Sem: T-Reading Women's Lives

This seminar is designed for students to embark on an independent research project centered on the life experiences of East Asian women. Students explore key questions such as: What insights are there into the social, political, and literary roles of women in pre-modern societies? Historically, have women always been seen as subordinate to men, or did they sometimes rise to influential positions—and how were they then perceived by others? How did women express their self-perceptions and identities through writing?

Colq: Korean Film & Media

This course critically examines the representation and evolution of democratic ideals in Korean cinema, television, and visual arts. Through an interdisciplinary approach, this course explores how media narratives have reflected, challenged, and reshaped notions of democracy within the historical and sociopolitical context of South Korea. Key topics include political resistance, civic participation, freedom of expression, and social justice, with an emphasis on the intersection of media, culture, and governance.

Voices From Japan's Margins

Reflecting their marginalized status in Japanese society, minority groups in Japan, including Ainu, burakumin, Korean-Japanese, and Okinawans, have until recently received minimal recognition in modern Japanese literature. This course examines “minority literature” in Japan in order to develop students’ knowledge of the experiences of ethnic minorities in Japan as well as the ways in which these experiences have been reflected in literature and film.

Colq:Women&Narration/Mod Korea

This class explores modern Korean history from women's perspectives. It charts the historical and cultural transformation in modern Korea since the 1920s by coupling key terms of modern history with specific female figures: (1) Colonial modernity with modern girls in the 1920s and 30s; (2) colonization and cold-war regime with "comfort women" and "western princesses" from the 1940s to the 1960s; (3) industrial development under the authoritarian regime in the 1970s with factory girls; and (4) democratization and multiculturalism with rising feminists in the new millennium.

Taiwan: Page, Stage, Screen

This course explores the representation and construction of Taiwanese identity by examining various forms of cultural expression, including literature, film, and performance arts. Through close reading of texts, analysis of films, and study of performances, it encourages students’ critical engagement with a variety of texts and media to understand how Taiwanese identity is expressed, shaped, and contested. All readings are in English translation.

Japanese Women's Writing

This course focuses on the writings of Japanese women from the 10th century until the present. The course examines the foundations of Japan’s literary tradition represented by such early works as Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji and Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book. The course then moves to the late 19th century to consider the first modern examples of Japanese women’s writing. How does the existence of a "feminine literary tradition" in pre-modern Japan influence the writing of women during the modern period?

Self & Society/Chin Fctn/Drama

This survey of traditional Chinese fiction and drama from roughly 800-1900 reads classical tales of the strange, vernacular stories, novels, zaju and chuanqi drama alongside official narratives such as histories and biographies, as well as popular genres like ballads, baojuan (precious scrolls) and tanci (plucking songs). The class considers the ways individuals, family, community and government appear in literature, along with the conflicting loyalties presented by romance, family and the state.

Going Abroad: China

Students learn about Chinese identity, culture, and society as they emerge through transnational encounters, including the lives of Chinese students at Smith and Smith alums in China, as well as institutional, national, and international history. Students explore literary, historical, and archival research materials, and practice interpreting texts with attention to source, genre, context, and audience. Students learn basic archival research skills, and prepare a digital exhibition highlighting selected items from the Smith archive and contextualizing them for a public audience.
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