This course will focus on U.S. foreign policy in Asia since 1945. The ways U.S. global interests and concerns sought to shape Asian realities (and were shaped in turn by them) will be the touchstone for examining the Cold War in Asia. We will examine the following topics: the occupation of Japan and early US global economic visions; the US and the Chinese revolution before the Korean War; the Korean War and the isolation of China; the Vietnam War and the Kennedy/Johnson years; Nixon’s global geopolitical vision and his policies towards Vietnam, China, and Japan; Carter and the meaning of human rights diplomacy in Asia; Reagan and the Asian issues involved in an intensified Cold War against Russia; George H. W. Bush and Asia’s place in “a New World Order;” and finally, the Clinton and George W. Bush years. Throughout the course, we shall examine key de-classified National Security documents, interpreting their meaning and language, while carefully assessing the arguments used to justify American policy.

East Asian Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

The aim of this introductory course is to develop a comparative understanding of the national independence movements in China, India, and Vietnam, as well as the context within which they unfolded, in the period 1885-1962. The course will introduce students to some of the figures in modern Asian history who played a major role in the transition of India and Vietnam from colonial subordination to independent nationhood and of China from its semi-colonial status to liberation. The principal figures whose writings will be studied and compared are Mohandas Gandhi, Mao Zedong, and Ho Chi Minh in order to develop a third angle of comparison. The course will give due attention to other relevant figures such as Gokhale, Tilak, Jinnah, and Nehru in the case of India; Li Hongzhang, Sun Yatsen, Chen Duxiu, La Dazhao, and Chiang Kai-shek in the case of China; Phan Boi Chau in the case of Vietnam.

East Asian Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks

Designed to help students understand and appreciate the linguistic and aesthetic features of Chinese language rendered in poetic form and to improve their ability to read and interpret authentic texts in general. Integrates language learning with poetry study, introduces the formal structure of Chinese classical poetry and surveys its stylistic variations at different historical conjunctures. Conducted primarily in Chinese. English translations of the poems are provided as references from time to time.

East Asian Studies (Undergraduate)
2 credits – 15 Weeks

This course is designed to give students an introduction to basic syntax, grammar, and vocabulary of Classical Chinese through close readings of authentic texts. Almost all these texts are historically significant canon texts that are extremely rich in classical Chinese cultural connotation. They are selected from a wide variety of genres, such as historical literature, philosophical and political writings, written correspondence, poetry, essay, some of which are unique to Chinese culture. The course aims to develop the students’ reading and comprehension skills in this highly stylized form of written Chinese, acquaint students not only with the classic Chinese cultural heritage but also underlying working mechanism that is in many ways relevant to the form and usage of today’s Mandarin Chinese.

East Asian Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks