Vincent K. Pollard Asian Studies Program University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa

Top of ASAN 312.

• Click here to download a .pdf file with the syllabus for ASAN 312 ("Contemporary Asian Civilization").

Top of ASAN 312.

Aat Vervoorn, Re Orient: Change in Asian Societies, 3rd edition (South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Oxford University Press, 2006) is an important source for us this semester.

For your convenience, a "back-up" copy of the third edition (Library call number HN652.5 .V47 2006) is on reserve in Sinclair Library. The second edition (HN652.5 .V47 2002) is also on 2-hour reserve in Sinclair Library - 3rd floor. If you need to consult either of them, ask for it by call number.

Also, for your convenience, three chapters from Vervoorn's book have been scanned for you in the order in which they have been asigned. These chapters are available online as downloadable .pdf files from Sinclair Library's "Electronic Resources":

Chapter 8: "Family Matters"

Chapter 4: "Ethnic Minorities"

Chapter 3: "Human Rights"

To access the file(s) for one or more of the above three readings, do the following:

1) Log on to Hawai‘i Voyager.

2) Click "Reserves."

3) On the "Reserves" search template, use the pull-down menu under "Instructor" to click on "Pollard." It's okay to leave the other fields blank. Then click "Search."

4) Click the link for "*Electronic Reserves UHM - ASAN 312 - Pollard, Vincent - Fall 2008."

5) On the next screen, scroll down to the "E-Items" field to click the link for the chapter that you wish to read.

Top of ASAN 312.

• "Brief chapter summaries" of Aat Vervourn, Re Orient: Change in Asian Societies, 3rd edition (South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Oxford University Press, 2006), "Introduction" and Chapters 1, 2 and 8. Click here for a 13-page Word file with an outline for these chapters.

These outlines are also intended as a model and as encouragement to develop your own outlines for other readings that we will be handling during the remainder of the semester. Meanwhile, you should be taking notes during class, and you may incorporate your own reading notes and class notes into this file.

• "Globalization & Early Indicators of Globalization," handout (3 pp.), 27 January 2009.

• "Asian Governmental systems," handout (3 pp.), 27 January 2009.

• "Contemporary Asian Civilization: Basic political concepts" (downloadable .ppt file).

Top of ASAN 312.

• Historical and contemporary globalizations 1 - Confucius: The movement of ideas, cultural and ethical systems in, into, and from Asia," handout (2 pp.), 29 January 2009.

• "Confucianism in East Asia: The Relational Self and the Social as Sacred" (10 pp.). Click here for a .pptx (PowerPoint) file with this document. (Word 2007 is needed to read this file.)

• The Analects of Confucius introduces two contrasting sources of authority for official governments. What are these two different sources of authority? Why did Confucius prefer that government officials rely on one of these sources rather than the other?

• "Confucianism in East Asia: The relational self and the social as sacred: Five question sets for understand, appreciation, discussion and critique" (downloadable Word file).

• Historical and contemporary globalizations 2 - Chinese Hip-Hop: The movement of ideas, cultural and ethical systems in, into, and from Asia," handout (4 pp.), 29 January 2009.

Top of ASAN 312.

• "Historical and contemporary globalizations 3 - Chŏson Punk: The movement of ideas, cultural and ethical systems in, into, and from Asia," viewing guide/handout (2 pp.), 3 February 2009.

• "Retrospective and prospective," discussion guide / viewing guide (1 p.), 5 February 2009.

Family:
• "Family Matters," 11 study / discussion questions — geared to Vervoorn, Chapter 8 (2 pp.), 10 February 2009.

Ethnic minorities / Human rights:
• "Human Rights / Ethnic Minorities," viewing guide ("The Black Road: On the Front line of Aceh's War") (2 pp.), 17 February 2009.

• Viewing guide: 3 videos on human rights ("Human rights in Burma: A Compilation of Recent Videos," "A Tribe of His Own: The Journalism of J. P. Sainath," and "Human Rights in China: The Search for Common Ground"), viewing guide (3 pp.), 3-5 March 2009.

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Population, Technology, Work & Environment:
• "Asia: Population Density," map (GeoNova), 12 March 2009.

• "Women and Development in Asia," handout (coversheet), 12 March 2009. This coversheet assigns the charts and graphs in Partnerships Moving Beijing Forward — Gender Equality and Empowerment: A Statistical Profile of the ESCAP Region, pp. 5, 9-11, 13-15, 20 and 24-29.

Above, the abbreviation ESCAP refers to the United Nations "Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific."

Top of ASAN 312.

• Study guide (11 questions) to "The World of Work," Ch. 9, in Aat Vervoorn, Re Orient: Change in Asian Societies, 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2005), pp. 243-272, 19 March 2009.

• Viewing guide, "Fishing in a Sea of Greed," 19 March 2009.

• Environmental Impact ("Viewing guide: Comparative environmentalism"), (1 p.), 30 March 2009

• "Environmental Impact," Study guide, (2 pp.), 31 March 2009.

• "Nationalism, integration, conflict and cooperation," viewing guide (journalists' challenges in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand), (2 pp.), 2 April 2009.

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Intermestic politics (intertwining of domestic and international politics):
• "Tug of War: The Story of Taiwan," Viewing guide, (3 pp.), 14 April 2009.

• Viewing guide, the Movement to Demilitarize Okinawa, 2 documentaries (1998, 2005), (3 pp.), 21 April 2009.

Top of ASAN 312.

• Writing Assignment 1 - Short paper: Self-designed Mini-field Trip.
Due: Sunday, 22 March 2009.

• Writing Assignment 2 - book review / article review essay.
Revised deadline: Tuesday, 5 May 2009.

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Test 1 (50 points):
Part A.

• Review all questions in the syllabus.

• Review and synthesize your answers to all questions in the in-class handouts.

• Review all study guides, including chapter outlines for Aat Vervourn, "Introduction" and Chapters 1-2. Note: Doing this does not substitute for reading, comprehending and assimilating the contents of assigned chapters.

• On a political map (showing international borders), identify locations of countries in East, Southeast and South Asia. Also, evaluate or complete verbal statements about the placement of the same countries.

• Compare, contrast and comment on the main types of official governments in East, South and Southeast Asia today.

Part 2 - short essay answers to questions similar to the following ones (16/50 points):

• Even if people disagree on how to define globalization(s), what are some useful different ways of defining, refining and historicizing our understanding of globalization(s)? For a student of Asia, which of the definitions is most useful? And why do you say so?

• How does (do) each of the following social commentators articulate a view of an alternative future (a better, more just society)?

• Why can the experiences of Confucius (551 - 479 BCE) seem familiar to older people in China and elsewhere today? Why do his values seem relevant in the twenty-first century?

• What is global and what is locally distinctive about the performance art of Hip-Hop artists in Shanghai and elsewhere in China since the 1990s?

• What have Chosŏn Punk rockers been saying to — and about — South Korean society since the mid-1990s?

• Answer key, Exam 1, Part 1, Questions 1-34.

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Top of ASAN 312.

Test 2 (50 points):

• Download the study guide for Test 2 (Tuesday, 10 March 2009).

• Answer key, Test 2, Parts A and B.

Test 3 (50 points):

• Download the study guide for Test 3 (Thursday, 9 April 2009).

• Answer key, Test 3, Parts A and B.

Final exam (100 points):

• Early preparation for the final exam, Tuesday, 12 May 2009, at 12:00 Noon - 2:00 p.m.:

• Review issues addressed in Tests 1, 2 and 3.

• Recent & forthcoming elections, (1 pp.), 28 April 2009, as well as your notes on the questions suggested by the small groups in the class that afternoon.

• Lessons from Social Movements in Island East & Southeast Asia, 30 April 2009, as well as your notes on the questions suggested by the small groups in the class that afternoon.

• Take-home question (20%): Choose one of two essay questions — to be completed by Tuesday, 12 May 2009.

• Answer two essay questions (80%): Prepare outlines for three questions, two of which will be on the Final Exam.

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• Asia-focused web pages:

• Asia, comparatively

• Asian nationalisms, social revolutions

• China

• Taiwan Cross-Strait Directory
  Asia-Pacific Digital Library

• Southeast Asia

• 海外华人文化 Chinese Cultures Abroad
  China WWW Virtual Library

• Improving your online research skills:

• Internet credibility

• Search online

• Quote from the Internet

• Pollard's research, writing & other professional activity:

• Curriculum vitae.

Top of ASAN 312.

• Send an e-mail directly to Vincent Pollard.

Top of ASAN 312.

Last modified, 12 May 2009.

© 2008-2009, Vincent K. Pollard.

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