Global Arc

This course is targeted to students whose Japanese proficiency is at an advanced or superior level. Students will discuss various issues using dramas, short novels, and editorials, and learn Japanese in academic or professional settings. Prerequisite: JPN 306 or equivalent. Two 90-minute classes.

Selected readings from short stories, essays, and newspapers. Two 90-minute classes. Prerequisite: 401 or instructor's permission.

Introduction to the fundamentals of classic Japanese grammar. This course trains students to read premodern Japanese historical and literary texts. Texts: Taketori monogatari, Makura no soshi, Tosa nikki, etc. Prerequisite: two years of modern Japanese. Three hours.

Close reading of selected premodern Japanese texts from Nara to Meiji. Texts: Oku no hosomichi, Uji shui monogatari, etc. Prerequisite: 403 or instructor's permission. Three hours.

This course emphasizes continued development of the four skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) used in academic or professional settings. Materials include novels, essays, reports, films, and documentaries. Prerequisite: JPN 402 or equivalent.

A continuation of JPN 407. This course emphasizes continued development of the four skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) used in academic or professional settings. Materials include novels, essays, reports, films, and documentaries. Prerequisite: JPN 407 or equivalent.

The seminar will concentrate upon themes and topics in Latin American history, politics, society, literature, and/or culture. The focus will vary from year to year.

The seminar will draw on Anibal Quijano's work to explore three major themes: the intertwined notions of race and gender in Latin America; the understanding of gender and patriarchy in the work of contemporary decolonial feminist theory; and the oppressive intersectional inequalities introduced by the Conquest and colonization that continue to shape our world. Although Quijano's scholarship tends to be read in a disjointed and disconnected way, this course will take a more unified approach. This seminar will be taught by PLAS fellow Rita Segato, an internationally acclaimed anthropologist and feminist thinker.

This course examines the world of political regimes and regime transitions. Why are some countries democracies and others dictatorships? Why does democracy sometimes break down? Why so some dictatorships eventually democratize? We will explore these questions through a diverse range of cases. We will learn about cases from Latin America and beyond, including the world's biggest democracy (India) and the world's biggest authoritarian regime (China).

How have Black healers and communities conceived of health and healing throughout history? Notions of health and healing and healing practices in the "Black Atlantic" (inclusive of Africa and the Americas) from the era of slavery to the present are the focus of this course. Students will engage with primary sources, historical and sociological scholarship, and historical documentaries concerning healing and Black life.