This upper-division course is a three-part exploration of Germany’s perceptions of Japan from the late 19th century to the present. We will analyze the myriad ways Germany imagined, depicted, and represented Japan to German audiences in the media, film, literature and contemporary culture. In the first section, we begin the course comparing the development of both Germany and Japan into unified nation-states and their transformations into global powers and empires between 1884 and 1935. We then look at the military alliance between Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan and how the consequences of that alliance shaped postwar German identity and memory culture. In the final section of the course, we explore how representations of Japan today are still shaped by 19th century orientalist narratives and conclude by examining how that dynamic is reversed in contemporary Japanese culture.

(same as 25740 German 150, Lec A;   26124 GlblClt 103B, Lec A;   and 26707 History 114, Lec C)

Days: MO WE  02:00-03:20 PM

This course is an overview of the linguistic features of modern Japanese. Its main goal is to provide students a systematic introduction to the nature and characteristics of the language, including: Genealogical tree of the Japanese language; Orthography (What are various writing systems used in modern Japanese?); Phonetics and phonology (How can we describe the sounds of Japanese words?); Morphology (How are Japanese words constructed and organized?); Regeneration of lexicon (How are new words created?); Syntax (How are Japanese sentences structured?); Semantics.

Through this course students will also explore the structure of the Japanese language and its historical development in conjunction with socio-cultural factors. Upon completion of this course, students should understand the idiosyncratic behavior of Japanese as a language.

(same as 65240 LSCI 165B, Lec A)

Days: MO WE  01:00-02:20 PM

As seen today, the Korean peninsula is home to two starkly different societies: a pop-culture powerhouse and a geopolitical pariah; a plugged-in innovator in consumer electronics and a closed-off authoritarian regime; a democratically elected government and a military dictatorship. These striking contrasts, however, belie a shared history and heritage. Taking the long view of the emergence and divergence of both polities, this course explores Korea’s remarkable transformation over the twentieth century, a period that witnessed colonial liberation as well as devastating war, political repression as well as cultural efflorescence, economic vitality as well as crushing famine. Among the topics examined are colonial collaboration and resistance, Korea in the Cold War order, ethnic nationalism, postwar industrial and economic reforms, and the global consumption of Korean culture. These topics will be examined through a wide range of sources (including films, memoirs, diaries, art, and scholarly assessments) that reflect the diversity of experiences of Koreans across social, class, and regional lines.

(same as 26830 History 173G, Lec A)

Days: TU TH  02:00-03:20 PM

In this course we explore the themes, issues, and styles of the works of contemporary Korean women writers and film makers since the 1980s until today.  This is Korea’s high growth period in the aftermath of the Korean War and the national division.  We will examine the women’s experiences of gender and sexuality, work and maternity against the backdrop of Korea’s rapid industrialization, social movement, economic development, and globalization. We will critically analyze stories by O Chong-hui, Choe Yun, Kim Ae-ran, Hwang Jungeun, Kim Choyeop as well as films by Yim Soon-rye, Lee Eon-hi and others.

(same as 22785 Com Lit 143, Lec A;   and 25180 Gen&Sex 175, Lec A)

Days: MO WE  02:00-03:20 PM

National schools, period styles, or cultural movements beyond U.S. cinema, as defined by national borders or by geographic regions, such as Latin America. May be approached from a comparative perspective.
Days: TU TH  02:00-03:20 PM

GER 150: Germany & Japan: Fear and Fascination from Meiji to Manga

This upper-division course is a three-part exploration of Germany’s perceptions of Japan from the late 19th century to the present. We will analyze the myriad ways Germany imagined, depicted, and represented Japan to German audiences in the media, film, literature and contemporary culture. In the first section, we begin the course comparing the development of both Germany and Japan into unified nation-states and their transformations into global powers and empires between 1884 and 1935. We then look at the military alliance between Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan and how the consequences of that alliance shaped postwar German identity and memory culture. In the final section of the course, we explore how representations of Japan today are still shaped by 19th century orientalist narratives and conclude by examining how that dynamic is reversed in contemporary Japanese culture.

*Course readings for GER 150 are in English.
Days: MO WE  02:00-03:20 PM

This course covers the most important themes in the history of Armenians and Armenia in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries and does so within a regional (i.e., Middle East and Caucasus) and global context. This course will have a strong thematic approach as we proceed from imperial rule in the nineteenth century through twentieth-century genocide, brief independence, sovietization, and independence again, culminating in the Velvet Revolution, and most recently the war over Artsakh/Karabakh. As we explore this history, we will focus on Armenians as imperial and national subjects in ancestral lands as well as transimperial and transnational subjects in a diaspora that has had a complex relationship with the idea and reality of homeland.
Days: MO WE  09:30-10:50 AM

This course will introduce students to major themes in the social, cultural, political, and economic history of China since 1800, with a focus on key events including the Opium Wars and Boxer Uprising, the 1911 Revolution and overthrow of the Qing dynasty, the Second World War, and the rise to power of the Chinese Communist Party. Themes include political and ideological change from the late imperial period to the communist takeover; changing gender roles; urbanization and rural development; foreign imperialism and popular resistance; and the growing pressure to "modernize" China's politics and culture.
Days: TU TH  12:30-01:50 PM

As seen today, the Korean peninsula is home to two starkly different societies: a pop-culture powerhouse and a geopolitical pariah; a plugged-in innovator in consumer electronics and a closed-off authoritarian regime; a democratically elected government and a military dictatorship. These striking contrasts, however, belie a shared history and heritage. Taking the long view of the emergence and divergence of both polities, this course explores Korea’s remarkable transformation over the twentieth century, a period that witnessed colonial liberation as well as devastating war, political repression as well as cultural efflorescence, economic vitality as well as crushing famine. Among the topics examined are colonial collaboration and resistance, Korea in the Cold War order, ethnic nationalism, postwar industrial and economic reforms, and the global consumption of Korean culture. These topics will be examined through a wide range of sources (including films, memoirs, diaries, art, and scholarly assessments) that reflect the diversity of experiences of Koreans across social, class, and regional lines.


(same as 23012 EAS 130, Lec A)
Days: TU TH  02:00-03:20 PM

Emphasis/Category: Locating Asias (Nation, Culture, and Diaspora)
In this course, we will examine the works of contemporary Korean writers, film makers and visual artists as the postmemory generations tell the stories of their inherited historical trauma and seek ways of healing through their respective aesthetic media while engaging critical theories of trauma, transitional justice, truth-telling, reconciliation through interdependence of care ethics. The topics we will examine include Comfort Women, war memories, state brutality, defection, diaspora and affective equality of care. The text we will examine include novels by Han Kang, the 2024 Nobel Laureate, graphic novels by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim, testimonies by former Comfort Women, films by Lee Chang-dong, Park Chan-wook and others about war, memory struggle, question of forgiveness and reconciliation.
Days: MO WE  12:00-01:20 PM