East Asian Studies 215 - PRE-MODERN KOREAN HISTORY

This course is a survey of cultural, social and political history of Korea from early times to the 19th century. We explore major cultural trends, intellectual developments and political shifts during Korea's long dynastic history. Some of the topics include literati culture, nativism and folk culture, gender in traditional Korean society, foreign relations, and Confucianism and kingship. All of these topics are explored through the lens of changing perceptions of public and private lives of those who had become part of both public and private histories and stories of Korea.