Please note: This is NOT the most current catalog.

Asian Conversations

http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/asian-studies/asian_conversations/index.html

Director, 2008-09: Katherine Tegtmeyer-Pak (Asian Studies/Political Science)

Faculty, 2008-09: Luying Chen (Asian Studies), Chinese language and literature; Phyllis Larson (Asian Studies), Japanese language and literature; Katherine Tegtmeyer-Pak (Political Science), comparative politics, Asian politics, international relations

Asian Conversations is an interdisciplinary program integrating study of the Chinese and Japanese languages with investigations into the culture, history, language and societies of East Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam and more).

Beginning with the Class of 2011, Asian Conversations will be offered as a sophomore-year option. Students who are studying Chinese or Japanese language will be invited to apply in Spring 2008 for a three-course sequence.

Those accepted into the program will embark on a series of linked courses that explore "Journeys through Asia."

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR THE PROGRAM

https://www.stolaf.edu/committees/curriculum/ge/learning-outcomes.html

COURSES

The Asian Conversations program is an interdisciplinary way to begin a liberal arts education. Whether you plan to major in biology, economics, history, Asian studies, or anything else, the Asian Conversations program offers you an integrated, innovative way to complete required study in foreign language and the liberal arts. In the Asian Conversations program about twenty students study Chinese or Japanese language while they explore the cultures of East Asia through the interdisciplinary courses listed below. For more information about Asian Conversations courses see ASIAN STUDIES.

210 Asian Conversations I: Mapping Journeys

How do pilgrims, travelers and migrants make sense of their journeys in Asia? Students explore maps, histories, tales, and guides that define Asia today and in years past, including at least one of the classic Asian texts; study how cultural, linguistic, economic, religious, social, and political connections and divisions create and sustain communities in Asia; spend the last few weeks of the term planning related projects for their Interim course. Prerequisite: Chinese 112 or Japanese 112 or permission of instructor. Offered Fall Semester.

215 Asian Conversations II: Meeting Sojourners

Students pursue guided fieldwork experience in the country whose language they study, either Japan or China. Activities and readings in this course build on the topics from AS 210 and three semesters of language study. Students explore the double meaning of "sojourner" throughout the course: first, as it applies to their own month-long experience, and second, with regard to local informants who lived elsewhere previously. Students develop projects and follow a process of inquiry that will help them understand how ordinary people construct "Asian" culture and society today.

216 AsianCon2:Meet Sojourners

Students pursue guided fieldwork experience in the United States. Activities and readings in this course build on the topics from AS 210 and three semesters of language study. Students explore the double meaning of "sojourner" throughout the course: first, as it applies to their own month-long experience, and second, with regard to local informants who lived elsewhere previously. Students develop projects and follow a process of inquiry that will help them understand how ordinary people construct "Asian" culture and society today.

220 Asian Conversations III: Interpreting Journeys

Having looked at how people journey through Asia, this final semester in Asian Conversations considers how ideas travel over time and space. Students examine a range of interpretations of Asia, including the spiritual, literary, philosophical and linguistic; and students present the ideas gathered from contacts made during Interim at the beginning of the semester. Additional materials include memoirs, novels, films that share individualized interpretations of Asian journeys. Prerequisite: Chinese 231 or Japanese 231 and Asian Studies 215. Offered Spring Semester.