Asia is vast and the home of hundreds of diverse cultures. It contains the remains of some of the most ancient human societies, but today it is also represented by some of the most modern cultural expressions. Hamilton has, for a liberal arts college of its size, an unusually large faculty specializing in Asia. Fourteen faculty from eight departments contribute to a program that includes the study of China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Tibet. The teaching and research areas of the Asian Studies faculty include Chinese politics; gender and nationalism in India; Confucian thought and ritual; Daoism; social networks and business practices in Tibet; painting and calligraphy in China; modern Japanese literature and film; Chinese literature and film; Indonesian theatre; Mahayana Buddhist sutras; Chinese and Japanese languages and linguistics, Malaysian anthropology.

The Asian Studies program at Hamilton offers a well-rounded, interdisciplinary approach to the study of Asia. The course of study stresses the importance of Asia’s long cultural traditions and its modern social and political transformations. Language study also plays a key role in the Asian Studies concentration because mastery of a language enables one to study texts and communicate without the barrier that translations often represent.

Students considering a concentration in Asian Studies should elect Asian Studies 180 . This course introduces the variety of cultures in East and South Asia by examining the growth of civilizations in the ancient cities of the Indus River valley, along the Yellow River of China, and on the Kanto plain of Japan. The ancient cities of these diverse civilizations were centers for the worship of the gods, regional and inter-societal trading, royal courts, and civil bureaucracies. Particular attention in this course is paid to students’ written expression of his or her understanding of these cultures. Thus the course is taught in relatively small sections as writing intensive.

Students who intend to concentrate in Asian Studies also should elect courses in an Asian language either through the East Asian Language Department or Critical Languages or in an off-campus, intensive language program. Please consult with the chair of Asian Studies to discuss the various options.

In the first few year of study, concentrators also need to take sophomore level courses in (a) the history and culture and (b) the society and politics of an Asian society. Students should consult the catalogue or the program chair for further information about this requirement.

180F Exploring Culture in the Great Cities of Asia.
An interdisciplinary exploration of Asian cultures through cities in China, India and Japan from early times to the 20th century. Examines the history and geography of greater Asia; its diverse peoples and their philosophical and literary traditions; their religious and commercial practices; and their art. (Writing-intensive.) (Same as History 180.) Maximum enrollment, 20. Trivedi and Wilson.

287F Women Writers and Filmmakers of the Muslim World.
Do women in Islamic societies view the world differently? Who are their great writers and what are their concerns? Introduces the works of some of the outstanding 20th-century women writers and filmmakers of the Middle East, including artists from Turkey, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and Egypt. Integrates lectures on culture to help contextualize the works, as well as theoretical writings by women scholars from the Muslim world to help interrogate our own readings and reactions. (Writing-intensive.) (Same as Comparative Literature 287 and Women's Studies 287.) Maximum enrollment, 20. Oldfield.

550F,S Senior Project.
Concentrators normally work with two members of the Asian Studies Program Committee to develop an extensive, culminating project. Prior to the semester of the senior project, students are expected to attain methodological sophistaication in at least one discipline by completing upper-level course work in that area. Concentrarots meet together throughout the semester to discuss the projects and present preliminary and final results to their peers. (Writing-intensive.) Prerequisite, at least one Asian Studies course offered at the 300-level. Maximum enrollment, 20. The Program.

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