Spring 2014

An introduction to the major art forms and monuments of religious art in India, Southeast Asia, China and Japan from prehistory to 1300.

Survey of the art, architecture, and visual culture of Latin America from the colonial period to the present, focusing on connections to culture and society.

An introduction to cultures and people in the Americas; the social, historical, economic and cultural formations that together make up the Latino/a American imaginary.

History, political-economy and aesthetics of the African Diaspora with emphasis on Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and Africa.

Concepts of social anthropology using filmic representations of societies throughout the world in contrast to written ethnography.

North American Indian societies, their major cultural themes,ethnological significance, and comparability with Western Europeancultural forms; lectures, visual, and indigene demonstrations.

Comparative study of works from a broad range of cultural traditions that originate from, and provide insight into, vital global locations outside the Western sphere.

Introduction to the major humanities traditions of China, Japan, and Korea through an examination of representative works drawnfrom literature, aesthetics, philosophy, religion, and historicalwriting.

Examination of the transnational production and circulation of Chinese-language cinema. Analysis of the larger sociocultural significance of films by engaging their historical context.

Japanese literature from the earliest times to the present;development of prose, poetry, and the novel; evolution of theatre; Japanese literature under Western influence. Conducted in English.

Main patterns of change in modern China, Japan, and Korea; historical framework and the insights of geography, economics, political science, and other disciplines.

A topical and chronological study of the major political, social, and intellectual forces that have shaped the history of Korea.

Study of the lives of selected individuals who have helped toshape Chinese politics and culture.

Japan from the earliest times to the present; social, cultural, and political dimensions.

Introduction to the history and the study of the Middle East from ancient to modern times

Introduction to Colonial Latin America; native American peoples, themes, issues, and evolution of Spanish and Portuguese colonial rule to ca. 1800.

Exploration of two millenia of economic exchanges and cross cultural interaction between Asia and Europe.

Exploration of the senses and the technologies of pleasure in India, relating this material to some fascinating examples of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist literature. Not for major credit for Religion or Religion (Judaic Studies) majors.

Russian cultural identity from its beginnings until today. The Eastern Orthodox tradition, its traumatic confrontation with Western culture, and their continuous interaction.