Fall 2011
Courses for Asian Pacific American Studies (APAS)
Survey Course
AMST / ENAM 3180 Introduction to Asian-American Studies
1400-1515 TR - CABELL 341
Sylvia Chong
The historical experiences of Asian Americans--a broad, panethnic category inclusive of Americans with roots in the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Japan, North and South Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and more--shed light on issues of immigration, citizenship, education, war, labor, and assimilation which have affected all Americans to differing degrees. This "multi-media" cultural history will draw heavily on American visual and popular culture to situate, visualize, and define Asian Americans at various historical moments against and alongside African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, and white Americans. Some of these moments involve intense conflict and division, while others gesture towards camaraderie and affiliation. This class will be neither a simplistic celebration of ethnic pride and diversity, nor a condemnation of American history as singularly oppressive, although we will acknowledge both these strands. Rather, the eclectic materials of this class will replicate the heterogeneous history and make-up of Asian America, and establish Asian America as a relationship with itself and with America, rather than a thing to isolate and analyze. This is an introductory course that assumes no prior knowledge of Asian American history. During the semester, we will concentrate on developing close reading skills for visual, cinematic and textual materials. We will engage with a number of primary texts from various genres, spanning the mid-19th century to contemporary times. While obviously not an exhaustive overview of Asian Americans in American cultural history, we will try to touch upon a diverse range of historical moments and cultural and political issues, so as to gain insight into the interconnectedness of multi-ethnic America. Tentative list of texts: The Coming Man, The Four Immigrants Manga, Bontoc Eulogy, Continuous Journey, History and Memory, Flower Drum Song, Who Killed Vincent Chin, Sa-I-Gu, Perfume Dreams, Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.
Theory / Comparative Courses
AAS 1010 Introduction to African-American and African Studies I
Roquinaldo Ferreira
TR 12:30 - 1:45 Wilson Hall 301
ANTH 3010 THEORY AND HISTORY OF ANTHROPOLOGY
RATANAPRUCK
TR 1100-1215
This course is designed for students who are majoring in anthropology. It presents a broad historical outline of major theoretical approaches in the field, from the late 19th century to the present. These approaches will be examined in relation to both evolving debates within the discipline, and the larger historical, cultural and intellectual contexts in which they were produced, and which they to some degree reflect; we will also discuss the enduring relevance of these theories. The course stresses close reading of primary texts and emphasizes in particular the critical analysis of these texts' arguments. The discussion section is obligatory. This is a required course for anthropology majors.
ENCR 4500 Feminist Theory
1230-1345 TR - CABELL 431
Instructor: Susan Fraiman
An introduction to American feminist criticism and theory. This course pairs novels and other works by women with theoretical essays in order to contrast diverse feminist approaches. I expect to explore such themes as looking/voyeurism, mother-daughter relations, mobility/migration, incarceration/escape, and conflicts/commonalities among women. We will also broach such theoretical issues as how to narrate the development of feminist theory, the contributions of queer theory, the logic of canon formation, the meanings of third-wave feminism, and the way gender intersects with other axes of identity/analysis (race, sexuality, class, etc.). Possible primary texts (still very tentative) include Jane Eyre, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, The Well of Loneliness, Zami, Mona in the Promised Land, a contemporary film, and a popular romance. Probable theorists include Laura Mulvey, Eve Sedgwick, Susan Stanford Friedman, Chandra Mohanty, and Judith Butler, among a great many others. 5-page paper, 10-page paper, and a final exam. Please contact me in advance if you would like to be put on my waiting list.
PLPT 3020 Modern Political Thought
Stephen White
MWF 1:00 - 1:50 New Cabell Hall 215
SOC 3410Race and Ethnic Relations
Milton Vickerman
MoWe 2:00PM - 2:50PMNew Cabell Hall 311
Introduces the study of race and ethnic relations, including the social and economic conditions promoting prejudice, racism, discrimination, and segregation. Examines contemporary American conditions, and historical and international materials.
Transnational Courses
ANTH 2559-002 JAPAN: CULTURE & MODERNITY
TBA
TR 0930-1045
This course offers an introductory survey of Japan from an anthropological perspective. It is open without prerequisite to anyone with a curiosity about what is arguably the most important non-Western society of the last 100 years, and to anyone concerned about the diverse conditions of modern life. We will range over many aspects of contemporary Japan, and draw on scholarship in history, literature, religion, and the various social sciences. The requirements include two short papers and one longer final paper with a graded rough draft.
ANTH 3700 CONTEMPORARY INDIA
KHARE
T 1400-1630
An anthropological discussion of selected changing aspects of and issues in India since independence, with a focus on interdependently transforming Indian modernity and traditions in the (a) changisng social organization; (b) leaders, caste politics and Indian democracy; (c) social inequalities, Indian modernity and the middle class; (d) religious diversity, religious rituals and politics; and (e) India in the Indian Diaspora.
CHTR 4559Women and Writing Modern China
Charles Laughlin
We 1:00PM - 3:30PMNew Cabell Hall 225
JPTR 4890Women's Fiction and the Other Japan
Michiko Wilson
We 3:30PM - 6:00PMWilson Hall 140
HIEA 1501 (2)Hiroshima in History & Memory
Robert Stolz
Mo 6:00PM - 8:30PMGibson 241
This discussion seminar will use multiple perspectives and methods to explore the enormity of the events of 8:15 am Monday August 6,1945. We will also examine the tension between history and memory and the role of historical knowledge. This is not a course on tactics, military history, or the war itself. There will be a review paper, short response papers, in-class writing, and a final student-designed research project.
HIEA 3559 The Japanese Empire
Robert Stolz
MoWe 2:00PM - 3:15PMNau 141
This lecture and informal discussion course will explore the political, social, cultural, and economic issues of the Japanese empire from roughly 1895-1945. We will use theoretical and historical readings. There will be occasional short writing exercises, a take-home midterm, one paper, and a take-home final exam.
HISA 1501 AFPAK: Civl Soc & Insurgency
Richard Barnett
Fr 1:00PM - 3:30PMGibson 241
Subject and focus: Two modern nation-states under enormous stress. Assessing society and politics in Afghanistan and Pakistan will sharpen our historical awareness, help us understand the world’s most urgent and frustrating confrontation, and polish our writing and debating skills. No acquaintance with South Asia, or even with history, is assumed.
Texts: The following are available at U.Va. Bookstore:
Owen Bennett Jones, Pakistan: Eye of the Storm (Yale U.P., 2003)
Stephen P. Cohen, The Idea of Pakistan (Washington: Brookings, 2004)
Thomas Barfield, Afghanistan: A Cultural and Political History (Princeton University Press, 2010)
Ahmad Rashid, Descent into Chaos (New York: Viking, 2008)
Ahmad Rashid, Taliban. Buy this on line for c. $2.00--copies are plentiful.
Brillig Books, 7 Elliewood Ave., have photocopied articles, listed below as“PH-COPY.” Readings must be completed before class (see dated headings, below) to maintain an intelligent, active level of discussion and participation.
Requirements: No exams. Evaluation will rest on class discussion (40%), plus three closely-edited and polished essays of two, three, and six typed pages, at intervals (60%). No late or handwritten papers will be accepted without a truly superb excuse, such as a life-changing emergency. I will edit and comment very intensely, beyond anything you have experienced, even in UVa’s Writing Center, and you will resubmit revised versions of papers #two and #three. Standard for all papers: one-inch margins, 12-pt. Geneva or Times font, succinct title., pp. numbers (pages 2 and up) in upper-right corners. AND proper footnotes!! Successful work in this course meets the second writing requirement. I will at the right time hand out history footnote style templates.
HISA 2003History of Modern India
Neeti Nair
TuTh 2:00PM - 3:15PMNew Cabell Hall 345
A survey course, major topics include conflict and accommodation in the Indo-Islamic world; change and continuity under colonial rule; competing ideas on the shape and substance of a new India; and the Partition of the subcontinent in 1947. This course is the first of a two-semester sequence: in the spring we will focus on Twentieth century South Asia.
The following textbooks will be available in the bookstore: Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal, Modern South Asia: History, Culture, Political Economy (3rd edition) and Ramachandra Guha, A Corner of a Foreign Field: the Indian History of a British Sport.
Other required readings consisting of primary and secondary sources will be placed on collab. Films will also be used.
Course requirements include attendance and active participation in class (15%); a book review (20%); a midterm exam (25%); and a final exam (40%).
HISA 4501The Partition of India
Neeti Nair
We 1:00PM - 3:30PM Nau 142
The Partition of India has been the defining political misstep in 20th century South Asia, confounding centuries of fluid identities in one sweeping irreversible decision. In this course we examine the texture of life in pre-Partition Punjab, the United Provinces (UP) and Bengal; detail the denouement in political negotiations that culminated in Partition; consider the violence that became constitutive of Partition; and mark the enormous consequences of the international boundary line separating India from Pakistan and later, Bangladesh. Films, fiction and a range of primary and secondary sources will be used. A five page proposal will be due for the mid-term. The final essay of 18-20 pages will be a research paper drawing upon a range of primary sources like the Transfer of Power volumes, contemporary newspapers, collections of correspondence, memoirs, Partition literature etc. The following books will be available for purchase at the bookstore:
Ayesha Jalal, The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the demand for Pakistan, Cambridge University Press, [1985], 1994
Neeti Nair, Changing Homelands: Hindu Politics and the Partition of India, Harvard University Press, 2011
Vazira Fazila-Yacoobali Zamindar, The Long Partition and the Making of Modern South Asia: Refugees, Boundaries, Histories, New York: Columbia University Press, 2007
All other chapters from books, journal articles and short pieces of fiction will be made available on collab. This research seminar fulfils the second writing requirement. Permission of the instructor is required to register for the course. Prior coursework in South Asian Studies/ History will serve as a prerequisite for this course. The reading load will average 200 pages a week.
Course requirements include active participation in discussions (20%); weekly one-page position papers (20%); a short proposal of 5 pages (10%), the presentation of research (10%) and the final research paper of 18-20 pages (40%).
PLCP 3610Chinese Politics
Brantly Womack
MoWe 3:30PM - 4:45PMGibson 341
General introduction to Chinese politics in its societal context. Conveys a concrete appreciation of China's societal reality and how it interacts with the political system. Covers China's changing role in Asia and the world. Prerequisite: Some background in comparative politics and/or the history of China.
PLCP 3630Politics in India and Pakistan
John Echeverri-Gent
TuTh 11:00AM - 12:15PMGibson 241
Surveys political development in India and Pakistan examining the process of nation-building, the causes of democratization and authoritarian rule, the development of ethnic and religious conflict, environmental politics, the political impact of cultural globalization, and gender-related political issues. Prerequisite: Some background in comparative politics and/or study of history and society in South Asia.
SATR 2110Cultural Translation: Travel Writing in South Asia
Mehr Farooqi
TuTh 11:00AM - 12:15PMNew Cabell Hall 215
Travel writing is among the oldest forms of literature, especially in Asia. This course explores depictions of the Indian sub-continent by travel writers from Buddhist pilgrims to Arab geographers to colonial and post-colonial writers.
SATR 3000South Asian Literature Across Borders
Mehr Farooqi
We 3:30PM - 6:00PMNew Cabell Hall 215
We will read and critique the fiction and poetry of culturally specific regions while reflecting on the assumption that experiences and identities are fundamentally gendered. We will explore issues associated with women writing in regional languages to writing in mainstream languages like Hindi, Urdu and English. We will also examine how the publication and dissemination of women's texts are related to the women movements in India and Pakistan. Prerequisite: Completion of First Writing Requirement
Electives
AMST 2001Formations of American Cultural Studies
Sylvia Chong and Jennifer Greeson
TuTh 12:30PM - 1:45PMMaury Hall 104
AMST 2500Language in the US
Ashley Williams
MoWe 3:30PM - 4:45PMBryan Hall 328
ANTH 3155 ANTHROPOLOGY OF EVERYDAY AMERICAN LIFE
DAMON
MWF 1000-1050
Taking a production and exchange orientation to society, this course uses anthropological models to analyze aspects of the US experience in North America and its extension into the world. The models will be drawn primarily from the anthropological analysis of exchange, rites of transition, sacrifice and mythology. Although introduced by issues drawn from the immediate questions of American culture, the course has a serious historical orientation. It runs from our 19th century foundation up to contemporary crises. In addition to attending class and a Discussion section students will write several response papers (2-4 pages/) and one research project outline/paper (10+/_ pages) built out of the response papers but involving additional library or ethnographic research. There will be no tests; in-class quizzes may be given. The course should satisfy Second Writing Requirement.
ENAM 4500 Modern Love in the US
0930-1045 TR - CABELL 338
Victoria Olwell
Maybe love is eternal, but it’s also historical and ideological. It’s shaped by custom, law, and narrative, and it’s central to the formation of private and public life alike. This course examines romantic love in U.S. prose fiction in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Our literary readings will cross genres: romance, realism, modernism, pulp, and noir. In addition, we’ll read primary texts of marital advice literature, medical writing, case law, and other non-fiction. We’ll interpret our reading in light of historical changes in conceptions of love, based in factors including shifting economic conditions, changing legal and social conceptions of marriage, citizenship, and queer sexualities, and turn-of-the-century psychological models. We’ll discern the connections between romantic love and ideas of race, gender, nationhood and empire. The course will likely include literary works by Helen Hunt Jackson, Frank Norris, Sui Sin Far, Willa Cather, Nella Larsen, Gertrude Stein, Zora Neale Hurston, and James M. Caine, among others. Your work for the course will be this: a short paper, a presentation in class, and a longer final paper. This is a seminar, so come ready to talk.
ENAM 4500 Space and Time in Harlem
1530-1800 R - BRYAN 312
Sandhya Shukla
ENCR 4500 Race in American Places
1830-2100 R - BRYAN 330
Ian Grandison
ENLT 2526 Migrant Fiction
0930-1045 TR - CABELL 241 Restricted to 1st and 2nd Year Students
Mrinalini Chakravorty
Salman Rushdie has written that, “Migration offers us one of the richest metaphors of our age.” Taking Rushdie’s claim as our starting point, this course explores the complexity of the metaphor of migration through the study of a diverse body of Anglophone novels that specifically fictionalize experiences of migration. Contemporary literary imaginings of migration are framed equally by the utopian possibilities as well as the dystopic material realities that define a uniquely migrant modernity. On the one hand, migrant cultures are seen to elide national boundaries, enable cultural encounters, and collapse fantasies of a homogeneously cohesive national narrative. In this sense, an emergent literary aesthetics of migrancy seems to celebrate flexible forms of belonging in the world: as hybrid, metro-sexual, transcultural, nomadic, cosmopolitan, multi-lingual etc. On the other, the migrant figure, liminal and ever shifting, also represents the collective phantasms of modernity working out their own scenes of inequity and exclusion. In this second sense, the migrant imaginary is also a political one concerned with those axes of belonging and non-belonging - as citizen or alien, patriot or traitor, legal or illegal, native or naturalized - that continue to stratify our societies. Our study will take seriously these various historical, social, and literary figurations through which recent seminal texts of world literature represent migration. We will begin with the premise that the migrant perspective is an important one in the context of new English literatures because the metaphors of journey, unrootedness, mobility, dispossession, and exile that frame it are useful to understanding the complex situation of our present world. In order to have a sense of the global scope and relevance of the topic, we will read a range of novels that focus exclusively on stories of migration. Among others, we will read works by Desai, Lahiri, Aidoo, Kincaid, Selvadurai, Al-Shaykh, Ali, and Rushdie.
ENLT 2548 Ethnic American Literature
100-1050 MWF - CABELL B020
Restricted to 1st and 2nd Year Students
Nathan Ragain
In this course, we will compare major works of Asian American, Native American, and Latina/o literature, concentrating on literature from the 1960s to the present. The primary goal of this course is to develop close reading skills and tools of literary analysis, and to this end, we will engage with the formal and linguistic experiments developed by contemporary ethnic writers. We will also consider the ways that writers from these ethnic traditions imagine and negotiate conflicts between ethnic and national identity, particularly in the wake of Civil Rights and the radical movements of the 1960s and 70s. Paying particular attention to the ways that literature frames the relationship between the writer and social spaces such as the reservation, the urban barrio, Chinatowns, and internment camps, we will trace narratives of community, exclusion, multiculturalism, and the role of gender in developing ethnic literary traditions. The course focuses primarily on works of fiction and drama, but readings will be supplemented by shorter works of poetry and political writing. Writers include Leslie Marmon Silko, Karen Tei Yamashita, Frank Chin, Sherman Alexie, and Piri Thomas.