG THE SILK ROAD  This is the same course as Art History 493G, 494G.  Refer to Art History listing for a course description.

 

EAST ASIAN STUDIES  493L, 494L  MOMENTS IN CONTEMPORARY CHINESE ART  An in-depth examination of Chinese art at different historical moments from the 1960s to the present, with attention to its ideological content.  Topics include perspective and socialist utopia; rebellion and double-faced modernism; political pop and cynical realism; nostalgia and the end of art.  Students will help organize a small exhibition.  This is the same course as Art History 493L, 494L.

                Open to junior and senior majors in East Asian Languages and Cultures and Art History; and to others with permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  Y. Huang

 

EAST ASIAN STUDIES  497-498  HONORS STUDY

 

Chinese Language and Literature

 

CHINESE  101, 102  INTENSIVE ELEMENTARY CHINESE  An introduction to the written Chinese language and the spoken standard dialect of Mandarin.  Seven hours weekly.  Six hours credit each semester.

                Prerequisite:  Course 101 is prerequisite to Course 102.  Enrollment limited to 20 students.  A. Dooling, T. King

 

CHINESE  201, 202  INTENSIVE INTERMEDIATE CHINESE I, II  Further development of the four language skills necessary to support sustained oral and written performance at the Intermediate-mid proficiency levels.  Situation/theme-driven and drill/image-enriched instructions lead to the design and staging of two task-based projects at the end of each semester.  Students will acquire 500 new characters and 160 grammar patterns throughout the course sequence.  Quizzing and review intensive.  Course 202 is supplemented with a dictionary use and a character conversion component.  Six hours weekly, including individually and or doubly scheduled oral practice sessions.

                Prerequisite:  Course 101, 102, or satisfactory placement exam.  Course 201 is prerequisite to 202.  Enrollment limited to 20 students.  T. King, M. Liu

 

CHINESE  301, 302  UPPER INTERMEDIATE CHINESE  This course develops skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing Chinese at the upper intermediate level.  Readings and discussion focus on contemporary and everyday topics.  Emphasis on preparation for the complexity of advanced Chinese.

                Prerequisite:  Course 202 or equivalent.  Enrollment limited to 20 students.  M. Liu

 

CHINESE  303  INTRODUCTION TO CLASSICAL CHINESE  Study of grammatical structure in classical prose, with readings in representative masterpieces of prose style.

                Prerequisite:  Course 202.  Staff

 

CHINESE  401, 402  ADVANCED CHINESE:  TOPICS ON CONTEMPORARY CHINESE SOCIETY AND CULTURE  Selected issues facing Chinese society as depicted in mass media sources such as newspapers, journals, films, and television.  Selections of poetry, prose, and short fiction by 20th century authors.  Particular emphasis on reading and writing skills.

                Prerequisite:  Course 202 or equivalent.  Enrollment limited to 20 students.  Y. Huang

 

In English

 

CHINESE  232  PERIPHERIES AND DIFFERENCES:  RE-IMAGINING CONTEMPORARY CHINA  A study of contemporary Chinese cultural imagination of peripheries and differences within and outside the once static and uniform ″China.″  Topics include the so-called ″ethnic″ literature produced by both Han and non-Han ethnic minority writers; literature of the underground, exiles, and the Diaspora; and popular culture in various forms ranging from urban pop fiction to new Hong Kong cinema (such as John Woo and Wong Kar-War).  The key issue will be the problematics of China's rapidly changing cultural imagination and identity in this new global context.

                Prerequisite:  East Asian Studies 101 or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  This course satisfies General Education Area 4.  Y. Huang

 

CHINESE  236  FICTION AND FILM IN MODERN CHINA  Major works of fiction and film in 20th century China, in the context of the shifting cultural, social, and political developments from the May Fourth movement to the present.  In addition to considering the differences between visual and verbal modes of narrative representation, topics will include China's quest for modernity, the discourse of the "new woman," and the relationship between revolution and aesthetic practice.

                Prerequisite:  East Asian Studies 101 recommended.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  This course satisfies General Education Area 4.  A. Dooling

 

CHINESE  238  CHINESE POETRY AND ITS AMERICAN LEGACIES  An introduction to classical and contemporary Chinese poetry and how it works in English translation and re-incarnation.  Authors may include Tang poets such as Li Bai (or Li Po), Wang Wei, Bai Juyi (or Po Chu-i), Han Shan (or Cold Mountain) and contemporary post-Cultural Revolution ″Misty″ poets such as Bei Dao, Gu Cheng and Duoduo.  The influence of the translation of classical Chinese poetry on modern American poets, the contrast and connection between contemporary and classical Chinese poetry, the problems and politics of translation, the prospect of a renewed dialogue and cross-fertilization between Chinese and American poetries.

                Prerequisite:  East Asian Studies 101 recommended.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  This course satisfies General Education Area 4.  Y. Huang

 

CHINESE  244  MODERN CHINESE WOMEN'S WRITING IN TRANSLATION  A survey of works by 20th century Chinese women writers (including writers from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Diaspora) across a variety of literary genres, along with reading in feminist literary theory.  Focus on the relationship between gender and representation, the construction of modern gender paradigms, the influence of imperatives of Chinese modernity on configurations of femininity and masculinity.  This is the same course as Gender and Women's Studies 244.

                Prerequisite:  East Asian Studies 101 recommended.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  This course satisfies General Education Area 4.  A. Dooling

 

CHINESE  291, 292  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

CHINESE  391, 392  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

CHINESE  491, 492  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

CHINESE  497-498  HONORS STUDY

 

Japanese Language and Literature

 

JAPANESE  101, 102  INTENSIVE ELEMENTARY JAPANESE  An introduction to the Japanese language emphasizing primarily speaking and listening.  Entry level reading and writing is introduced.  Students will be required to work with audio materials to develop these skills.

                Classes meet seven and one-half hours weekly.  Six hours credit each semester.  Enrollment limited to 20 students.  H. Kobayashi

 

JAPANESE  201, 202  INTERMEDIATE JAPANESE  Further development in both spoken and written Japanese beyond the elementary level.  Students are required to communicate with native speakers in a socio-linguistically and culturally appropriate manner.  Audiovisual materials and selected readings are used to develop these skills.  Classes meet five hours weekly.

                Prerequisite:  Course 102 or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 20 students.  H. Kobayashi

 

JAPANESE  301  UPPER INTERMEDIATE JAPANESE  This course, intended to prepare students for Japanese 400 and/or study in Japan, develops intermediate to advanced language skills with a focus on practical communication.  Emphasis on reading short essays, personal letters, and newspaper articles, as well as writing letters, e-mails, and opinion papers.

                Prerequisite:  Course 202 or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 16 students.  Staff

 

JAPANESE  400  ADVANCED JAPANESE  Further development in spoken and written Japanese to prepare students to handle a variety of communicative tasks.  Students learn to express opinions and narrate experiences in all major time frames in paragraph length discourse.  Special emphasis on developing reading and writing skills.  Course content changes each semester.

                Prerequisite:  Japanese 202 or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment in each seminar limited to 16 students.  Staff

 

JAPANESE  400A  CONTEMPORARY TEXTS  Emphasis on improving reading and writing skills through exposure to a broad range of modern journalistic and literary styles.  Materials include newspapers, magazines, articles, essays, short stories, advertisements, and comic books.  Students are required to study Kanji (Chinese characters) independently.  S. Harb

 

JAPANESE  400B  SPOKEN DISCOURSE  Emphasis on improving discussion and oral narrative skills through focus on current issues in Japanese society, such as marriage, workplace policy and organization, women's status, the aging of the population, youth culture, challenges to tradition, changes in the family, and environmental problems.  S. Harb

 

JAPANESE  400C  Spoken and Written Narrative  Emphasis on improving oral and written proficiency through class discussion and written assignments.  Themes considered in the course will vary depending on students' interests.  Students are required to write a two to three page essay every week.  S. Harb

 

JAPANESE  400D  TRANSLATION FROM AND TO JAPANESE  A study of various texts translated from English to Japanese and from Japanese to English, with the object of understanding the fundamental properties of the language.  Discussion is conducted in Japanese.  Materials include literary texts, magazines, articles, essays, Manga, and songs.  As a final project, students will be required to translate a primary text.  Staff

 

In English

 

JAPANESE  217  AFTERLIVES AND APOCALYPSES:  POST-WAR JAPANESE CINEMA  An examination of the most important and influential Japanese films made in the decades following the end of World War II.  The course considers key ideas, thematic motifs, and visual strategies pertaining to the legacy of the war and its aftermath.  This is the same course as East Asian Studies 217.

                Prerequisite:  East Asian Studies 101 recommended.  Enrollment limited to 40 students.  S. Harb

 

JAPANESE  317  HEROES AND HEROINES IN JAPANESE LITERATURE AND FILM  From errant samurai and women warriors to eccentric monks and femmes fatales, Japanese narratives offer a lively cast of heroes and heroines.  This course explores representations of such strong and suggestive characters, and traces the evolution of the notion of the ″hero″ through major works of Japanese literature and film.  This is the same course as East Asian Studies/Film Studies 317.

                Prerequisite:  East Asian Studies 101 or History 116 or permission of the instructor.  Enrollment limited to 30 students.  S. Harb

 

JAPANESE  291, 292  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

JAPANESE  391, 392  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

JAPANESE  491, 492  INDIVIDUAL STUDY

 

JAPANESE  497-498  HONORS STUDY

 

 

Last Modified: Monday, November 16, 2009 9:39 AM