What can a tour of Asian cities teach us about early modern globalization? We will learn the fundamentals of good writing by learning about the key port cities of the Indo-Pacific in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Our exploration will trace the bustling activities, scandals, and diplomatic endeavors in cities such as Nagasaki, Macau, Manila, Batavia, Acapulco, and beyond. We will write about the people and peoples in motion who encountered one another in these contact zones, including multi-ethnic pirates; Asian merchants in the Americas; samurai in Southeast Asia; and exiled Japanese Christians. By the end of the course, you will have deepened your understanding of the course material and the writing process through weekly Quite Writes and five formal essays.

Full details for ASIAN 1109 - FWS: Connected Cities in Asia, 16th-18th Centuries

This First-Year Writing Seminar is about Asian Literature, Religion, and Culture and provides the opportunity to write extensively about these issues. Topics vary by section and instructor.

Full details for ASIAN 1111 - FWS: Literature, Culture, Religion

This course provides an introduction to Korean culture and history from early times to the present. We will examine major historical time periods and cultural forms of the Korean peninsula, with a focus on the Choson dynasty (1392-1910) and the twentieth century. The course is designed to give students an overview of the transformations of Korean civilization in the context of the East Asian cultural sphere and globalization. We will engage with a wide range of texts and media across time periods, including films, primary historical sources in translation, literature, and music videos. Key themes and topics of the course include the formation of South and North Korea’s identities, the rise of Neo-Confucianism, Japanese colonization and (post) colonialism, the construction and performance of gender, the Korean War and postwar reconstruction, environmental degradation, and developments in popular culture. (GE)

Full details for ASIAN 2218 - Introduction to Korea

In 1868, samurai revolutionaries and their allies seized the reins of power and established a new capital they called Tokyo. Against all odds, this fragile regime survived and made Tokyo a center of power that would transform both Japan and the world. This survey of Japanese history explores the rise and fall of Japan as a modern imperial power; its foreign relations; its economic and scientific development from feudalism to futuristic technologies; and Japan's many modern revolutions, from the rule of the samurai to Westernization and democracy, from democratic collapse to fascism and World War II, and from Japan's postwar rebirth to the present. We will examine not only big events but also everyday life, including gender and sexuality, family and schools, and art and popular culture. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 2222 - From Samurai to Superpower: Japan in World History II

This is an introduction of Chinese civilization from ancient times up to the end of the Chinese empire in 1911. It is intended to familiarize students with the major concepts of Chinese history, society, and culture, focusing on agents that have been often neglected in canonical histories, such as socially marginalized people, the natural and ecological environment, and local and global networks. (GE)

Full details for ASIAN 2230 - Introduction to China: Outsiders in History

For millennia, Buddhist monks, merchants, pilgrims, diplomats, and adventurers have moved around the Indian Ocean arena circulating Buddhist teachings and powerful objects. In doing so they helped create Buddhist communities in the places we now refer to as southern China, India, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. The course explores these circulatory histories by focusing on case studies in each of four historical periods: premodern (esp. early second millennium A.D.); the era of 19th-century colonial projects; mid-20th-century nation-state formation in South and Southeast Asia; and contemporary (early 21st century) times. Drawing together materials from Indian Ocean studies, Buddhist studies, and critical studies of colonialism, modernity, and nation-state formation, this course attends to the ways in which changing trans-regional conditions shape local Buddhisms, how Buddhist collectives around the Indian Ocean arena shape one another, and how trade, religion, and politics interact. (GE)

Full details for ASIAN 2248 - Buddhists in Indian Ocean World: Past and Present

This course will explore religious traditions in South Asia (Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka) and East Asia (China, Japan, and Korea) including Hinduism, Buddhism (South Asian and East Asian), Sikhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto. We will also encounter a wide range of religious expressions, including myth, ritual, pilgrimage, mysticism, meditation, and other spiritual technologies. (GE)

Full details for ASIAN 2250 - Introduction to Asian Religions

In this course, we will explore over one hundred years of Japanese cinema—one of the most prominent and diverse global film industries—from silent comedies to J-Horror, “ramen westerns” to Studio Ghibli. You will gain a thorough grounding in film vocabulary and tools of cinematic analysis, allowing for deep investigations of gender, genre, history, and the connections between film and other media in modern and contemporary Japan. All films will have English subtitles, and all readings will be available in English; no prior knowledge of Japanese language, history, or culture required. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 2252 - Introduction to Japanese Film

This course explores the breadth of music found in present day China, Japan, and Korea--from indigenous musical traditions, through adaptations of Western art music, up to the latest popular styles--as well as the presence of traditional East Asian musics outside East Asia, including right here at Cornell. In both cases, music offers a lens for examining the myriad social and cultural forces that shape it, and that are shaped by it. The course's academic focus on critical reading and listening, written assignments, and discussion is complemented by opportunities to engage directly with music, whether attending concerts or participating in workshops with student-led ensembles. (HC, SC)

Full details for ASIAN 2259 - Music in and of East Asia

Can we identify a distinctive Asian food and food culture? Challenging attempts to define heterogenous gastronomic practices as authentic reflections of a static Asian identity, this course discusses how food, diet, and cuisine have been integral to shaping boundaries of culture, identity, and nation across geographical and temporal divisions in Asia. We will examine how people use daily and visceral food experiences to imagine themselves as members of a given community, be it a nation, ethnicity, class, gender, or religion, while also examining how food practices constantly challenge that fixation and redraw these categories. Through examining a wide range of materials in diverse disciplines, ranging from reading historical and anthropological studies to watching “food porn” and TV cooking shows, we will discuss topics related to cookery and the media, colonialism and culinary modernity, food production and consumption, gender and cooking, food and (trans)nationalism, diaspora and globalization of food as well as eating and inequality. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 2272 - Food and Asia

This introductory course is a broad survey of the history of the Indian subcontinent from remnants of the Mughal empire through the end of the British empire into the postcolonial present. Prominent themes include the emergence of nonviolent protest, religious and regional identities, ethnic rivalries, social reform and the woman question, deindustrialization, nationalism and the place of democracy and militarism in a region that includes two nuclear powers, India and Pakistan. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 2275 - History of Modern India

East Asian medicinal and martial arts, whether practiced in East Asia or in other parts of the world, have been important points of contact for people within and between often marginalized communities. In this course we will study the twentieth century development of East Asian combat and healing traditions, and the transport of those disciplines to the U.S. We will examine the personal, community, national, and global stakes of East Asian arts for those who invest in suppressing, teaching, and practicing them. We will consider how East Asian martial and medical practices relate, for example, to global and local histories of orientalism, colonialism, migration, and racism, and to historical post-colonial, anti-racist, feminist, and LGBTQ movements. Over the course of the semester, we will research martial and medical arts as they have been practiced in Ithaca, and place these local histories into their broader historical contexts. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 2278 - East Asian Medical and Martial Arts

Students will study Chinese myths from the earliest times. Focus will be on understanding how people have used myth to create and convey meaning, on examining the form Chinese myths take, and on considering how they are related to religion, literature, historical accounts, and intellectual trends. (LL)

Full details for ASIAN 2279 - Chinese Mythology

This course offers a broad understanding of the crucial roles East Asian women played in culture, the economy, and society from antiquity to the early twentieth century. By rethinking the pervasive stereotype of the passive and victimized East Asian women under by staunch Confucian patriarchy, it aims to examine women’s struggles, negotiations, and challenges of the normative discourse of femininity, with a focus on patrilineal family, the female body and reproduction, domesticity and women’s economic labor, women’s work, literacy and knowledge, and the modernization of women. We will examine how Confucian notions of gender and family were, far from being fixed, constantly redefined by the historical and temporal needs of East Asian contexts. This examination is undertaken through a combination of reading original texts and secondary scholarship in various disciplines, including philosophy, anthropology, history, literature, and material culture. No knowledge of Chinese, Japanese, or Korean necessary. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 2281 - Gender, Family, and Confucianism in East Asia

Trade in and to Asia proved to be a key force in creating our modern globalized world. The Indian Ocean and the China Seas converged on Southeast Asia, where a cosmopolitan array of ships from every shore plied their trade, set sail, and returned with the monsoon winds. People, goods, and ideas also traveled on camelback across the undulating contours of the Gobi Desert, connecting India, the Near East and Central Asia with China, Korea, and Japan. This course introduces students to the raw ingredients of things in motion, poised interactively in time and space, as material worlds collide. Wood, bamboo, bronze, clay, earthenware, ink, spices, textiles and tea - students will navigate sites of encounter at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum from pre modern to the present. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 2285 - Introduction to Asian Art: Material Worlds

This course explores the evolution of Orientalism, focusing on how East Asia has been perceived in the West and in East Asia. By analyzing a range of cultural and literary works spanning the genres of travelogue, poetry, fiction, film, opera, photograph, painting, illustration, etc., the course critically examines the Orientalist dichotomy between the West and the non-West and analyzes the internalization of Orientalism in East Asia in constructing the marginalized other. In addition, through a combination of reading, writing, and in-class discussion, the course investigates the historical conditions surrounding the production and dissemination of Orientalist representations of East Asia and their relevance in the contemporary world. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 2295 - Orientalism and East Asia

This course explores the history of imperial China between the 3rd century b.c.e. and the 16th century c.e. with a focus on the following questions: How did imperial Chinese states go about politically unifying diverse peoples over vast spaces? How did imperial Chinese approaches to governance and to relations with the outer world compare with strategies employed by other historical empires? How did those approaches change over time? How did major socio-cultural formations - including literary canons; religious and familial lineages; marketing networks; and popular book and theatrical cultures - grow and take root, and what were the broader ramifications of those developments? How did such basic configurations of human difference as Chinese (civilized)-barbarian identity, high-low status, and male-female gender operate and change over time? (GE)

Full details for ASIAN 2740 - Imperial China

This course surveys modern Chinese history from 1600 to present. Time will be devoted to each of the three major periods into which modern Chinese history is conventionally divided: the Imperial Era (1600-1911), the Republican Era (1911-1949), and the People's Republic of China (1949-present). It guides students through pivotal events in modern Chinese history, and uncovers the origins of China's painful transition from a powerful early modern empire to a country torn by civil unrest and imperialist invasion, and then from a vanguard of world revolution to a post-communist party-state whose global power is on the rise. (GE)

Full details for ASIAN 2920 - Modern China

This course examines the long, complicated history of Korea’s relationship with China, focusing on the period from the fourteenth century to the present. Rather than having a nation-bound interpretation of history, the course explores how Korea’s national identity–from the Choson dynasty, through the colonial period, to the contemporary era of the two Koreas–has been shaped and negotiated in close relation to its interactions with China. By addressing various issues in Korean history that reflect Korea’s strong ties and conflicts with China, the course not only offers a comprehensive understanding of Korean history from a broader comparative perspective but also contributes to the transnational history of East Asia. No prior knowledge of Korean or Chinese is required. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 3021 - History of Korea-China Relations

In 1610, Nahua chronicler Chimalpahin wrote that a group of Japanese merchants had made landfall in Mexico, bringing with them writing desks, folding screens, porcelain, and silk. During this period, Japanese warlords, merchants, and converts began to engage in overseas exploration, journeying from Acapulco to Rome and traversing the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. At the same time, these actors engaged in colonial expansion, invading Korea, settling in parts of Southeast Asia, colonizing the island of Ezo (Hokkaido), and dominating the Ryukyuan islands (Okinawa). We will disentangle the complex and obscured role of the Japanese archipelago in early modern globalization through decolonial and archipelagic thinking. In each session, we will apply the readings to a primary source, such as an edict, a world-map folding screen, a set of playing cards, or an anti-Christian tale, that will serve as a focal point for the respective theme of the session. By grounding our interpretations in a diverse array of primary sources, you will develop an interdisciplinary skillset in visual, literary, and historical evidence and gain robust knowledge of transoceanic exchange. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 3022 - Science and Discovery: Japan and the "New World," 16th–17th Centuries

Video games have become one of the major cultural forces of the world, far surpassing the size of the film and music industries combined. They have also been key to developments in digital culture and technology, with the full extent of their impact on contemporary society only beginning to be understood. For much of the history of digital games, the vast majority of popular works have come from Japan—Nintendo, Sony, Sega, Capcom, Namco, and other companies have defined the medium as we know it—yet this remains largely not reflected in the growing discipline of game studies. In this course, we will explore key works from throughout game history and game studies in relation to culture and media in Japan, through experiments in writing, gameplay, and other forms of critical media practice. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 3315 - Game Studies and Japan

Fitness. Flexibility. Relaxation. Spirituality. These are just a sampling of the many buzzwords associated with groups of allied practices like Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness that have contemplative and physical dimensions. With mythologized origins among communities of obscure holy men living in the mountains of South Asia, yoga-centered traditions are now part of a multi-billion-dollar global industry, endorsed by celebrities and everyday people alike. In fact, statistics show that at least 1 out of 6 Americans today performs some kind of regular yoga routine. Indeed, the image of the proverbial yoga practitioner has been so influential on American public life, that at least two popular cultural icons from the past century, a baseball player and a cartoon character, have borne the first name Yogi. This course examines the evolution of yogic systems across three key historical periods—the classical, colonial, and contemporary—and offers students new perspectives on how activities that originated or stemmed from religious practice have acquired new meanings and objectives. Our approach will allow us to investigate both the continuities and disruptions within yogic philosophies from ancient times to the present. It will also allow us to assess how yoga-related concepts intersect in present times with notions of spiritual liberation, health and wellness, capitalist success, and racial justice.

Full details for ASIAN 3319 - From Meditation to Mat, Cave to Cartoon: Yoga as Philosophy, Practice, and Public Performance

Ever since the creation of the concept of a culturally and geographically stable center in China, people have been intentionally excluded from that center. Disgraced officials are sent to far-flung provinces, loyalists to past regimes hide out across China’s borders, and dissidents have their entry visas revoked, making it impossible for them to return home. The experiences of these people, and the poems and stories they write, tell us a great deal about what it means and how it feels to be included and excluded. What is the difference between the way China looks from the inside and the way it looks from the outside? Who has the power to decide who gets to live in China, and how and why do they use it? What is the relationship between our identities and our homes? Texts studied will range from 300 BCE to the present; all will be read and discussed in English. (LL)

Full details for ASIAN 3329 - Literature of Leaving China

This course will survey the rich and sophisticated tradition of Indian philosophical thought from its beginnings in the speculations of Upanishads, surveying debates between Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and materialistic philosophers about the existence and nature of God and of the human soul, the nature of knowledge, and the theory of language. (RL)

Full details for ASIAN 3344 - Introduction to Indian Philosophy

Surveys the modern history of Southeast Asia with special attention to colonialism, the Chinese diaspora, and socio-cultural institutions. Considers global transformations that brought the West into people's lives in Southeast Asia. Focuses on the development of the modern nation-state, but also questions the narrative by incorporating groups that are typically excluded. Assigns primary texts in translation. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 3396 - Transnational Local: Southeast Asian History from the Eighteenth Century

Do modern times (which are experienced and conceptualized in varied ways) pose distinctive problems and opportunities for Buddhists? How are Buddhist teachings drawn into forms of social and political critique, activist and advocacy projects, and theorizing about human communities and social processes? In the 20th and 21st centuries, how do Buddhist teachings and practices inform practical and conceptual approaches to human flourishing? Drawing on thinkers from several parts of Asia and the Americas, this seminar highlights how persons work creatively with Buddhist teachings. We shall explore how Buddhist teachings are interpreted to address painful circumstances, as well as how such hermeneutics may offer new (and sometimes liberatory) ways of seeing selves, others, and communities. Writers and artists considered in this seminar interpret Buddhist teachings and practices in relation to capitalism, race, gender, sexuality, environmental ethics, and nationalism. (RL)

Full details for ASIAN 4020 - Buddhist Moderns: Visions of Human Flourishing

This seminar course introduces students to the studies of science, technology, and medicine in East Asia, aiming to cultivate a foundational understanding of the field while exploring key topics relevant to the region. Each year, the course themes vary; this year, we focus on environments, media, and bodies. As a reading and writing intensive course, it challenges students to engage deeply with the material and articulate their insights through rigorous analysis. In doing so, students learn to appreciate the complex power dynamics at play as science and technology interact with a diverse range of actors, tracing intricate trajectories across national, transnational, and global networks.

Full details for ASIAN 4024 - Science, Medicine, and Media Technologies in East Asia

How did the U.S. and China reach this precarious moment? Are they on the brink of a hot war, or can diplomacy still prevent the worst? Is a cold peace even possible? This course critically examines the history of U.S.-China relations from 1949 to 2025, exploring the key diplomatic, economic, military, social, and ideological developments that have shaped bilateral ties. Beginning with early Cold War hostility (1949–1972), the Korean War (1950–1953), and the prolonged diplomatic estrangement (1953–1972), the course traces pivotal moments such as Nixon’s historic rapprochement (1972-1979), the cautious engagement of normalization (1979–1989), China’s economic rise and global integration (1990s–2008), and the evolving tensions of interdependence often described as ‘One Bed, Two Dreams’ (2008–present), shifting security dilemmas, and ongoing trade and technological competition. Special attention will be given to the contemporary landscape of strategic containment, rivalry, and the price of competition and cooperation. Through a multidisciplinary approach, students will analyze primary sources, academic literature, government reports, and firsthand accounts to assess how U.S.-China relations have evolved within a broader global context. Discussions will engage with pressing issues, including military tensions in the Indo-Pacific, economic decoupling, and the future trajectory of the bilateral relationship in an era of geopolitical uncertainty.

Full details for ASIAN 4076 - History of US-China Relations, 1949-2025

This is an events-based course. Students will attend ten seminars in the South Asia Program seminar series. The work of scholars, filmmakers, and artists presenting research in the series spans the region and its diasporas (e.g., India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Indian Ocean worlds). Topics considered will cross the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Students will attend these events and engage with the material presented in short response papers and supplemental readings. The objective of this course is to offer students, whether they are familiar with the region or not, new perspectives on the lived experiences of South Asia. Students will also become familiar with interdisciplinary area studies as an intellectual project. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 4377 - Issues in South Asian Studies

Supervised reading and research on the problem selected for honors work.

Full details for ASIAN 4401 - Asian Studies Honors Course

The student, under faculty direction, prepares an honors essay.

Full details for ASIAN 4402 - Asian Studies Honors: Senior Essay

Intensive reading under the direction of a member of the staff.

Full details for ASIAN 4404 - Supervised Reading

Visions of bodily corruption preoccupy ruler and ruled alike and prompt campaigns for moral, medical, and legal reform in periods of both stability and revolution. This seminar explores the links between political, sexual, and scientific revolutions in early modern and modern Asia. The focus is on China and Japan, with secondary attention to South Asia and Korea. Interaction with the West is a major theme. Topics include disease control, birth control and population control, body modification, the history of masculinity, honorific violence and sexual violence, the science of sex, normative and stigmatized sexualities, fashion, disability, and eugenics. The course begins with an exploration of regimes of the body in traditional Asian cultures. The course then turns to the medicalization and modernization of the body under the major rival political movements in Asia: feminism, imperialism, nationalism, and communism. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 4415 - The Body Politic in Asia

Tea is a ubiquitous commodity across time and cultures. The craze for tea has become a global phenomenon. The goal of this course is not only to elucidate the exchanges and transmissions that gave rise to the phenomenon, but also to unpack the definition of tea culture through the exploration of objects and rituals. How are tea objects related to rituals, etiquette, and movement? What do tea objects reveal about craftsmen/craftswomen and collectors? How are the objects related to religious, political, social, and economic environments of their times? Lastly, what is the importance of tea culture in shaping national and cultural identity in modern East Asia? (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 4424 - Objects, Rituals, and Tea

This course serves as a survey of major issues within Chinese politics and foreign policy and constitutes the capstone seminar for CAPS students. It is intended to give students an opportunity to explore aspects related to Chinese politics, economics, and society that they may have touched upon in other China-focused courses at Cornell, but have not been able to examine as fully, and with the degree of care, that they would like. In this regard, the substance of the course will be developed through an iterative process between the instructor and the seminar participants. We will spend the first part of the course doing a series of recent influential readings on contemporary China and developing initial research projects. The second half of the class will be organized around student led presentations of research projects (accompanied by relevant academic, media, and policy readings). (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 4435 - Making Sense of China: The Capstone Seminar

China's transition to capitalism has resulted in more than a generation of rapid and nearly uninterrupted growth. It increasingly dominates the production of all sorts of goods, from the very low end and labor intensive, to the high value added and capital intensive. China is aiming to dominate future product cycles, and is making major inroads in digital technology, AI, and robotics. This spectacular re-emergence as a world power has also increasingly lead to political conflict, both domestically and internationally. This course proceeds by assessing the interplay between marketization and economic transformation on the one hand, and social change and resistance as seen from the perspective of workers, on the other. While the course is specifically concerned with labor issues, we will see that the workplace is a prism that condenses and refracts much broader transformations occurring in Chinese society. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 4443 - Work and Labor in China

This interdisciplinary seminar examines the relationship between literature and the environment in an East Asian and global context. We will explore key questions and approaches in the fields of ecocriticism and the environmental humanities as they relate to ecological change in Korea, China, and Japan. How does literature make environmental crises, their effects on sentient beings, and the earth itself more visible? In what ways does storytelling give voice to changing relationships between humans and the more-than-human world? The seminar will engage the significant conceptual contributions Indigenous thinkers from Asia and the Americas have contributed to ecocriticism as we examine how poets, novelists, filmmakers, artists, nonfiction writers, and critics have responded creatively to environmental change. (LL)

Full details for ASIAN 4477 - Ecocriticism, Indigeneity, and East Asia in Global Context

This course examines the profound and far-reaching politics and dynamics generated by ocean technologies and infrastructures in this age of globalization and Anthropocene. It adopts an empirical and ethnographic approach and draws upon disciplines across natural and social sciences. Through multimodal course materials, scaffolding exercises, and reflective class activities, we will be looking into the bio-, geo-, and socio-environmental politics and dynamics of contemporary and emergent ocean technologies and infrastructures. The scope of the course is global with a significant coverage of Asia due to its role being a maritime epicenter. Through this course, students will gain critical knowledge and perspective to understand and navigate exigent oceanic issues, sociotechnical systems of power, and the planetary future.

Full details for ASIAN 4506 - Ocean Technopolitics and Global Futures

Labor is a universal human activity that orders societal hierarchies and determines value. Cinema and television, by zooming in and out of labor paid or unpaid, masculine or feminine, tedious or pleasurable, individual or collective, manual or intellectual, variously highlight the dual nature of work and workers as scaled objects on screen, and scaling agents off screen. This course introduces students to North American, European, and Asian films and television series that raise questions about what it means to work, and how work has shaped the way we think about time, space, identities, and social relations. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 4713 - Labor On and Off Screen

An explosive period of artistic experimentation occurred in China following the end of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). The new artistic practices that were developed from the late 1970s onwards-from painting to sculpture, installation, performance, video-quickly came to be known as contemporary Chinese art. This course charts its development with a historiographic attention to the ways in which it has been narrativized by domestic and international critics, curators, and art historians. Analyzing artworks, exhibitions, and translated texts, we will explore major trends and discursive issues to reflect on how we tell the story of this art in its domestic and global contexts. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 4844 - The Rise of Contemporary Chinese Art: Narratives in the Making of New Art

This course presents theories of language teaching and learning, and shows how they apply to Asian language course structure, classroom instruction, and assessment techniques. Students will observe classes taught by experienced teachers, discuss language learning theory and practice, and design and implement their own class activities. (LL)

Full details for ASIAN 5505 - Methodology of Asian Language Learning and Teaching

Do modern times (which are experienced and conceptualized in varied ways) pose distinctive problems and opportunities for Buddhists? How are Buddhist teachings drawn into forms of social and political critique, activist and advocacy projects, and theorizing about human communities and social processes? In the 20th and 21st centuries, how do Buddhist teachings and practices inform practical and conceptual approaches to human flourishing? Drawing on thinkers from several parts of Asia and the Americas, this seminar highlights how persons work creatively with Buddhist teachings. We shall explore how Buddhist teachings are interpreted to address painful circumstances, as well as how such hermeneutics may offer new (and sometimes liberatory) ways of seeing selves, others, and communities. Writers and artists considered in this seminar interpret Buddhist teachings and practices in relation to capitalism, race, gender, sexuality, environmental ethics, and nationalism. (RL)

Full details for ASIAN 6020 - Buddhist Moderns: Visions of Human Flourishing

In 1610, Nahua chronicler Chimalpahin wrote that a group of Japanese merchants had made landfall in Mexico, bringing with them writing desks, folding screens, porcelain, and silk. During this period, Japanese warlords, merchants, and converts began to engage in overseas exploration, journeying from Acapulco to Rome and traversing the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. At the same time, these actors engaged in colonial expansion, invading Korea, settling in parts of Southeast Asia, colonizing the island of Ezo (Hokkaido), and dominating the Ryukyuan islands (Okinawa). We will disentangle the complex and obscured role of the Japanese archipelago in early modern globalization through decolonial and archipelagic thinking. In each session, we will apply the readings to a primary source, such as an edict, a world-map folding screen, a set of playing cards, or an anti-Christian tale, that will serve as a focal point for the respective theme of the session. By grounding our interpretations in a diverse array of primary sources, you will develop an interdisciplinary skillset in visual, literary, and historical evidence and gain robust knowledge of transoceanic exchange. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 6022 - Science and Discovery: Japan and the "New World," 16th–17th Centuries

This seminar course introduces students to the studies of science, technology, and medicine in East Asia, aiming to cultivate a foundational understanding of the field while exploring key topics relevant to the region. Each year, the course themes vary; this year, we focus on environments, media, and bodies. As a reading and writing intensive course, it challenges students to engage deeply with the material and articulate their insights through rigorous analysis. In doing so, students learn to appreciate the complex power dynamics at play as science and technology interact with a diverse range of actors, tracing intricate trajectories across national, transnational, and global networks.

Full details for ASIAN 6024 - Science, Medicine, and Media Technologies in East Asia

How did the U.S. and China reach this precarious moment? Are they on the brink of a hot war, or can diplomacy still prevent the worst? Is a cold peace even possible? This course critically examines the history of U.S.-China relations from 1949 to 2025, exploring the key diplomatic, economic, military, social, and ideological developments that have shaped bilateral ties. Beginning with early Cold War hostility (1949–1972), the Korean War (1950–1953), and the prolonged diplomatic estrangement (1953–1972), the course traces pivotal moments such as Nixon’s historic rapprochement (1972-1979), the cautious engagement of normalization (1979–1989), China’s economic rise and global integration (1990s–2008), and the evolving tensions of interdependence often described as ‘One Bed, Two Dreams’ (2008–present), shifting security dilemmas, and ongoing trade and technological competition. Special attention will be given to the contemporary landscape of strategic containment, rivalry, and the price of competition and cooperation. Through a multidisciplinary approach, students will analyze primary sources, academic literature, government reports, and firsthand accounts to assess how U.S.-China relations have evolved within a broader global context. Discussions will engage with pressing issues, including military tensions in the Indo-Pacific, economic decoupling, and the future trajectory of the bilateral relationship in an era of geopolitical uncertainty.

Full details for ASIAN 6076 - History of US-China Relations, 1949-2025

This is an events-based course. Students will attend ten seminars in the South Asia Program seminar series. The work of scholars, filmmakers, and artists presenting research in the series spans the region and its diasporas (e.g., India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and Indian Ocean worlds). Topics considered will cross the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Students will attend these events and engage with the material presented in short response papers and supplemental readings. The objective of this course is to offer students, whether they are familiar with the region or not, new perspectives on the lived experiences of South Asia. Students will also become familiar with interdisciplinary area studies as an intellectual project. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 6377 - Issues in South Asian Studies

Visions of bodily corruption preoccupy ruler and ruled alike and prompt campaigns for moral, medical, and legal reform in periods of both stability and revolution. This seminar explores the links between political, sexual, and scientific revolutions in early modern and modern Asia. The focus is on China and Japan, with secondary attention to South Asia and Korea. Interaction with the West is a major theme. Topics include disease control, birth control and population control, body modification, the history of masculinity, honorific violence and sexual violence, the science of sex, normative and stigmatized sexualities, fashion, disability, and eugenics. The course begins with an exploration of regimes of the body in traditional Asian cultures. The course then turns to the medicalization and modernization of the body under the major rival political movements in Asia: feminism, imperialism, nationalism, and communism. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 6615 - The Body Politic in Asia

Chinglish language is crucial to formulations of the Sinophone (and Cantophone), to disciplinary life in Asian Studies and translation studies, and in the lives of migrants and transnational people around the world. Chinglish is, however, often edited out of literary and scholarly texts, and its transformative potential competes with taboos against its use. This course will engage with contemporary Sinitic-Anglophone hybrid language in three ways: first, by encountering it as a topic in critical theory, second, by historicizing the practice from maritime pidgin to contemporary social media, and third, by writing scholarship, creative work, and public-facing essays in and about Chinglish. Students are expected to be partially bilingual, but literacy and fluency in both languages is not required.

Full details for ASIAN 6616 - Workshop on Chinglish in Theory and Practice

Tea is a ubiquitous commodity across time and cultures. The craze for tea has become a global phenomenon. The goal of this course is not only to elucidate the exchanges and transmissions that gave rise to the phenomenon, but also to unpack the definition of tea culture through the exploration of objects and rituals. How are tea objects related to rituals, etiquette, and movement? What do tea objects reveal about craftsmen/craftswomen and collectors? How are the objects related to religious, political, social, and economic environments of their times? Lastly, what is the importance of tea culture in shaping national and cultural identity in modern East Asia? (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 6624 - Objects, Rituals, and Tea

This interdisciplinary seminar examines the relationship between literature and the environment in an East Asian and global context. We will explore key questions and approaches in the fields of ecocriticism and the environmental humanities as they relate to ecological change in Korea, China, and Japan. How does literature make environmental crises, their effects on sentient beings, and the earth itself more visible? In what ways does storytelling give voice to changing relationships between humans and the more-than-human world? The seminar will engage the significant conceptual contributions Indigenous thinkers from Asia and the Americas have contributed to ecocriticism as we examine how poets, novelists, filmmakers, artists, nonfiction writers, and critics have responded creatively to environmental change. (LL)

Full details for ASIAN 6677 - Ecocriticism, Indigeneity, and East Asia in Global Context

Surveys the modern history of Southeast Asia with special attentions to colonialism, the Chinese diaspora, and socio-cultural institutions. Considers global transformations that brought the West into people's lives in Southeast Asia. Focuses on the development of the modern nation-state, but also questions the narrative by incorporating groups that are typically excluded. Assigns primary texts in translation. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 6696 - Transnational Local: Southeast Asian History from the Eighteenth Century

Labor is a universal human activity that orders societal hierarchies and determines value. Cinema and television, by zooming in and out of labor paid or unpaid, masculine or feminine, tedious or pleasurable, individual or collective, manual or intellectual, variously highlight the dual nature of work and workers as scaled objects on screen, and scaling agents off screen. This course introduces students to North American, European, and Asian films and television series that raise questions about what it means to work, and how work has shaped the way we think about time, space, identities, and social relations. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 6713 - Labor On and Off Screen

An explosive period of artistic experimentation occurred in China following the end of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). The new artistic practices that were developed from the late 1970s onwards-from painting to sculpture, installation, performance, video-quickly came to be known as contemporary Chinese art. This course charts its development with a historiographic attention to the ways in which it has been narrativized by domestic and international critics, curators, and art historians. Analyzing artworks, exhibitions, and translated texts, we will explore major trends and discursive issues to reflect on how we tell the story of this art in its domestic and global contexts. (SC)

Full details for ASIAN 6844 - The Rise of Contemporary Chinese Art: Narratives in the Making of New Art

Guided independent study for graduate students.

Full details for ASIAN 7704 - Directed Research

This course will introduce foundational knowledge of Bangla language and elements of culture from Bangladesh and West Bengal to anyone interested in Bengal, e.g. those planning to travel to Bangladesh and West Bengal, India.

Full details for BENGL 1100 - Elements of Bangla-Bengali Language and Culture

Enables students to read and comprehend basic Bangla texts as well as speak and write in the language.

Full details for BENGL 1122 - Elementary Bangla-Bengali II

This 1-credit course is designed for students interested in working in the healthcare sector—particularly those preparing for clinical experiences, volunteer work, or future practice in linguistically diverse environments. The course focuses on developing basic communicative competence in Bangla for use in healthcare contexts. Through interactive activities, role-plays, and culturally contextualized scenarios, students will acquire essential vocabulary and phrases to engage with Bangla-speaking patients and communities. Emphasis is placed on practical language skills for clinical settings—such as patient intake, symptom description, and health education—alongside cultural norms and sensitivities relevant to Bangladeshi and Bangla-speaking populations.

Full details for BENGL 1200 - Bangla for Communication in Healthcare

Continuing focus on reading, writing, and conversational skills, this course is designed to advance students' oral competence and enhance comprehension skills through reading, conversations, and listening.

Full details for BENGL 2202 - Intermediate Bangla-Bengali II

Continuing instruction in Bangla at the advanced level focusing on conversation, interview, and discussion skills.

Full details for BENGL 3302 - Advanced Bangla-Bengali II

This course will introduce basic Burmese language and elements of Burmese culture to anyone who would like to learn about the country.

Full details for BURM 1100 - Elements of Burmese Language and Culture

This course focuses on building up confidence in speaking and understanding spoken Burmese at the beginner level. Emphasis is put on language you will need if you visit the country, and significant practical skills are learned along with essential information on some customs and traditions of Burmese culture. Some of the assignments are completed online using interactive video and audio materials.

Full details for BURM 1122 - Elementary Burmese (Myanmar) II

This course builds on and expands your Burmese language skills. It focuses on improving oral expression, reading, interpretation of written texts, and further developing listening skills and cultural understanding through real-life scene videos. Some of the assignments are completed online using interactive video and audio materials.

Full details for BURM 2202 - Intermediate Burmese (Myanmar) II

This course is a continuation of the previous level, focusing on further development of all four Burmese language skills. All materials used in the course consist of authentic Burmese short stories, news articles, digital media content, and other original resources from Myanmar. Students will enhance their presentational skills through regular discussions, formal presentations, and cultural analysis of these authentic materials. The particular materials used in any given year may vary depending on the proficiency level of the students. For students who are involved in Burma/Myanmar related research, their projects may also become part of the course.

Full details for BURM 3302 - Advanced Burmese (Myanmar) II

This course continues to develop Burmese reading proficiency, building on skills from previous coursework. Students will engage with challenging authentic texts, analyze their content, and translate them into English. While the course includes some Burmese conversation, it primarily focuses on developing reading comprehension for practical materials such as websites covering current events, cultural developments, and contemporary literary works. The course is designed for both heritage speakers of Burmese and students learning Burmese as a new language. Reading selections vary year to year, tailored to match student interests and learning objectives.

Full details for BURM 3310 - Advanced Readings in Burmese (Myanmar) II

Designed for beginners, providing a thorough grounding in conversational and reading skills. Students with any previous background or training in the language will need to take the Mandarin Placement Test to determine which Chinese course will best suit their needs. For non-heritage learners only.

Full details for CHIN 1102 - Beginning Mandarin II

Continuation of CHIN 1109. Intended primarily for students whose family language is Mandarin but who have had little or no formal training. The focus is on reading, writing and speaking, as well as culture, and current events in the Chinese speaking community.

Full details for CHIN 1110 - Beginning Chinese Reading and Writing for Students of Chinese Heritage II

A continuation of CHIN 1121. This course helps students develop basic skills in Mandarin Chinese, at a moderate pace. For non-heritage learners only.

Full details for CHIN 1122 - Beginning Mandarin for Professional Students II

A continuation of CHIN 1123 . This course helps students develop basic skills in Mandarin Chinese, at a moderate pace. For non-heritage learners only.

Full details for CHIN 1124 - Beginning Mandarin for Professional Students IV

Continuing instruction in written and spoken Chinese with particular emphasis on consolidating basic conversational skills and improving reading confidence and ability.

Full details for CHIN 2202 - Intermediate Mandarin II

If your long-term goal is to move past the intermediate Chinese learning plateau and gain the ability to participate fully in the Chinese-speaking world, this course is the next step you need to take. This course uses a combination of short essays written by well-known Chinese writers and news articles from a wonderful news platform and focuses on how to read and write effectively through 1) learning both semi-formal and formal vocabulary, modern idiomatic expressions, advanced sentence structures and the major features that characterize advanced Chinese; 2) exploring the different aspects of Chinese culture or events that interest you; 3) completing a book or a magazine in Chinese as the course project applying what students learn during the semester. This course helps students further solidify their foundation for advanced-level study in Chinese, as well as enhance their awareness of and overall competence in cross-cultural communication.

Full details for CHIN 2210 - Intermediate Chinese Reading and Writing for Students of Chinese Heritage II

Continuing instruction in spoken and written Mandarin Chinese via text and authentic multimedia materials.

Full details for CHIN 3302 - High Intermediate Mandarin II

Equivalent to CHIN 3302. Continuing instruction in spoken Chinese and in various genres and styles of written Chinese.

Full details for CHIN 3352 - High Intermediate Mandarin II: CAPS in Beijing

Reading, discussion, and composition at advanced levels.

Full details for CHIN 4412 - Advanced Mandarin II

This course aims to help students achieve an advanced level of proficiency in both speaking and writing through reading authentic Chinese materials, watching TV shows, engaging in various writing exercises, and participating in class discussions on social and cultural topics on contemporary China. Classical Chinese will be introduced in this course through supplementary readings.

Full details for CHIN 4428 - High Advanced Mandarin II

Equivalent to CHIN 4412 . Reading, discussion, and composition at advanced levels.

Full details for CHIN 4452 - Advanced Mandarin II: CAPS in Beijing

This course is designed for students who have satisfactorily finished CHIN 4427 or the equivalent. The focus of the course is on formal Chinese, and the main aim of this course is to help students achieve an advanced level of Chinese performance, so that they may combine Chinese with their work in their majors. The course material will be formal Chinese writings by native speakers, mostly for native speakers, related to students' majors and fields of interest. In addition, classical Chinese will also be introduced through readngs as a means to enhance students' understanding of the language.

Full details for CHIN 4454 - High Advanced Mandarin II: CAPS in Beijing

Students choose a faculty member to oversee this independent study. The student and the faculty member work together to develop course content. (LL)

Full details for CHLIT 4422 - Directed Study

This seminar is designed to provide an introduction to the idiom of literary Buddhist Chinese. It will include selections from early translations as well as native Chinese compositions that react to the canonical tradition. Students are welcome to read in any East Asian pronunciation (Mandarin, Cantonese, Sino-Japanese, etc.). (LL)

Full details for CHLIT 4435 - Chinese Buddhist Texts

Students choose a faculty member to oversee this independent study. The student and the faculty member work together to develop class readings. (LL)

Full details for CHLIT 6622 - Advanced Directed Reading

Designed for students who have no prior background in Hindi and wish to develop some basic speaking and written skills. This course offers a balanced treatment of speaking, listening comprehension, reading, and writing skills. By the end of the Elementary Hindi sequence, students will beable to (1) converse and comprehend conversations on topics such as personal needs and social activities; (2) listen and communicate main ideas of simple stories and conversations in Hindi; (3) read aloud/pronounce and write in Hindi-Urdu scripts at a satisfactory speed; (4) familiarize themselves with the language through the meaning cultural contexts and background.

Full details for HINDI 1122 - Elementary Hindi II

HINDI 2202 is the continuation of HINDI 2201. The main emphasis in this course is to reinforce the linguistic functions learned in HINDI 2201, and to build comparatively more complex functions suitable for intermediate level in Hindi. Students' competence in all four language skills will be improved in order to perform higher level tasks and function.

Full details for HINDI 2202 - Intermediate Hindi II

Throughout this course sequence all aspects of language learning are practiced; listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Video materials are used and the emphasis is on the conversational aspect of the language.

Full details for HINDI 2204 - Intermediate Hindi Reading and Writing for Heritage Students II

This is a continuation of HINDI 3301. Selected readings in modern Hindi literature. Continued work on fluency in speaking Hindi on an advanced level. There will be a combination of different reading materials from literature, journals, newspapers, and many social, entertainment, and political magazines in Hindi. Discussions will be based on those readings and articles, hence giving opportunities to express views and opinions in a fluent and effective manner.

Full details for HINDI 3302 - Advanced Hindi II

This course is for students with no previous knowledge of Indonesian or Malay language. Students will learn enough phrases to be able to handle very simple interactions, express very simple needs, and behave appropriately in Indonesian settings. Cultural information will be taught in English. Indonesianists of Cornell share fun information about their fields of expertise regarding Indonesia. 80% of the course, the Bahasa Indonesia language component, will be practiced.

Full details for INDO 1100 - Elements of Indonesian Language and Culture

Gives a thorough grounding in basic speaking, listening, reading and writing skills.

Full details for INDO 1122 - Elementary Indonesian II

Develops all four skills: reading, writing, speaking, and listening comprehension.

Full details for INDO 2202 - Intermediate Indonesian II

Practical language course at a high intermediate and low advanced level in which students read and discuss selected materials on issues of their academic interests, write essays, and make oral presentations.

Full details for INDO 3302 - High Intermediate Indonesian II

A critical academic language course at a higher advanced level that sharpens students' proficiency of integrated language skills from an advanced high or above level, based on the ACTFL proficiency benchmarks. Students read, discuss, debate and explore hypotheses on issues from specialized disciplines to broader abstract ideas.

Full details for INDO 4402 - Advanced Indonesian for Research II

Gives a thorough grounding in all four language skills-speaking, listening, reading, and writing-at the beginning level. The laboratory provides explanation, analysis, and cultural background. Daily lectures are conducted entirely in Japanese.

Full details for JAPAN 1102 - Elementary Japanese II

This course provides widely applicable language proficiency as an integrated Japanese course, which develops all four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) at the post-elementary level.

Full details for JAPAN 2202 - Intermediate Japanese II

For students who have learned basic Japanese skills and would like to develop higher skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening.

Full details for JAPAN 3302 - High Intermediate Japanese II

Develops reading, writing and oral communication skills at the advanced level.

Full details for JAPAN 4402 - Advanced Japanese II

This is a Japanese course to develop both oral and written communication skills focusing on a variety of current events and social phenomena in Japan.

Full details for JAPAN 4422 - Special Topics

Students choose a faculty member to oversee this independent study. The student and the faculty member work together to develop class readings.

Full details for JPLIT 6625 - Directed Readings

Guided independent study for graduate students.

Full details for JPLIT 6628 - Advanced Directed Readings

This course will introduce basic Khmer/Cambodian language and culture to anyone with interest in the subject matter, those planning to travel to Cambodia, heritage students, etc.

Full details for KHMER 1100 - Elements of Khmer Language and Culture

Gives a thorough grounding in speaking and reading.

Full details for KHMER 1122 - Elementary Khmer II

Continuing instruction in spoken and written Khmer. Intermediate level of reading Khmer.

Full details for KHMER 2202 - Intermediate Khmer II

Continuing instruction in spoken and written Khmer; emphasis on enlarging vocabulary, increasing reading speed, and reading various genres and styles of prose.

Full details for KHMER 3302 - Advanced Khmer II

Continuation of KOREA 1101. Designed to help students acquire the 4 skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) of the Korean language and to become familiar with its culture. Basic knowledge of Korean grammar, vocabulary, expressions and cultural points will be given during the lab. The students will then have an opportunity to practice the learned knowledge in lectures. The goal of this course is to refine their survival skills in Korean. By the end of the semester, students will be able to engage in simple conversations with native Koreans on subjects familiar to them in all time frames (present, past, and future): school life, family and friends, traffic and transportation, vacation, food and restaurant, hobbies, etc. Korean typing skill is required.

Full details for KOREA 1102 - Elementary Korean II

Continuation of KOREA 1109. Focuses on communicative skills in speaking, listening, reading and writing by introducing a wide range of linguistic resources. Students will command daily conversation in different cultural contexts and develop an ability to summarize and reflect on literary texts and films both in oral and written modes. Students will be able to create a discourse regarding topics such as birthday, campus life, family, shopping and hobbies. Also, students will write and revise their own work regularly to improve linguistic accuracy and reduce error production.

Full details for KOREA 1110 - Elementary Korean Reading and Writing II

Continuation of KOREA 2201 . The course helps students develop further communicative competence by understanding and producing complex linguistic structures and pragmatically appropriate expressions in cultural contexts. Students will use linguistic tools to describe and express their stance, justification, attitudes, evaluation and complex clausal relations. Students will command a lengthy discourse regarding various topics such as holidays, birthday, cultural differences, doctor-patient talk and job interview.

Full details for KOREA 2202 - Intermediate Korean II

Continuation of KOREA 2209. Designed for Korean heritage students who can understand and speak Korean, but especially need to refine their reading and writing skills. Students will acquire concrete knowledge of grammar to use in everyday conversation, and will minimize their spelling errors in writing, through frequent discussion and composition about Korean culture, society and history. They will become confident in reading paragraph-length readings in Korean, be able to write their reflections on the passages that they have read, and speak with ease when participating in the classroom discussions. Various projects will enhance students' overall linguistic and intercultural competence. Korean typing skill is required.

Full details for KOREA 2210 - Intermediate Korean Reading and Writing II

Continuation of KOREA 3301. Students will continue to refine their high-intermediate language skills. Authentic published materials and documentary video-clips will be introduced in order for students to be exposed to an advanced level of Korean. Students will discuss and write an essay on topics regarding Seoul, South Korea and North Korea, housing in Korea, customs and superstition of Korea, Korean folk tales and proverbs, Korean culture of community, and Korea during the Japanese colonial period. Students are given the opportunity to do research on Korean culture and society following an academic research format and give an oral presentation in class.

Full details for KOREA 3302 - High Intermediate Korean II

Continuation of KOREA 4401. Designed for students to acquire advanced language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) through Content-Based Instruction and Project-Based Language Learning. Students will gain profound knowledge in various fields on Korea through discussion and composition: Current issues in Korean society, Korean people's thoughts and mind, tradition, history and culture. With frequent discussions and compositions on various contemporary news articles, documentaries, and a novel, students are encouraged to become Intercultural Communicative Citizens and learn the contents through the language. The expected student outcome is to gain confidence in the academic level of discussions and compositions by critical thinking and analyzing. Korean typing skill is required.

Full details for KOREA 4402 - Advanced Korean II

This course is a continuation of NEPAL 2121: Elementary Nepali I. It builds upon foundational skills, with continued emphasis on basic grammar and the four core language competencies—speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Students will engage with culturally relevant and contemporary materials to further develop their proficiency in Nepali.

Full details for NEPAL 1122 - Elementary Nepali II

This course continues to develop reading, writing, and conversational skills, focusing on improving oral proficiency and enhancing comprehension through reading, conversations, and listening exercises.

Full details for NEPAL 2202 - Intermediate Nepali II

This course provides advanced-level Nepali instruction with an emphasis on conversation, interviews, and discussion skills.

Full details for NEPAL 3302 - Advanced Nepali II

This course introduces students to Punjabi, a major language of northern India and Pakistan. Beginning with the study of the Gurmukhi script, the course offers an intensive study of the speaking, reading, and writing of the language. This is approached through the theme-based syllabus, a discussion in small groups and paired activities on the cultural background of Punjab and Punjabi culture.

Full details for PUNJB 1122 - Elementary Punjabi II

Further develops students' skills in Punjabi, a major language of northern India and Pakistan. Continuing with the study of the Gurmukhi script, the course offers an intensive study of the speaking, reading, and writing of the language. This is approached through the theme-based syllabus, a discussion in small groups and paired activities on the cultural background of Punjab and Punjabi culture.

Full details for PUNJB 2202 - Intermediate Punjabi II

An introduction to the essentials of Sanskrit grammar. Designed to enable the student to read classical and epic Sanskrit as soon as possible.

Full details for SANSK 1132 - Elementary Sanskrit II

Readings from Sanskrit dramas and literary commentary.

Full details for SANSK 2252 - Intermediate Sanskrit II

Selected readings in Sanskrit literary and philosophical texts.

Full details for SANSK 3302 - Advanced Sanskrit II

Topics vary by semester in relation to student needs.

Full details for SANSK 5510 - Graduate Studies in Sanskrit

This course will introduce the basic Sinhala language elements and elements of Sri Lankan culture for those who are interested in the field of language and culture. Also for those planning to travel to Sri Lanka, heritage students, etc.

Full details for SINHA 1100 - Elements of Sinhala Language and Culture

Semi-intensive introduction to colloquial Sinhala, intended for beginners. A thorough grounding is given in all the language skills; listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Full details for SINHA 1122 - Elementary Sinhala II

This course further develops student competence in colloquial Sinhala, attending to all the language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. In addition, this course prepares students for the transition to literary Sinhala.

Full details for SINHA 2202 - Intermediate Sinhala II

This one-semester course further develops students' comprehension of written Literary Sinhala, using sample materials from a variety of genres prepared by the instructor, as well as excerpts from texts relevant to graduate student research (when appropriate).

Full details for SINHA 4400 - Literary Sinhala II

This course will introduce very basic functional uses of Tagalog/Filipino language and elements of Filipino culture to interested students like heritage learners and those who are planning to travel briefly to the Philippines to participate in a short project or study abroad program in the country.

Full details for TAG 1100 - Elements of Tagalog-Filipino Language and Culture

Gives a thorough grounding in basic speaking and listening skills with an introduction to reading and writing.

Full details for TAG 1122 - Elementary Tagalog-Filipino II

Develops all four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Full details for TAG 2202 - Intermediate Tagalog-Filipino II

Continuing instruction on conversational skills but with emphasis on reading and writing. Selected core readings in contemporary Tagalog literature are used, but students, in consultation with the instructor, may select some of the class materials.

Full details for TAG 3302 - Advanced Tagalog-Filipino II

Further develops students' written and oral proficiency in order to allow them to function adequately in a Tamil-speaking environment. Of particular interest to students planning to conduct scholarly research or fieldwork in a Tamil-speaking context. Develops the students' appreciation for the rich culture of the Indian subcontinent where Tamil is spoken.

Full details for TAMIL 2202 - Intermediate Tamil II

This course introduces basic spoken Thai and various aspects of Thai culture for short-term visitors. Through active, participatory learning this course cultivates a working knowledge of the Thai language and develops a cultural intuition that is meaningful and functional for achieving a smooth transition and successful experience in Thailand. This course is for students who are personally interested in Thai culture as well as those participating in university projects in Thailand.

Full details for THAI 1100 - Elements of Thai Language and Culture

This beginning level course provides a solid grounding in all four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) with an emphasis on reading and writing. The aim is to enable learners to continue the process of thinking in Thai and learning to converse and get around in certain basic situations in daily life with an additional of basic literacy skill.

Full details for THAI 1122 - Elementary Thai II

Continues to develop and comprehensively extends the four language skills acquired at the Elementary level (listening, speaking, reading, and writing).

Full details for THAI 2202 - Intermediate Thai II

Develops conversational skill along with reading and writing skills at a High Intermediate level.

Full details for THAI 2204 - Intermediate Thai Composition and Conversation II

Develops advanced speaking skill with emphasis on selected readings in Thai from various fields, for example, History, Anthropology, Government, Economics, Agriculture, as well as other professional schools. The readings are supplemented with visual materials such as video clips and films.

Full details for THAI 3302 - Advanced Thai II

Reading of significant novels, short stories, and poetry written since 1850 and other classical works.

Full details for THAI 3304 - Thai Literature II

This is an introductory course. It focuses on developing basic abilities to speak as well as to read and write in modern Tibetan, Lhasa dialect. Students are also introduced to modern Tibetan studies through selected readings and guest lectures.

Full details for TIBET 1112 - Elementary Modern Tibetan II

Introduces students to the grammar of Classical Literary Tibetan as found in Indian treatises translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan, as well as indigenous Tibetan philosophical works. The course progresses through a sequence of the basic rudiments of the language, including an introduction to the script and its romanization, pronunciation (central Lhasan dialect), normative dictionary order, and the basic categories of grammar. Following these preliminaries, students proceed to guided readings in Tibetan literature designed to introduce them to the formal approach of Tibetan lexical semantics with an emphasis on the role of verbs in determining argument realization options. Over the duration of the course, students encounter new vocabulary (and associated Buddhist concept hierarchies) and increasingly complex sentence structures. This course thus provides a solid foundation for the later exploration of other genres of literature and styles of composition.

Full details for TIBET 1122 - Elementary Classical Tibetan II

This two-semester class is designed to assist students who already have the equivalent of at least one year of Tibetan language study. The course is intended to build on this foundation so that students gain greater proficiency in reading a variety of classical Tibetan writing styles and genres, including (especially in the second semester) texts relevant to their research.In this second semester, these skills will be applied in more extensive readings in literary, religious and historical sources. We will explore various genres: poetry (snyan ngag), biographies (rnam thar), avadanas (rtogs brjod), religious histories (chos 'byung), administrative documents (gzhung yig), epistolary writings (e.g. chab-shog), canonical texts (sutras), religious songs (mgur), etc.; as well as calligraphic-styles, manuscripts, scrolls etc. Students will also gain facility in the use of Tibetan-Tibetan dictionaries essential for reading classical texts, in particular for the use of the kavya-derived ornamental vocabulary and rhetorical devices.

Full details for TIBET 2202 - Intermediate Classical Tibetan II

For those whose knowledge is equivalent to a student who has completed the first-year course. The course focuses on the further development of their skills in using the language to engage with practical topics and situations, such as seeing a doctor, reading news, writing letters, and listening to music.

Full details for TIBET 2212 - Intermediate Modern Tibetan II

This class is designed to assist students who already have the equivalent of at least two years of Classical Tibetan language study. The course is intended to build on this foundation so that students gain greater proficiency in reading a variety of classical Tibetan writing styles and genres, including texts relevant to their research.

Full details for TIBET 3302 - Advanced Classical Tibetan II

For those whose knowledge is equivalent to a student who has completed the second-year course. The course develops students' reading comprehension skills through reading selected modern Tibetan literature. Tibetan is used as the medium of instruction and interaction to develop oral fluency and proficiency.

Full details for TIBET 3312 - Advanced Modern Tibetan II

This course is designed for anyone wishing to gain some basic Vietnamese language skills and learn various elements of Vietnamese culture. Those who are planning to take short trips to Vietnam will find this course particularly useful. Due to the flip classroom nature of the course, it is intended for sophomores and up.

Full details for VIET 1100 - Elements of Vietnamese Language and Culture

This course gives a thorough grounding in basic speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills in Vietnamese.

Full details for VIET 1122 - Elementary Vietnamese II

Continuing instruction in spoken and written Vietnamese with special emphasis on expanding vocabulary and reading ability.

Full details for VIET 2202 - Intermediate Vietnamese II