Course overview of [Cultural Transformations in East Asia] for major
[code number and «Socio-political Development and Challenges of Modern East Asia»] under Master’s program
The Teaching Course "Cultural Transformations in East Asia"
Master's degree program "Socio-Political Development and Challenges of Modern East Asia"
School of Asian Studies, National Research University-Higher School of Economics
Course syllabus
Instructor: Alexandra Sizova, Dr (Department of Civilizational Development of the East, Associate Professor)
Outline
I. Course description
The proposed elective course explores the processes related to modernization and cultural transformations in contemporary East Asia, realities precipitating them as well as factors influencing their emergence and dynamics. At the same time the discipline examines history of cultural development of the region, challenges faced by culture traditions of East Asia and forms of responses to those challenges. Using the interdisciplinary approach, a solid complex of classic and contemporary theoretical approaches, methods and major interpretative currents, the course deals with diversity of transformation processes in East Asia and their effects for various aspects of the societies’ and states’ development (economy, political and social life, security, etc.), international and intercultural relations. It specially considers ethnicity, religion, territory, language and other factors in connection with social and cultural change in the region, and media, commerce, contemporary means of communication as leverages of maintaining continuity of culture and cooperation in East Asia. One of the main tasks of the course is analyzing the prospects of cultural transformations in the region in the broader cultural, political and social context, evaluation of possible effects of those processes for the future of Asia and the world.
The course is intended for the second year students of the Master’s program "Socio-Political Development and Challenges of Modern East Asia".
Pre-requisites (required academic background)
The pre-requisites for participating at the course include essential knowledge of the main aspects of world history, history of international relations, history of culture, world geography as well as research methodology on the Bachelor level. It is desirable that the students have background training in Asian studies. Participation in the seminars requires sufficient competence in using principles and methods of social studies required the Bachelor level and 1st year Master’s level.
In the content respect, the course is closely linked with other courses within the curriculum of the Master’s program “Socio-political Development and Challenges of Modern East Asia”, such as “International Relations and Processes in Asia”, “International Relations and Globalization Processes in Asia”, “Asian Diasporas and Asian Cultures in the Contemporary World” and other courses, which determines its harmonious integration in the curriculum. The interdisciplinary nature of the course presupposes that students shall frequently resort to the knowledge and skills obtained during their study at the MA program in Comparative Asian Studies.
II. The course objectives and learning outcomes
A. The main academic objective of the course is to introduce to students cutting-edge scientific developments in the field of studies of cultural transformations in East Asia studies applied and develop their theoretical and practical skills in analyzing origins, specificities, factors, effects of those transformation processes, identifying trends of their development. The discipline is aimed at teaching would-be Masters to critically examine various East Asia-related issues through the prism of contemporary culture studies, identify historical and culture parallels in development of certain countries, territories, national and communities. At the same time, the course is meant to equip students with theoretical and methodological tools for conducting applied critical and comparative analysis of various processes in East Asia involving culture changes. The meta-subject objective of the course is to advance students’ critical and independent thinking, skills in synthesising and contextualizing new subject-related information, evaluate their own standpoints on the research problem, to integrate theoretical knowledge with empirical example.
B. Learning outcomes
After completing of the course the students will be able to:
1. to identify origins, factors, key components, features and consequences of cultural transformations in East Asia (from historical and contemporary perspectives)
2. to correctly use key terms and concepts related to culture issues applied to East Asian region as well as major classic and contemporary scientific approaches to studying culture issues in East Asia particularly and in the world on the whole
3. to identify and explain the basic challenges and trends in historical and contemporary cultural development of East Asia in the regional and global context
4. to adequately use instruments of the contemporary social science methodology in conducting research in Asian studies and culture issues in particular
5. to effectively work with literature and different types of information resources, to locate, analyse, evaluate, synthesise information on East Asian issues from a wide variety of sources
6. to distinguish between incoherent explanation and well-ground argumentation
7. to be able to cooperate with colleagues on key issues of East Asian studies andcommunicate own findings to other course participants
8. to critically assess own oral presentations, explanations and written works and performance of the colleagues, make references of the others’ work
III. The course structure
The course is attached to the block of the elective courses and is taught at the second year of the Master’s program. The total amount of hours entitled for the course is 108 hours (42 hours of work at class and 66 academic hours of self-study). The course consists of 15 lectures and 6 seminars.
The distribution of the teaching time is as follows:
Number of weeks / 2Number of hours
for examination / 1
Number of credit units: 3
IV. Syllabus
The course schedule
Total class hours / Self-study / Total hoursLectures / Seminars
30 / 12 / 66 / 108
Course plan (by topics)
Index number of class / Title of the topic / Distribution of hoursby a form of work
Lectures / Seminars / Self-study
Origins, Factors and Features of Cultural Transformations in East Asia
1 / Cultural Transformation as a Subject of Study: Theoretical and Practical Approaches. Key Terms and Concepts / 2 / 4
2 / Foundations of Civilization and Culture in East Asia. Historical overview of Cultural Transformation in East Asia. Issues of Cultural Identity in the Historical Perspective / 2 / 6
3 / Tradition and Innovation in Cultural History of East Asia. Factors (endogenous and exogenous) and Specific Features of Cultural Change and Modernity in the Region / 2 / 6
4 / Culture and Territory. Cultural Geography of the Region. Coexistence and Mutual Influence of Cultures in East Asia. Cross-Culture Effects. Notion of “East Asian Cultural Sphere”. The Role of Diasporas in Asia’s Cultural Transformation / 2 / 4
5 / Culture, Ethnicity and Language in East Asia. Ethnicity and Identity. Nationalism and Culture. The Role of Ethnic and Linguistic Diversity in Cultural Transformations in East Asia / 2 / 4
6 / Religion, Philosophic Traditions and Cultural Change in East Asia (Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Christianity) / 2 / 2 / 4
7 / Culture and State: Political Culture and Cultural Policies in East Asia / 2 / 4
8 / Economic Roots of Cultural Change. Role of Capitalism and Consumerism / 2 / 4
Effects of Cultural Transformations in the Development of Contemporary East Asia
9 / Politics, Ideology and Culture Transformation. Political Culture Transformations and Civil Society Issues. Impact on Political Development and Security of East Asia / 2 / 2 / 4
10 / Culture, Economic and Social Change in East Asia: Discovering New Horizons and Opportunities. Impact on Economies and Business Culture. Education and Science. Human Development Implications. Cultural Transformations and Gender Issues in East Asia / 2 / 2 / 4
11 / Interaction of Cultures in Contemporary East Asia. Regional Cultural Cooperation. Culture and Conflict in East Asia. Cultural Roots of Contradictions? / 2 / 4
12 / Cultural Transformations and Global Cultural Dialogue. Changing place of East Asian Cultures in the Globalizing World. Transnationalizing Culture of East Asia. New National Images to the World. New East Asia and Global Culture Trends. Public Diplomacy and “Soft Power” of the East Asian States. / 2 / 2 / 4
13 / Information and Media Boom in East Asia. Cyber Culture in Modern East Asia: Role of Internet and Social Networks / 2 / 4
14 / Culture Transformations and Art in East Asia (Literature, Music, Cinema). On the Way of Creating National Brands in Art. Transformation of Popular Culture and Everyday Culture in East Asia. Culture and Environment in Contemporary Asia’s View / 2 / 4
15 / Culture Transformation and Contemporary Challenges Facing East Asia. Challenges to Modern Culture in the Region. Post-Modern Era and Asian Culture Transformations / 2 / 2 / 6
Final Colloquium / 2
Total / 28 / 14 / 66
V. Assessment system
A. Assessment criteria
The grading system is based at the “10-point” approach to evaluating students’ knowledge.
The form of the final control is a final essay and a final colloquium.
B. Grading taxonomy
Grading item / Total scoreParticipation / 0-15%
Written & oral assignments / 0-25%
Tutorial presentation / 0-20%
Final essay / 0-30%
Final colloquium / 0-10%
C. Grading Policy and Assessment Items
Students should participate in all kinds of work during the course.
1. Assignments: 75%
Ø Written assignments (analytical papers, critical reading papers, article reviews) (5% each, total: 25%)
Ø Tutorial presentation (20%). The students’ presentation demonstrates the results of their research on the topic to be chosen in the beginning of the course. The presentation reveals students’ knowledge of the topic they have developed, an ability to persuasively answer their colleagues’ questions, make coherent argumentation as well as their public speech skills.
Ø Final essay on the selected topic (30%): Format: Times New Roman, 12, 1.5 space, min.12-max 15 pages. The students choose a topic within the course-related range of topics upon consultation with the professor. The essay should contain elements of scientific research. The requirements for the essay writing are to be provided by the professor in advance. The paper should be original with an abstract, annotated bibliography and outline, proper footnotes and quotation marks. The students submit the essays to the professor 10 days before the end of the course.
2. Participation: 15%
The course contains a number of seminars and interactive lectures. The participation implies seminar discussions, oral and written answers to the professor’s questions based on the readings, etc. The discussion is lead by the professor and may take different forms. In the end of the class every student gets a proper mark. One class participation totals max. 10 points. A student abstaining from answer gets 0 points. Class attendance is essential. Students who stayed away from a class can get additional points by fulfilling additional tasks assigned by the professor. The total score is 20%.
3. Final Colloquium: 10%. The colloquium discussion covers the whole range of topics addressed during the course. Every student should give substantial answers to at least 2 questions. The total score for one question is 5 points. The professor evaluates the content of the answer, the level of argumentation, a critical view on the issue.
The grading system for the assessment items
“Outstanding” / 10 points / A+“Very good” / 8-9 points / A-,A
“Good” / 6-7 points / B-B,
“Satisfactory” / 4-5 points / C,C-
“Poor” / 1-3 points / F
VI. The course policy and Requirements
· Students are required to fulfil all the components of assessment in order to get a final grade for the course.
· Reading, analyzing and synthesizing of the required readings is a pre-requisite for participating at every class.
· Attendance of the classes is essential.
· Contribution to the discussions at class is extremely significant for successful completion of the course and for achieving the main learning goals.
· A student’s absence at class or abstaining from answer equals to “0” points for participation.
· Students’ absence at less than a half of classes equals to “0” points for participation.
· Submitting of less than a half of the required assignments equals to “0” points for activity on seminars.
· Late paper submissions, plagiarism and “copy-paste” will be punished by deducing 5 points per case of breach of the order.
VII. Teaching methodology
Besides traditional teaching methods, the course involves a number of interactive methods (round table discussions, panel discussions, work in pairs, interactive tutorials, etc.) and requires active participation of students during class discussions. The teaching is aimed at developing academic, cognitive, transferrable skills and is completely oriented at active learning. The employed methods of teaching suppose to develop independent thinking, critical assessment, own thought formulation, practice special techniques of analysis. The professor applies a set of traditional and new teaching tools in order to deliver the course in an engaging and effective way.
The professor compiles a collection of suggested readings and provides it to the students in the electronic or printed form.
VIII. Special Equipment and Software Support
· A computer with an up-to date operating system
· A multimedia projector
· Secure Internet connection
IX. List of recommended literature and sources
A. Essential readings
1. Across Cultural Borders: Historiography In Global Perspective. Ed. Eckhardt Fuchs, Benedikt Stuchtey. Rowman & Littlefield, 2002.
2. Barbara A. Weightman. Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East, and Southeast Asia. 3rd edition. Wiley, 2011.
3. Carolyn Brown Heinz. Asian Cultural Traditions. Waveland Pr Inc, 1999.
4. Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
5. Mark Beeson. Regionalism and Globalization in East Asia. Politics, Security and Economic Development. 2nd edition. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
6. Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Anne Walthall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Cengage Learning, 2013.