Spring 2018

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.

This graduate seminar focuses on reading a wide spectrum of Indian Buddhist texts in the Sanskrit (or Pali) original introducing the students to different genres, and different aspects of Indian Buddhism. The students taking the course for 2 units (rather than 4) will be expected to prepare thoroughly every week for the reading of Buddhist texts in the original. They will also be expected to read all related secondary literature that is assigned to supplement the study of the primary source material. In contrast to the students taking the course for four units, they will not be expected to write a term paper or to prepare special presentations for class.

Readings, lectures, and discussion of the culture and civilization of Southeast Asia. Insular Southeast Asia: Covers the modern-day nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Special emphasis on the arts and their social and political context, with discussions on the impact of the colonial experience and the question of modernization vs. tradition.

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.

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.

Freshman and sophomore seminars offer lower division students the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member and a group of peers in a small-seminar setting. These seminars are offered in all campus departments; topics vary from department to department and from semester to semester. Enrollment limits are set by the faculty, but the suggested limit is 18.

The focus of this seminar is aimed at determining how recent social, economic and political changes in Southeast Asian nation states have impacted contemporary Buddhist religious cultures.  Case studies include:  how worship of the Phra Bang Buddha image, historically the palladium of Lao kingship, has changed dramatically since the 1975 communist revolution; how prolonged civil war in Sri Lanka has led to a robust assertion of Sinhala Buddhist nationalist identity in the annual asala perhara processions in Kandy; how ordination rites among Thai Buddhists reflect the manner in which Thai culture has been ever more “commodified;” how, in light of the devastation inflicted by the Khmer Rouge, pchum ben, the annual rite of caring for deceased kin, has become perhaps the most popular of all rites in the Khmer ritual calendar in Cambodia; and how the kathina rite (giving robes to the sangha) has morphed into a concentrated season of gift-giving campaigns in Myanmar owing to the military’s promotion of merit-making consciousness. 

Drawing on a broad cross-section of theoretical and methodological
perspectives this course will interrogate key historiographical
debates that have shaped our understanding of the Muslim experience in
S. Asia between 700 and 1700 AD. We will read works by Suraj Bhan
Bhardwaj, Stephen Dale, Richard Eaton, Jonardon Ganeri, Mrinalini
Rajagopalan, Gijs Kruitzer, Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Audrey Truschke, and
Andre Wink, among others.

Introduction to the principal, historical, and contemporary methods for study of the literatures, languages, religions, cultures, and peoples of South and Southeast Asia. Discussion of the disciplinary formations of Orientalism, philology, anthropology, comparative religions, gender studies, and history. Topics and readings change year to year. Seminar work will culminate in a one day student symposium.

This introductory course in modern Burmese is a sequel to Burmese 1A, and aims to build upon the core competencies in the Burmese spoken language and writing system acquired in 1A. The course is designed to further develop student proficiency in reading and writing Burmese script, and in holding conversation. Instruction will include foundational vocabulary, grammar, spoken and aural comprehension, and basic proficiency in written expression.

A systematic introduction to the grammar, sentence patterns, and essential vocabulary of modern standard Filipino. Emphasis is placed on extensive practice in idiomatic Filipino conversation, with additional practice in reading and writing Filipino.

This course is an elementary Filipino class designed for heritage learners, and the second course in a sequence (Filipino W1X and W1Y). Using the functional-situational approach, the course builds on students’ passive vocabulary to harness four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students develop skills enabling them to: talk/write about the self, family, and community; talk/write about activities and interactions such as going to the doctor or shopping; read simple texts; and write short paragraphs. Combines real-time meetings using Adobe Connect and online learning.

Second half of the intermediate class series with emphasis on four skills in the effective use of Filipino: describing people, places, and feelings; narrating a story or incident; defining and explaining; and reasoning. Vocabulary is expanded through dialogues and authentic texts. At the end of the class, students should have a firm grasp of grammatical structures, write short texts, and converse with fluency. Combines real-time meetings using Adobe Connect and online learning.

Hindi writing systems. Survey of grammar. Graded exercises and readings drawn from Hindi literature, leading to mastery of grammatical structures and essential vocabulary and achievement of basic reading and writing competence.

This course acquaints students with representative readings from Hindi texts on pivotal cultural issues from a wide variety of sources, to enable them to acquire cultural competence in the language. Systematic training in advanced grammar and syntax, reinforced by exercises in composition, both oral and written. Special attention to developing communication skills.

Introduces various types of written and spoken Urdu; vocabulary building, idioms, and problems of syntax; and conversation. Reading of selected fiction and nonfiction in modern Urdu, including fables, short stories, and poetry. Exercises in grammar, conversation, and composition.

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.

Survey of grammar, graded exercises, and readings drawn from Indonesian texts, leading to a mastery of basic language patterns, essential vocabulary, and to achievement of basic reading, writing, and conversational competence. Emphasis on developing communicative skills.

Various aspects of Malay language and literature, history and development of the language, classical literature, drama, oral literature, modern literature of Indonesia and Malaysia, and dialect studies. Applies various theoretical approaches to the study of the language and literature.

Focus on reading, writing and speaking Punjabi more fluently in formal and informal contexts. Selected readings vary every semester. These form the starting point to stimulate students' own writings which include a long interview with a Punjabi elder from the wider community. These may be recorded in the students' own voices and form a contribution to the ongoing "Punjabi Voices" project. Review of grammar provided as needed in addition to the introduction of more complex grammatical structures. Grading based on performance in class and final presentation, weekly quizzes, two midterms, and a final.

Introduces students to the itihasa/puraic traditions and related commentarial style of Sanskrit. An extended passage from Valmiki's Ramayaada, Vyasa's Mahabharata, or one of the Mahapuradas is normally read with commentary, if available. The development of strong reading skills is the focus of the class. Additionally, students are introduced to the use of hard copy and web-based resources. Grammar is reviewed and explained as needed. Students are also introduced to the current scholarship on epic literature. Students are expected to memorize at least one verse per class for recitation. Emphasis is placed on correct prosody and pronunciation. Submission of an annotated translation project, assigned in class, is required.

The grammar of modern Tamil will be covered followed by readings in simple texts. Practice will also be given in spoken Tamil.

Readings in advanced Tamil. Texts to be determined by the needs of the student.

Continuing on from the fundamental knowledge of syllable construction learned in Thai 1A, this course is designed to rapidly elevate student's literacy, with the goal of completely abandoning transcription by mid-semester. By the end of the course, students should be reading and writing short descriptive and creative essays, equivalent to 2nd grade students in Thai school. Students continue to learn new vocabulary, grammar and practical thematic conversation with the opportunity to practice with native speakers. Students will also be introduced to Thai customs, culture and value, through a variety of media and cultural activities. Thai is used as the language of instruction up to 20% of the time.

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.

This course is designed for students who have already achieved an intermediate degree of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing modern Vietnamese. Objective: to move students toward a greater level of fluency in each of these key areas and provide an introduction to the literature and culture of Vietnam by reading Vietnamese language texts. Readings will vary from semester to semester and will include novels, short stories, poetry, and essays from the classical, colonial, post-colonial, and contemporary periods. Topics to be addressed in class are the nature of the Sino-Vietnamese classical tradition; cultural legacies of French colonialism; the regional character of literary and cultural production; the emergence of a distinctive Vietnamese modernity, and the history of Vietnamese gender norms and relations. Regular attendance and participation in classroom activities is mandatory and no English will be spoken in class.

This course focuses on literature and film about the Dutch colonial history of Indonesia, the former Dutch East Indies. We will cover five novels – all of them landmarks in Dutch literature (in English translation) – in their historical and cultural context. After a general introduction on the Dutch colonial policy in the context of the East India Company, we begin the course with Multatuli’s Max Havelaar (1860), a novel in which the author accuses his own country of being a “pirate-state, oppressing the Javanese people”. Other novels are Louis Couperus’ The Hidden Force (1900), a remarkable record of Javanese resistance to colonial oppression in the form of magical intimidation and Hella Haasse’s Forever a Stranger (1948), an impressive account of the widespread disillusionment among Dutch residents in the Indies when facing the impossibility of Dutch-Indonesian coexistence after independence. We will continue with Jeroen Brouwers, who experienced life in an internment camp during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in the Second World War and reproduced those horrors in Sunken Red (1981). We end with My Father’s War (1994), a moving account by Adriaan van Dis of the difficult integration in the Netherlands of Dutch colonials who returned “home” after Indonesia’s independence. Dutch 164 satisfies the L&S Breadth Requirement for Arts & Literature and is cross-listed as Southeast-Asian Studies C164.