Final Exam

The final exam questions are

1. Where did the British, Dutch, French, and Japanese have colonies and spheres of influence in Asia, and how did they treat their colonial subjects? (The Triumph of Imperialism, ch. 15)
2. Describe the rise of Southeast Asian nationalism (pp. 370ff) and the impact of the Cold War on Southeast Asian countries. (ch. 19) [Countries: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines]
3. Trace historical causes of a contemporary issue of your choice.

The exam can be found on-line on the Campus Portal. It is a timed exam (2-1/2 hours). You may have open book and open notes, but you may not take it with someone else (although I would encourage you all to study together). The exam must be completed before midnight on Friday, 4/28.

It's been a pleasure exploring Asia with you! Best of luck!

Asia into the 21st Century

Last week of class! For Monday, please read Murphey, chapter 21, on Asia in the 21st century.

On Wednesday, we will review for the final exam (take home due Friday, 4/28, before midnight). The exam will cover material from the textbook chapters 12 through 20.

We will have lunch at Tofu House on El Camino Real during our scheduled final exam time (Friday, 4/28, 11:30-1)

The following questions come from previous years' exams:

• What impact did the Cold War have on the countries of Monsoon Asia?
• Where did the British, Dutch, French, and Japanese have colonies in Asia, and how did they treat their colonial subjects?
• How did World War II affect nationalist movements in Asia? 
• 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]
• What do think is the most important issues facing modern Monsoon Asia? Clearly describe the issue and its significance.

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 previous class have, so it's likely that these aren't exactly what we want.

Asia After World War II

In today's class, we discussed Murphey chapter 18 (Japan after WW II and China under Mao).

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

For Wednesday's class, please read Murphey chapter 19 on Southeast Asia.

For Friday's class, please read chapter 20 on India since independence, and come early (9 a.m.) to watch our final film "Monsoon Wedding," (coincidentally about India since independence).

All three movie papers are due by 11:59 p.m., on April 21st, on TurnItIn.com. The papers should be approximately 1000 words (2-3 pages) long, in MLA format. In each paper, please give your considered response to the movie and a review of the post-movie discussion. The previous movies were "Rashomon," "Hero," and "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 India and China

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.

Colonialism and Spheres of Influence

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.

Update: For the movie response/discussion paper, in 2-3 pages (5-6 paragraphs), please give your reaction to the movie Rashomon and the post-movie discussions you had. Please consider what the next movie should be. I recommend writing your paper as soon as possible after the discussion so that you do not lose important ideas in the mists of time.

British India

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.

Added 3/19: I'm sorry I couldn't find a safe link to watch Rashomon for free, but it's available to rent on Amazon and Netflix. Check out the Wiki page.

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.

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

Have a great long weekend!

For Wednesday's class, please read Murphey, chapter 10, on Mughal India and Central Asia (20 pages), and for Friday'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

We will continue discussion of China on Monday. Please read Murphey, chapter 9 (22 pages), for Wednesday and be prepared to answer the review questions on page 176f.

Extra Credit Opportunities:

• VietNam Tet Festival (San Jose), Saturday and Sunday, February 11th and 12th.
• Asian Art Museum (San Francisco) has several excellent exhibits (some ending soon).
• Canter Arts Center (Stanford) special exhibit: "A Mushroom Perspective on Sacred Geography," February 8–May 15, 2017

And check out this amazing site from the Asian Art Museum--you'll be glad you did.

Southeast Asian Civilization

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 Friday. Blog posts are due by midnight on Wednesday.

If you didn't get to see the video on the engineering history of the Chinese empire, or didn't get enough of it, you can find it here on YouTube.

Happy Lunar New Year!

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.

Lunar New Year falls on Saturday (1/28). It is the year of the rooster. How are you going to celebrate? (check out funcheapsf).

Traditional Societies (pre-1900)

The readings for this coming 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.

“The Living Chinese”
Exhibited under the auspices of P.T. Barnum, proprietor of American and Chinese museums New York and Barnum’s Museum Philadelphia.
From L to R: Miss Pwam-Ye-Koo, aged 17 years a young lady with feet 2-1/2 inches long.  Miss Lum-Akum, aged 23 years her maid servant. Miss Amoon, aged 7 years, Master Mun-Chung, aged 5 years, son and daughter of the professor. Mr. Aleet-Mong, aged 18 years an interpreter.  Mr. Soo-Chune, aged 32 years, professor of Music. 
Library of Congress, control number 2002708598 

Asian Religions

As I mentioned in class today, the next reading is short, but it is foundational for everything we do going forward, so please take time to read it carefully and thoughtfully. Some of you still don't have the textbook, so I have scanned a copy of Chapter 2 and posted it on the campus portal for our class. Log into the campus portal, and then follow this link.

I've got the majority of the student blog URLs up, but not for two original students, whose names rhyme, and not for the new students. Please get them to me ASAP.

Have an excellent long weekend--see you Wednesday!

Welcome to Monsoon Asia

Your first dangerous assignment is to create your own dedicated Asian Studies blog, preferably with blogger.com, and send me the URL (e.g., http://xx.blogger.com).

If you don't already have the textbook, please get one ASAP. You can order it from wherever you prefer as long as you get the correct edition of Murphey (ISBN-13: 9780205168552). For example, a quick Google search of the ISBN shows that Barnes & Noble has a particularly good deal on the textbook right now. If you find a better deal, please let us know in the comments below. Resist the urge to use the e-text version (we have an electronics-free classroom).

I will post the Intro and first chapter on the campus portal to tide you over. There will be no excuse for not reading the introduction and first chapter of Murphey, pp. 1-26, before Wednesday's class. Please make sure that you can answer the review questions on pages 8 and 26.