First-Year Seminars

ASIA 52 – First-Year Seminar: Food in Chinese Culture (3):

Examines the cultural practice and meanings of food, cooking, eating, and drinking through Chinese literature and cinema. Main themes include food and rituals, gourmandism and poetic taste, cannibalism and the grotesque, and hunger and revolution.
Instructor(s): Dr. Gang Yue Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-LA, CON-BN

ASIA 52 – First-Year Seminar: Food in Chinese Culture (3):

Examines the cultural practice and meanings of food, cooking, eating, and drinking through Chinese literature and cinema. Main themes include food and rituals, gourmandism and poetic taste, cannibalism and the grotesque, and hunger and revolution.
Instructor(s): Dr. Gang Yue Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-LA, CON-BN

ASIA 55 – First-Year Seminar: Kung-Fu: The Concept of Heroism in Chinese Culture (3):

Film, history, novels, and theater are used to explore the rich, complex kung-fu tradition in Chinese culture from ancient to modern times, as well as its appropriation in foreign films.
Instructor(s): Dr. Li-ling Hsiao Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-PH, CON-BN

ASIA 55 – First-Year Seminar: Kung-Fu: The Concept of Heroism in Chinese Culture (3):

Film, history, novels, and theater are used to explore the rich, complex kung-fu tradition in Chinese culture from ancient to modern times, as well as its appropriation in foreign films.
Instructor(s): Dr. Li-ling Hsiao Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-PH, CON-BN

ASIA 56 (WGST 56) – First-Year Seminar: Writing Women in Modern China (3):

Compares the rhetoric of equality between the sexes presented by late Qing, May Fourth, and communist thinkers to perspectives on gender and society by 20th-century Chinese women writers.
Instructor(s): Dr. Robin Visser Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-LA, CON-BN

ASIA 56 (WGST 56) – First-Year Seminar: Writing Women in Modern China (3):

Compares the rhetoric of equality between the sexes presented by late Qing, May Fourth, and communist thinkers to perspectives on gender and society by 20th-century Chinese women writers.
Instructor(s): Dr. Robin Visser Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-LA, CON-BN

ASIA 57 – First-Year Seminar: Dis-Orienting the Orient (3):

Examines how the East is constructed as the Orient in different historical periods: 19th-century European colonialism, 1950s to 1960s Hollywood films, contemporary Japanese animation, and the global war on terrorism.
Instructor(s): Dr. Dwayne Dixon Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-VP, CON-BN

ASIA 57 – First-Year Seminar: Dis-Orienting the Orient (3):

Examines how the East is constructed as the Orient in different historical periods: 19th-century European colonialism, 1950s to 1960s Hollywood films, contemporary Japanese animation, and the global war on terrorism.
Instructor(s): Dr. Dwayne Dixon Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-VP, CON-BN

ASIA 59 – First-Year Seminar: Media Masala: Popular Music, TV, and the Internet in Modern India and Pakistan (3):

Explores different examples of broadcast and digital media (music videos, soap operas and reality shows, radio, and social media) with respect to history, gender, sexuality, globalization, environment, religion, regionalism, and activism.
Instructor(s): Dr. Afroz Taj Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-VP, CON-BN

ASIA 59 – First-Year Seminar: Media Masala: Popular Music, TV, and the Internet in Modern India and Pakistan (3):

Explores different examples of broadcast and digital media (music videos, soap operas and reality shows, radio, and social media) with respect to history, gender, sexuality, globalization, environment, religion, regionalism, and activism.
Instructor(s): Dr. Afroz Taj Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-VP, CON-BN

ASIA 60 (JWST 60) – First-Year Seminar: Israeli Culture and Society: Collective Memories and Fragmented Identities (3):

The course explores selected themes and case studies pertinent to culture and society in modern Israel, with emphasis on debates about "Israeliness" in various cultural and social arenas.
Instructor(s): Dr. Yaron Shemer Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): CON-BN

ASIA 60 (JWST 60) – First-Year Seminar: Israeli Culture and Society: Collective Memories and Fragmented Identities (3):

The course explores selected themes and case studies pertinent to culture and society in modern Israel, with emphasis on debates about "Israeliness" in various cultural and social arenas.
Instructor(s): Dr. Yaron Shemer Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): CON-BN

ASIA 61 – First-Year Seminar: India through the Lens of Master Filmmakers (3):

Students watch, interpret, and analyze art films by filmmakers working in various languages and regions of India. Students are introduced to aesthetics, themes, cultures, and histories that have shaped the various regional cinemas of India. Course readings introduce students to some of the formal elements of filmmaking and provide cultural and historical context.
Instructor(s): Dr. Pamela Lothspeich Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-VP, CON-BN, CON-CI

ASIA 61 – First-Year Seminar: India through the Lens of Master Filmmakers (3):

Students watch, interpret, and analyze art films by filmmakers working in various languages and regions of India. Students are introduced to aesthetics, themes, cultures, and histories that have shaped the various regional cinemas of India. Course readings introduce students to some of the formal elements of filmmaking and provide cultural and historical context.
Instructor(s): Dr. Pamela Lothspeich Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-VP, CON-BN, CON-CI

ASIA 63 – First-Year Seminar: Japanese Tea Culture (3):

This seminar explores the history of tea culture in Japan, particularly the emergence in the 16th and 17th centuries of the ritualized practice often referred to in English as the "tea ceremony" (chanoyu). Practitioners included merchants, Buddhist monks, warlords, European Jesuits, and professional tea masters.
Instructor(s): Dr. Morgan Pitelka Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-HS, CON-BN

ASIA 63 – First-Year Seminar: Japanese Tea Culture (3):

This seminar explores the history of tea culture in Japan, particularly the emergence in the 16th and 17th centuries of the ritualized practice often referred to in English as the "tea ceremony" (chanoyu). Practitioners included merchants, Buddhist monks, warlords, European Jesuits, and professional tea masters.
Instructor(s): Dr. Morgan Pitelka Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-HS, CON-BN

ASIA 65 – First-Year Seminar: Philosophy on Bamboo: Rethinking Early Chinese Thought (3):

This course will introduce students to the main works and themes in early Chinese thought from the earliest recorded writings down to the Qin unification in 221 BCE.
Instructor(s): Dr. Uffe Bergeton Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-PH, CON-WB

ASIA 65 – First-Year Seminar: Philosophy on Bamboo: Rethinking Early Chinese Thought (3):

This course will introduce students to the main works and themes in early Chinese thought from the earliest recorded writings down to the Qin unification in 221 BCE.
Instructor(s): Dr. Uffe Bergeton Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-PH, CON-WB

ASIA 69 (PWAD 69) – First-Year Seminar: Wars and Veterans: Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan (3):

In this seminar, we will explore the various ways that Iran-Iraq, United States-Iraq, and United States-Afghanistan wars have been portrayed in literature, film, and photography. We will deepen and enrich our understanding of war experienced by both veterans and civilians. We will also read articles on war criticism and psychology.
Instructor(s): Dr. Claudia Yaghoobi Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-LA, CON-CI, CON-GL

ASIA 69 (PWAD 69) – First-Year Seminar: Wars and Veterans: Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan (3):

In this seminar, we will explore the various ways that Iran-Iraq, United States-Iraq, and United States-Afghanistan wars have been portrayed in literature, film, and photography. We will deepen and enrich our understanding of war experienced by both veterans and civilians. We will also read articles on war criticism and psychology.
Instructor(s): Dr. Claudia Yaghoobi Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-LA, CON-CI, CON-GL

ASIA 71 (ROML 71) – First-Year Seminar: Asia in Iberian Converso Literature, 1500s-1650s (3):

This course examines how 16th- and 17th-century Iberian authors of Jewish heritage imagined and represented Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, and Indonesians in their writings (e.g. plays, historical narratives, economic treatises, travel accounts, maps, etc.). We explore how these authors' representations of Asians not only dialogued with various interwoven variables (political, economic, and religious factors), but also revealed the historically complex issue regarding notions of personal identities and nationhood. Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-LA, CON-WB

ASIA 71 (ROML 71) – First-Year Seminar: Asia in Iberian Converso Literature, 1500s-1650s (3):

This course examines how 16th- and 17th-century Iberian authors of Jewish heritage imagined and represented Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, and Indonesians in their writings (e.g. plays, historical narratives, economic treatises, travel accounts, maps, etc.). We explore how these authors' representations of Asians not only dialogued with various interwoven variables (political, economic, and religious factors), but also revealed the historically complex issue regarding notions of personal identities and nationhood. Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-LA, CON-WB

ASIA 72 – First-Year Seminar: Transnational Korea: Literature, Film, and Popular Culture (3):

This first-year seminar introduces students to the history of transnational imaginations in modern Korea. Using literature, film, and television, it explores the ways in which Korean cultural producers have used narratives of transnational travel and exchange to rethink Korea's place in the world and refashion the bounds of Korean identity.
Instructor(s): Dr. I Jonathan Kief Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-LA, CON-BN, CON-CI

ASIA 72 – First-Year Seminar: Transnational Korea: Literature, Film, and Popular Culture (3):

This first-year seminar introduces students to the history of transnational imaginations in modern Korea. Using literature, film, and television, it explores the ways in which Korean cultural producers have used narratives of transnational travel and exchange to rethink Korea's place in the world and refashion the bounds of Korean identity.
Instructor(s): Dr. I Jonathan Kief Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-LA, CON-BN, CON-CI

ASIA 73 – First-Year Seminar: Popular Culture in the Arab World (3):

This first-year seminar introduces students to aspects of popular culture in the Arab world, taking it as an entry point for understanding the histories, cultures, and societies of the region. The course relies on anthropological readings alongside direct engagements with examples of popular culture from the Arab world.
Instructor(s): Dr. Ana Vinea Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-SS, CON-BN

ASIA 73 – First-Year Seminar: Popular Culture in the Arab World (3):

This first-year seminar introduces students to aspects of popular culture in the Arab world, taking it as an entry point for understanding the histories, cultures, and societies of the region. The course relies on anthropological readings alongside direct engagements with examples of popular culture from the Arab world.
Instructor(s): Dr. Ana Vinea Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-SS, CON-BN

ASIA 74 – First-Year Seminar: Imagining Palestine (3):

This course explores the idea of Palestine as in Palestinian creative works. We will study what Palestine is for Palestinians, how Palestinian relationships to and expectations of Palestine have changed over time; and how Palestinian portrayals of their homeland have affected perceptions of Palestine/Israel and the Arab world. How have art, film, and literature shaped Palestinian identities and aspirations throughout modern Palestinian history? How have they contributed to personal agency?
Instructor(s): Dr. Nadia Yaqub Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-VP, CON-BN

ASIA 74 – First-Year Seminar: Imagining Palestine (3):

This course explores the idea of Palestine as in Palestinian creative works. We will study what Palestine is for Palestinians, how Palestinian relationships to and expectations of Palestine have changed over time; and how Palestinian portrayals of their homeland have affected perceptions of Palestine/Israel and the Arab world. How have art, film, and literature shaped Palestinian identities and aspirations throughout modern Palestinian history? How have they contributed to personal agency?
Instructor(s): Dr. Nadia Yaqub Making Connections Gen-Ed(s): APP-VP, CON-BN

ASIA 75 – First-Year Seminar: Love in China (3):

We all know that love is not easy. But what makes it so complicated? This course examines how the conception of ''love'' in Chinese culture offers a key to understanding emotions, family structure, gender and sexuality, consumer desire, as well as political sentiments. We will probe into these issues through literary and visual materials from the 8th century B.C.E. to the 21st century.
Instructor(s): Dr. Keren He Making Connections Gen-Ed(s):

ASIA 89 – First Year Seminar: Special Topics (3):

Special topics course. Content will vary each semester.
Instructor(s): Dr. Keren He Making Connections Gen-Ed(s):