Asian & Asian American Studies Curriculum

Fall 2019, Colin Jaundrill, Giulia Pugliese '22, Civ Seminar

Asian & Asian American Studies Curriculum

The Minor

The Asian & Asian American studies minor is designed to allow students to study Asia and Asian diasporas from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. In addition to Asian & Asian American Studies, students can choose classes from the departments of Art & Art History, Economics, English, Foreign Language Studies (Chinese), Global Studies, History, and Political Science. Courses taken abroad can also count toward the minor requirements.

Asian & Asian American studies minors must complete eighteen (18) credit-hours (usually six classes) chosen from among approved courses. At least one course must be at the 300 or 400-level, and no more than four courses can be counted from a single department. Asian & Asian American studies recommends (but does not require) the following distribution:

  • 3 credits in Asian humanities (Art & Art History, English, History);
  • 3 credits in the social sciences of Asia (Economics, Global Studies, Political Science);
  • 12 credits drawn from any combination of courses approved by the program.

Students are also strongly encouraged to study an Asian language. PC offers classes in Chinese, while courses in Japanese and Korean may be taken at Brown through the RI Language Consortium. Students may also count independent studies in Asian languages toward the minor, subject to the approval of the Asian & Asian American studies director.

Courses

The following courses have been approved to satisfy Asian & Asian American studies minor requirements. Other courses, including study-abroad courses and for-credit internships, may count toward the minor provided their content is sufficiently Asia-related (subject to the Asian & Asian American studies director’s approval).

Core Curriculum Courses

Pursuing an Asian & Asian American Studies minor can also help students complete PC Core requirements and proficiencies. The following courses have been approved to satisfy one or more cores.

Diversity

  • China and Emerging Markets
  • Intro to Asian-American Literature (pending)
  • Early Modern East Asia
  • Modern East Asia
  • Modern China
  • Modern Japan
  • Warriors in Japanese History
  • Japanese Pop Culture as Postwar History
  • Chinese Politics

Fine Arts

  • Asian Art
  • Asian Art through VR Games

Asian and Asian American Studies

Focus on Asia

1 semester, 3 credits

Focus on Asia is an introductory course on subjects of special interest in the field of Asian Studies (AST). Course offerings will emphasize interdisciplinary approaches to topics related to Asia or Asian diasporas.

Japanese Pop Culture as Postwar History

1 semester, 3 credits

Interdisciplinary exploration of modern Japanese popular culture and as a way of understanding Japan’s postwar history. Examines such familiar pop-cultural objects as the samurai, baseball, giant monsters, and Japanese animation, among other topics, while also analyzing their historical context and appropriation in other milieu.

Art History

Asian Art

1 semester, 3 credits

A survey of the arts of India, China, and Japan presented in their historical and cultural context.

Asian Art through VR Games

Chinese

Elementary Chinese

1 semester, 3 credits

An introduction to modern Mandarin Chinese for those who have never studied the language. Introduces the sound system of Mandarin Chinese and basic grammatical structures. Students also learn how to read and write Chinese characters. Seeks to develop oral and written expression, listening and reading comprehension, and understanding of the culture and society of China.

Elementary Chinese II

1 semester, 3 credits

Aims to further develop the basic oral and written skills in Mandarin. Students will gain a greater flexibility of expression, and will be able to communicate in familiar everyday situations such as life at school and other social interactions. Culture perspectives will be examined in order to foster a better understanding of the language.

Intermediate Chinese I

1 semester, 3 credits

Introduces more sophisticated grammatical concepts and vocabulary from daily life. Emphasizes vocabulary building and greater fluency in utilizing communication skills in everyday situations such as talking about the weather, asking directions, celebrating someone’s birthday, and seeing a doctor. Students begin to learn different strategies to express similar ideas and feelings, thereby gaining a greater flexibility of expression.

Intermediate Chinese II

1 semester, 3 credits

Designed to further develop students’ communicative competence in aspects of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Through various activities and assignments, students are expected to understand and conduct conversations concerning dating, renting apartments, sports, travel, and at the airport. Students will be able to read simple texts related to the above topics and write essays with the more sophisticated words and expressions learned in the class. Prerequisite: CHN 103.

Special Topics in Chinese

1 semester, 1-3 credits

Topics discussed in the seminar will vary from semester to semester.

Economics

China and Emerging Markets

1 semester, 3 credits

Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
Provides a systematic overview of Chinese contemporary economy, including Chinese economic practices and achievements under both planned and market economic systems, international trade, foreign investment, sustainable growth and environmental quality, inequality, and macroeconomic policy. The Chinese economy will be compared with other Emerging Market Economies (e.g. India, South Korea). We use the College’s research databases. Prerequisites: ECN 101 or ECN 102.

English

Introduction to Asian-American Literature

1 semester, 3 credits

Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity; Writing II
This course is an introduction to Asian American literature from the mid-20th century to the present moment. Students will read multi-genre literary works by a diversity of Asian American writers, as well as explore the historical, social, and geopolitical dimensions of these texts, investigating issues of immigration, war, race, gender, class, sexuality, and identity formation. Same as AMS 217 and AST 217. Prerequisite: Writing

Global Studies

Social Inequality in India (and the Diaspora)

History

Living in an Imperial World

1 semester, 3 credits

Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
From the early modern period through to the mid-twentieth century the dominant political structure in a globalizing world was not the nation-state but the empire. This course examines and compares early modern and modern empires through the histories of the cities that were central to imperial networks, including Tangiers, Calcutta, Hanoi and Newport.
Same as AST 220.Satisfies pre- or post-1715 European history requirement for major/minor.

 

Early Modern East Asia

1 semester, 3 credits

Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
A survey of East Asian history from its beginnings through the late-eighteenth century. Acquaints students with the major topics in early Chinese, Japanese, and Korean history and explores such themes as the construction of political authority, the place of marginal social groups, and the intercultural interactions that characterized the region’s history. Same as AST 298. Satisfies global history requirement for major/minor.

Modern East Asia

1 semester, 3 credits

Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
A survey of modern East Asian history from the mid-nineteenth to the late twentieth centuries. Focuses on Asia’s transition to modernity, and such topics as the development of the modern nation-state in Japan, imperialism and revolution in China, Korea’s colonial period, the Second World War, and Asia’s place in the Cold War world. Same as AST 299. Satisfies global history requirement for major/minor.

Modern Japan

1 semester, 3 credits

Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
An in-depth exploration of the history of Japan from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Topics include: the collapse of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Meiji Restoration and Japan’s subsequent transformation into a modern-nation state, Japan’s imperial expansion into East Asia, the Second World War, and Japan’s postwar recovery and growth. Students become familiar with major debates in the field, significant primary sources, and secondary sources of the era. Same as AST 368. Satisfies global history requirement for major/minor.

Modern China

1 semester, 3 credits

Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
An in-depth exploration of the history of China from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Topics include: the late Qing dynasty, Western imperialism in China, the 1911 Revolution, the Second World War, the rise of the People’s Republic, and the reform programs of the post-Mao era. Students will analyze the significant primary sources associated with pivotal moments in Chinese history and develop familiarity with the major issues in the field. Same as AST 369. Satisfies global history requirement for major/minor.

Warriors in Japanese History

1 semester, 3 credits

Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
Traces the figure of the warrior in Japanese history from ancient times to the twentieth century, with special emphasis on warriors’ changing social and cultural roles. Topics include medieval war tales, the genesis of the “way of the warrior” in the early modern era, and the modern re-appropriation of the warrior as a masculine ideal. Same as AST 488.

Political Science

Comparative Asian Government and Politics

1 semester, 3 credits

Uses a comparative approach to examine the political systems of various Asian nations including China, Japan, the Koreas, and Indonesia. Special attention will be given to the impact of culture on politics and the political institutions and the politics of Asian economic development. Fulfills the Comparative Government and Politics requirement.Same as AST 320.

Chinese Politics

1 semester, 3 credits

Core Foundation/Proficiency: Diversity
Examines politics in the People’s Republic of China. Topics include, for example, politics and social structure prior to 1949, the Communist Party and Cultural Revolution, state society relations, ideology and religion, elite politics, grass roots mobilization, domestic and international consequences of market reforms, popular protest, and prospects for political liberalization. Same as AST 321.

Comparative Revolutions

1 semester, 3 credits

Surveys concepts and theories of revolution. Generalizations derived from studies of the great Western revolutions in England, France, and Russia will be re-examined in the light of recent experiences in China, Vietnam, Cuba, or Iran. Fulfills the Comparative Government and Politics requirement. Same as AST 325.

Studio Art

Special Topics in Studio Art

1 semester, 1-3 credits

The topics discussed in the seminar vary from semester to semester. This course requires six class hours per week.

Independent Study

1 semester, 3 credits

Open primarily to senior Art/Art History majors. In consultation with the faculty member, the student may propose to explore advanced topics in the field outside of the regular departmental offerings. The number of credits is determined by consultation with the faculty member responsible for the project and the chairperson.

Dr. Susan McCarthy

Asian & Asian American Studies Program Director / Professor of Political Science
Faculty Profile
Howley Hall 303
401.865.2626
smccarth@providence.edu