Spring 2020

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.

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.

The goal of this course is to enable students to increase their proficiency in Filipino to at least the intermediate-high level of the national ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines. While speaking and listening comprehension will be stressed, training in reading and writing Filipino will be an integral part of instruction. Films and video/audio materials will supplement written texts.

Students read and discuss essays on language, literature, and Phillippine society, and literary texts. Topics include language and the nation; poetry and discourse; language and ideology; and "pananalinghaga" (tropes/metaphors) in understanding society. The students choose whether they would like to go on a creative (poetry, fiction) or a research track (essay).

Language instruction is generally conducted on the notion of legibility and a semblance of transparency.  Yet, ambiguity, concealment, imitative malfunction, and even outright dissemblance are all ingredients involved in the discursive act and contribute to the richness of a language.  Irony, parody and humor often present some of the greatest obstacles to comprehension:  is there a "grammar" of irony (or parody, sarcasm, even humor) that would help us overcome this obstacle?

This semester focuses on reading Indonesian texts.  We will develop a set of methods and tools to help us read, analyze and interpret a variety of texts in Indonesian and/or Malay.  We will approach the text as a link between author and audience against the broader social, cultural and political environment.  

Readings: we will begin with a selection of essays in contemporary Indonesian including material from journals like Tempo, and the newsmedia (print, online).  We will look at how arguments are formed, what assumptions are made, and discuss local techniques of persuasion and what happens when persuasion begins to break down.

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.

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.

This course offers a broad historical and cultural survey of the civilizations of the Indian subcontinent from the 12th century to partition of India in 1947. Attention will be paid to the geography and ethnography of the region, its political history, and the religious, philosophical, literary, and artistic movements that have shaped it and contributed to its development as a unique place. 

Discussions (taught by Nicole Ferreira)

101- Th 5-6 pm in DWIN83

102- Th 4-5 pm in DWIN255

Course Title: Reimagining the Ramayana in Modern South Asia

Description: The story of the exiled prince Rama and his journey to rescue his beloved wife Sita from the clutches of the formidable king Ravana has delighted audiences for over two thousand years. This narrative of Rama’s life is often referred to as the “Ramayana,” in reference to the name of the ancient Sanskrit epic composed by Valmiki. While Valmiki’s text is traditionally regarded as the original Ramayana, it is by no means the only one. The story of Rama has been told countless times by different poets, artists, playwrights, novelists, television producers, and filmmakers throughout South and Southeast Asia and the Diaspora. This course focuses on Ramayana retellings that were created in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We will investigate how this epic has been used by certain individuals and communities to pursue drastically different artistic, social, political, and religious goals in modern South Asia. 

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.

Course title: Stories Shape the World: Ethics and Identity in Indian Buddhist Narratives

Description: This course examines the role of storytelling in ancient India, with a focus on Buddhist narratives. In India’s rich storytelling tradition, questions of ethics, identity, gender, and sexuality are explored through animal fables, epics, and drama. Drawing on literary studies, anthropology, sociology, folklore, and psychology, we will consider how such stories shape as well as challenge cultural and religious values in the ancient and modern worlds. These discussions will then help us reflect on the ways literature becomes an instrument of resistance and subjectification in our society today. Readings will include selections from ancient Indian works such as the Pañcatantra, Jātaka Tales, and Aśvaghoṣa’s Handsome Nanda as well as modern works by authors such as Borges, Freud, Durkheim, and Foucault.

Lecture and discussion of 19th and 20th century Indian literature through English translations and original works in English. Interpretation of Indian society and culture through literature.

The course entails substantial selected readings from the great Sanskirt epic poems--the Mahabharata and the Ramayana in translation, selected readings from the corpus of secondary literature on Indian epic studies as well as lectures on salient issues in both. Discussion will focus on a variety of historical and theoretical approaches to the study of the poems and their extraordinary influence on Indian culture. Readings will be supplemented with selected showings of popular cinematic and television versions of the epics.

This course provides a place for graduate-level seminars in Tibetan Buddhism that rely primarily on secondary sources and Tibetan texts in translation. Content will vary between semesters but will typically focus on a particular theme. Themes will be chosen according to student interests, with an eye toward introducing students to the breadth of available western scholarship on Tibet, from classics in the field to the latest publications.

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.

 Discussions (taught by Megan Hewitt)

101- Th 5-6pm in KROE115

102- Th 3-4pm in VLSB2070

The Freshman Seminar Program has been designed to provide new students with the opportunity to explore an intellectual topic with a faculty member in a small seminar setting. Freshman seminars are offered in all campus departments and topics vary from department to department and semester to semester.

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

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.

The course concentrates on developing skills in reading, writing, speaking, and aural comprehension. Evaluation is based on attendance, written homework assignments, quizzes, dictations, and examinations. Conventional teaching materials may be supplemented by popular songs and clips from contemporary Indian cinema.

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.

Drawing on a broad cross-section of theoretical and methodological perspectives this graduate seminar will interrogate key historiographical debates that have shaped our understanding of the Muslim experience in S. Asia between 700 and 1750 AD. We will begin by engaging with Shahab Ahmed’s “What is Islam?”, Richard Eaton’s “India in the Persianate Age”, and Stephen Dale’s “The Muslim Empires of the Ottomans, Safavids and Mughals” before moving onto works by Finbarr Flood, Muzaffar Alam, Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Richard Eaton and Philip Wagoner, Nile Green, Supriya Gandhi, Sebastian Prange and Sunil Sharma, among others.

Readings and lectures focus on Thailand, Vietnam and Burma; Cambodian and Laotian materials as available. After brief attention to the influence of oral tradition, classical poetry, and dance drama, emphasis will be on modern novels, short stories, film, and television in their cultural/historical context.