All courses numbered 500 and above are graduate courses.
Undergraduates need to submit a course permit to enroll.
HIST 630 Fundamental Issues in Asian Civilization from the Beginnings to the Present
Taught as schedule allows (consult the Course Directory)
The course will examine some key historical and literary texts, ancient and modern, from China, Japan, Korea, and possibly India, with a view to identifying fundamental and continuing features of those civilizations, as well as how they have fared in recent centuries. We will compare by topics: e.g. virtue, legitimacy of rule, the family, origins of the state, etc. For China, substantial emphasis will be placed on the Shu Jing or Classic of Documents, perhaps the most important of the classics, but little studied. We will also look at scholarship and archaeology under the influence of nationalism in the twentieth century. Emphasis will also be placed on the ways Asian countries have rejected or ignored their traditions in modern times, on iconoclasm, politicization of culture, as well as attempts at cultural reconstruction—e.g. after the Cultural Revolution. Readings will be in English. No student (or the professor) is expected to know all the original languages. But if you should know Classical Chinese or Japanese or Korean or Sanskrit, that will make the class even more interesting.
