MODERN ASIA – Spring 2015
ANALYSIS =WEEKLY ONE-PAGE WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT with one class presenter
CONTEXT = topic for discussion with one or two presenters (these students are excused from the Questions
Assignment for that week only). BASED ON OUTSIDE READING/RESEARCH
1/13 (Week 1): Introduction to Studies of Modern Asia
1/20 (Week 2): DAILY LIFE IN CHINA plus CONFUCIUS COMES HOME
Analysis
1. Describe everyday life in Hangzhou (Hangchow) (chapters 3-4).
2. Describe special occasions and ceremonies (chapters 4-5).
3. To what extent can the society of the Song (Sung) dynasty in China considered modern?
Context
- Overview: SONG DYNASTY CHINA
- Capital Cities throughout Chinese History from earliest period onward
- Difference between Northern Song and Southern Song dynasties
- Brief Overview of Post-Song history (Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties) leading to the modern age
Presenter
Respondent
Rachel Anchieta
1. Marcela Lopez Bravo
Jennifer Beaty
2. Trang Pham Hoang
Elizabeth Bonnell
3. Randall Tallent
1/27 (Week 3): THE HONORABLE VISITORS plus VERMILLION BIRDS plus ZEN SPACES AND NEON
PLACES
Analysis
1. Based on the book’s Intro and other sources and reflections, what would you expect from early Meiji travelers in
relation to Asian Modernization?
2. Sum up the significance of the travels of Bird, Grant, and Loti.
3. Same for Kipling, Huxley, and Faulkner.
Context
- Overview: TRAVELERS TO AND FROM ASIA
- First Westerners in China and Japan (16th century)
- Periods of Isolation in Edo Period Japan and what it meant for Travels and Travelers
- Early Meiji travelers to and from Japan (e.g., Lafcadio Hearn, Natsume Soseki, Mori Ogai)
Presenter
Respondent
Dana Cedillo
1. Elisa Dominquez
David Dayton
2. Rebecca Richko
Ana Gomez
3. Jean Vergara
2/03 (Week 4): IDEALS OF THE EAST, FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT plus MARITIME ASIA
Plus RESEARCH TOPICS DUE
Questions
1. How does this work characterize Asia more generally?
2. How does it portray Japan more specifically?
3. A century or so after publication, what are its strengths and weaknesses?
Context
- Overview: Emergence of Orientalism and reverse Orientalism
- The life of Author Kakuzo Okakura
- Other works of the era, especially Nitobe’s Bushido Code
- Additional important intellectual figures of the period, East and West
Presenter
Respondent
Elisa Dominquez
1. Rebecca Richko
Tania Gonzalez
3. Rayna Rusenko
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2/10 (Week 5): THE FOUR LITTLE DRAGONS
Questions
1. Explain the causes of the Postwar Economic Miracle in Taiwan and South Korea.
2. Same for Singapore and Hong Kong.
3. Examine and evaluate Vogel’s theory for what has taken place in East Asia.
Context
- Overview: ASIAN ECONOMIC MIRACLE
- The Model of Japan in Meiji and Post-War Periods
- Economic along with Political Developments in China since the 1990s
- Southeast Asian and Other Regional as well as Global Economic Implications of the East Asian Boom
Presenter
Respondent
Marcela Lopez Bravo
1. David Dayton
Drayenko Marin
2. Tania Gonzalez
Maxsim Ousmanov
3. Alexander McCarty
2/17 (Week 6): HO CHI MINH
Questions
1. How did the French colonial legacy affect Vietnam? (Reference outside research for France and Vietnam)
2. Discuss the build-up toward Communism in Vietnam.
3. Explain Ho’s role as a Leader – to what extent admired or reviled?
Context
- Overview: COMMUNISM IN ASIA
- Early Developments of the Communist Party in China and Vietnam
- Asian Communism in Relation to the Soviet Union Bloc
- Asian Communist Nations’ Relations to America and the West
Presenter
Respondent
Alexander McCarty
1. Drayenko Marin
Trang Pham Hoang
2. Maxsim Ousmanov
Rebecca Richko
3. Stephen Rodoquino
2/24 (Week 7) SAMSKARA
Plus RESOURCE LIST DUE
Questions
1. What are the main values of the traditional caste life style as shown in the novel? What do the brahmins eat and wear,
how do they deal with personal relationships and general society?
2. In Parts 1 & 2, the main issue involves the burial of the controversial Naranappa. Explain the complexity of this issue as
a reflection of Indian society today.
3. The brahmin Acharya (a.k.a. Praneshacharya) goes on a journey in Part 3. Based on the comments in the “Afterward”
(pp. 142–143) about the nature of self-discovery, what does he gain?
Context
- Overview: CASTE SYSTEM AND TRADITIONAL SOCIETY IN MODERN WORLD
- Origins and History of Caste System in India, including the Untouchables or Out-Castes
- Other Examples in Asia of so-called Downtrodden, Dispossessed, or Marginalized Peoples
- Asian Human Rights in Relation to Social Discrepancies in Class, Gender, Education
Presenter
Respondent
Kevin Quinn
1. Rachel Anchieta
Stephen Rodoquino
2. Marcela Lopez Bravo
Rayna Rusenko
3. Lyanne Maldonado
3/03 (Week 8): SAMSKARA Continued
Guest Speakers: Greg Bryant, Kaz Tanahashi, Ian Verhine
3/10 (Week 9): NO CLASS- SPRING BREAK
3/17 (Week 10): HIROSHIMA
Questions
1. Pick two of the six characters in the book and explain their significance.
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2. Discuss the meaning of the terms “hibakusha” and “shikata ga nai.”
3. Sum up the author’s reflections in the “Aftermath” chapter written 40 years later.
Context
- Overview: HIROSHIMA and its History and Impact
- Look into the background of the American decision to develop and drop the Bomb on Japan.
- What are the arguments on both sides regarding the question; should the Bomb have been used?
- In the Post-Cold War period, what is the current state of atomic weaponry in Asia?
Presenter
Respondent
Lyanne Maldonado
1. Jennifer Beaty
Randall Tallent
2. Dana Cedillo
Jean Vergara
3. Kevin Quinn
3/24 (Week 11): Additional Readings: Chushingura plus Bailin Temple and Aruku, Aruku, Aruku Video
3/31 (Week 12): EXAM
4/07, 4/14, 4/21 (Weeks 13-15): FINAL PRESENTATIONS
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