Fall 2016

Thinking in and beyond a time of rapidly digitizing production, consumption, and circulation of texts, what does it mean, and has it meant, to make a book by hand or using analog or hybrid technologies? How can the verbal, visual, and material aspects of a book express or embody change, memory, narrative, and thought? How can the making of a book reveal the connections and disconnects between craftspeople (including writers), local communities, and “global” consumers?

In this course, we will try to answer these questions by engaging two regional literary traditions, Bengali and Tamil, and exploring bookmaking practices and forms. We will read works in a variety of formats that draw diversely on traditional narratives, as well as historical and critical works. In addition to practicing and developing basic college-level academic writing skills, we will do simple hands-on bookmaking activities to experiment with writing on a material level. If possible, we may make a field trip to a local letterpress printer and/or have guest speakers who are practitioners of the book arts.

This course considers the co-option, reinterpretation and dissemination of sacred texts and religious practices in various political and cultural projects in India during the colonial and post-colonial periods. Students will be introduced to religious “reform” movements and cross-cultural debates during the colonial period. We will also examine how the concept of a secular state in post-Independence India has shaped and continues to shape religious practice and public policy. Important themes will include, transformations in the role of women, debates around caste and “untouchability”, and religious conversions. Although the emphasis is on Hindu traditions, attention will also be given to other Indian traditions such as Islam, Christianity and Buddhism.

Indonesia is the nation with the world’s largest Muslim population, and Malaysia and the southern Philippines are regions with vibrant Islamic traditions. Islam has been essential in the development of Southeast Asian cultures, literatures, and arts for over seven hundred years, and Southeast Asian Islam is intimately tied to the Islamic world. This upper-division undergraduate course will be an investigation into key discourses on the cultures and politics of Islam in Southeast Asia. We will trace the processes through which Islam entered the Malay world in the 13th century. We will explore the European colonial encounters with Islam in Southeast Asia and the ways that Islam interacted with and resisted colonialism. We will discuss the role of mysticism and Sufi associations, and of reformist movements in the 18th through the 21st centuries. And we will analyze the place of Islam in Southeast Asian arts and literature. We will consider the majority Muslim nations of Indonesia and Malaysia, and will also explore the struggles of Islam as a minority religion in the Philippines and Thailand. Readings will include primary sources in translation, literary texts, ethnographic works, and writings by colonial and local scholars. Note: this course is writing-intensive and discussion-based.

In this seminar we will examine contemporary Southeast Asian society and culture through the lens of contemporary Southeast Asian films from two countries -- Vietnam and the Philippines.  In discussions about the films in class we will seek to understand how these films mirror modern and traditional aspects of the societies in which they were produced.  We will also consider the films as examples of current world cinema and vehicles of storytelling.  In their four page papers for each section of the course, students will address the above broad issues (referencing class discussions when appropriate) in relation to their own experiences and opinions, focusing either on one film or comparing two or three from the same country.

This course prepares graduate students to teach both R & C and our gateway courses, consolidating skills and developing confidence in the classroom. The course will give students practical experience in creating and adapting materials for use in the classroom, while consolidating their understanding of the basic principles of teaching university-level reading and writing. This seminar is discussion based and is centered on student participation and in-class presentations by participants. There will be no “lecture” style presentations, but there will be class visits from on-campus and off-campus specialists in the teaching of writing and reading. This course will also deal with such practical matters as where and how to find resources on campus, how to structure class time, how to lead a discussion, how to use campus learning websites, how to create writing assignments and teach writing, and how to develop effective assessment that at once contributes to and can allow assessment of, a student’s attainment of course learning objectives. This course qualifies for the GSI Teaching and Resource Center's Certificate of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.

This is a beginners’ class with emphasis on the four basic skills:  listening, speaking, reading, and writing.  The course uses the functional approach in learning a language. The students focus on basic conversational  skills in Filipino.  At the end of the  course, they should be able to use Filipino in greetings and situations such as visiting a friend’s house, shopping, telling the time, making an appointment, asking and giving directions, and going to a medical clinic.  They should also be able to use Filipino in: describing people, objects, and places;  narrating an event or simple story;  expressing feelings; and expressing agreement or disagreement.

This course emphasizes development of the full range of Hindi language skills: reading, listening, comprehension, the use of grammatical structures, and oral and written communication—through a variety of learning themes. Individual and small group activities, interactive work and multimedia-based activities reinforce language skills and provide the platform for adapting the curriculum to specific student learning goals. Use of graded exercises and readings drawn from Hindi literature, leads to the mastery of grammatical structures, essential vocabulary and achievement of basic reading and writing competence.

This class will provide students with basic speaking, listening, reading and writing proficiency in modern standard Khmer, the major language spoken in Cambodia.  The emphasis will be 60% speaking/listening and 40% reading/writing.  Students will achieve a "survival level" of conversation and ability to use the writing system, using topics such as pleasantries and introductions, family and friends, the classroom, and food.  No previous knowledge of Khmer is necessary

Gurmukhi script. Survey of grammar. Graded exercises, leading to a mastery of basic language patterns, essential vocabulary, and achievement of basic reading and writing skills.

The focus of Sanskrit 100AB is to introduce students to Sanskrit grammar, with a goal of developing the skills necessary to read basic, simple Sanskrit texts. Sanskrit 101A covers lessons 1–12 of the Devavāṇīpraveśikā [Robert P. Goldman and Sally J. Sutherland Goldman, 2004], including, the script, sandhi, the present system [vartamāne prayoga], the karmaṇi and bhāve prayoga-s, the laṭ, laṅ, and the loṭ, and bhūte kṛdanta-s, and past active participles, nominal stems in –a/ā, i/ī, u/ū, an, aḥ, iḥ, uḥ, ant, [t]ṛ, and in [for all genders]. Also covered are participles, relative and correlative constructions, questions, and a number of idioms, as well as tatpuruṣa [including nañ, prādi and gati, and upapada samāsas] and karmadhāraya samāsas. Students are expected to memorize for recitation one or more verses per week. Emphasis is placed on correct prosody and pronunciation. The class meets for six hours each week. The first twenty minutes of each class are spent in oral drills and recitation, replacing the traditional language lab., Tthe next hour is spent in intense grammatical instruction and practice, the final thirty minutes of class are practice in reading and writing in Sanskrit. There is daily homework and memorization. Attendance is required. There are two quizzes, two mid-term exams, and a final exam. No prior knowledge of Sanskrit is required.

Excerpts from contemporary short stories, novels, prose and other forms of Tamil literature authored by popular Tamil writers will be used as reading material. Films will be used as supplementary material for discussions.

This elementary level course focuses on progressive acquisition of language skills to communicate effectively in Telugu. It facilitates development of Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing competence along with basic grammar.