ASAM and SAST Fall 2010 Classes

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ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES FALL 2010 COURSES

ASAM 001 Asian Amer. in Contemporary Society (Grace Kao)
Cross listed with SOCI 103
LEC MW 3:30-5PM

This course presents an overview of sociological research on Asian Americans in the U.S., framed around the evaluation of Asian Americans as "model minorities." We begin with a brief overview of popular images of Asian Americans as seen through recent portrayals in mainstream media (movies, television). We review general sociological frameworks used to understand racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. and move quickly to document the history of Asian immigration to the U.S. We explore how Asian Americans fare in educational attainment, labor market experiences, political organizations, urban experience, and Asian interracial marriage and biracials. We examine whether and how "Asian American" is a meaningful label.

ASAM 002 Intro to Asian American Literature (Staff)
Cross listed with ENGL 072
LEC M 5-8PM

This course will explore the varieties of Asian American Experience by considering the literary forms they take. Ourreadings will range from poems carved into the walls of a detention center at the beginning of the century to experimentsin literary form in the eighties and nineties. The course will consider literary representations of a broad range of AsianAmerican experience: tales of migratory labor, Chinatown stories, the extraordinary case of Japanese internment,panethnic activist literature, and the different accounts that emerge when Asian America expands beyond East Asia toinclude South and Southeast Asian American experience. In each instance, we will read these forms within theirhistorical moments, ultimately asking how these formal expressions map onto the conditions of Asian America.

ASAM 006 Race & Ethnic Relations (Grace Kao)
Cross listed with SOCI 006
LEC MW 10-11AM
402 REC F 11-12PM
403 REC F 10-11AM

The course will examine how social networks, neighborhood context, culture, and notions of race affect inequality and
ethnic relations. The course reviews the studies of ethnic entrepreneurship, urban segregation, labor force participation,
and assimilation processes. The course emphasizes how inequality affects ethnic relations as well as the economic and
social integration of different groups in society.

ASAM 150 Ethnic Economies & Globalization (Tamara Nopper)
Cross listed with URBS 215 / SOCI 150
LEC W 5:30-8:30PM

Nail salons, nursing, hair care stores, pizza shops, parking garages, donut shops, and taxis represent niche industries for different ethnic groups across the racial and national spectrum. We will explore how and why particular groups have concentrated in certain industries, and how processes related to globalization, such as diplomatic ties, the globalization of banking, foreign investment, trade, labor recruitment, transnational economic activities, and immigration contribute to their concentration. We will learn scholarly explanations for why ethnic groups concentrate in key industries by engaging literature that spans across the fields of sociology, urban studies, business, and migration. We will examine case studies of several ethnic groups and draw from examples in Philadelphia. This course will introduce students to a range of data and sources that are used by those studying and working in economic and urban development, finance, business, and immigration and will emphasize analysis of data and critical thinking skills.

ASAM 209 South Asians in the US (Fariha Khan)
Cross listed with SAST 290
LEC TR 12-1:30PM

This course investigates the everyday practices and customs of South Asians in America. Every immigrant group has its own history, customs, beliefs and values, making each unique while simultaneously a part of the "melting pot" or salad bowl" of American society. Yet how do people define themselves and their ethnicities living in a diasporic context? By taking into account the burgeoning South Asian American population as our model, this course will explore the basic themes surrounding the lives that immigrants are living in America, and more specifically the identity which the second generation, born and/or raised in American, is developing. South Asians in the U.S. will be divided thematically covering the topics of ethnicity, marriage, gender, religion, and pop culture. Reading and assignments will discuss a variety of issues and viewpoints that are a part of the fabric of South Asia, but will focus on the interpretation of such expressive culture in the United States.

ASAM 354 American Expansion in the Pacific (Eiichiro Azuma)
Cross listed with HIST 354
LEC MW 2-3:30PM

This course will delve into the continuing process of westward American expansion into the Pacific after the 1890s. Such questions as immigration, race relations, and diplomacy will be discussed in the class. Students who are interested in U.S.-Asia relations, Asian immigration, and histories of Hawaii and the Philippines as part of the American Empire are especially encouraged to take this course.

ASAM 299 Independent Study
PERMISSION NEEDED FROM DEPARTMENT

SOUTH ASIA STUDIES FALL 2010 COURSES

SAST-002 THE CITY IN SOUTH ASIA 1 CU
SOCEITY SECTOR
401 LEC MW 3:30-5PM
MITCHELL L
CROSS LISTED: ANTH 107, URBS 122
MAX W/CROSS LIST: 75

This interdisciplinary social science course examines key topics, themes, and analytic methods in the study of South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal) by focusing on significant South Asian cities. With one-fifth of the world population, South Asia and its urban centers are playing an increasingly important role in recent global economic transformations, resulting in fundamental changes within both the subcontinent and the larger world. Drawing primarily on ethnographic studies of South Asia in the context of rapid historical change, the course also incorporates research urban studies, architecture, political science, and history, as well as fiction and film. Cities of particular focus may include Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Colombo, Delhi, Dhaka, Hyderabad, Kathmandu, Karachi, Kolkata, Lahore, and Mumbai. Topics include globalization and new economic dynamics in South Asia; the formation of a new urban middle class; consumption and consumer culture; urban political formations, democratic
institutions, and practices; criminality and the underworld; population Growth, changes in the built environment, and demographic shifts; everyday life in South Asia and ethnic, cultural and linguistic identities, differences and violence in South Asia's urban environments. This course is appropriate for students with no background in South Asia, or for those seeking to better understand South Asia's urban environments in the context of recent globalization and rapid historical changes.

SAST-003 HIST, CULT, RELIG E. INDIA 1 CU
HISTORY AND TRADITION SECTOR
401 LEC TR 1:30-3PM
ALI D
CROSS LISTED: HIST 086
MAX W/CROSS LIST: 50

This course surveys the culture, religion and history of India from 2500 BCE to 1200 CE. The course examines the major cultural, religious and social factors that shaped the course of early Indian history. The following themes will be covered: the rise and fall of Harappan civilization, the Aryan invasion and vedic India, the rise of cities, states and the religions of Buddhism and Jainism, the historical context of the growth of classical Hinduism, including the Mahabharata, Ramayana and the development of the theistic temple cults of Saivism and Vaisnavism, processes of medieval agrarian expansion and cultic incorporation as well as the spread of early Indian cultural ideas in Southeast Asia. In addition to assigned secondary readings students will read select primary sources on the history religion and culture of early India, including Vedic and Buddhist texts, Puranas and medieval temple inscriptions. Major objectives of the course will be to draw attention to India's early cultural and religious past and to assess contemporary concerns
and ideologies in influencing our understanding and representation of that past.

SAST-005 PERFORM ARTS SOUTH ASIA 1 CU
CROSS CULTRL ANALYSIS - CL OF '10 & AFTER
401 LEC TR 3-4:30PM
STAFF
CROSS LISTED: MUSC-165
MAX W/CROSS LIST: 28

This course is a survey of selected traditions of theater, music, and dance in India and surrounding regions. Topics include ritual practices, theater, classical dance, classical music, devotional music, regional genres, and contemporary popular musics. Readings and lectures are supplemented by audio and visual materials and live performances. The aim of the course is to expose students to a variety of performance practices from this part of the world and to situate the performing arts in their social and cultural contexts. The course has no prerequisites.

SAST-006 HINDU MYTHOLOGY 1 CU
ARTS AND LETTERS SECTOR-ALL CLASSES.
401 SEM MW 2-3:30PM PATEL D
CROSS LISTED: RELS-066
MAX W/CROSS LIST: 75

Premodern India produced some of the world's greatest myths and stories: tales of gods, goddesses, heroes, princesses, kings and lovers that continue to capture the imaginations of millions of readers and hearers. In this course, we will look closely at some of these stories especially as found in Purana-s, great compendia composed in Sanskrit, including the chief stories of the central gods of Hinduism: Visnu, Siva, and the Goddess. We will also consider the relationship between these texts and the earlier myths of the Vedas and the Indian Epics, the diversity of the narrative and mythic materials within and across different texts, and the re-imagining of these stories in India's vernacular languages as well as in the modern world.

SAST-008 INDIA: CULTURE & SOCIETY 1 CU
CROSS CULTRL ANALYSIS - CL OF '10 & AFTER
401 LEC TR 3-4:30PM VISWANATH R
CROSS LISTED: RELS-068
MAX W/CROSS LIST: 75

What makes India INDIA? Religion and Philosophy? Architectural splendor? Kingdoms? Caste? The position of women? This course will introduce students to India by studying a range of social and cultural institutions that have historically assumed to be definitive India. Through primary texts, novels and historical sociological analysis, we will ask how these institutions have been reproduced and transformed, and assess their significance for contemporary Indian society.

SAST-057 PLANNING TO BE OFFSHORE 1 CU
401 SEM TBA GANGULEE S
MAX W/CROSS LIST: 30

In this course we will trace the economic development of India from 1947 to the present. Independent India started out as a centrally planned economy in 1949 but in 1991 decided to reduce its public sector and allow, indeed encourage, foreign investors to come in. The Planning Commission of India still exists but has lost much of its power. Many in the U.S. complain of American jobs draining off to India, call centers in India taking care of American customer complaints, American patient histories being documented in India, etc. At the same time, the U.S. government encourages highly trained Indians to be in the U.S. Students are expected to write four one-page response papers and one final paper. Twenty percent of the final grade will be based on class participation, 20 percent on the four response papers and 60 percent on the final paper.

SAST-059 TPCS IN ASIAN-AMER SOCI 1 CU
401 SEM TBA KHAN F
MAX W/CROSS LIST: 20

SAST - 063 EAS/WEST:MDRN WRLD HIST 1 CU
401 LEC MW 12-1PM MITCHELL L
CROSS LISTED: ANTH 063
MAX W/CROSS LIST: 75

Sugar and Spices. Tea and Coffee. Opium and Cocaine. Hop aboard the Indian Ocean dhows, Chinese junks, Dutch schooners, and British and American clipper ships that made possible the rise of global capitalism, new colonial relationships, and intensified forms of cultural change. How have desires to possess and consume particular commodities shaped cultures and the course of modern history? This class introduces students to the cultural history of the modern world through an interdisciplinary analysis of connections between East and West, South and North. Following the circulation of commodities and the development of modern capitalism, the course examines the impact of global exchange on interactions and relationships between regions, nations, cultures, and peoples and the influences on cultural practices and meanings. The role of slavery and labor migrations, colonial and imperial relations, and struggles for economic and political independence are also considered. From the role of spices in the formation of European joint stock companies circa 1600 to the contemporary cocaine trade, the course’s use of both original primary sources and secondary source readings written by historians and anthropologists will enable particular attention to the ways that global trade has impacted social, cultural, and political formations and practices throughout the world.

SAST-106 BEGINNING SITAR I 1 CU
CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS
401 LEC TR 5-6:30PM STAFF
CROSS LISTED: MUSC 061
MAX: 5

This course is an introduction to the repertoire and performance practices of the North Indian sitar. Fundamentals of sitar technique, composition, and improvisation are presented and practiced in class. Class lectures and discussions, audio and video material, and reading and listening assignments on selected topics supplement practice, to provide an overview of the social and historical context and the formal structures of North Indian music in general. There are no prerequisites for the course, but some experience with instrumental or vocal music is suggested. Each student is expected to put in two hours of individual practice per week, and complete reading, audio, and written assignments. The class gives a group performance at the end of the semester.

SAST-108 INTERMEDIATE SITAR I 1 CU
CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS
401 LEC MW 3:30-5PM STAFF
MAX W/CROSS LIST: 8

This is a performance course open to students who have completed both semesters of Beginning Sitar, or to others by permission from the instructor. Students will work with right and left-hand techniques, study three ragas in depth, learn the contours of several other ragas, and work with concepts of tala, composition, and improvisation. Assigned readings and listening will complement the performed material. A group performance will be given at the end of the semester.

SAST-150 INTRO TO INDIAN PHILOS 1 CU
CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS/ HISTORY AND TRADITION SECTOR
401 LEC TR 10:30-12NOON PATEL D
CROSS LISTED: PHIL 050
MAX W/CROSS LIST: 75

This course will take the student through the major topics of Indian philosophyby first introducing the fundamental concepts and terms that are necessary for a deeper understanding of themes that pervade the philosophical literature of India -- arguments for and against the existence of God, for example, the ontological status of external objects, the means of valid knowledge, standards of proof, the discourse on the aims of life. The readings will emphasize classical Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophical articulations (from 700 B.C.Eto 16th century CE) but we will also supplement our study of these materials with contemporary or relatively recent philosophical writings in modern India.

SAST-169 TRANSNATIONAL ISLAM 1 CU
401 LEC TR 3-4:30PM CARON J
MAX : 40

From the age-old networks of merchant-saints from Yemen to Malaysia, to present-day migrant labor in Dubai who send money home to Pakistan to construct mosques and madrasas, histories of economy, travel, and religious culture have been deeply interwined across the entire Indian ocean rim. How have cross-regional and local culture interacted over time, as various powers extended supremacy over different aspects of this arena since 1200? Through the study of this region, we will think critically about the place of individuals in cross-regional social change. In addition to scholarly works, we will read literature to bring our picture of this region alive. By the end, students should have good understanding of the historical geography of the Indian Ocean region; the shifting nature of cross-cultural interactions over time in that region; and the way this region contributes to continuing change in global political economy.

SAST-260 MDRN HIST AFGHAN/PKSTN 1 CU
401 SEM TR 1:30-3PM CARON J
CROSS LISTED: HIST 384
MAX W/CROSS LIST: 40

This course is designed as an introduction to the contemporary history of Afghanistan and Pakistan, with an emphasis on the intertwined history of both countries; their other regional neighbors; and global politics. The course focuses on global trends such as empire, nationalism, the Cold War, superpower competition, and transnational Islamism. At the same time, participants will explore how local people viewed their lives amidst these trends, and how local dynamics on this northwestern fringe of the Subcontinent changed the face of global politics. The readings supplement political and economic history with primary sources drawn from popular poetry, oral narrative, and memoir. Finally, we'll be following current events in the region, and placing them in their sociohistorical context. Therefore, there are two main goals for this course: (1) to introduce the specific history of Afghanistan and Pakistan up to present, and (2) to introduce typologies of social institutions and events, assisting class participants to develop their own frameworks for interpreting current events in the region after the end of the course.

SAST-262 MAKING/MEDEIVAL INDIA 1 CU
CROSS CULTURAL ANALYSIS
401 LEC TR 12-1:30PM ALI D
CROSS LISTED: SAST-562
MAX W/CROSS LIST: 20

This course will provide an in-depth understanding of South Asia in what is often called its 'medieval' period--from the rise of the great temple kingdoms until the end of the Delhi Sultanate in the sixteenth century (c. 500 CE - c. 1500 CE). This millennium is arguably one of the most transformative in South Asia's history, a period when many of its most distinctive social and cultural features evolved. The course will provide both an overview of the period as well as an introduction to major interpretations and types of sources (textual, visual, and archaeological). The focus throughout the course will be on the heterogeneous development of states, societies and cultures with special attention to long-term processes of transformation. One set of themes explored will be largely social and economic, focusing on the development of agrarian and peasant societies, aristocracies and intellectuals, as well as the role of mercantile, pastoralist, nomadic and forest-living groups. Another set of themes will explore cultural transformation, including the development, transformation and interaction of religious practices, the emergence of cosmopolitan and regional literary cultures, and the rise of distinctive urban, courtly, and rural world views. Special themes of discussion may include violence and manners, material cultures, religious conflict, devotional religion and gender relations.

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SAST-300 DIRECTED STUDY 1 CU
000 IND TBA STAFF
PERMISSION NEEDED FROM DEPARTMENT

SAST-399 INDEPENDENT STUDY 1 CU
000 IND TBA
PERMISSION NEEDED FROM DEPARTMENT

SAST-562 MAKING/MEDEIVEL INDIA 1 CU
CULTURAL CULTURAL ANALYSIS
401 LEC TR 12-1:30PM ALI D
CROSS LISTED: SAST-262
MAX W/CROSS LIST: 20

This course will provide an in-depth understanding of South Asia in what is often called its 'medieval' period--from the rise of the great temple kingdoms until the end of the Delhi Sultanate in the sixteenth century (c. 500 CE - c. 1500 CE). This millenium is arguably one of the most transformative in South Asia's history, a period when many of its most distinctive social and cultural features evolved. The course will provide both an overview of the period as well as an introduction to major interpretations and types of sources (textual, visual, and archaeological). The focus throughout the course will be on the heterogeneous development of states, societies and cultures with special attention to long-term processes of transformation. One set of themes explored will be largely social and economic, focusing on the development of agrarian and peasant societies, aristocracies and intellectuals, as well as the role of mercantile, pastoralist, nomadic and forest-living groups. Another set of themes will explore cultural transformation, including the development, transformation and interaction of religious practices, the emergence of cosmopolitan and regional literary cultures, and the rise of distinctive urban, courtly, and rural world views. Special themes of discussion may include violence and manners, material cultures, religious conflict, devotional religion and gender relations.

SAST-644 RELIGION AND SECULARISM 1 CU
401 SEM W 2-5PM VISWANATH R
LISTED: ENGL 765
MAX W/CROSS LIST: 14

SAST-990 MASTERS THESIS 1 CU
000 MST TBA STAFF
PERMISSION NEEDED FROM DEPARTMENT

SAST-995 DISSERTATION 1 CU
PERMISSION NEEDED FROM DEPARTMENT
000 DIS TBA STAFF

SAST-999 INDEPENDENT STUDY 1 CU
PERMISSION NEEDED FROM DEPARTMENT
000 IND TBA STAFF