ARTH 200 |
World Art History I |
4 |
A survey of world art and architecture from prehistoric times through the fifteenth
century. Satisfies the Fine Arts GE requirement. |
ARTH 300 |
World Art History II |
4 |
A survey of world art and architecture from the fifteenth century through the present. |
ARTH 442 |
Islamic Art |
4 |
The art, architecture, and visual culture of the Middle East and the Islamic world
from the pre-modern period to the early modern period. |
ARTH 446 |
Chinese Art |
4 |
The art, architecture, and visual culture of China from the pre-modern period to the
present. |
ARTH 448 |
Korean Art |
4 |
The art, architecture, and visual culture of Korea from the pre-modern period to the
present. |
ASIA 301 |
Sources of Asian Tradition |
4 |
An introduction to the concepts and experiences that have informed and sustained Asian
civilization for 4,000 years. Major ideas and events that have shaped the historical
record of the great civilizations of India and China (and all nations under their
influence, including Southeast Asia, Tibet, Korea and Japan) will be presented and
examined through lectures, demonstrations, assigned readings, and discussions. Students
will gain a working knowledge of Asian institutional and intellectual history and
a sense of the common human experiences that link East and West. |
ASIA 305 |
Survey of East Asia |
4 |
A historical survey of the nations of East Asia from the earliest period of Shang
Dynasty China to the present ascent of the Pacific Rim. The nations of East Asia—China,
Japan, Korea, and Vietnam—were bound by political, social, and economic ties, but
it was primarily the ties of culture and language that sustained their commitment
to a common civilization. The course will introduce students to the most important
events, people, institutions, and achievements of this civilization. |
ASIA/HIST 310 |
A History of Modern Japan |
4 |
Examines the history of modern Japanese society from the rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate
(seventeenth- to nineteenth-century military rule) to the end of the Pacific War (1937-1945).
The ideas, historical events, and social forces that underpinned the Tokugawa era
(early modern), as well as Japan’s selective absorption of European and American influences
will be studied. The course seeks to understand the role ideas and action (thought
and practice)—traditional and modern, Japanese and non-Japanese—played in national
integration, rapid industrialization, and Japan’s emergence as a twentieth-century
power. A modern history, the course places its topic in the broader study of modernity
and modernization theory. |
ASIA 325 |
Pre-Modern Japanese Literature |
4 |
Surveys 1,100 years of pre-modern Japanese literature, one of the most extensive literary
traditions of world civilizations. Explores a variety of key texts in the Japanese
lyric and narrative canon: ancient poetry, romances, and diaries by court aristocrats;
samurai warrior tales; Imperial poetry sequences; recluse literature by hermit monks;
travel journals by itinerant priests; bunraku puppet and Nô theater scripts; and
comic tales produced in the urban entertainment quarters. The course also pays attention
to the visuality of these texts, as most of the canonical stories have their corollary
in painting, scrolls, or screens. |
ASIA/HIST 330 |
History of Traditional Chinese Civilization |
4 |
A survey of Chinese civilization from the ancient kingdoms of the Shang and Zhou dynasties
through the time of the last Chinese imperial dynasty, the Ming Dynasty (1644 A.D.).
Major personalities, significant events, and critical developments in the politics,
society, and culture of this period are examined. Special focus on Confucius and Confucianism,
political authoritarianism and despotism, social mobility and meritocracy, women and
the traditional family, and China and the emerging world economy. |
ASIA/HIST 331 |
History of Modern China |
4 |
A survey of modern Chinese history from the founding of the last imperial dynasty,
the Qing, in 1644 A.D., through the establishment of the Republic of China in 1911,
to the return of the British colony of Hong Kong in 1997. Political, economic, social,
and intellectual developments will be examined. Special focus on democracy and the
legacy of authoritarianism, “free trade” and opium wars, westernization and modernization,
Confucianism and Chinese identity, economic development and equality, and communist
revolution and reform. |
ASIA 340 |
Traditional Chinese Thought and Society |
4 |
A study of traditional Chinese thought from ancient and classical China through the
Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1644). The traditions of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism will
be considered in their social, political, and intellectual contexts and through their
ethical impact. Special emphasis on the natural and the moral order, good men and
the society, change and immutability, and truth and rationality. |
ASIA 345 |
Modern Chinese Literature |
4 |
A survey of Chinese literature, in English translation, from the nineteenth century
to the present. Students will read from the major works of modern literature, including
from such genres as short stories, drama, and novels. The course will seek to understand
these works in their cultural and social context, and will especially focus on how
different authors contribute to the development of a modern Chinese identity. |
ASIA 350 |
Buddhist Texts, Images, and Practices |
4 |
A lecture-seminar on the development of Buddhist doctrine and iconography in Asia
from India to Tibet, China, Korea, and Japan using original-language texts in English
translation as well as slides of historically significant temples and their contents.
First-hand impressions of Buddhist images and practices will be gained through field
trips to Buddhist communities in the Los Angeles area. |
ASIA/FILM 365 |
Japanese and Asian Film |
4 |
This course explores the thematic and formal aspects of Japanese film, dealing with
topics such as the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the rise of Taisho commodity culture
in the 1920s, the Pacific War, postwar reconstruction, and postmodernism. Study of
works by Ozu, Mizoguchi, and Kurosawa will introduce the course, followed by a series
of more recent Japanese films, including science-fiction animation. In addition, works
from China, Hong Kong, and South Korea raise the issue of colonialism and the role
Japanese colonialism played in the development of East Asian film industries and sensibilities. |
ASIA 370 |
Modern Japanese Literature |
4 |
This course explores both the institution of modern Japanese literature (the creation
of a standardized, national language; experimentation with Western genres) and its
theoretical implications for the development of prose realism in Japan. The course
will relate the development of literary forms to broader issues regarding modernization,
such as the forming of a national culture, urbanization, twentieth-century militarism,
and postwar democracy. Writers include Soseki, Mishima, Oe, and Tanizaki. |
COM 313 |
Introduction to Intercultural Communication |
4 |
The study of interpersonal, small group, organizational and massmedia communication
as it influences the creation of meaning between representatives of major cultures
or co-cultures within a predominant culture. Includes verbal and nonverbal elements
influencing communication. Contemporary insights from a variety of areas including
communication, anthropology, sociology and psychology. Students must earn a minimum
grade of C- before they can advance to subsequent courses in the Communication major. |
FILM 365 |
Japanese and Asian Film |
4 |
This course explores the thematic and formal aspects of Japanese film,dealing with
topics such as the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the rise of Taisho commodity culture
in the 1920s, the Pacific War, postwar reconstruction, and postmodernism. Study of
works by Ozu, Mizoguchi, and Kurosawa will introduce the course, followed by a series
of more recent Japanese films, including science-fiction animation. In addition, works
from China, Hong Kong, and South Korea raise the issue of colonialism and the role
Japanese colonialism played in the development of East Asian film industries and sensibilities. |
FRE 366 |
Francophone Civilizations of Africa and the Levant |
4 |
Survey of the Francophone presence in West Africa, North Africa, and the Levant. Students
will explore the history of these regions, factors leading to their movements for
independence, and sociocultural and political issues related to post-colonialism. |
GSHU 333 |
Asian Great Books |
4 |
Using the shared inquiry method, this course considers great literary, philosophical,
and religious texts of the East, such as the Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gita, and works
by Confucius, Mencius, Hsun Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Basho, Murasaki, and others. The course
requires intensive work in writing and oral participation. |
FILM 321 |
World Cinemas |
4 |
This course will be a focused survey of world cinemas. An exploration of the aesthetic,
historical, and theoretical/critical aspects of major national cinemas around the
world, with an emphasis on the unique socio-cultural context and national identity
politics, with special attention to China, Japan, India, Hong Kong, South Korea, and
regions in the Middle-East and Africa. |
HIST 240 |
Topics in Global History |
4 |
A seminar course on a topic in comparative or historical knowledge of the world outside
of the United States and Europe or from the precolonial past. The course focuses on
analyzing historical interpretations and narratives by interpreting primary sources
in context, identifying causation, and tracing continuity and change. |
HIST 270 |
Diverse Perspectives in Global History |
4 |
This course explores histories on a range of topics outside of the “West” to develop
critical thinking and historical analysis specifically focusing on historical development,
cultural heritage, politics and/or religious traditions of civilizations of communities
outside Europe and the USA. The course material features diverse voices and perspectives
as a way to challenge students on their understanding of world history and to incorporate
new understandings of human resilience, resistance, and change. This course will examine
topics of systemic injustice, marginalization of various communities, and avenues
of resistance and change within or at the breakages of these systems. |
HIST 320 |
Pre-Columbian Civilizations of the Americas |
4 |
An examination of major Native American civilizations from prehistoric times to approximately
1600. Social and cultural aspects will be emphasized as archaeological, anthropological,
and historical data are examined. Special attention will be given to the Native American
cultures of Central and either North or South America. |
HIST 390 |
Modern History of the Middle East |
4 |
An introductory course which explores the causes underlying the rise of sovereign
nation-states in the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the conflicts that have attended
modern social, technological, and political change. In addition, particular attention
will be paid throughout the course to Islam and its influence over the socio-political
history of the Middle East. The basic tenets of Islam and its significance and role
will be critically examined. Generally, the course will strike a balance between chronological
and thematic/ analytical approaches. |
HIST 409 |
Ancient Civilizations |
4 |
Examines the major civilizations of the ancient world before the emergence of the
Greeks and Romans in the Mediterranean. The political, religious, cultural, and social
histories and legacies of the Egyptian and the Mesopotamian civilizations will be
studied in detail, as will the histories of less widely-studied Indus Valley and Ganges
River civilizations. Special attention is given to the monotheistic cultures of the
Israelites and the Persians and to the role of archaeology in ancient history. |
HIST 450 |
Modern History of Africa |
4 |
Explores the history of Africa from 1800 to contemporary times. Attending to both
thematic diversity and regional particularism, it addresses such topics as the slave
trade in Western and Central Africa, the Zulu and Asante empires, Christian missions,
colonization and human rights abuses in the Congo and German Southwest Africa, apartheid
in South Africa, and indigenous resistance to, and ultimately victory over, European
systems of exploitation and control. The course also investigates the endemic social
and political crises of the postindependence era. |
INTS 365 |
People and Cultures of the Middle East |
4 |
This course, taught in Jordan, seeks to acquaint students with some of the diversity
of peoples and cultures in that country and in the Middle East region as a whole.
Emphasis is placed on understanding key elements of the Arab-Muslim culture which
creates the sociocultural context both for Jordan and the broader region. In addition
to looking at the specific local culture(s) and cultural diversity of Jordan and the
region, emphasis will be placed on understanding the concept of culture and the nature
and challenge of intercultural understanding, adaptation and growth—i.e., how do we
become people who can understand and engage any cultural context in a positive way. Offered
only in the Jordan International Program. |
INTS 445 |
Contemporary African Politics |
4 |
A study of the contemporary political, social, economic, and cultural life of Africa
with emphasis on three central themes of governance, development, security. Specific
attention is devoted to political and economic liberalization in Africa, the Rwandan
genocide, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the role of South Africa. |
INTS 455 |
Politics of the Middle East and North Africa |
4 |
This course is an introduction to politics in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
It investigates a series of factors that may help to explain the region’s contemporary
political landscape. Topics may include: colonial legacies, the persistence of authoritarianism
in the region, oil, economic underdevelopment, political Islamism, religious and sectarian
diversity, public attitudes, and US foreign policy. |
INTS 456 |
East Asian Politics |
4 |
A comparative study of politics and society in several countries or regions of East
Asia. Examines pan-Asian history and culture and explores the determinants of political
and economic liberalization. |
INTS 459 |
Islam: History, Thought and Practice |
4 |
This class will introduce students to the circumstances surrounding the advent and
rise of Islam, the subsequent development of the tradition in a complex religious
and political milieu, the challenges Muslim societies and thinkers face in a globally
modernizing world, and the beliefs, rituals, and daily practices of adherents of the
tradition today. Additionally, this course will critique stereotypes about Islam and
Muslims advanced by antagonists of the tradition but also by some of its defenders.
Finally, it will examine the legacy of relations between Muslims and practitioners
of various other faiths, in particular, but not exclusively, Christianity, and discuss prospects for the future. |
POSC 456 |
East Asian Politics |
4 |
A comparative study of politics and society in several countries or regions of East
Asia. Examines pan-Asian history and culture and explores the determinants of political
and economic liberalization. |
REL 501 |
The World of the Old Testament |
4 |
A study of the world of the ancient Near East, of which Old Testament Israel was a
part. Special attention will be given to the literary and artifactual remains that
shed light on the historical and socio-cultural context of ancient Israel. |
REL 526 |
The Religions of the World |
4 |
An examination of the major religious traditions with focus on Hinduism, Buddhism,
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Other religions such as Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto,
Jainism, and Sikhism are covered as time permits. |