Students learn to understand each political system today in light of its own distinctive history and development goals, its sociopolitical values and traditions, and its international situation. These countries are compared with the United States, focusing on such topics as political leadership, political culture, governmental structure, constitutions and economic policies. This course is a study of the government and politics of the People's Republic of China. The relationship between domestic and foreign policies is also examined. This course is a survey of East Asian international relations from the breakdown of the traditional Chinese world order to the emergence of the Pacific Rim system.
Emphasis is on foreign policies of East Asian nations, security and trade issues.
This course is a study of one of the oldest religious traditions known to humankind, a tradition which has formulated responses to fundamental human issues quite different from those proposed within theistic movements. Special attention is given to texts in translation, art, chants and popular songs communicating perceptions of religious living by men and women of Sri Lanka who have become Theravada Buddhists. The influence of India on human religious history has been profound. Developing within and emanating from India, the Mahayana Buddhist tradition has spread to and has continued to develop among persons living in China and Japan. It traces the development of that structure in China, leading to a consideration of forms, from Zen to the Pure Land school, among others, that the tradition has taken as a result of responses in faith made by men and women in Japan who have become Mahayana Buddhists.