The list below offers a representative sample of the courses you can expect in the study of Asian studies at DePauw. From theoretical foundations to practical experiences, these courses provide a full range of educational opportunities at various levels of mastery. For more information about current course offerings or registration details, please consult the Office of the Registrar.
This course introduces the elements of contemporary and traditional Chinese culture. It provides students with a fundamental yet diverse knowledge of China and its culture through examination of its manifestations: political, religious, social, cultural, and economic. Topics include history, traditional belief systems, society, languages, arts and literature, performance traditions, daily life and customs, ethnicity and gender issues, science and technology, business and government.
Social Science-or-Global Learning
1 course
Through a close reading of the classic of Taoism Tao te ching in the context of its antiquity (around the 7th century BCE) and in its contemporary applications in politics, aesthetics, arts, gender relations, violence and peace, and power and authority, students will learn one of the three major schools of thought in China. Particular attention will be paid to the philosophical and cultural issues that influenced not only Chinese but also many other Asian and Western cultures.
Arts and Humanities-or-Global Learning
1 course
Faculty-led domestic and international study and service courses that provide students opportunities to explore and experience other cultures, learn in new environments, develop skills not readily acquired elsewhere, and deepen their understanding of the global community. Curricular offerings earn .5 course credit and count toward satisfying the Extended Studies requirement; co-curricular offerings do not carry academic credit but do count toward the Extended Studies requirement.
Variable
An on-campus course offered during the Winter or May term. May be offered for .5 course credits or as a co-curricular (0 credit). Counts toward satisfying the Extended Studies requirement.
Variable
Topics in Asian Studies.
1 course
A seminar focused on a theme related to the study of Asia. Open only to first-year students.
1 course
Through viewing and discussing cinematic films, students will learn to appreciate how China has been presented as a nation and a culture by generations of Chinese directors from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other cultural enclaves and by current film critics, both Chinese and western. Topics include the history of the Chinese film industry, major genres in Chinese cinema, the issues of cultural hegemony, as well as cinematic constructions of "so-called" Chinese gender, nationhood and individuality.
Arts and Humanities
1 course
This course outlines Chinese literature from the beginning to the Tang dynasty (618-907). From some of the most beloved and celebrated literary texts, we will glean the ageless enigmas of the Warring States sophists, the whimsical wisdom of Chinese hippies of the Bamboo Grove, and the anomalies and the fantastic from poetesses (both male and female) of China's Golden Age, the Tang dynasty. In seven themes, we will explore major genres and sub-genres of Chinese literature, including poetry (e.g., "the music bureau," "classical poetry,' and 'lyric meters'), prose (e.g., historical and philosophical), and fiction (e.g., 'describing anomalies' and 'romances'). We will learn and experience how politicians and common people in China over 2,500 years ago thought, felt, and lived. How did the ancient Chinese achieve immortality, behave in courtship, eavesdrop on a love affair, express their emotions, and criticize one another? Amazingly enough, many of the answers are as contemporary as scenes in a Hollywood movie today. No knowledge of Chinese is required.
Arts and Humanities-or-Global Learning
1 course
A survey of Japanese literature, in English translation, from the eighth to the 18th century. Works from a variety of genres (poetry, plays, novels, diaries) are examined.
Arts and Humanities
1 course
A study, in translation, of major Japanese novelists of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Natsume Soseki (Kokoro), the Nobel Prize winner Kawabata Jasunari (Snow Country), Murakami Haruki (Sputnik Sweetheart) and Hoshimoto Banana (Kitchen).
Arts and Humanities
1 course
Usually a course on aspects of one of the societies and cultures studied in the Asian Studies program (India, China and Japan) or a comparative treatment of aspects of these cultures.
1 course
Typically examines selected themes, genres or periods in Chinese, Japanese or Indian literature. May also explore issues and/or periods in Chinese, Japanese or Indian cultural and intellectual history. Prerequisite: One of the following courses - ARTH 133, ARTH 134, ARTH 135, ARTH 234, ASIA 140, ASIA 197, HIST 107, HIST 108, POLS 253, REL 130, or REL 253
One of the following courses - ARTH 133, ARTH 134, ARTH 135, ARTH 234, ASIA 140, ASIA 197, HIST 107, HIST 108, POLS 253, REL 130, or REL 253
1/2-1 course
Independent study for majors or, by permission of the instructor, for students with significant coursework in an aspect of Asian Studies.
1 course
Required of majors in Asian Studies. Normally taken in the fall semester of the senior year.
1 course
Leveraging the resources of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Asian studies major and minor at DePauw are housed in the Department of Asian Studies. This department prioritizes a broad-ranging knowledge of Asia's many diverse cultures, both past and present.
