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Asia-Related Courses Fall 2024

Internationalize your fall semester - take a course about Asia or study an Asian Language.


ASIA 2500 Catastrophe and Resilience: Asian Experience of Climate Change
TTh 9:30am-10:45am
Shae Frydenlund (shae.frydenlund@colorado.edu)

This reading-intensive undergraduate course has two central aims: to survey key themes in Asian climate and society, and to explore new scholarship related to anthropocentric climate change and impacts in Asia, particularly from a community perspective. Climate and society broadly defined, is an interdisciplinary field with contributions primarily from climate sciences, paleo-climate, anthropology, environmental studies, archeology, geography and history.


ASIA 4700 Heroes, Madmen and Poets: Tibetan Literary Culture Through the Ages
T 5pm-7:30pm
Dan Hirshberg (dan.hirshberg@colorado.edu)

This course provides a comprehensive exploration of Tibetan literary writings, mostly secular, from the 12th to the 20th century. Students will read English translations of primary Tibetan texts (and secondary works) selected from a wide variety of genres such as history, epic, poetry, biography, literary arts (Five Minor Sciences), maxims, and fiction. Key topics include the formation of Tibetan Buddhist canons, the Gesar Epic (longest living epic in the world), the development of literary arts in Tibet, folk literature, life-writing, and the emergence of modern Tibetan literature. The course will familiarize students with the cultural, intellectual, and historical movements that have shaped the Tibetan literary landscape. Recommended prerequisite: ASIA 1700.


INDO 1110 Beginning Indonesian 1- DILS
M/W/F 1:25-2:15
Instructor Dwi Purwanto, contact Lauren Collins with questions (collinlk@colorado.edu)

Beginning Indonesian 1. Reading assignments will include reading, listening and grammar, which students will demonstrate during class sessions, in which they will offer reading summaries, answer questions and practice speaking.


INDO 2110 Intermediate Indonesian 1- DILS
M/W/F 11:15-12:05
Instructor Dwi Purwanto, contact Lauren Collins with questions (collinlk@colorado.edu)

Continuation of Intermediate Indonesian 1. In the second year, students will be exposed to more active communication.


Study Tibetan language this fall! We will be offering introductory and intermediate Tibetan language classes online (synchronous). Please contact Dan.Hirshberg@Colorado.Edu if you are interested.


CHIN 3381 Chinese Travel Literature
TTh 11:00am –12:15pm
Antje Richter (antje.richter@colorado.edu)

In this course we explore the world of travel writing in China. Widely different forms of travel, whether real or imaginary, have inspired a broad spectrum of travel literature in China: from landscape poetry describing a hike through ragged mountains to travelogues about an official moving across the country, from factual geographical and environmental reports to fantastical novels about intercultural and interspecies encounters of the strangest kind. Often, these narratives not only delineate the paths of travelers in the outside world, but also how they experienced their journeys, combining rich geographical and cultural descriptions with autobiographical, philosophical, or religious reflections. We are going to read and analyze examples of this tradition in English translations and discuss their implications against the background of Chinese literary history and in the context of our own travel experiences, whether literary or in real life. Our interpretations will be supported by modern critical approaches to travel literature. This class will consist of discussions about our readings, lectures providing historical, cultural, and literary background, as well as students’ presentations.

ASIA 4001 CLAC Co-Seminar: In this co-seminar we will explore how famous tourist sites in China and the culture of traveling are represented in Chinese language internet sources. While the parent course focuses on literary texts about travel (including fiction) in translation and situates them in their own time, the co-seminar will explore how the history and myth of famous Chinese tourist attractions—such as the site of the Battle at Red Cliff or the whole area of Mount Tai—live on today on the Chinese internet. We will consider how different types of Chinese language websites differ in their approach and language, especially when it comes to official websites vs. personal postings (blogs, travel diaries etc.). In this respect, the co-seminar shares an important goal with the parent course: to develop the ability to critically read, analyze, and communicate about travel texts.


GEOG 3822 Contemporary China: Environment, Society, Politics
TTh 12:30pm - 1:45pm
Tim Oakes (toakes@colorado.edu)

Surveys the world's most populous country, examining physical and historical geography, urbanization and regional development, agriculture, population, energy, and the environment. Seeks to situate China's development in a broader Asian and global context.


HIND 1010 Beginning Hindi/Urdu
M-Th 10:10am - 11:00am
Nidhi Arya (Nidhi.Arya@Colorado.Edu)

Provides a thorough introduction to the modern Hindi language, emphasizing speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. This course is proficiency-based. Activities aim to place the student in the context of the native-speaking environment from the very beginning. Students will be provided with opportunities to participate in local South Asian cultural events.


HIND 2110 Intermediate Hindi/Urdu 1
M-Th 
11:15am to 12:05pm
Nidhi Arya (Nidhi.Arya@Colorado.Edu)

Emphasizes speaking, listening, reading and writing skills and culturally appropriate language use.


HIND 3110 Advanced Hindi/Urdu 1
M-Th 12:20pm 1:10pm
Nidhi Arya (Nidhi.Arya@Colorado.Edu)

Emphasizes speaking, listening and conversational fluency in Hindi, with a focus on cultural appropriate expression and practical knowledge.


JPNS 3611 Speaking the Truth: Women's Counter-narratives of Korea and Japan
MWF 11:15-12:05
Marjorie Burge (marjorie.burge@colorado.edu)

*Cross-listed as KREN 3611. This course explores the rich history of women’s “counter-narratives” in the literatures of premodern Korea and Japan. Heian-period Japan (794-1185) generated the earliest canon of women’s writing in the world, spurred by the widespread use of a vernacular script known as kana. Much of this early Japanese women’s writing was actively composed as a counterpoint to narratives created by male writers. While women’s writing was slower to emerge in Korea, its efflorescence coincides with the spread of a vernacular script (han’gŭl) during the Chosŏn period (1392-1910), and many women’s texts were composed as a way of disseminating “truth” that could serve as a counter to male-produced narratives already in circulation. This course juxtaposes texts produced by/for Japanese women with texts produced by/for Korean women in order to explore the notion of “women’s writing” as a category in the premodern East Asian world.

ASIA 4001 CLAC Co-Seminar: will be offered focused on manga adaptations of texts from the main course.


KREN 4110 Advanced Reading in Korean
T/Th 2:00 - 03:15PM 
Sangbok Kim (sangbok.kim@colorado.edu)

This course is designed for learners who have completed Advanced Korean 2 (KREN 3120) or possess equivalent proficiency in the Korean language (i.e., Advanced-Mid level according to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines). In this advanced-level Korean course, students will explore pre-modern Korean history through the lens of culture and society. The primary course materials consist of written Korean texts from the main textbook, supplemented by various resources such as news articles, movies, literature, songs, photographs, and television/radio content. Students will analyze these texts thematically and write concise paragraphs based on their readings, covering pre-modern history from the Three Kingdoms period to the Joseon Dynasty.