HIST160A2

038694

This course explores social, cultural, and political currents in Asia from the fifteenth century to the present. Asia is far too large and diverse to be studied thoroughly in one single semester, and thus this course will serve as an introduction to a number of important themes and topics in the study of East, South, and Southeast Asia. In particular, we will focus on the dynamic movement of people and ideas to investigate multiple sites of interaction within Asia and between Asia and other parts of the world. We will begin with an exploration of the Mughal and Manchu empires in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and conclude with the popularity of Indian Bollywood and Japanese Anime in the twenty-first-century United States.

Because this is a course that traces both the outlines of Asian history but also, and perhaps more importantly, the interaction of Asian cultures with global trends and patterns as well as the construction of 'Asia' in the rest of the world, the texts we will read are not restricted to archival sources from Asia. You will use first-hand accounts, film, literature, and material artifacts to trace the development and significance of various trans-cultural connections that have shaped histories and identities within Asia and around the world.

GRD - Regular Grades A, B, C, D, E

Undergraduate

GE - GEDE (Gen Ed Diversity Emphasis), GE - T1-TRAD (Tier 1 Traditions and Cultures), GEED - EPHUM (Gen Ed: EP Humanist)