Area Courses

An "area course" is defined as a content course (non-language, non-tutorial) in East Asian subjects. This includes content courses taught in an East Asian language, which can be counted toward either area or language course requirements. Area courses also include East Asia courses in General Education, which provide varying degrees of general background, as well as more focused EALC departmental offerings, and East Asia-focused courses from across FAS and the graduate schools.

The following chart includes all courses that count for area course credit that are being taught this academic year. A list of current and past courses that count for Historical Survey Course credit can be found here.

Courses marked with an asterisk (*) are intended primarily for graduate students and may require instructor approval in order to register. It is solely at the instructor’s discretion whether to admit undergraduate students to these courses.

Fall '26 Semester

Number	Course	Instructor	Department	May also fulfill:
ANTHRO 2905	*History of Sociocultural Anthropology	Puett	ANTHRO
This course is designed for students beginning graduate study in social and cultural anthropology and is required for all first-year Social Anthropology graduate students. It is intended to provide critical skills for reading in and contributing to social and cultural theory. It offers a selective overview of theoretical and empirical trends in the discipline of anthropology, focusing on theoretical genealogies within the discipline at large. The course asks what has counted for anthropologists as legitimate research questions, forms of research, categories and paradigms for analyzing data, and approaches to ethnographic writing. The hope is that students will begin to re-assemble elements of the discipline’s past and present in the form of a scholarly agenda for the discipline’s future. Ultimately, the course is designed to prepare students to understand the primary historical genealogies within anthropological theorizing and to begin to position themselves within those genealogies.
CHAGATAY A	Elementary Chaghatay	Yulghun	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
This course is intended to develop a basic reading knowledge of Chaghatay, the classical antecedent of modern Uzbek and modern Uyghur, and the common literary language of all Central Asian Turks from the fourteenth to the early twentieth centuries. The course includes a survey of Chaghatay literature as well as a discussion of grammar, the writing system, and lexicographical resources; the class meetings will be devoted to both textbook-based instruction and (particularly in the second half of the semester) the reading of samples from Chaghatay texts drawn from printed sources and manuscript copies. This is a continuation of Chaghatay A.
CHNSE 106A	Introduction to Literary Sinitic	Wild	EALC	Language OR Area Course; 100-level EALC (SF requirement)
Basic grammar and the reading of simple historical narrative. At least one year of modern Chinese, or familiarity with Chinese characters through knowledge of Japanese or Korean.
CHNSE 107A	Intermediate Literary Sinitic	Wild	EALC	Language OR Area Course; 100-level EALC (SF requirement)
A second-year course designed to prepare students for reading and research using materials written in Literary Chinese. The focus in the fall semester will be prose from the Tang and Song dynasties.
CHNSE 150A	Topics in Chinese Culture and Society	Zhang	EALC	Language OR Area Course; 100-level EALC (SF requirement)
The course seeks to consolidate and hone students’ advanced Chinese ability through in-depth examination of Chinese society and culture.
CHNSE 187	Art and Violence in the Cultural Revolution	Tian	EALC	Language OR Area Course; 100-level EALC (SF requirement)
Examines the cultural implications of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). We will examine how art was violent towards people and how violence was turned into an art. We will also consider the link between violence, trauma, memory and writing. Materials include memoir, fiction, essay, "revolutionary Peking Opera," and film.
CHNSHIS 113	Life and Death in Late Imperial China: Social History of the 10th to 19th Centuries	Szonyi	EALC	Historical Survey; 100-level EALC (SF requirement)
This course is a survey of the social and cultural history of China from the Song to the mid-Qing (roughly from 1000 to 1800). The main topics discussed include urbanization and commerce; gender; family and kinship; education and the examination system, and religion and ritual. The main goal of the course will be to explore the relationship between social and cultural changes and political and intellectual developments.
CHNSHIS 233R	*Sources of Early Chinese History	Puett	EALC
Chronological survey of recently-discovered paleographic texts and received materials from the late Shang through the early Warring States period, with discussion of problems of contextualization.
CHNSLIT 273	*Chinese Song Cultures	Tian, Li	EALC
This course explores Chinese songscapes from ancient times to the twenty-first century with an emphasis on songs, their lyrics, and related commentary and media cultures. Prerequisite: The course is primarily designed for PhD and MA students and is open to qualified undergraduate students with at least three years of Modern Chinese or equivalent. Knowledge of Literary Sinitic (Classical Chinese) desirable.
CHNSLIT 285	*The Literary Life of Things in China	Kelly	EALC
This seminar investigates literary strategies for depicting and animating things in premodern China. We will trace the development of the principal genres for talking about objects, from yongwu poetry and riddle tales, to inscriptions, colophons, and manuals of taste. How, we will ask, have authors probed and reimagined human attachments to things. How have practices of collecting and connoisseurship transformed Chinese literary culture? How have objects been used to think about what it means to be human in the Chinese literary tradition.
COMPLIT 277	*Literature, Diaspora, Migration, and Trauma	Thornber	COMPLIT
This course examines a diverse range of creative and critical discourses on migration, diaspora, and trauma: African; East, South, and Southeast Asian (Chinese, Indian, Korean, Vietnamese); as well as Latin American and Caribbean. We focus on connections among diasporas, displacement, migration, and trauma, and on the relationships of these phenomena and constructions and understandings of artistic and cultural identities, ethnicity/race, gender/sexuality, inequality, disease/mental illness/mental health/disability, religion, postcolonialism, transculturation (including translation), multilingualism, globalization and global history, world literature, global literatures, and related fields.
EAFM 151	Documenting China on Film	Li	EALC	Historical Survey
In this course, we will examine documentary films made in or about China from the early 20th century to the present day, through the lenses of both Chinese and foreign filmmakers. We will interrogate the visual “evidence” that camera images can offer, look into their production and reception histories, as well as discuss the ethics, aesthetics, and politics of documentation, representation, and exhibition. Weekly topics are roughly grouped into three parts: (1) “Witnessing History” (2) “Social Reportage” and (3) “Art, Experimentation, and Fiction.” The first part will cover the cinematic history and memory of World War II, the Cultural Revolution, and the 1989 Tiananmen protests. The second part will explore documentary engagements with contemporary issues ranging from social inequality, migrant labor, forced demolitions, and environmental degradation. The third part will consider the art of observation, the potentials of experimentation, and the porous boundaries between documentary and fiction. Viewings of documentary films will be complemented by theoretical and contextual readings, as well as short assignments to engage critically and creatively with the films we watch. The final project for the course will be to make a documentary film in a small group or to write a documentary film proposal.
EAFM 210	*Minor Meditations: Methods in Analysis	Yoda	EALC
This methods seminar begins from a provocation: the most analytically decisive operations in media often occur in details that seem too minor to matter—subtitle lag, aspect ratios, interface behaviors, gestures held too long. Students learn to build portable concepts from such details through a structured protocol: identify what "misfits" its apparent context, interpret what that misfit does, form a concept, and test it collaboratively on maximally different objects. The method treats detail as where bodies, technologies, and infrastructures converge, offering a way to work across persistent impasses in media studies—infrastructure versus text, platform analysis versus close reading, area studies expertise versus media theory. Readings engage a range of media studies scholarship and philosophical texts, but the emphasis is practical and metacognitive: making analytical practice explicit and portable. Students work on media objects central to their own research; generative failures are valued as much as successes. Open to graduate students across programs. Enrollment capped at 12; brief application required. Intensive collaborative work is required
EASTD 112	Buddhism and the Senses [aka “Buddhist stuff”]	Kolata	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement)
How does Buddhism smell, taste, sound, look, and feel to touch? In this course, we will consider how bodies experience the divine presence, religious norms and regulations, spaces, and religious imaginaries. Through the lens of Buddhism, we will engage with the sensory and embodied dimensions of religious practices, both through the experiences of practitioners and our own. From spirit possession, to carving religious statues, cooking Buddhist feasts, and making and smelling incense, we will uncover how religious worlds come into being through the senses and embodied practice This course will also delve into the meaning of religious affects and embodied realities of Buddhism, while offering a theoretical introduction to material religion.
EASTD 143A	Digital Tools and Methods in East Asian Humanities: No-coding Approach	Tang	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement)
This course is designed for students in East Asian humanities with no prior background in digital literacy. It will introduce digital tools and methods used for the acquisition, transformation, analysis, and presentation of data. Coding is not required. Students completing the course will be able to integrate and apply the tools and methods into their research. Hands-on practices will be the major core of this course. Although students will expose to a wide range of tools, we use Konstanz Information Miner (KNIME), an open access analytics platform, as the axle of the course. Students will learn concepts and build workflows in different aspects of digital scholarship.
EASTD 144	Vietnam in the Twentieth Century: History, Culture, and Identity	Nguyen	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement)
This lecture course introduces students to the modern history and culture of Vietnam by examining major visions of “Vietnam” as a state and as a people that emerged over the twentieth century. Drawing on historical narratives and cultural productions, the course explores themes such as ideas about the origins of Vietnamese society and culture, Vietnam’s relations with its neighbors, colonialism, anticolonialism and nationalism, war, and postwar challenges. Rather than treating “Vietnam” as a continuous and uniﬁed entity stretching back to the prehistoric Dong Son culture, the course highlights competing understandings of “Vietnam” and of what it has meant to be “Vietnamese,” as they took shape at key moments in the country’s modern history.
EASTD 196	Political Geography of China	Koss	EALC	Junior Tutorial; 100-level EALC (SF requirement)
Putting Chinese politics on the map, this course asks how the government deals with the enormous challenges of ruling over a vast terrain with a diverse population, encompassing super-rich urban metropolises as well as poor rural peripheries. We begin with statecraft traditions from the late imperial era; and end with China's place on the future global maps of the 21st century. Topics include: macro-regions; priority zones of governance; Special Economic Zones; the Chinese equivalent of “blue states and red states;” rising inequality; ethnic minorities and borderlands; economic development models; urbanization and city planning; collective action in digital space; domestic and international migration; environmental politics; and the geo-politics of the “One Belt One Road” initiative.
FYSEMR 21I	Evolution, Buddhism and Ethics	Wakeley	FYSEMR
Evolutionary genetics traces back to Darwin's (1859) idea of natural selection. Darwin provided a compelling theory about how species change due to competition in reproducing populations, yet it remains difficult to understand, particularly when applied to ourselves. To enable critical evaluation and discussion of ethical questions and to illustrate connections between science and Buddhism, about one third of this seminar will cover select details of evolutionary genetics. The focus will be on understanding human genetic variation. Buddhism originated with Siddhartha Gautama’s enlightenment around 500 BCE, achieved after six years of intense devotion to the problem of human suffering. He emerged as the Buddha, or the Enlightened One, making the bold statement that suffering within each person results from misunderstanding the nature of one's self and its relationship to the ever-changing world. He outlined a program of analytical introspection, morality, and meditation, aimed at solving this problem. As with evolutionary genetics, critical evaluation and discussion of Buddhist ideas in this seminar will be fostered by learning the details of what the Buddha taught. Points of overlap between evolutionary genetics and Buddhism emerge in the ways they undermine appearances, deconstructing phenomena which at first appear wholly unbreakable. We will bring our knowledge of Buddhism to bear on end-of-life issues, the use of human embryos in research, and the prospects for human genetic engineering.
FYSEMR 43W	History, Nationalism, and the World: The Case of Korea	Kim	FYSEMR
This seminar will explore the quandary that faces all historians: To what extent is the understanding of past episodes influenced by current politics and to what extent is current politics influenced by people’s understanding of the past? In the study of Korean history, this question is particularly sharp since the postcolonial division of Korea into North and South has thrust the memory of past events into current political discussions as well as scholarly debates. The seminar will investigate selected events in Korean history to map the interaction between historical writing and politics: the origins of Korea; Korean territory and the Korean people; cultural contacts with China and Japan and indigenization; social and regional marginalization and discrimination; Confucian transformation of Chosŏn Korea and its legacy in contemporary Korean culture; the legacy of pre-World War II Japanese occupation; and the contending history of popular movements and religion. Why have some historians pictured Korea as a Japanese colony, a miniature replica of China, or a local variant of Chinese civilization? Why have other historians emphasized certain periods and aspects of Korean history while ignoring others? How have historians described Korea’s relationships to China, Japan, and the rest of the world? Has the perception of Korea as a marginalized people and region influenced how its history has been described? Are there any connections between popular traditions and movements and this historical and scholarly discussion? Reading (all in English) will include translated primary documents as well as political and historical studies. Students are required to write five short critical essays in addition to weekly Web posting.
GOV 1280	Government & Politics of China	Wang	GOV	Historical Survey
This course is a broad introduction to the main issues of contemporary Chinese politics and social change. The course is divided into two sections: the first section covers the period from the end of the last imperial dynasty to the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. The second section examines the last thirty years of economic reform, looking at both how the reforms began and how they were sustained.
GOV 1783	Central Asia in Global Politics	TBA	GOV	Historical Survey
The course is designed as an in-depth study of the place of Central Asia in Eurasian and global politics, and the policies of key external actors, such as Russia, the United States, China, the European Union, Turkey, Iran, Japan, South Korea and India, toward the region.
HAA 188P	Edo Painting	Lippit	HAA
This seminar explores the history of painting during Japan’s Edo period (1615-1868). This semester’s iteration of the course focuses on the life and work of Maruyama Okyo (1733-1795), the Edo period’s most popular painter. Each week, through close examinations of Okyo’s paintings, students will become familiarized to the techniques, formats, materials, pictorial styles, and subject matter of Japanese painting. Working outward from these case studies, students will also explore larger cultural themes concerning the city of Kyoto, Japanese aesthetics and symbolism, print culture, the status of the artist, patronage, antiquarianism, and interregionalism. Special emphasis will be placed on how one understands the concept of “naturalism” in Japanese art, especially given that there was no word for “Nature” in premodern Japan. Several group excursions to Harvard Art Museums will be organized throughout the semester.
HIST 1938	China: An Infrastructure History	Ghosh	HIST
This course meets the "Beyond North America" History Concentration requirement or may be used to fulfill the seminar requirement.
HIST 2639	*Histories of Modern China: Research Seminar	Ghosh	HIST
In this research seminar students will have the opportunity to explore new works in modern (twentieth century) Chinese history and develop and present their own research, culminating in a 25-35 page research paper. Designed for students working on their doctoral or masters theses, the course is open to anyone interested in writing a research paper using primary sources in Chinese (additional languages welcome too, of course!).
HISTSCI 2812	*China in the History of Science and Technology	Seow	HISTSCI
This graduate seminar has been designed to prepare students to undertake independent research in the history of science and technology in China from the late nineteenth century to the present. To that end, it introduces students both to general trends in the relevant literature from the history of science and technology and adjacent social sciences as well as to various types of primary sources that can serve as the foundation for a scholarly contribution. Advanced proficiency in the Chinese language and some basic familiarity with the history of modern China required.
JAPAN 106A	Classical Japanese	Truscott	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
In this course, we will learn and practice reading the fundamental grammatical patterns of classical, or literary, Japanese (bungo). From Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji to Bashō’s famous haiku, this linguistic form appears in a wide variety of Japanese literature. In fact, traces of classical Japanese can still be found in modern Japanese and are often employed in news articles and song lyrics. As we read poetry, short stories, diaries, and more, students will not only gain the ability to read premodern vernacular texts with the aid of a dictionary, but will also develop a deeper appreciation for Japanese language and culture across the ages.
JAPAN 106B	Introduction to Kambun	Truscott	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
In this course, students will learn how to read a variety of Japanese texts written entirely in Chinese characters, or kanbun. Specifically, we will practice the art of rendering both classical and quasi-classical Chinese script into Japanese syntax, a reading method known as kundoku or yomikudashi. After learning the basics via textbook, we will read texts from several different genres such as mythologies, histories, and official documents. By taking this course, students will begin developing the necessary skills for reading primary sources produced by Japanese officials and literati with the aid of a dictionary, laying the groundwork for further training in students’ specific fields of research.
JAPAN 150A	Readings and Discussion in Japanese Social Sciences	Higurashi	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
Selected readings and discussion in Japanese primarily on contemporary topics in economics, sociology, political science, psychology, and cultural studies, with occasional readings from literature. Readings are supplemented by selections from audiovisual media on current social issues.
JAPAN 210A	*Reading Scholarly Japanese for Students of Chinese and Korean	Jacobsen	EALC	Language OR Area Course
Development of skills in reading and translating academic genres of Japanese, with special attention to Japanese scholarship on Chinese and Korean studies. Introduction to old kana usage and classical forms commonly used in scholarly writing. Japanese 120b, and graduate standing in some field of Chinese or Korean studies.
JAPNHIST 271R	*Research in Early Modern Japanese History: Seminar	Howell	EALC
This seminar deals with the politics, society, and culture of Japan from the late sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. Readings will include primary and secondary sources in Japanese and English. Students will write a major research paper.
JAPNLIT 124	The Tale of Genji in Word and Image: Seminar	McCormick	EALC
Introduces students to The Tale of Genji, often called the world's first novel, authored by the court lady Murasaki Shikibu around the year 1000 CE. In addition to a close reading of the tale, topics for examination include Japanese court culture, women's writing, and the tale's afterlife in painting, prints, drama, manga, and film.
JAPNLIT 170	Traditional Japanese Literature: From Mythology to (Early) Modernity	Atherton	EALC
Poetry written by gods, incestuous aristocratic romances, exorcist theater, samurai fantasy novels, fart literature: traditional Japanese literature has something for everyone, and invites us to rethink our assumptions about what literature is and how creativity works. From the most ancient myths up to the 19th century arrival of Western style modernity, we will explore together the relationships between high art and pulp fiction, the stage and the page, words and illustrations, manuscript and print, language and the sacred. We will probe the literary imagination of beauty, nature, desire, and heroism, and ask—through creative experiments and reflections that connect what we are reading to our own lives—what Japanese literature can tell us about what it is to be human.
JAPNLIT 260	*Early Modern Japanese Literature and Culture	Atherton	EALC
This course explores the literature of the Edo period, a time that saw the emergence of a dynamic market for popular literature, the rise of new dramatic forms such as kabuki and puppet theater, the heyday of comic linked verse and satirical poetry, striking innovations in travel writing and the essay, and radically new approaches to the literature of Japan’s past. Surveying a diverse range of prose, poetry, and drama, we will explore such relationships as those between text and image, stage and page, orality and literacy, print and manuscript, high and low, literature and politics, and Japan and the continent.
JAPNLIT 271R	*Topics in Gender and Culture in Japan: Seminar	Yoda	EALC
This semester, the seminar will explore theories and practices of feminism in Japan and beyond. Specifically, we will examine various forms of radical feminist thoughts and practices, including the women's liberation movement, or 'ribu,' which emerged in Japan in the early 1970s. We will investigate the concept of "radicality" in feminism, articulated against the grain of liberal discourses on women's rights and equality. The course will cover a range of topics, including radical feminism and the New Left, precursors to ribu, feminism's relationship with consumer society, the politics surrounding feminist manifestos, feminism and the politics of pleasure, and the organizational politics of feminism. Please note that advanced Japanese reading ability is required for this course.
KORHIST 240R	*Selected Topics in Premodern Korean History: Seminar	Kim	EALC
Introduction to the major Engllish-language scholarship and historiographical debates on the history of premodern Korea. Recommended prep: Korean History 111 or equivalent.
KORHIST 245	*History of Modern Korea	Caprio	EALC
The purpose of this class is to examine the strong and weak points of Korea’s modern history (roughly 1850—1987). The format will be lecture and discussion based on a series of questions. Did Korea adequately prepare itself to fend off Japan and other potential colonizers up through 1910? Where could it have done better? Then, it will evaluate Japan’s time as administrators of the Peninsula and its people. Where do its faults/strengths lie? Finally, our examination will conclude with an examination of the post-liberation period and question some of the decisions made by its leaders leading up to the democratization movement.
KORLIT 141	K is for Korea: Reading a Culture through Pages, Soundscapes, and Images	Park	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement)
BTS, Parasite, K-pop, and Han Kang are widely recognizable icons of Korea today. With the global spread of “K-culture” and the increasing use of the prefix “K-” to signal cultural value and visibility, this course asks: what does it mean to read culture as a text? What kinds of cultural forms are produced, curated, consumed, and performed as “Korean,” and why? How can historical perspectives complicate and deepen our understanding of contemporary Korea? No prior knowledge of Korean history or language required.
RELIGION 1761 / HDS 3247	Animals in a Posthuman World: A New Buddhist Ethics	Gyatso	HDS
This course will explore the grounds for compassion, ethical commitment, and kinds of human self-restraint in light of an increasing appreciation for the value of animal life. The course will work through new adaptations of Buddhist attention and meditation techniques to elevate our affective connection with — and moral obligation to — our animal kin on planet Earth. This will entail close scrutiny of some amazing animal videos in class, as well as outdoor attention assignments. Also contributing to our deliberations will be robust discussion of human-animal living conditions and human exploitation of animal resources. All along the way, we will reflect on readings in Western philosophical ethics, critical theory, and anthropology as they intersect, or not, with the Buddhist metaphysics of interdependence and the phenomenology of compassion.
SOC-STD 98LF	Globalization and the Nation-State	Prevelakis	SOC-STD	Historical Survey
As globalization faces growing challenges, nationalism and the nation-state have resurged, influencing political life and collective identities. This junior tutorial examines why, focusing on theories of nationalism, ethnic conflict, populism, and authoritarianism, and how these intersect with global issues such as inequality, migration, and distrust of democratic institutions. Through social theory and comparative case studies from regions including the U.S., Europe, and China, we will analyze the contemporary resilience of nationalism and reflect on its political challenges. This is a junior tutorial for SOC-STD.
TIBET 102 A	Intermediate Classical Tibetan	van der Kuijp	SAS	Language course
An intermediate classical Tibetan reading course focusing on the development of translation skills through attention to grammatical and philological analysis. This course will also provide training in the research skills required to work with the Buddhist canonical texts of the Bka’ ‘gyur and Bstan ‘gyur. Readings will be selected from a variety of Tibetan literary genres, including Buddhist philosophy and path literature, as well as historical and biographical narrative texts.
TIBET 191	An Introduction to Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Intellectual History	van der Kuijp	SAS	100-level EALC (SF requirement)
Ever since the formal introduction of Indian and Chinese Buddhism in eighth century Tibet, the Tibetan acculurtaion and incultration of the various schools of thought created a very lively intellectual environment. This course seeks to tease out some of the major developments that took place from the eleventh to the nineteenth centuries.scholarship .

Spring '26 Semester

Number	Course	Instructor	Department	May also fulfill:
CHAGATAY B	Elementary Chaghatay	Yulghun	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
This course is intended to develop a basic reading knowledge of Chaghatay, the classical antecedent of modern Uzbek and modern Uyghur, and the common literary language of all Central Asian Turks from the fourteenth to the early twentieth centuries. The course includes a survey of Chaghatay literature as well as a discussion of grammar, the writing system, and lexicographical resources; the class meetings will be devoted to both textbook-based instruction and (particularly in the second half of the semester) the reading of samples from Chaghatay texts drawn from printed sources and manuscript copies. This is a continuation of Chaghatay A.
CHNSE 106B	Introduction to Literary Sinitic	Wild	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
Introduction to pre-Qin philosophical texts.
CHNSE 107B	Intermediate Literary Sinitic	Wild	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
A continuation of Chinese 107a, introducing more prose styles as well as poetry and lyric.
CHNSE 142B	Advanced Conversational Chinese on Social Media	Chen	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
Continuation of 142a. This course builds on the foundation that students have gained through prior Chinese coursework, with a focus on improving oral expression. Classes take the form of presentations, discussions, debates, and other activities designed to strengthen both extemporaneous and prepared speaking ability.
CHNSE 143R	Odyssey Beyond Language		EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
This course provides advanced language practice using adapted authentic texts and videos (e.g., history, business, international relations, and current affairs). It focuses on understanding Chinese cultural phenomena, practices and perspectives through interpretive, interactional and presentational communication with an interdisciplinary perspective. Fall 2025 Topic: Entrepreneurship & Innovation: Chinese Cases
CHNSE 150B	Topics in Chinese Culture and Society	Cai	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
Continuation of Chinese 150a. The course seeks to consolidate and hone students’ advanced Chinese ability through in-depth examination of Chinese society and culture.
CHNSE 166R	Chinese in the Humanities	Liu, Wang	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
Advanced language practice through the reading and analysis of authentic academic texts in humanities disciplines (e.g., art, literature, cinematic studies). May be offered independently in Chinese, or linked with an English-language content course. Topic: Masterpiecies of Modern Chinese Literature.
CHNSE 187	Art and Violence in the Cultural Revolution	Tian	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
Examines the cultural implications of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). We will examine how art was violent towards people and how violence was turned into an art. We will also consider the link between violence, trauma, memory and writing. Materials include memoir, fiction, essay, "revolutionary Peking Opera," and film.
CHNSHIS 135	The Mongol Empire and World History: From Steppe Confederation to Eurasian Empire, c.1206-1368	Molnar	EALC	Historical survey; 100-level EALC (SF requirement)
This course seeks to provide a comprehensive introduction to the study of Mongol Eurasia anchored by the theme of globalization. The Mongol Empire has variously been credited with the inaugural establishment of a globalized world with unprecedented religious toleration and socio-economic exchange. Yet, the Mongols have also been maligned for the mass slaughter of their conquests, brutal deportation policies as well as destruction of Islamic and Chinese urban societies. Between the twin poles of efflorescence and catastrophe lies a rich geography to explore. Who was this steppe people that came to rule the largest contiguous empire in history? What underwrote their rise? How did they order such a vast realm? How much was the Mongol period a watershed for globalization? What legacy did they leave behind for successor states, cultures and the globe?
CHNSHIS 146	The Modern History of Rural China	Szonyi	EALC	Historical survey; 100-level EALC (SF requirement)
It’s only in the last twenty years that China has become known as a place of cities and factories. Before then, the majority of Chinese people lived not in cities but in villages in the countryside, and made their living from agriculture. This lecture/discussion course, intended mainly for undergraduates, will introduce you to the modern history of rural China. We’ll approach that history chronologically, thematically, and historiographically. No background knowledge of China is required, but the course might interest you even if you have some previous background, because it will show you the People’s Republic of China from a very different angle than what you’ve likely encountered before: that of its villages and the people who live in them. You’ll come to appreciate their perspective better through taking their role in two interactive games. You’ll also learn why the fate of China’s countryside matters to the future not only of China but also the whole world.
CHNSHIS 230R	*Reading Local Documents for Ming-Qing History	Szonyi	EALC
This seminar introduces students to the different genres of documents that are found in private hands in villages, and explores how these materials can be used for historical research. Reading knowledge of modern and literary Chinese required. Topic for Fall 2022: land and property deeds
CHNSHIS 232R	*Topics in Han History: Seminar	Puett	EALC
Examines various topics in the history of the Han Dynasty.
CHNSHIS 272	*Public and Private Institutions in Theory and Practice, 14th -17th Century China	Bol	EALC
This course examines major works on public and private institutions from the 14th to the 17th century. It will cover programs for ordering society through state policy and private initiatives and introduce major works on statecraft, programs for local government, and formation of new literati political associations.
CHNSLIT 236	*China's Banned Book: Reading Jin Ping Mei (Conference Course)	Kelly	EALC
This course will introduce students to the controversial masterpiece of Chinese fiction, The Plum in the Golden Vase (Jin Ping Mei). Censored for its erotic content, this sensational book had a profound impact on the development of Chinese fiction. A landmark in the history of the novel, The Plum in the Golden Vase shifts attention away from worthy heroes to examine the everyday exploits and desires of ordinary people. The work of an anonymous author, The Plum in the Golden Vase revels in sensory excess (greed, murder, intoxication, and lust), illustrating the vivid details of Chinese urban life. We will focus on developing skills in close reading, while using this monumental work to survey the flourishing cultural landscape of early modern China. Our discussions will situate the novel alongside recent scholarship on gender and sexuality, material culture, and performance. We will also hold class viewing sessions in the Harvard-Yenching Library and the Harvard Art Museums. Students with Chinese language skills will be encouraged to read the original text.
CHNSLIT 245R	*Topics in Sinophone Studies - Modern Chinese Fiction on the Periphery	Wang	EALC
Survey of modern Chinese fiction and narratology from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Chinese Diaspora: polemics of the canon, dialogues between national and regional imaginaries, and literary cultures in the Sinophone world.
CHNSLIT 250	*The Politics of Sound: Ethnicity, Gender, and Identity in Chinese Songscape	Tian	EALC
This course examines Chinese songs, and comments on songs, throughout history. It considers how the elite’s collection and reception of popular songs, and their own composition of them, are framed by, negotiate with, and often exceed the ideology of poetry and music rooted in the early classics and Confucian political-cultural theory. It also considers issues of ethnicity, gender, identity, and politics embroiled in popular songs.
CHNSLIT 253	*Chinese Aesthetic and Literary Thought	Li, Wai-yee	EALC
This course will introduce students to key concepts in Chinese aesthetic and literary thought through close analysis of primary texts. The goal is to understand the functions of keywords such as wen 文, zhi 志, qing 情, shen 神, yi 意, or qi 氣 in the contexts of broader arguments about tradition, language, socio-political order, and human nature. We will explore the meanings of authorship, intention, expression, communication, and interpretation in the Chinese tradition. The focus will be on pre-Qin and Han texts, but there will be forays into materials from later periods.
EABS 256R	*Chinese Buddhist Texts - Readings in Medieval Buddho-Daoist Documents: Seminar	Robson	EALC
This seminar focuses on the careful textual study and translation of a variety of Chinese Buddho-Daoist texts through the medieval period.
EAFM 123	Korean Stars	Bu	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement)
What makes stars “shine?” In other words, what are the conditions for stardom? In this course, we will explore how stars embody the intersection of constantly changing media infrastructures; media aesthetics; social norms concerning gender, race, age, and economic status; and geopolitics surrounding Korea. From the 1910s-1930s stardom of silent-film narrators (pyŏnsa) in colonial Korea, to the global success of Korean stars in the fields of film, music, drama, fashion, and gaming today, this course will map the trajectories of modern and contemporary media culture in Korea—and beyond—with an emphasis on stars. We will develop the analytical capacities to probe the recurring themes a star consolidates within the specific historical contexts of Korea across a series of their works. We will also consider a range of media technologies, filming and editing techniques deployed for the purpose of either retaining or changing the star’s image, and the various modes of interplay between a star and their audience.
EAFM 124	Theorizing Korean Cinema	Bu	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement)
How has the pairing of “Korean” and “cinema” mutually affected their conceptualizations? What are/were the epistemological and material vectors that constitute each word, and how do these vectors bridge the two terms, or conversely, bring them into them conflict? What specific modes of mapping the world have arisen from this combination?
EAFM 201	*Media Mix: Representations and Meaning Between Media in Japan: Seminar	Zahlten	EALC
This course introduces ways of understanding the complex media systems we live in. Drawing on a wide range of media theories it maps different histories of the interconnection of media in Japan, from “old” to “new” media. The course will explore the early ties between theater, literature and cinema, fascist media strategies, the popularization of the media mix by anime and publishing companies, current routes between manga, anime, light novels, films and games, or the emerging platform economy. It will consider the consequences of media mix for, among others, our understanding of nation, gender, memory, and the concept of world.
EAFM 222	*Media Cultures in the People's Republic of China	Li, Jie	EALC
This graduate seminar examines the changing mediascape in China from the 1950s to the present. Every week, we will focus on one or two different media forms or technologies, from propaganda posters, photography, cinema, radio, loudspeakers, cassettes, to television, video, Internet, surveillance systems, and digital platforms. We will ask question such as: How have mass media represented and transformed Chinese culture, history, and society? To what extent was the Chinese revolution a media revolution, and is there a media revolution going on now? How have various media served propaganda and surveillance, facilitated grassroots activism and creativity, circulated as commodities or connected communities? How have media technologies affected perception, experiences, and memories of socialism and postsocialism, as well as the aesthetics, ethics and everyday practices of every decade? What might be specific or special about each medium, and how have different types of media interacted in the Chinese context?
EASTD 112	Buddhism and the Senses [aka “Buddhist stuff”]	Kolata	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement)
How does Buddhism smell, taste, sound, look, and feel to touch? In this course, we will consider how bodies experience the divine presence, religious norms and regulations, spaces, and religious imaginaries. Through the lens of Buddhism, we will engage with the sensory and embodied dimensions of religious practices, both through the experiences of practitioners and our own. From spirit possession, to carving religious statues, cooking Buddhist feasts, and making and smelling incense, we will uncover how religious worlds come into being through the senses and embodied practice This course will also delve into the meaning of religious affects and embodied realities of Buddhism, while offering a theoretical introduction to material religion.
EASTD 141	East Asian Religions: Traditions and Transformations	Robson	EALC	Historical Survey; 100-level EALC (SF requirement)
This course provides an introduction to the study of East Asian religions. It covers the development of Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism and Shinto. It is not a comprehensive survey, but is designed around major conceptual themes, such as ritual, image veneration, mysticism, meditation, death, and category formation in the study of religion. The emphasis throughout the course is on the hermeneutic difficulties attendant upon the study of religion in general, and East Asian religions in particular.
EASTD 143B	Digital Tools and Methods in East Asian Humanities: Coding Approach	Tang	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement)
This course is designed for students in East Asian Humanities who are interested in adopting digital methods in their research with basic Python coding. It will introduce fundamental programming concepts, SQL and relational databases, popular Python libraries in data cleaning, text analysis, and supervised and unsupervised machine learning. Students completing the course will be able to integrate and apply the Python libraries taught in class into their research and to explore the rapidly growing newcomers without hurdles.
EASTD 199	China and the African Continent	Koss	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement)
As Africa faces daunting challenges, the “Beijing model” invites intriguing alternative visions to the poorly performing designs by traditional foreign actors in the region. Moving from Chinese farm households in Mozambique to state-owned copper mines in Zambia, military bases in East Africa and the United Nations headquarters, this seminar critically assesses the potential for China’s presence to transform Sub-Saharan Africa. After identifying the intellectual stakes (week 1), and discussing anecdotal glimpses from the grassroot-levels (week 2), the class deals with traditional development assistance, along with Maoist attempts to revolutionize the “world countryside” – resulting in legacies such as a China-trained guerilla fighter serving as the President of Zimbabwe. We then discuss the current footprint of Beijing, including its influence on elite politics, Chinese public and private business interests, and the diversity of the one million Chinese migrants to Africa. Four sessions specialize on (1) resource extraction versus opportunities for human capital development (2) debt-traps of Western and Eastern origins (3) emerging tensions over human rights policies (4) and the military dimension, including China’s role in Peace-Keeping Operations. Finally, the course addressees how the Chinese presence may transform established multilateral institutions, and the challenges associated with African migration to China. Social science research will be read alongside journalistic accounts and primary documents, such as leaked diplomatic cables and strategy papers. Will Africa become “Beijing’s Second Continent,” of the neo-colonial or tributary kind? What promises does the China model hold for Africans? How do the partners on both continents react to experiences of disillusionment and retreat? The assignments are designed to train students for public policy work and require close group collaboration.
EASTD 211	*Historical Theory and Methods: Cultural History	Kuriyama	EALC
In the spring of 2026, “Historical Theory and Methods” will focus on cultural history, with special attention to the metaphor of Indra’s Net as a guide to re-imagining its possibilities. This interdisciplinary seminar has no linguistic prerequisites and should be stimulating to students in a wide range of humanistic disciplines.
EASTD 214	*Crisis in Japanese Religions	Kolata	EALC
Crisis? What crisis? This course examines the cultural, social, economic, and political transformations shaping religion and society in Japan. Rather than serving as a comprehensive survey, the course is divided into four thematic sections explored through ethnographic case studies and major conceptual themes. These include (1)the practices and processes of knowledge production (emic and etic perspectives, religion and modernity, colonial and postcolonial legacies), (2) religious landscapes (rural-urban spaces, religious tourism and heritage, economy and materiality, and environmental perspectives), (3) political entanglements (religion and law, nationalism, religious violence, religious pluralism, transnationalism, religion and ethnic and racial identities), and (4) questions of authority and agency through the prism of gender, technology, and the media. The emphasis throughout the course remains on the key concepts and debates in anthropology of religion.
EASTD 271	*Language, Script, and Power in East Asia	Park	EALC
In this graduate seminar, students will explore the ways in which debates and negotiations about languages, writing systems, and linguistic and script diversity in East Asia matter in the formation and dispersal of imagined communities, establishment of and challenge to political power, social reproduction, and more. The course’s wide-ranging readings are culled from diverse fields and disciplines including the history of writing, reading, and the book in East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam); linguistic anthropology; sociolinguistics; and studies of modernity/modernism and of colonialism and post colonialism. Examining the relationships between language, culture, and society in societies of East Asia in the past and the present, students will develop comparative (cross-regional, cross-temporal, and cross linguistic/script) and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of East Asia. This seminar is not a language or linguistics course. All readings are in English.
EASTD 91R	Supervised Reading and Research	[EALC Faculty Member]	EALC
Open to students who have given evidence of ability to do independent reading and research. May be taken on an individual basis or by small groups of students interested in working on the same topic. Permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies required.
EASTD 98K	Economic Governance in East Asia	Koss	EALC	Junior Tutorial; 100-level EALC (SF requirement)
East Asia has given rise to models of development with distinct visions for the relationship between the state and the market. Hallmarks of the designs are powerful ministries, gigantic conglomerates, state-supervised labor unions, and spectacular corruption. The first part of the tutorial revisits four decades of “miraculous” growth in Japan and the Asian Tiger economies (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore), in order to illuminate underlying development strategies from a political science perspective, including through theories of late industrialization and varieties of capitalism. The second part of this course focuses on China, whose strategists have drawn on its neighbors’ experience. It highlights the vast differences between economic regions in China (the Pearl River versus the Yangtze Delta, versus lagging Western regions), as well as the significant transformation of the country’s approach over the last three decades. Students will develop a deeper comprehension of phenomena such as national champions, tycoons in the digital economy, Communist party control, international expansion, and slogans such as “Made in China 2025.” Throughout the course, we will occasionally go back in time to historical foundations of economic governance. This junior tutorial provides individualized support in the research process toward a final paper.
ECON 1133	Authoritarian Superpower: The Political Economy of Modern China	Yang	ECON
The course offers insights on a number of puzzles of a rising authoritarian superpower, and overturns several conventional wisdoms in political economy. In the course, you will learn about topics such as: (1) What drives China’s economic development? What explains its rise? (2) What are the key forces of stability and forces of change in modern China? (3) How does China engage with the world, and what are the implications of China’s rise for the world?
GENED 1017	Forced to Be Free: Americans as Occupiers and Nation-Builders	Gordon, Manela	GENED
The United States has launched numerous projects of military occupation and nation-building in foreign lands since the late 19th century. These have been contradictory enterprises, carrying ideals of freedom and self-determination “offered” by force or by fiat. This course will assess the meanings and legacies of these projects by examining the ideas, strategies, policies, and outcomes of occupations ranging from the Philippines early on, to Japan, Germany, Korea, and Vietnam to, most recently, Afghanistan and Iraq. The course focuses on American activities and ideas but also examines the responses of the occupied.
GENED 1049	East Asian Cinema	Li, Jie	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement)
This course introduces major works, genres, and waves of East Asian cinema from the silent era to the present, including films from Mainland China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. We will discuss issues ranging from formal aesthetics to historical representation, from local film industries to transnational audience reception.
GENED 1067	Creativity	Atherton	GENED
Where does creativity come from, how does it work, and how can we deepen its role in our own lives? Geniuses are said to possess it. Self-help books offer to teach it. Both the arts and the sciences celebrate it. It sits at the heart of some of our oldest myths and is the subject of up-to-the-minute neuroscientific research. Some say it comes in momentary flashes; others call it a way of life. Some identify it as the key to deep fulfillment; others claim that it entails intense suffering. Many agree that it sets us apart as a species—but does it? What is creativity? How have humans made sense of it across centuries and cultures, and what role might it play in our lives today? Exploring creativity takes us into the very question of what makes us human, and the answers we discover can help equip us for the lives we will lead beyond the classroom. This course casts a wide net, crossing disciplines as it takes us from ancient treatises on the art of poetic composition to modern brain scans, and from centuries-old debates over intellectual property to present-day questions of artificial intelligence. Is creativity the same as originality? Can plagiarism be creative? Should one own the fruits of one’s creative labor? What happens in the brain at moments of creative insight? Can creativity be “hacked”? We will hear directly from practicing artists and experts as we explore these questions through regular, small-stakes creative experiments and a creative final project. By course’s end, you will have a deeper sense of where creativity belongs in your own life—and of how you might share what you have discovered with others.
GENED 1068	The United States and China	Kirby	GENED	Historical Survey
This course invites students to examine together the present and future of U.S.-China relations in the light of their past. What are the enduring patterns and issues in China’s relations with the United States? How have these two countries perceived each other over time? How has trade defined the relationship from the Opium War to Huawei? How has war shaped experiences in the United States and China, and what are the risks of military confrontation today? What are the prospects for cooperation on global crises such as climate change? What is the role of American and Chinese universities, such as Harvard and Tsinghua, in shaping mutual relations in a time of global pandemic?
GENED 1083	Permanent Impermanence: Why Buddhists Build Monuments	Kim, Wang	HAA	Historical Survey
Why do Buddhists build monuments despite the core teaching of ephemerality, and what can we learn from this paradox about our own conception of time and space?
GENED 1169	What Is the Good China Story?	Li, Wai-yee	GENED	100-level EALC (SF requirement)
The course takes as its point of departure President Xi Jinping’s call in 2013 to “tell the good China story,” and in 2020 to “tell the good China story of combating coronavirus.” What is the good China story? Is this the story China should tell about itself to the world? Is this about cultural self-perception, understanding the world, cross-cultural communication, or simple propaganda? More importantly, how can we tell China stories from perspectives outside of China?What seems beyond dispute is the power of stories to bring China to the world and the world to China. In exploring the “fictional turn” of contemporary Chinese cultural politics as it relates to the world, we will also trace its genealogy to earlier historical moments. Stories matter in China, not only in our times but also throughout history.Narrative fiction is one of the most effective ways to engage with the Chinese past and the Chinese present. Instead of presenting China as a monolithic civilization, this course uses stories to understand “the world of China” and “China in the world” from ideological, ethnic, cultural, and geo-political perspectives. The course highlights the variety and vitality of stories from both modern and pre-modern periods. In genres ranging from religious allegory to science fiction, from moral fable to fantastic romance, from philosophical anecdote to political satire, Chinese stories have enlightened, intrigued, puzzled, and scandalized readers, reflecting and constructing ever-changing worldviews.
GENED 1205	The Power, Art, and Technology of Writing in East Asia	Park, Kelly	GENED	100-level EALC (SF requirement)
This course examines how humans experience, use, and build meaning around the shape of writing, focusing on East Asia across time, place, and media. Centered on a broad, enduring question about writing’s role in society, students engage with materials from literature, art history, history of the book, linguistic anthropology, archaeology, and philosophy. By using materials that are both immediate to, and yet distant from, students’ lives, the course seeks to enhance students’ aesthetic and interpretive understanding of the world, to provide students with an understanding of the social and historical contexts for the development of various technologies related to the production, transmission, and refabrication of the written word in association with power in a variety of ways. By exploring everything from urban graffiti and online protests to ancient tombs and Buddhist temples to petroglyphs and white-paper protests, students will analyze writing’s impact on identity, authority, spirituality, and artistic expression and learn through field works and hands-on experiences such as visits to Harvard’s East Asian collections and workshops on calligraphy and ink-making. The course encourages reflection on how writing mediates power and social change, offering insights into both historical and contemporary practices. All students are invited to think beyond nation-centered and Eurocentric models, developing a nuanced understanding of writing as both art and technology. The course equips students to think critically about the role of writing in an age shaped by generative AI and large language models. No prior knowledge of East Asian languages is required.
GHP 549	*Field Trip to Fukushima	Goto	GHP
GHP 549 introduces students to the lived experiences and "build back better" efforts to rebuild the community after a major disaster, namely the Fukushima nuclear disaster that occurred in 2011 after the Great East Japan Earthquakes. Students will be assigned to ongoing health-related issues in the community, learn and discuss the acute and long-term responses to the disaster, and present their proposed strategies for the future to local professionals. Students walk through the past and present issues and think for the future in Fukushima (which means "the island of happiness" in Japanese). **Applications for this course are due September 29, 2025. More information is available: https://intranet.hsph.harvard.edu/global-health-and-population/winter-s….
GOV 94JO	Democracy and Development in Korea	Joo	GOV
South Korea's experience in the last few decades is often cited as an example of democratic consolidation and economic development, especially in the context of East Asia, and often in comparison with its Northern counterpart. However, as showcased by the recent declaration of martial law by Yoon, democratic consolidation is an ongoing process that requires robust institutions and a vigilant civil society. This course will evaluate South Korea's unique path towards democratization and economic development but also discuss how the South Korean case can speak to bigger questions such as the ways in which democratic institutions promote development (and vise versa), and how domestic and international security threats interact with these two processes.
HAA 289G	*Japanese Screen Paintings	McCormick	HAA
This graduate course surveys the history and development of the folding-screen format in Japanese painting from the 8th to the 20th centuries. Through a series of case studies, the course explores art historical issues for which the folding screen provides a unique perspective, including the relationships between painting and architectural space, poetic practice, and religious ritual.
HIST 162	Oral Histories of Asian America: Migration, Memory, Method	Sack	HIST
The history of Asian America is encoded in memory and family stories, as well as written documents. This course empowers students to engage that history through oral methods. It discusses best practices as well as key cases and themes in the history of Asian American activists and historians’ use of oral history. By the end of the course, you will have conducted one oral history interview and built a skillset that can serve as the basis of a senior thesis. At the same time, oral history methods support community engagement in countless ways and can serve for a lifetime.
HIST 166	Modern Vietnam: A History through its Cities	Nguyen	EALC
People and states in Vietnam underwent profound transformations in the late 19th and 20th centuries, shaped by encounters with Western and Japanese imperialism, anticolonial struggles, the construction of national identities, ideological and geopolitical conflicts, and postwar challenges. Cities—home to diverse populations and centers of political, economic, and social change—were at the heart of these developments. This course introduces students to major events and transformations in modern Vietnamese history through the lens of its cities and urban populations. Through engaging with a range of both primary and secondary sources on five selected cities - Hanoi, Saigon, Hue, Dalat, and Vinh - we will explore how cities served as stages for historical changes, how urban populations were both agents and targets of these changes, and how ideas of being “urban” evolved over time. Our discussions will focus on five main themes: (1) historiographical approaches to studying cities, (2) experiences of modernity, (3) urban classes and marginalized groups, (4) cities and war, and (5) urban change and continuity. These themes will serve as the foundation for students’ final projects.
HIST 1964	The Social Life of Science in East Asia	Miller	HIST
Science and technology have very active social lives. They are present in nearly every aspect of modern life around the world, from the ways we feed ourselves to the ways we work, dress, and think. This class puts technology and science in their place, grounding them in specific environments and contexts. Our sites are all in East Asia—China, Korea, Taiwan, and especially Japan—with particular focus on the modern era, when East Asian factories and markets reshaped global economies and ecologies. You will learn to think differently about “nature” and “animals”, for example, to better understand what it meant to be “human” in 19th century Japan. You will explore mines, factories, fields, and households to gain a sense for the historiography of techno-science in the region. You will hear Gojira (aka Godzilla) roar and watch robots die as you think about “science” as both a product and producer of culture. No prior knowledge or East Asian language skills required, previous work in history or history of science courses a plus.
HIST 2651	*Japanese History: Seminar	Gordon	HIST
Students write research papers on topics of their own choosing drawing on sources in Japanese, and other languages as appropriate.
HIST 38	Modern China: 1894-Present	Ghosh	HIST	Historical survey
This lecture course will provide a survey of some of the major issues in the history of post-imperial China (1912- ). Beginning with the decline of the Qing and the dramatic collapse of China’s imperial system in 1911, the course shall examine how China has sought to redefine itself anew over the past one-hundred years. The revolutionary years of 1911, 1949, and 1978 will serve as our three fulcra, as we investigate how China has tussled with a variety of ‘isms’ (such as republicanism, militarism, nationalism, socialism, and state capitalism) in its pursuit of an appropriate system of governance and social organization. In so doing, we shall also explore the social, economic, cultural, and scientific changes wrought by these varied attempts at state-building.
IGA 108	China and the World: Challenges, Competition and Cooperation	Mitter	HKS - IGA
How has China’s rise changed the world of the twenty-first century? And what are the forces and factors that shape its global behaviour? This course takes a range of themes to interpret contemporary China’s actions in the world, and understand how China’s history can explain important aspects of contemporary policy and decision-making. The course takes key themes and examines them in both contemporary and historical context. Among the themes explored are: China’s role in international organizations including the United Nations, influence in shaping regional and global norms and patterns on trade and technology, military expansion, action on climate change, development of identity as a leader of the Global South, and promotion of new forms of ideology. The course will examine ways that China conforms and embraces some aspects of the current global order, and confronts or revises others, including its relationships with the US, the Global South, and areas of cross-border concern (such as climate change or technological norms). We will examine the changing nature of China’s global thinking in the twenty-first century, and provide comparisons and contrasts with a range of historical events that have shaped that thinking, such as the conflicts with European empires in the late 19th century, the development of new forms of reformist and revolutionary political thinking in the early 20th century including ideas on class, ethnicity and gender, China’s war against Japan in the 1930s and 1940, and the revolutionary turmoil of the era Mao Zedong in 1949-76. The course will illustrate how much, and in what ways, China’s growing prominence has changed the world, and show that analysing China’s history and thought is a key tool for interpreting its actions and intentions in the present day.
JAPAN 106B	Introduction to Kambun	Truscott	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
In this course, students will learn how to read a variety of Japanese texts written entirely in Chinese characters, or kanbun. Specifically, we will practice the art of rendering both classical and quasi-classical Chinese script into Japanese syntax, a reading method known as kundoku or yomikudashi. After learning the basics via textbook, we will read texts from several different genres such as mythologies, histories, and official documents. By taking this course, students will begin developing the necessary skills for reading primary sources produced by Japanese officials and literati with the aid of a dictionary, laying the groundwork for further training in students’ specific fields of research.
JAPAN 106C	Later Classical Japanese	Truscott	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
This course is a continuation of Japan 106A as we further practice reading and translating texts written in classical Japanese. Specifically, we look at works written in the writing style of the vernacular, also known as kana. Such texts include poetry, monogatari tales, and personal diaries. Our schedule will be organized into various units by format and genre as well as students’ interests. As we read, we will situate these texts within their historical and social context, while also exploring what these texts tell us about their historical moment. Students will submit a working English-language translation for a text of their choosing as a final project, thereby demonstrating a nuanced understanding of premodern vernacular Japanese texts along with the societies that produced such works.
JAPAN 150B	Readings and Discussion in Japanese Social Sciences	Asakura	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
Continuation of Japanese 150a. Selected readings and discussion in Japanese primarily on contemporary topics in economics, sociology, political science, psychology, and cultural studies, with occasional readings from literature. Readings are supplemented by selections from audiovisual media on current social issues.
JAPNLIT 262	*Theater and Theatrical Culture in Early Modern Japan	Atherton	EALC
This seminar has three aims. First, it will introduce students to practical methods for studying early modern performance: familiarizing them with archives of theatrical ephemera, introducing strategies for accessing elements of performance from secondary materials, studying accounts of playwriting and performance by early modern playwrights and actors, and weighing the pitfalls and rewards of relying upon the conventions of modern performances. Second, it will invite students to understand early modern “theater” not only as a matter of performance, but as a broader cultural phenomenon that most people accessed not within the playhouse, but through secondary media like playbills, prints, critiques, merchandise, and fiction. And third, the seminar will delve into broader cultural, social, and political dimensions of theater in the early modern period, touching on such subjects as the relationship between the theater and the sacred; the theater’s relationship to early modern discourses of emotion; the body of the actor and the performance of gender; fan culture; the relationship between urban and rural theatrical culture; and the ongoing debate about whether early modern kabuki is better understood as a subversive or a conservative genre. Our learning will take place not only in the classroom, but also through visits to the Harvard Art Museums and the Yenching Rare Book Room.
KOREAN 150B	Readings in Cultural Studies	Oh	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
Korean 150b is the second half of a content-based Korean language course, designed for promoting language proficiency at the high advanced level. The goal of this course is to achieve critical thinking and a deeper understanding of important issues/events in Korean culture, society, and history through language. Students are expected to apply advanced language skills in formal settings in analyzing contemporary texts and media, discussing historical and current events, and formulate opinions and arguments on various topics. Texts and media are drawn from authentic sources in various genres such as literary works, academic essays, films, TV dramas, documentaries, etc. In-class discussions, presentations, and academic research writing will be emphasized.
KORHIST 115	Korean History Through Film	Kim, Sun Joo	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); Junior Tutorial
This course is to examine history of premodern Korea through select Korea's contemporary feature films. Films and dramas with historical themes and personages have been very popular in Korea. We will examine the content of the films, and investigate how ``true'' or ``false'' they represent Korea's past, how they imagine and invent Korea's past, in what ways films are useful in better understanding Korean history, people's lives and practices.
KORHIST 125	The Modern History of a Divided Korea	Caprio	EALC	Historical survey; 100-level EALC (SF requirement)
This class is a designed as a survey course primarily taught at the undergraduate level on Korea’s modern history (generally around 1850—1987). The course is divided into three sections: Korea’s pre-colonial era (1850—1910), the colonial era (1910—1945), and the post-colonial era (1945—1987). We will also briefly look at contemporary North and South Korean issues including the South Korean democratization movement, its present culture changes, and the North Korean nuclear program. Each of the three sections will focus on questions that evaluate Korea’s advancement under difficult conditions.
MANCHU 120B	Advanced Manchu	Elliott	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
Intensive reading in Manchu archival materials, other historical texts and literary texts. Some texts in pre-diacritical form. English to Manchu translation exercises.
MANCHU B	Elementary Manchu	Elliott	EALC	100-level EALC (SF requirement); language course OR area course
Readings in a variety of historical and literary texts with emphasis on Manchu documentary sources.
SOCIOL 1141	Contemporary Chinese Society	Lei	SOCIOL
This course will equip you with the basic literacy required to comprehend contemporary Chinese society, which is an increasingly essential skill for informed citizens in our present global context. No prior knowledge or language proficiency is necessary to enroll in this class. We will delve into the profound transformations that have occurred during the post-1978 reform period, including China's shift to a market economy, the emergence of the digital economy, the implementation of population policy by the government, urbanization, rising inequality, and contentious politics. The course will analyze how these changes have influenced social relations and how they have been experienced and understood by individuals. From a sociological perspective, this course will address topics related to the state, development, market, population, migration, urbanization, inequality, gender, labor and work, civil society, the public sphere, and social movements. Although the course is listed in the sociology catalog, readings and topics covered in the course are situated at the intersection of sociology, political science, law, anthropology, and history.
TIBET 101B	Elementary Classical Tibetan	van der Kuijp	SAS	Language course
Continuation of Tibetan 101a.
TIBET 102B	Intermediate Classical Tibetan	van der Kuijp	SAS	Language course
Continuation of Tibetan 102a.
WOMGEN 1216	Women's Voices in Asian and Asian American Literature	Choi	WOMGEN
This course introduces students to the writings of both canonical and lesser-known Asian and Asian American women writers. The course especially examines the works by Chinese/ Chinese American, Japanese/ Japanese American, Korean/ Korean American women writers. Moving from the pre-modern to contemporary era, the course will explore a range of women’s voices and experiences as reflected through poetry, fiction, diaries, and epistles. Authors will include Murasaki Shikibu, Ban Zhao, Ono no Komachi, Lady Hyegyŏng, Qui Jin, Higuchi Ichiyo, Kim Wŏn-ju, Han Kang, Yoshimoto Banana, Maxine Hong Kingston, Julie Otsuka, and Min Jin Lee. Topics will include family, marriage, loyalty, motherhood, women’s rights, sexual violence, same- sex desire, censorship, and gender and race politics.