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