Spring 2014

In both the Philippines and Indonesia, the short story is an important vehicle for artistic, emotional and socio-political expression and experimentation. This seminar will introduce students to some of the major contemporary themes, including romance, resistance, gender, and the challenges of modernization and the new global order. The comparative perspective will enrich our understanding of the strong narrative traditions of these two important countries of island Southeast Asia. This seminar may be used to satisfy the Arts and Literature breadth requirement in Letters and Science.

The course provides an overview of Philippine literature and literature in the Filipino Diaspora. Topics include: traditional forms in contemporary times; literature, colonization and the struggle for sovereignty; literature, gender and nation; and literature, globalization and postcolonial discourses.  Among the works to be studied are the poetry of 19^th century reformists in Spain, workers’ poetry in the Philippines and Saudi Arabia, contemporary texts written by domestic workers in Hong Kong, feminist, gay and lesbian poetry, myths and the reworking of myths. Texts written in Spanish, Filipino and other Philippine languages shall be translated into English.

Reading and composition in connection with eastern and western representations of India, and other Asian cultures, in great works of modern literature. Satisfies the second half of the reading and composition requirement.

Reading and composition in connection with eastern and western representations of India, and other Asian cultures, in great works of modern literature. Satisfies the second half of the reading and composition requirement.

In this course, the student will read selections from the large body of scholarly texts that have been written about Southeast Asia. Expository and argumentative essays by premier scholars such as Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, Margaret Mead, Clifford Geertz, and Benedict Anderson will be examined. Discussions will cover a broad range of theoretical issues including power, gender, and space. This course satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement.

Fulfills the L&S breadth requirements in Arts & Literature.

The introduction of economic reforms in the early nineteen nineties ushered in a phase of unprecedented economic, social and political transformation in India. With growth rates second only to China, India displayed a newfound confidence that was reflected in marketing/political slogans such as “India Shining.” With the recent global economic slowdown, however, the “India story” has lost much of its shine and has prompted a reevaluation of the past two decades. What did the reforms mean for the most vulnerable and marginalized populations of India? Has the much-vaunted economic growth been inclusive? With this backdrop in mind, we turn to literature in order to examine the promise of equity and social justice in modern India. Although the focus is on the recent past, our material is not limited to literature stemming only from the post-liberalization period. We will reach further back in order to take a longer view on the focal themes of this class: caste, class and language.

We will read three exemplary works of Hindi literature in English translation: Upendranath Ashk’s Hats and Doctors, Omprakash Valmiki’s Jhoothan: An Untouchable’s Life and Uday Prakash’s The Girl with the Golden Parasol. We will also read Arvind Adiga’s Booker prize winning novel The White Tiger and Katherine Boo’s Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, winner of the National Book Award for nonfiction.

Textbooks

The Girl with the Golden Parasol by Uday Prakash, translated by Jason Grunebaum, Yale University Press, ISBN: 9780300190540

Joothan: An Untouchable's Life by Omprakash Valmiki, translated by Arun Prabha Mukherjee, Columbia University Press, ISBN: 9780231129732

The White Tiger: A novel by Arvind Adiga, Simon & Schuster, ISBN: 9781416562603

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo, Random House, ISBN: 9781400067558

Fulfills the L&S breadth requirements in Historical Studies and Social and Behavioral Sciences.

This is an introductory level course on the history of Muslim communities and institutions in South Asia.  Its aim is to introduce students to the broad historical currents of the expansion of Islam in the Indian subcontinent, the nature of pre-modern Muslim political authority, the interaction between religious communities, Islamic aesthetics and contributions to material culture, the varied engagements and reactions of Muslims to colonial rule, and the contemporary concerns of South Asia’s Muslims. This course assumes no prior knowledge of South Asian or Islamic history.

The course fulfills the L&S breadth requirement in Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Textbooks

Hidden Force by L. Couperus, Kessinger Publishing, ISBN: 9780548308530

The Ten Thousand Things by M. Dermout, NYRB Classics, ISBN: 9781590170137

Saman by Ayu Utami, Equinox Publishing, ISBN: 9789793780115

The Girl from the Coast by Pramoedya A. Toer, Hyperion, ISBN: 9780786887088

Only a Girl by Lian Gouw, Dalang Publishing, ISBN: 9780983627371

Required Textbook(s)

Tagalog for Beginners by Joi Barrios, Tuttle Publishing, ISBN: 9780804841269

Prerequisites.  Completion of  Filipino 1A and 1B, or one year of Tagalog instruction, or placement test. This is an intermediate class.

The students shall learn four skills in the use of Filipino:  paglalahad (explaining); paglalarawan (description);  pagsasalaysay (narrating a story); and pangangatwiran (argumentation).  Vocabulary is expanded through dialogues and essays.  Each lesson shall have several components:  reading to increase vocabulary and study grammatical structures; doing a role-play; a istening exercise; and writing a dialogue or a paragraph.

Prerequisites: Two years of Tagalog or consent of instructor.

Students read and discuss literary texts and essays on language, literature, and Philippine society.  For writing, choose among the following for their individual project:  a creative work (poetry or  fiction); a translation; or a research paper.

Prerequisite: Khmer 100A.

Students learn to read roadside signs, scholarly articles, and an entire Khmer novel.

Topics include current events in Cambodia, Cambodian history and politics, and a basic overview of traditional Khmer literature. Much of this study will be accomplished by working on projects in groups with other students. One such project will involve the preparation and performance of a play based on sections of the modern Khmer novel students read in this course. All students will design and carry out an independent research project on the topic of their choice (which will account for 30% of the final grade), and present their research at the end of the second semester to an audience of their peers, entirely in Khmer.

Textbook(s):

Beginning Indonesian Through Self-Instruction Volume II, Lessons 1-15 by J. U. Wolff, Cornell SE Asia Program Publications, ISBN: 9780877275305

This course is the continuation of Telugu 1A. The focus of this course will be on systematic grammar, essential vocabulary and conversations. The goal is to achieve basic reading, writing and conversational competence as well as exposure to Telugu culture and traditions through language learning. Students will be able to read short stories by the end of this course with some facility. Topics are presented by the instructor and exercises are given daily, there will be assignments, quizzes, midterm and final (both oral and written) exams. Some previous knowledge of the language or training is required. Students are encouraged to listen to conversation audios and are expected to actively participate in the learning process.

Prerequisite: Elementary Telugu 1A or consent of the instructor.

Intermediate Thai 100B is an upper intermediate level course, a continuation of Intermediate Thai 100A.  Students will learn to read longer and more abstract writing, advertisements from newspapers, and articles from magazines and webpage. The class will cover expressions, figures of speech, higher level grammar, and hierarchical pronouns. Writing will move from descriptive to expository. To increase verbal skills and cultural education, students will watch karaoke, TV advertisements, and films. Students will also have regular intensive conversation practice and in-class presentation. The language of instruction will be in Thai approximately 50% to 70% of the time. By the end of the semester, the average student should have acquired a level of literacy equivalent to 5th to 6th grade in Thai schools.

Prerequisite:  Thai 100B (Lower Intermediate Thai) or equivalent, by consent of instructor. Ability to read descriptive articles, and write short composition equivalent to 3rd - 4th grade students in Thai school. Capable of carrying informal conversation on a general subject with medium fluency.   

An introduction to modern spoken and written Vietnamese, including intensive drill on basic phonology and grammar. By the end of the second semester the student should be able to function successfully in ordinary Vietnamese conversation and read simple texts of moderate difficulty. Prerequisites: 1A or equivalent or consent of instructor.

Textbooks

Conversational Vietnamese (Seventh Edition) by Bac Hoai Tran, Tin & Dong, Messrs., ISBN: ConvViet7

Vietnamese Dictionary and Phrasebook by Bac Hoai Tran & Courtney Norris, Hippocrene Books, ISBN: 0781809916

RECOMMENDED:

Colloquial Vietnamese with CD by Bac Hoai Tran, Ha Minh Nguyen, & Tuan Duc Yuong, Routledge, ISBN: 0415436079

Colloquial Vietnamese without CD by Bac Hoai Tran, Ha Minh Nguyen, & Tuan Duc Yuong, Routledge, ISBN: 0415435765

A second-year course in Vietnamese vocabulary and syntax with intensive drills on short colloquial expressions and auditory recognition of speech patterns. First semester course stresses phraseology, sentence building, rules of composition and development of students' communicative skills. By the end of the second semester students will learn to speak and write simple compositions and will have a cursory introduction to Vietnamese literature and sample readings from contemporary Vietnamese writers.

Prerequisites: 100A or consent of instructor is a prerequisite for 100B.

Textbooks

Vietnamese-English/English-Vietnamese Practical Dictionary by Bac Hoai Tran & Courtney Norris, Hippocrene Books, ISBN: 0781812445

This course provides an introduction to Vietnamese literature and culture through extensive reading of authentic Vietnamese texts. Reading assignments will be determined according to a general theme selected for each semester, from a broad range of sources including novels, short stories, poetry, journalism articles and essays covering the classical, colonial, and contemporary eras.  Examples of the selected theme are: the nature of the Sino-Vietnamese classical tradition, the cultural legacies of French colonialism, the emergence of a distinctive Vietnamese modernity, historical legacy of the Vietnam War, gender issues in Vietnamese literature, the Doi moi era, Vietnamese memoirs, etc. Regular attendance and participation in classroom activities is mandatory and no English will be spoken in class.

In this course, the student will read selections from the large body of scholarly texts that have been written about Southeast Asia. Expository and argumentative essays by premier scholars such as Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, Margaret Mead, Clifford Geertz, and Benedict Anderson will be examined. Discussions will cover a broad range of theoretical issues including power, gender, and space. This course satisfies the second half of the Reading and Composition requirement.