Introduction the cultures and politics of the Middle East. Other topics include the Iranian revolution, the domestic and regional role of Islamic movements, and the political economy of oil. An introduction to modem Indian writing in English and in translation, with an emphasis on fiction. We will study the novels and short stories of these writers with reference to the themes, problems and discourses of tradition and modernity, nationalism and colonial and post-colonial identities. We will pay attention to issues of gender and writing, and to the implications of writing in English or in Indian languages.
Illustrative material includes slides and short films.
Ms. Peterson Prerequisite soph. 100 Introduction to Japanese Civilization Introduces religious, philosophical, political, and social patterns distinct in Japanese civilization. After a brief review of Japanese history, focuses on the classical literature from the age of the Manyo poets to the of the present-day novelists Mishima and Kawabata, and investigates the aesthetic and cultural values of the Japanese people. Provides opportunities to appreciate these values as they are manifested in such forms as the tea ceremony, flower arrangement, garden architecture, and calligraphy. Since 1660 This course examines Japan's emergence in the nineteenth century from more than two hundred years of self-imposed isolation, the process of political and economic modernization, and the attempt to find a secure and significant place in the westerndominated world of the twentieth century.