Students wanting to begin language study, at a level other than first year, must take a placement exam to be held on September 2.
121/Hist. 121. Great Traditions of East Asia. (4). (HU).
See History 121. (Forage)
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230/Buddhist Studies 230/Phil. 230/Rel. 230. Introduction to Buddhism.F (4). (HU).
See Buddhist Studies 230. (Lopez)
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252/Religion 250/WS 250. Religion and Culture: Feminine and Masculine Images of Religious Experience. (3). (HU).
See Religion 250. (Gómez)
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Language Courses
101. Beginning Chinese. (5). (LR). Laboratory fee ($10) required.
Chinese 101 is an introductory course in speaking, understanding, reading, and writing Chinese. The student is expected to achieve control of the sound system, basic sentence patterns, and basic vocabulary of Standard Mandarin Chinese. Starting the fifth week, we will learn to read and write the characters. In Chinese 101, the major emphasis is on speaking and aural comprehension. In Chinese 102, we do longer readings and question-answer sheets twice a week. Students are also required to memorize short dialogues. Toward the end of the term students have to write a skit together with other students and their performance will be video-taped and their pronunciation will be graded. We have a test or quiz each week on Thursdays. In general the workload in Chinese 102 is much heavier than in Chinese 101. For both courses, we recommend that students listen to tapes one hour per day. This is a five-credit course. We meet one hour each day. Tuesdays and Thursdays are lectures; Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are recitations. Students are required to register for both a lecture section and a recitation section. Attendance is taken everyday and no audits are allowed. Textbooks: (a) John DeFrancis, Beginning Chinese (Yale Univ. Press), (b) John DeFrancis, Beginning Chinese Reader, Part I and II (Yale Univ. Press). Materials covered: Beginning Chinese, Lessons 1-13; Beginning Chinese Reader, Lessons 1-12. (Tao)
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201. Second-Year Chinese. Chinese 102. (5). (LR).
This course is a continuation of work begun in Chinese 101-102. Students electing the course should have mastered the spoken language material presented in DeFrancis' Beginning Chinese or a similar introductory text and should be able to recognize and write about 400 characters and 1200 combinations. The primary goal of the course is achievement of a basic level of reading competence within a vocabulary of 900 characters and accompanying combinations. A closely integrated secondary goal is continued improvement of aural understanding and speaking competence. These goals are approached through classroom drill, out-of-class exercises, and work in the language laboratory. Daily class attendance is required. Students are graded on the basis of daily classroom attendance, and weekly quizzes or tests. The texts are Intermediate Reader of Modern Chinese (Princeton University Press, 1992) and the movie script The Great Wall. Students who are native or near-native Mandarin Chinese speakers are not eligible for this course. They should enroll in Chinese 302 which covers all of the material presented in Chinese 201/202 and is offered in the Winter Term. Students who did not take First-Year Chinese at the University of Michigan must take a placement exam before courses begin. No visitors are allowed.
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301. Reading and Writing Chinese. Permission of instructor. No credit granted to those who have completed or are enrolled in Chinese 101, 102, or 361. (4). (LR).
This course is designed for students with native or near-native speaking ability in Chinese, but little or no reading and writing ability. Chinese 301 meets four hours per week; it focuses on reading and writing Chinese and will cover the regular 101-102 reading materials. Students will be graded on the basis of daily classroom performance, daily quizzes, periodic tests, and homework assignments. The basic text is Beginning Chinese Reader by John DeFrancis.
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Language Courses
This course is designed for students who have less than the equivalent of one year's study of Japanese at the University of Michigan. The goal of the course is the simultaneous progression of four skills (speaking, listening, writing, and reading) as well as becoming familiar with aspects of Japanese culture which are necessary for language competency. Recitation sessions are conducted in Japanese emphasizing speaking/reading in Japanese contexts at normal speeds. Analyses, explanations, and discussions involving the use of English are specifically reserved for lectures. It is expected that, by the end of the year, students will have basic speaking and listening comprehension skills, a solid grasp of basic grammar, reading and writing skills in Hiragana and Katakana, and will be able to recognize and produce approximately 140 Kanji in context. Texts: Situational Functional Japanese Vol.1-2. Tokyo: Tsukuba Language Group, 1991. (Johnson)
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201. Second-Year Japanese. Japanese 102. (5). (LR). Laboratory fee ($9) required.
Further training is given in all four language skills (speaking, reading, listening, and writing) for students who have acquired a basic language proficiency. The introduction to basic Japanese grammar items will be completed around the fourth week of the second term of second year Japanese. The aim of the oral component is to provide the student with the speaking and comprehension skills necessary to function effectively in more advanced practical situations in a Japanese-speaking environment. In the reading and writing component, emphasis is on reading elementary texts, developing an expository style, and writing short answers/essays in response to questions about these texts. Approximately 500 of the essential characters are covered. Discussions on the social and cultural use of language are provided through various video tapes. Students are required to attend five hours of class per week: two hours of lecture and three hours of recitation. Recitation sessions emphasize speaking/reading in Japanese at normal speed with near-native pronunciation, accent, and appropriate body language and are conducted entirely in Japanese. Analyses, explanations, and discussions involving the use of English are reserved for lectures. Students who did not take First-Year Japanese at the University of Michigan must take a placement exam before courses begin. Texts: Situational Functional Japanese Vol.2-3. Tokyo: Tsukuba Language Group, 1991.
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201. Second Year Korean. Korean 102. (5). (LR).
This is an intermediate course in spoken and written Korean. It will emphasize the aural/oral skill, but attention will also be given to grammatical structure. Class regularly meets five times a week - two hours of lectures and three hours of aural/oral practice - and daily attendance is expected. Through lectures, students will learn relatively complex structural patterns of Korean, build up their vocabulary, and get acquainted with various aspects of Korean culture and society. Based on the knowledge obtained through lectures, recitation classes will help the students develop an ability to carry on survival-level conversation. In evaluation, weight will be placed on homework assignments, biweekly quizzes, and oral interviews. Students who did not take First-Year Korean at the University of Michigan must take a placement exam before courses begin. (Lee)
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225/Rel. 225. Hinduism. (3). (HU).
250. Undergraduate Seminar in South and Southeast Asian Culture. No knowledge of any Asian language required. (3). (HU). May be repeated with department permission.
Section 002 - Traditions of Poetry in India. Throughout readings and discussions SSEA 250 introduces the student to six traditions of poetry in India: (1) Vedic-Upanishadic mystic poetry; (2) Tamil Sangam love poetry; (3) classical Sanskrit and Prakrit court poetry; (4) medieval devotional poetry; (5) Urdu metaphysical poetry; and (6) modern secular poetry. We will read translations of selections from each of these six traditions, appraise them as sources of aesthetic enjoyment from our own points of view and where possible evaluate them in the context of their own place and time. The student will come to know something of Indian aesthetic theories and the continually re-negotiated role of the poet in forming and transforming the ways in which people interpret their own life experience. Each student will introduce one of the poets whose work we will read. The course will require several short papers, at least two of which will be close readings and explanations of individual poems, and at least one other will compare notions of what makes poetry in India and the West. Translation and/or transcreation is an option for some of these assignments. (Hook)
Section 004 - Text, Performance, and Politics in Island Southeast Asia. Island Southeast Asia comprises a mosaic of cultures that have developed through centuries of multicultural interaction. In the unique literary and artistic productions of modern Indonesia and the Philippines are traces of the Indian classics, Islamic mystical texts, and Christian passion plays. Literary art in the islands is often self-consciously political; that is, it is concerned with social criticism and transformation. Many of these Southeast Asian literary texts are brought to life as performance art. In this seminar we will consider how art and life mutually inform one another in Southeast Asian social and political contexts. We will do this by exploring a variety of Southeast Asian literary and artistic productions (literature, theater, film). Our perspective will be historical and interdisciplinary. We will reflect upon the spectacular wayang shadow plays of Java, exploring the form both as theater art and as historical-cultural formation. We will venture into the prophetic and poetic world of an exiled 19th-century Javanese king. And we will explore the modern literary works of a 20th-century Indonesian exile (the award-winning novelist, Pramoedya Ananta Toer). We will consider the revolutionary anti-colonial literary works of Jose Rizal, father of the of the Philippine nation. We will explore several contemporary Southeast Asian films, especially noting the cultural and sexual politics that inform them. Finally we will work intensively with the writings of a contemporary Balinese director-playwright, producing one of his plays as our final class project. Course requirements include active engagement in class discussion, several short papers critically studying individual texts or problems, and participation in the class play. (Florida)
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S&SEA Language Courses
Standard Thai, the language of Thailand, is typical of several Asian languages in its grammar and tonal pronunciation. Focus of the course is the use of language in everyday situations. Upon successful completion of the two-term sequence, students will be able to conduct conversation dealing with several survival concerns, e.g., introduction, ordering food, transportation, banking, post-office trip, shopping, etc. From the first day of class, students will learn Thai scripts and will be able to read course materials and short passages in Thai at the end of the term. Writing assignments are also assigned. Thai cultures, history, geography, etc. will be offered both in the content of the language lessons and supplementary presentations. Placement test required before registration. (Krishnamra)
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103. Beginning Indonesian. (5). (LR).
Indonesian is the national language of Indonesia, a country noted for its rich and deep cultural heritage as well as for its remarkable cultural diversity. With its 200 million speakers, Indonesian is the sixth most prevalently spoken of the world languages. The relatively simple syntactic and grammatical structures which characterize Indonesian make it an accessible language for native speakers of English. The elementary course comprises a two-term sequence designed to provide the student with a basic working knowledge of the Indonesian language. The course aims at the acquisition of the four basic language skills - listening, speaking, reading, and writing - in modern Indonesian. The class emphasizes aural-oral exercises and practice and the learning of culture throughout the course. The text used is keyed to a set of tapes for use in the language lab and concentrates on practical knowledge of the language. Evaluation is based on classroom performance, homework assignments, tests, and a final exam. (Sudarsih)
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105. Elementary Hindi-Urdu. No credit granted to those who have completed or are enrolled in S&SEA 315 or 365. (4). (LR).
South and Southeast Asia 105-106 is the first year in the sequence of Hindi-Urdu courses offered by the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures. Hindi and Urdu are the respective national languages of India and Pakistan. The course meets four hours per week in four sessions. If enrollments warrant, there will be a separate two credit course during the Fall Term intended for students who have some knowledge of the spoken language but do not know the writing system. Only the Devanagari writing system is introduced. The course concentrates on developing skills in reading, writing, speaking, and aural comprehension. Evaluation is based on attendance, written homework assignments, quizzes, dictations, and examinations. There are no prerequisites (no previous knowledge of Hindi is required). (Siddiqi)
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107. Beginning Tagalog. (4). (LR).
Tagalog/Filipino is the national language of the Philippines. Beginning Tagalog is a two-term sequence designed to give the student who has little or no knowledge of Tagalog the necessary basis for learning to speak it and to have an acquaintance with the cultural context in which it functions. Tagalog is particularly interesting in the way it has integrated the broad influences of both Spanish and English into its own syntactic and semantic systems. The oral approach is greatly emphasized in the classroom, using questions and answers and short dialogues to develop active use of the language in the most natural way possible. This is complemented by the use of taped lessons. There are frequent short quizzes, short dialogues, and a final examination. At the end of the first year, the student should be able to handle brief exchanges in common social situations and to read and write simple dialogues and essays in Tagalog. Text is Conversational Tagalog: A Functional-Situational Approach by Teresita Ramos. Supplementary readings and audio-visual presentations will be provided when appropriate. (Agas-Weller)
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109. Beginning Sanskrit. No credit granted to those who have completed or are enrolled in S&SEA 369. (3). (LR).
This course will work toward developing a proficiency with the basic tools necessary to read and write Sanskrit, the classical language of India. Lessons will include study of the script (Devanagari), elementary grammar, and vocabulary. The grade will be based on completion of regular homework assignments, weekly quizzes, a midterm, and a final exam. (Deshpande)
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111. Beginning Punjabi. No credit granted to those who have completed or are enrolled in S&SEA 371. (4). (LR).
This course offers an introduction to spoken and written Punjabi, a major language of northern India and of Pakistan, with some 80 million speakers. The course will include reading and writing (Gurmukhi script) as well as the spoken language. Students will be encouraged to begin basic conversation in class. The written aspects of language will be introduced through graded readings and written exercises. The emphasis will be on basic constructions, composition, vocabulary development, and conversational skills. Particular attention will be paid toward developing a basic practical proficiency in the language. Students will be introduced to the rich cultural heritage of the Punjab. A video film will be shown to examine the spoken language of the Punjab. Throughout the course the students will be encouraged to communicate in Punjabi Language. (Singh)
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113. Elementary Tamil. No credit granted to those who have completed or are enrolled in S&SEA 373. (4). (LR).
This course offers an introduction to spoken and written Tamil, the major Dravidian language spoken in Tamil Nadu, the largest state in southern India, and by the largest minority in Sri Lanka, Singapore, and Malaysia. It is one of the oldest languages of the world with a literary tradition beginning in 3 BC. All major language skills - listening, speaking, reading, and writing - are covered. The aim of achieving proficiency in speaking comprehension is to enable the student to function effectively in different everyday situations in a native environment. Class meets in a computer lab once or twice a week to practice listening and reading using a multimedia HyperCard software implemented for Tamil. Public access to a section of this software is possible in the computers at the Modern Language Building. A standard textbook is used, supplemented by reference grammars and additional materials selected or specially prepared by the instructor. Recitation sections emphasize speaking and listening in native contexts at normal speed with near-native pronunciation, intonation, rhythm, and appropriate body language. Students learn to handle the script in which Tamil is written. Reading materials introduce the students to the culture and the religion of Tamil speaking people. Evaluation is based on classroom performance, homework assignments, tests, and a final exam. (Manickam)
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115. Beginning Vietnamese. (5). (LR).
Vietnamese 115-116 is the introductory course in reading, listening, speaking, and writing the only language of more than 74 million speakers, from the South to the utmost northern part of Vietnam. This country now adopts the free market economy and needs foreign capital and know-how. With the normalization of U.S.-Vietnamese relations, a knowledge of the Vietnamese language and culture will be a crucial asset in enabling one to participate in many opportunities. This first half of the two-term sequence course is designed to accommodate students with no knowledge of the Vietnamese language, as well those with some knowledge who want to develop the four basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and to improve their knowledge in Vietnamese history and culture. The format will be as follows: four class hours a week will be focused on the aural-oral approach in reading, dialoguing, translating, and responding to the content of the texts using a question-and-answer format. One class hour a week will be devoted to quizzes and tests. In addition, there will be written assignments and works in the language lab. Throughout the course, students will be encouraged to communicate in Vietnamese, and classes will be largely conducted in Vietnamese to develop the students' ability to acquire sufficient automatic fluency in spoken Vietnamese. Students will be graded on classroom performance, class attendance, homework assignments, and a final examination.
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