01:098:444 Seminar on Asian
Societies
Asian Languages and Cultures
Asian Studies Program
Spring 2008
Instructor:
Prof. Dietrich Tschanz
Office: Scott Hall 337
Phone: (732) 932-5596
Email:
dtschanz@rci.rutgers.edu
Office Hours: MW 2:45-3:30 pm,
and by appointment
Course Description
In this course we will examine select aspects of contemporary China,
Japan, and Korea in comparative perspective. Topics include marriage
customs, sports and physical education, and the Olympic games in East Asia.
The course has three major
goals:
1. to foster students’ understanding of major issues of contemporary East
Asian societies
2. to introduce students to the relevant primary and secondary
English-language material on these topics
3. to introduce students to select research methodologies and enable them to
apply them in their own research.
This course assumes that you have a basic familiarity with at least one of
the three countries on which we focus in this course. However, no knowledge
of Chinese, Japanese, or Korean is required.
The Seminar fulfills, among other things, a requirement for the Asian Studies minor (see the Student Handbook).
The class meets twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays during 4th period (1:10-2:30 pm) in Scott Hall 121.
Course Requirements
Regular class attendance and participation; homework assignments; one
5-page paper; one 15-page research paper; in-class presentation of the
findings in your research paper.
Additional requirements:
- Establish an account for RefWorks, a web-based bibliography and
database manager (for more information see:
http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/refworks/refworks.shtml)
- Subscribe to the Modern Chinese Literature and Culture listserv
Note: Regular class attendance and participation (including leadership in group work) can make a significant difference in your final grade.
Grading
Class attendance and
participation 10%
Homework assignments
20%
5-page paper
20%
Research paper 40%
Presentation of findings 10%
Required Readings
Bonnie Adrian. Framing the Bride: Globalizing Beauty and Romance in
Taiwan’s Bridal Industry. Berkeley: University of California Press,
2003. ISBN 978-0-520-23834-3
Susan Brownell. Beijing’s Games: What the Olympics Mean to China. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008. ISBN 9780742556416 (to be published at the end of February)
Ofra Goldstein-Gidoni. Packaged Japaneseness: Weddings, Business and Brides. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8248-1955-1
Laurel Kendall. Getting Married in Korea: Of Gender, Morality, and Modernity. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1996. ISBN 0-520-20200-7
Course package (will be available from Pequod Copy, 119 Somerset Street, New Brunswick)
Reserve Books (Alexander Library Undergraduate Reserve) All required readings (except for the texts included in the course package) will be available at the Alexander Library Reserve Desk.