Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia
LCA 100 Introduction to Asia, Spring 2004
Lectures Tuesday & Thursday, 1-2:15 5206 Social Science
Discussion section 301 219 Van Hise 2:25 T
Discussion section 302 367 Van Hise 3:30 T
Discussion section 303 227 Van Hise 12:05 T
Discussion section 304 355 Van Hise 2:25 R
Discussion section 305 378 Van Hise 3:30 R
Discussion section 306 395 Van Hise 12:05 F
Discussion section 307 382 Van Hise 2:25 F
Discussion section 308 483 Van Hise 12:05 W
INSTRUCTOR Ellen Rafferty
Office: 6313 Social Science Building, tel. 263-2789
Office Hours: Tuesday & Thursday, 2:30-3:30
E-mail: emraffer@wisc.edu
TEACHING ASSISTANTS:
Jessica DeKuiper Email jjdekuiper@wisc.edu
Alexis May Email ammay@wisc.edu
Office 1235 Van Hise Hall, Tel. 265-6252
Office hours TBA
Course website: http://lca.wisc.edu/courses/LCA100.htm
Course description: LCA 100 offers a survey of the cultures of Asia
stretching from Turkey to the Philippines, emphasizing the humanistic
disciplines of history, language, literature, religion, and the arts.
It is a core course for the undergraduate major in the Department of
Languages and Cultures of Asia.
LCA 100 explores the cultural diversity of these areas of Asia as well
as highlights the strong connections created and maintained by cultural
flows in the fields of literature, religions, and the arts. Some themes
that will be explored include:
" major religious traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam)
" colonialism and the rise of the modern national cultures and
literatures
" globalization and its effects
The Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia offers courses on
the cultures, religions, and literatures of the following three regions:
" Central and Southwest Asia (languages: Persian, Turkish, Kazak,
Uzbek, Arabic)
" South Asia (languages: Hindi, Urdu, Telugu, Sanskrit, Tibetan)
" Southeast Asia (languages: Thai, Indonesian, Tagalog/Pilipino,
Vietnamese. Pali)
Course requirements and Grading:
" Discussion section attendance 12 points
" Map assignment 5 points
" Four 2 page response papers 20 points
" Midterm examination 25 points
" Proposal for final paper 5 points
" A two part final examination 33 points
1. In class exam
2. A 6 page paper on a cultural, religious, or literary theme discussed
in the course.
Total 100 points
Textbooks (available at the University Bookstore):
Carolyn Brown Heinz, Asian Cultural Traditions (Prospect Heights, IL:
Waveland Press, 1999). Required.
Daniel G. Bates-Amal Rassam, Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East
(Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001). Required.
Louise Edwards & Mina Roces, ed., Women in Asia, , 2000. Recommended.
Sources of materials in the COURSE PACKET which is available at Student
Print in the Memorial Union, lower level. (tel. 262-6212)
E.E. Bacon, Central Asians under Russian Rule. A Study in Culture Change
(Ithaca, 1966), Chapter 2.
Arthur W. Biddle, Gloria Bien, Vinay Dharwadker, Contemporary Literature
of Asia (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996): selections.
Bstan-'dzin-rgya-mtsho [Tenzin Gyatso], Freedom in Exile: The Autobiography
of the Dalai Lama (New York, NY: Harper Collins, 1990).
Seno Gumira Ajidarma, Jakarta, at a Certain Point in Time, (Centre for
Asia Pacific Initiatives, U. of Victoria, 2002), pp. 18-28.
Hushang Golshihri, trans. Frank Lewis, "Portrait of an Innocent",
Stories from Iran. A Chicago Anthology, 1921-1991, ed. Heshmat Moayyad
(Washington, DC: Mage, 1991), pp. 353-369.
Utkir Hashimov, trans. Uli Schamiloglu, "Life in a Dream",
Icarus 16: End of Empire: 15 New Works from the 15 Republics of the
Former Soviet Union (Winter 1995), pp. 37-50.
Angkarn Kalayaanaphong, "Grandma", Modern Thai Literature,
ed. Herbert P. Phillips (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1987),
pp. 83-87.
Siburapha, trans. David Smyth, "Those Kind of People", Behind
the Painting and Other Stories, pp. 153-162.
Sources of Indian Tradition, volume 1, W.T. de Bary et al. (New York:
Columbia U. Press, 1958), pp. 5-34, 90-98, 274-295.
Robert Hefner & P. Horvatich eds., Islam in an Era of Nation-States,
(Honolulu: U. Hawaii Press, 1997) pp. 3-40.
Women in Asia, ed. Louise Edwards & Mina Roces, 2000.
Syllabus
TOPICS DATE READINGS
1. Introduction; Geography Sept 2 Heinz, Asian Cultural Traditions
Chapter 1. Introduction Chapter 2. Asia As Cultured Space Heinz, Asian
Cultural Traditions
2. Languages & Alphabets;
Tribal Peoples of South and Southeast Asia
MAP ASSIGNMENT is due in section meeting Sept 7, 9 Chapter 3. Tongues,
Texts, and Scripts
Chapter 4. Tribal Peoples
Film 1: Between Two Worlds: The Hmong Shaman in America
3. Historical Periodization: Imperialism, Colonialism, &
Nationalism
Response paper 1 is due is section. Sept 14, 16 Heinz, Asian Cultural
Traditions
Chapter 9. The Colonial Period
4. SOUTH ASIA: Introduction
Sept 21, 23 Heinz, Asian Cultural Traditions
Chapter 5. India
Film 2 Hinduism Faith, Festivals, and Rituals
5. SOUTH ASIA: Ancient beliefs; Hinduism
Sept 28, 30 Sources of Indian Tradition, volume 1:
The Cosmic Order in the Vedic Hymns pp. 5-18.
The Bhagavad Gita pp. 274-295
Film 3: Four Holy Men: Renunciation in Hindu Society
6. SOUTHEAST ASIA: History and Religion
Response paper 2 is due in section. Oct 5, 7 Heinz, Asian Cultural Traditions
Chapter 6. Southeast Asia
Film 4: The Tenth Dancer (post Pol Pot Cambodia)
7. SOUTHEAST ASIA: Buddhism and Islam in SEA Oct 12, 14 Sources of Indian
Tradition, volume 1:
Theravada Buddhism, pp. 90-98.
Hefner, Islam in an Era of Nation States.pp 3-40.
8. SOUTH & SOUTHEAST ASIA: modern literature & culture
MIDTERM: October 21 Oct 19, 21 Vinay Dharwadker, "South and Southeast
Asia", Contemporary Literature of Asia , pp. 11-27.
Selections from South Asian literature:
1.Amrita Pritam, "The Weed", pp. 44-48.
3. Shankar Lamichhane, "The Half-Closed Eyes of the Buddha and
the Slowly Setting Sun", pp. 167-173.
3. Enver Sajjad, "The Bird", pp. 185-190.
4. Asoka Colombage, "The Smell of a Baby", pp. 239-244.
Selections from Southeast Asian literature:
1. Siburapha, "Those Kind of People", p. 153-162.
2. Pramoedya Ananta Toer, "Inem", p. 139-148.
3. Pramoedya Ananta Toer, "Circumcision" p. 46-50. Asia. Fan-Feb
1982, pp. 46-50.
4. Seno Gumira Ajidarma, "Jakarta, at a Certain Point in Time."
9. CENTRAL ASIA: Introduction; ancient beliefs; shamanism
Oct 26, 28 Bstan-'dzin-rgya-mtsho [Tenzin Gyatso], Freedom in Exile:
The Autobiography of the Dalai Lama, pp. 1-81.
Bacon, Central Asians under Russian Rule
Chapter 2. Before the Conquest: The Pastoral Nomads.
10. SOUTHWEST ASIA: Introduction
Response paper 3 is due in section. Nov 2, 4 Film 5: The Saltmen of
Tibet
Bates-Rassam, Peoples and Cultures of the Middle East
Chapter 1. The Setting: Human Geography and Historical Background
Chapter 4. Communal Identities and Ethnic Groups.
11. SOUTHWEST ASIA: Islam Nov 9, 11 Bates-Rassam, Peoples and Cultures
of the Middle East
Chapter 2. Islam: The Prophet and the Religion
Chapter 3. Islam as Identity, Islam as Culture
12. Islam Nov 16, 18 Film 6: Islam: Empire of Faith.
Film 7 (selections): I am a Sufi, I am a Muslim (mystical Islam).
Selections from Central & Southwest Asian literature:
1. 1001 Arabian Nights: Tale 29: "The Adventures of Haroun-al-Raschid,
Caliph of Bagdad",
Tale 30, "Story of the Blind Baba-Abdalla" http://www.arabiannights.org/index2.html
2. Utkir Hashimov, "Life in a Dream."
13. Islam and Art
Response paper 4 is due in section. Nov 23
Thanksgiving
Holiday Film 8: Muslims
14. The family in Asian cultures
Final paper proposal is due in section.
Nov 30, Dec. 2 Bates & Rassam, Peoples and Cultures of the Middle
East
Chapter 8. Kinship, Marriage, and the Family
Chapter 9. Women and the Social Order
Film 9: Islamic Art
15. Women in Contemporary Asia
Dec 7, 9 Women in Asia, ed. Louise Edwards & Mina Roces.
Chapter 1. Contesting gender narratives, 1970-2000.
Chapter 2. Becoming modern in Malaysia: women at the end of the 20th
century
16. Women in Contemporary Asia Dec 14 Women in Asia, Chapter 5. Diversity
and the status of women: the Indian experience
Film 10: Saheri's Choice: Arranged Marriages in India.
Final Exam
1. Final paper is due during week 16.
2. Final Exam questions 12/22
at 2:30. Good luck!
Films resources for the course
1. Tribal
Between Two Worlds: The Hmong Shaman in America, in Asian American Center
2. South Asia
Four Holy Men: renunciation in Hindu Society in LSS, catalogue no. AS2.004.001
Hinduism: Faith, Festivals and Rituals, in LSS AS2.053
Buddhism - Central Asia Saltmen of Tibet in Memorial Library media collection,
DS 786 S25 2002
Hidden India: the Kerala Spicelands (PBS) in LSS, catalogue no. AS2.051
3. Southwest & Central Asia.
Islam: Empire of Faith (PBS) LSS catalogue no. IS1.001
I am a Sufi, I am a Muslim (mystical Islam) in CREECA
Islamic Art in LSS cataglogue no. IS1.021
Muslims (PBS)in LSS, catalogue no. IS 1.014 - here or in the women section
4. Southeast Asia
Two Faces of Thailand in LSS catalogue no. FL1.17
Possibly --Bali: The Mystical Land, in LSS catalogue no. In1.009
The Tenth Dancer, in Memorial Library GV 1703 C3 T36 1993
5. Women
Saheri's Choice: Arranged Marriages in India, in LSS catalogue no. AS2.052
Muslims (PBS)in LSS, catalogue no. IS 1.014 (Malaysian women)
The Hidden Story, in Memorial library HQ 1240.5 I4 J49 1995 (Indian
women)
The Tenth Dancer, in Memorial Library GV 1703 C3 T36 1993
