History of Asian Civilization I
History 253

    Requirements  I  Syllabus 

Museum Field Project  I Country Paper
  Cultural Project I  Library Assignment  I  Summer Syllabus

   The biggest continent with the largest population and some of the most dynamic economies on earth offer a multitude of reasons for the study of Asian Civilization.  Some social scientists see the Pacific Rim as the key to America's economic future;  others regard Asia as a hot house for producing new flu viruses. 

   Geopolitics appears to have been invented for the analysts of Inner Asia and its hard-riding horsemen.  And what about High Asia, as the historian Harold Lamb called it?  Here is material enough for a dozen movies of romantic adventure--dealing with everything from the steppe to the frozen artic.

   My point here is to underline the wealth of information to be found in the study of Asia.  As the twenty-first century develops, it is likely that the economic weight of the continent will grow. United States-Asian relations are a growth area as old regimes crumble and are replaced by business-oriented governments.  The only empty land to be found in the Old World is the vast expanse of Siberia--with plenty of space for China's teeming millions. 

   If we turn to West Asia we can locate potential trouble spots in Iran, the breakaway republics of the former Soviet Union, and Afghanistan as fundamentalism continues to win converts.  What is less well known is that Buddhism also boasts new fundamentalist sects.  The History of Asian Civilization I is a survey of the dominant intellectual, cultural, social, economic, and religious patterns in civilization of East Asian nations from their earliest beginnings to the coming of the Europeans.  

   In addition to assigned readings students will be required to write a research paper, complete two examinations, one cultural project and one museum project.  Opportunities are offered for students to visit the Walter's Oriental Collection, the Metropolitan Museum's Asian galleries, and the Freer and Sackler galleries of Asian Art.