Course Description Economic and political earthquakes in Asia send shock waves across the Pacific and around the world. Specialists on Asia and its economic and political challenges differ widely on the causes, future, and possible responses to the region's current difficulties. Some observers are pessimistic. Some see nuclear war, starting in the Asian subcontinent, spreading to the Middle East and northward into China.
Optimists peer through the other end of the philosophical looking glass.
They find an Asia gradually recovering from the 1997-99 currency shocks and the resulting social, political, and military adaptations of their countries' structures. These changes will occur with cautious cooperation for and in the twenty-first century. They see growing cooperation within Asia and between Asia and the eastern side of the Pacific Lake. This seminar will seek a disciplined review of these challenges and outlooks, applying them to Asia and the relations of Asia and the United States. Students will research pertinent social-cultural, economic, and governmental features of the countries and the issues of the region's mutual relations.