Last update: March 28, 2019

Art Hist 2096 (801) Eurasia: Connecting European and Asian Art and Culture

Even though we are living in a globalizing world, our common knowledge of cultures other than our own is limited. Since every culture has its own uniqueness, it can often cause misunderstandings during interpretation. Located on the eastern side of Eurasia, Japan can be seen as a reflection of Europe itself in many ways. By comparing the cultures and historical incidents of these parts of Eurasia, they echo resounding similarities. This class connects European and Asian cultures into the singular continental culture of Eurasia - through cross cultural comparisons of significant moments in history and places of significance. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to compare the social and historical contexts of Europe and Japan, while being able to create your own critical analysis’s on this area of study. Although, not required, it is recommended to take “Japanese Culture” course before taking this course.

Art Hist 2098 (801) Art and Queer Theory

This course examines the intersections of queer theory and contemporary art practices from the 1960s to the present. In the 1990s, “queer theory” emerged as an interdisciplinary method of analysis that understands identity to be constructed, contested, fluid, and performatively defined. Taking pleasure in dissonance and marginalization, queerness positions itself actively against fixity and normalcy. Throughout the semester, this course will explore key arguments made in queer theory and how they relate to contemporary art practice. The class will variously explore how the history of art may be “queered” through re-contextualization; how queerness was coded by artists in the pre-Stone Wall era; and how queerness was embraced in the 1980s at the height of the AIDS epidemic and has since been used as a way to create subversive, self-empowering works that challenge established notions regarding art, identity, and politics. The authors we will read will include Sigmund Freud, Judith Butler, Eve Sedgwick, Richard Meyer, and Douglas Crimp. We will consider works by Andy Warhol, Gran Fury, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Robert Gober, Zoe Leonard, Catherine Opie, and Fierce Pussy. We will use both the texts and artworks to address difficult questions about the relations between art, politics, theory, and practice.

Art Hist 2800 (801) Japanese Art Before and After WWII: From Manga to Performance Art

This course introduces Japanese art from the early 20th century to present day, focusing on traditional aspects of Japanese cultures. Through this course you will study Japan’s relationship with modernization and its influence on arts and cultures such as; painting, sculpture, manga, movie, animation, performance art, and more. The artists who will be discussed in these courses will be; Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Tezuka, Leonard Tsuguharu Fujita, Yasujiro Ozu, Yoko Ono, Yukio Mishima, and Yasumasa Morimura. Special attention will be paid to the historical context of Japan’s modernization, World War II, and their influences on Japanese contemporary art. The aim of this course is to help you develop literacy on Japanese modern/contemporary art and culture. Upon completion of this course, you will be able to understand the social and historical context of Japanese art and culture. Enabling you to create your own critical analysis’s on this particular field of study. Previous knowledge of Japan’s history or art is not required for this course.

As St 2000 (801) Social Inequality in Asia

This course explores various aspects of social inequality and injustice-economic, social, legal, religious, ethnic, gender, political and sexual orientation- in Asian countries and the consequences thereof for those societies and the affected people. We examine the historical, political, institutional, economic, and socio-cultural contexts for these injustices and how different actors-perpetrators, victims, the state and non-government organizations-have and are responding to the manifest challenges. Students will read into relevant theories and methodologies in order to develop a conceptual framework for comparative analysis relevant to their own research and the overall discipline of Asian Studies. The course will focus on various case studies that help illuminate the central themes while students will conduct their own research projects on inequality and injustice and its significance for understanding the societies we study.

As St 2030 (801) Disaster Japan: Earthquake, Tsunami, Nuclear Crisis and the Politics of 3.11

The great East Japan Tohoku Earthquake of March 11, 2011 was among the greatest disasters in history and the direst social crisis in Japan in the post-war era. This course examines the events of 3.11, from the immediate aftermath of the Tsunami, Earthquake and nuclear crisis and the application of crisis management philosophies and procedures, to its influence on Japanese Civil Society, electoral politics and the reinvigoration of the anti-nuclear movement, and volunteerism in participatory politics.

As St 4096 (802) Immigration and Integration Issues in East and Southeast Asia

We live in an age of migration, and the nations and peoples of Asia have become central actors on this stage. By examining major trends, explanatory theories and issues regarding international population movements in the modern world, the class will acquire some of the key conceptual skills and bibliographical tools for researching related developments in East and Southeast Asia. In consultation with the instructor, each student will write a series of short papers and develop a research design that will lead to a well-formatted and documented research paper.

FMA 3696 (811) The Films of Yasujiro Ozu

Yasujiro Ozu (1903-1963) made films that were immensely popular to Japanese audiences because of his ability to capture the customs, concerns, and rhythms of everyday life. Ozu’s films were so deeply rooted in ordinary people’s experiences that he was considered “the most Japanese” of directors. Accordingly, during his lifetime, his work was almost unknown outside Japan, but since his death he has become an inspirational figure for filmmakers around the world. In 2012, Ozu’s most famous work, Tokyo Story (1953), was named the greatest film of all time in a poll of international film directors. In this class, we will examine the unique style of Ozu’s films and explore their cultural and historical background.

FMA 3696 (812) Music and American Film Since 1956

This course will examine how American films from the 1950s to the present have depicted music and musicians as agents of cultural conflict and change. Readings and writing assignments will consider films in relation to national and regional identity, masculinity, femininity, ethnicity, authenticity, and celebrity. We will also discuss aesthetic aspects of the relationship between music and film. Films to be screened in whole or part will be drawn from such works as 8 Mile, A Hard Day’s Night, Almost Famous, American Graffiti, Bound for Glory, Don’t Look Back, Easy Rider, Elvis: That’s the Way It Is, Gimme Shelter, Grease, Inside Llewyn Davis, La La Land, New York New York, Privilege, Sid and Nancy, Straight Outta Compton, The Decline of Western Civilization, The Doors, and This Is Spinal Tap.

Japanese 1003 (801) Oral Intensive I

A bridge between beginning and intermediate Japanese levels, this course emphasizes vocabulary building and the use of spoken Japanese through situational conversational practice. Tests will be in the forms of listening and reading comprehension and structured interviews. An ability to read and write hiragana and katakana is required, as is a mastery of most basic grammatical rules.

Japanese 2000 (801 & 802) Practical Japanese for Study Abroad Students

This course is designed to give Temple Study Abroad Program students the essential conversational and written Japanese necessary to negotiate their time in Japan. Lectures, assignments, field trips, and other activities will be designed with practical, day-to-day life in Japan in mind. This course is not part of the Japanese Language and Literature major, and students pursuing this major or more rigorous study of the language should register for the formal course sequence, beginning with 1001.

Japanese 2003 (801) Oral Intensive II

A bridge between intermediate and advanced Japanese levels, this course focuses on vocabulary acquisition in a variety of conversational situations. Throughout the semester, several vocabulary quizzes and structure tests will be given, while the final exam will be in the form of interviews. Students are required to complete one project involving various communication activities outside the classroom. Note, the course uses different materials and works on different topics every semester and thus is repeatable. Students need prior written permission from the instructor to repeat.

Jour 3701 (801) Journalism and Japan’s Geopolitical Impact on the World

Asia’s geopolitical impact on world affairs continues to expand in significance and tenure. What role do the press play in informing and deciphering the vast interaction of politics, business and culture? This course aims to introduce students to timely issues through attending real press conferences, discussion and practical journalistic writing. All students taking the course are given free student membership at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan and the Japan National Press Club.

Lib Arts 2020 (801 & 802) International Career Strategies

The aim of this course is to help students develop a professional mindset. It is designed to explore the career competencies and strategies that are necessary to confidently and successfully transition from college life to the workplace or graduate school. Emphasis is placed on developing the skills necessary in an international career. Participants will use these skills throughout their working life as professionals, managers, executives, or entrepreneurs. This is not a lecture course. It is an interactive workshop giving business majors, in particular, a chance to develop and realize their career potential through exploring career options, preparing a strategy to launch a fulfilling career and improving written and oral presentation skills. The course should increase the student’s ability to: Present professionally (in writing and in person), realistically assess talent and job potential, think critically and creatively about career options and start an international or domestic career search.

Lib Arts 2030 (801) Technology in International Business

Explore the role of information technology as a business enabler and take a look at management information systems’ impact on business models and society. Evaluate the organizational fit and suitability of various technologies and interpret the interaction between information technology, customers, processes, data, human resources, and the overall internal and external environment of international businesses. Understand the ethical challenges of information technology and explain the evolving role of management information systems in the organization, and the role and careers of MIS professionals.

MSP 3890 (801) Creating Music for Media

Music for film, documentaries, commercials, tv and radio is one of the most vital parts of creating a final successful product. There is a reason that composing for media is a full time career and in many universities an actual major. The media creator that understands first hand what is entailed in selecting, creating and building the perfect music to enhance the mood, the emotion, the viability of the final creation will be the most successful of producers. To know the difference in tempos, tones, dynamics, instrumentation, styles and moods helps you make original and innovative choices to finish your projects in the most professional way. We will be exploring simple techniques to build tracks, manipulate music using basic editing techniques and digital options, and then eventually begin to create original music even if you are not a studied musician. You will be taught how to analyze how the masters in film composing have created and then begin to follow those step by step formulas without having to knowing any music theory.

Pol Sci 3520 (801)/As St 3000 (802) Korean Politics

This course is about the government and politics in South Korea. We will first take a look at the historical processes from the liberation and division of the Korean peninsula to the democratization and economic development of the South Korea and nuclear and economic challenges of North Korea. We will then survey the political institutions and groups that shape politics and policy making in South Korea. We will analyze how mechanisms of delegation, representation, and accountability work, and what authorities and constraints decision makers possess and face. We will also analyze the politics and political economy of policy reforms by focusing on several areas of policy making. Lastly, we will look at the current state and prospects of Japan-Korea relations with a special attention to the ways in which history and present-day political institutions shape the incentives and thus, behaviors of the major decision makers in each of the respective countries.

Pol Sci 4310 (801)/As St 3030 (801) Chinese Foreign Policy

What does the rise of China mean for international society? What are the major challenges for China’s relations with major powers in the world? What factors drive or constrain Chinese foreign policy? These questions are of significant importance for our understanding of international relations. This course explores modern Chinese foreign policy in a historical and sociological perspective. It aims to help students understand the domestic and international contexts of Chinese foreign relations by examining a variety of aspects, such as the history of modern Chinese foreign policy (from mid-19th century to the present), the institutions and process of Chinese foreign policy making, political culture and Chinese foreign relations, China and major powers (the US, Japan, EU, and Russia), and China’s role in global governance. As a 4000-level research seminar, beside building up the knowledge about Chinese foreign policy, students are expected to participate in class discussion and develop their research interests on specific topics in this field.

Pol Sci 4320 (801) Eurasian Politics: The International Affairs of Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus

The Soviet Union may be long gone, but the countries that emerged from its collapse in 1991 remain highly significant in international affairs. This course traces the political and economic development of these independent states and highlights their continued difficulties in managing relations amongst themselves and with the world more generally. Inevitably, most attention in this regard goes to Russia. The largest country in the world, Russia dominates the Eurasian landmass and, via its veto in the UN Security Council and enormous nuclear arsenal, it retains a leading role in international politics. In discussing its global standing, this course places particular emphasis on Russia’s status as an “energy superpower”, its perception in the West as an unscrupulous spoiler, and its recent decision to reorient the country towards the Asia-Pacific. A further key topic is Russia’s plan to create a Eurasian Union, a project condemned by the US as “a move to re-Sovietise the region”. Away from Russia, this course has three further areas of focus. The first is Central Asia, where vast natural resources have encouraged the West and China to challenge Russia’s hegemony. The second is the Caucasus where the 2008 Georgia-Russian war and the frozen conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan have left an explosive legacy. Lastly, there is Eurasia’s western fringe where the people of dictatorial Belarus and politically unstable Ukraine struggle to determine whether their future lies with Europe or Russia.

Pol Sci 4896 (801) Foreign Policy Analysis

Whether ordering military strikes, funding opposition groups, or seeking to sign new trade deals, foreign policy decisions are some of the most momentous choices facing national leaders. However, what are the processes that cause decision makers to select one course of action over another? This is the key subject matter of Foreign Policy Analysis. This course introduces students to this sub-discipline of International Relations. It teaches them the field’s history, as well as its main theories and distinctive “levels of analysis” approach. Having learned these basics in the abstract, students are then required to apply the methods of Foreign Policy Analysis to specific case studies to determine which causal factors were most important in the making of each decision. The case studies selected cover a range of time periods and geographical regions, including the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, the atomic bombings of Japan, the 2003 invasion of Iraq, North Korean nuclear brinkmanship, and Russia’ s annexation of Crimea.

Psych 3620 (801) Prejudice and Discrimination in Japan

Japan is a country where discrimination and prejudice towards certain groups are not really visible to the public or part of public awareness, even for the very groups that discriminate against others. However, Japan has been going through social, economic, and institutional transitions which highlight the experience of groups that suffer discrimination and prejudice. This course focuses on how certain groups in Japan experience discrimination and prejudice - groups such as women, people with infectious diseases, foreign workers and residents, ethnic minority groups (buraku, ainu, zainichi), and people with physical and mentally disabilities. The course analyzes the nature of existing discrimination and prejudice from psychological perspectives and theories.

Psych 3620 (802) Intercultural Marriage

This is an introduction to the major social and psychological aspects of Japanese-Western intercultural marriage. A brief historical introduction covers relevant aspects of general Japanese-Western interaction in history, as well as present-day Japanese attitudes towards Westerners (and vice versa). Different phases of reciprocal adjustment will be discussed, as well as the salient social and psychological reasons for potential conflicts in an intercultural marriage. Major factors are: differences in customs and values, male and female role expectations, living conditions, the role of the in-laws, medical matters, language, religion, politics, communication problems, need for friends, finances, social class. When raising their children, interculturally married parents may be challenged by differing attitudes towards being a father and a mother, education; and the children’s feeling that they are “different” from other children. Despite many problems, intercultural marriage can be a tremendous positive challenge, which offers many chances for greater personal growth and deeper human and cultural understanding.

Psych 4696 (801) Cross-Cultural Themes in Psychology

The main focus of this capstone is a timely topic important to many fields in psychology, addressing a need for academic analysis of rapidly changing social and cultural interactions in the global context. The course will allow students to see and analyze the linkages between concepts, theories, research findings and professional applications from the cross-cultural perspective with special emphasis put on the contemporary psychological phenomena in Japan. This course also offers a comprehensive analysis of various clinical, social and cultural perspectives, related to globalization, international mobility, human relationships in public and private spheres, online psychology/virtual reality, cross-cultural psychopathology, etc. This capstone is particularly useful for students planning graduate work in psychology or considering studying/working overseas, and those who would like to develop the deeper understanding of multi-layered mechanisms, which underlie the cross-cultural phenomena in psychology. This is a writing-intensive course and students are required to explore relevant literature, critically analyze academic sources and findings, raise questions, and prepare an academic paper on their particular topic of interest. NOTE: This course is limited to psychology majors in their senior year.