Final Exam Questions

The Final will be a take-home exam, due in TurnItIn.com before midnight on Wednesday, May 6th. There will be three questions that should be answered in outline format like the revised midterm exam, citing the textbook where appropriate.

1. Where did the British, Dutch, French, and Japanese have colonies in Asia, and how did they treat their colonial subjects? [Detail Question]
2. How and why were the countries of Monsoon Asia transformed from the period of European imperialism through World War II and the Cold War? [Timeline Questions]
3. What do think is the most important issues facing modern Monsoon Asia? Clearly describe the issue and its significance.

If you have suggestions for improvements to the wording of the questions, please let me know by email or in the comments below.

As alway, I recommend that you study together, but submit your own work. Good luck!

Asia into the 21st Century

Please finish watching To Live before class on Monday. We left off just under the 1 hour mark. Watch the whole thing if you weren't in class for it.

Last week of class! For Monday, please read Murphey, chapter 20, on South Asia since independence from British rule, and for Wednesday, please ready Murphey, chapter 21, on Asia in the 21st century.

The final will be a take-home exam, due in turnitin.com by Wednesday, May 6th, before midnight. The exam will cover material from the textbook chapters 12 through 21. The exam should be formatted as an outline, and evidence for your answers should be cited. I will gladly review drafts before the deadline if given enough advance notice.

Last year's exam consisted of three questions (one long and two shorter):

1. What impact did the Cold War have on the countries of Monsoon Asia? (this is the long one)
2. Where did the British, Dutch, French, and Japanese have colonies in Asia, and how did they treat their colonial subjects?
3. How did World War II affect nationalist movements in Asia?

Please consider with me whether these questions would assess what you have or should have learned in the second half of the semester. We have emphasized different topics than the class did last year, so it's likely that these aren't exactly what we want. 

China Under Communist Rule, Korea and Southeast Asia

In Monday's class, we will break into reading club groups to work on presentations for Wednesday, while I will meet with each of you to go over your midterm exam outlines. Please bring your exam to class on Monday. You will also be responsible for reading Murphey chapters 18 and 19.

In case you have been inspired to start reading Chinese characters, here's a Ted Talk to get you started.

On Friday, we will start watching To Live.

Japan and the Struggle for Asia

For Monday's class, please read Murphey, chapter 17, and for Wednesday's class, please read Murphey, chapter 18 through page 389. Be sure to be able to answer the relevant review questions at the end of both chapters.

Nationalism and Revolution in China and India

For Monday's class, please read chapter 16 to page 343, and for Wednesday's class, please read the rest of chapter 16. Be prepared to answer the review questions at the end of the chapter.

Extra credit opportunity:
There is a special exhibit, "Operation Baby Lift," at the Presidio Officer's Club in San Francisco.

Colonialism and Spheres of Influence

Readings:
For Monday's class, please read Murphey, chapter 15, to page 315 (15 pages), and for Wednesday's class, read the remainder of the chapter (15 pages). Please be prepared to answer the review questions at the end of the chapter.

Book Clubs:
I have emailed you all and expect you now to take over communications for your groups. You may want to make one person in your group the coordinator. You should have finished your books by Friday, April 10th. Individual responses of 750-1000 words will be due on turnitin.com before midnight on Wednesday, April 15th (along with your blog posts and your tax returns). Well polished and timed group presentations will be due in class the week of April 20th.

Midterm Revisions and British India

Midterm Revision Outlines are due before midnight on Monday on TurnItIn.com:

• Class ID #: 9317615
• Class Enrollment Password: as15

For Monday's class please read Murphey, chapter 14, to page 281 (15 pages), and for Wednesday's class read the remainder of the chapter (16 pages). The topic is British ascendancy and rule in India. Please be prepared to answer the review questions at the end of the chapter.

Tokugawa Japan

For Monday's class, please read Murphey, chapter 12, on Tokugawa Japan (14 pages), and for Wednesday's class read Murphey, chapter 13, on the increasing contact between Asia and the West (20 pages). Be prepared to answer the chapter review questions.

Exam Questions and Novels

Friday's exam will have two essay questions on the material covered in Murphey, chapters 1-11. The questions are broad and should be answered using references to your textbook (with proper citation). Good answers will incorporate information from multiple chapters for each question.

1. Where did Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Islam originate; where and how did they expand; and how were they adapted by the cultures that adopted them?
2. How did empire differ in India and China (history, philosophy, and challenges)?

Please begin to prepare your answers right away. We will use Wednesday's class to clarify and review.

The novels we will be reading in groups are

• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002) by Dai Sijie (Author), Ina Rilke (Translator)
• Novel without a Name (1996) by Duong Thu Huong (Author), Phan Huy Duong (Translator), Nina McPherson (Translator)
• Cracking India (2006) by Bapsi Sidhwa

M is for Midterm Exam

For Monday, please finish reading Murphey, chapter 11, and be prepared to answer all the review questions at the end of the chapter.

In addition, in preparation for the midterm exam, please make a suggestion for an essay question in the comments below. The question should be broad and thematic. The answer to the question should be found in the textbook, and preferably drawn from more than one chapter.

M is for Mongol, Mughal, Ming, and Manchu

For Monday's class, please read Murphey, chapter 10, on Mughal India and Central Asia (20 pages), and for Wednesday's class read Murphey, chapter 11, just to p. 216 (15 pages) on the last dynasties of China. Be prepared to answer the chapter review questions.

Heads up! Next week we will finish chapter 11 and have the midterm exam on chapters 1-11.

Japan and Korea

Monday is a holiday, so we will have just one chapter to read for the week. Please read Murphey, chapter 9 (22 pages), and be prepared to answer the review questions on page 176f.

Extra Credit Opportunities:

• VietNam Tet Festival (San Jose), Saturday and Sunday, February 21st and 22nd
• Asian Art Museum (San Francisco) special exhibit on Edo art titled, "Seduction: Japan's Floating World," February 20th to May 10th
• Canter Arts Center (Stanford), "Drama of Heaven and Earth: The Theatrical Traditions of Japan," through July 13th

This Week's Readings and the Search for Good Fiction Continues

For this coming week, please read Murphey, chapter 7, on Southeast Asian civilization (15 pages) by Monday and Murphey, chapter 8, for more on Chinese civilization (20 pages) by Wednesday. Blog posts are due by midnight on Wednesday.

In addition, lets continue to look for the best fiction for our book club assignment. 

Revised and updated 2/6/15:

We will have six books, two each on Indian Partition, 2 each on the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and 2 each on South East Asia in 1975. Each student should look over the options and come to class on Monday prepared with his/her first, second and third choices. Each book will have a "club" of three students to read and review it.

China

• To Live by Yu Hua
• A Hundred Flowers by Gail Tsukiyama

South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh)

• The Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh
• Cracking India by Bapsi Sidhwa

Southeast Asia

• The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill
• No Man's Land by Huong, Duong

This Week's Readings and the Book Club Picks

For this coming week, please read Murphey, chapter 5, on Chinese civilization (22 pages) by Monday and Murphey, chapter 6, for more on Indian civilization (14 pages) by Wednesday. Blog posts are due by midnight on Wednesday.

In addition, please consider possible titles for our Asian fiction book club assignment, and make suggestions in the comments below. Titles that are already on the list include To Live by Yu Hua and The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill. That covers China and Laos. How about something for India and Japan and ...?

“Writing fiction is the act of weaving a series of lies to arrive at a greater truth.”
― Khaled Hosseini

“People wonder why the novel is the most popular form of literature; people wonder why it is read more than books of science or books of metaphysics. The reason is very simple; it is merely that the novel is more true than they are.”
― G.K. Chesterton

Traditional Societies (pre-1900)

The readings for this week are Murphey, Chapter 3 (20 pages), due on Monday before class, and Murphey, Chapter 4 (15 pages), due before class on Wednesday. Blog posts are due by midnight on Wednesday.

Asian Religions

Hope you all had a wonderful long weekend! It's a short reading week for us, so I've assigned just twenty pages (Chapter 2). This chapter is a foundation for everything we talk about going forward, so I will likely quiz you on the basics.

We are still short a few blog links ---->
Please make sure you have sent me your link and created your first post before midnight on Wednesday, or there will be much mocking and grumbling on Friday.

Asia: Continent and Concept

What countries should we include? Why?

Please order your textbook ASAP. You can order it from wherever you prefer as long as you get the correct edition of Murphey (ISBN-13: 978-0205168552). For example, the textbook is available on Amazon. If you find a better deal, please let us know in the comments below. Resist the urge to use the e-text version.

Assignment:

• read the introduction and first chapter of Murphey, pp. 1-26, and make sure that you can answer the review questions on pages 8 and 26 (due in class Friday).
• create a blog for the class and email its address to me by tomorrow (Thursday) at 9 p.m.