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THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA Department of History
HIST/ASIA 1420 W: Asian Civilizations to 1500 Summer Session I, 2011
Instructor: Yongguang Hu Office: 451 Fletcher Argue Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:00pm – 2:30pm & by appointment Email: [email protected] Class days: Monday to Friday, 8:30 am – 10:30 am Classroom: 301 Tier
Class Start: May 2, 2011 Class End: May 25, 2011 Final Examination: May 27, 2011
Refund deadline: To May 4 From May 5 to May 18 After May 18 Full Refund No Refund No Voluntary Withdrawal
REQUIRED TEXTS (available at the University bookstore): Murphey, Rhoads. A History of Asia. 6th Edition. Longman, 2008. Whitfield, Susan. Life along the Silk Road. University of California Press, 2001. plus online materials
Asia, the world’s largest continent in terms of both area and population, is one of the most important birth places of human civilizations. Its profound philosophical ideas have been influencing human societies for several millenniums. Although Asia has some of the oldest civilizations in the world, it still shows its vigor and creativeness in the twenty-first century. Since the end of World War II, Asia has gradually taken center stage as many scholars forecast a coming age of the “Asia Pacific” in the next few decades. Its political, economic, social, and cultural impacts can already be felt everywhere in the world.
In order to better understand Asian societies and their cultures, it is important to trace their roots back to the beginning of the story because many fundamental philosophical, cultural, and historical elements still heavily influence today’s Asian communities. Therefore, this course aims to provide a survey of Asian history from its Neolithic agricultural origins (ca. 5,000 BC) to the early sixteenth century. The course will begin with an emphasis on the philosophical foundations of Asia through readings of Asian philosophical texts. In addition, it will also consider state formation, economic developments, social changes, and cultural productions in China, Japan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia through the ages. The course will use both translated readings from primary sources and analytic frameworks from modern scholarship.
The class will meet every morning for lectures, which will generally be accompanied by PowerPoint slides. All the slideshow files will be available for download after the class. 2 / 5
Questions and discussions are encouraged. The readings consist of a textbook (Murphey), an additional required reading (Whitfield), and some online materials on Asian history. The textbooks are available both at the University bookstore and on library’s reserve.
Course Requirements:
Final grades in the course will be evaluated as follows:
¾ Map Quiz (5%): May 6th You need to write down the name of ten geographical terms pointed on a blank map of Asia. These ten terms will be drawn from the following list:
Beijing, Burma, Calicut, Chang’an (Xi’an), Delhi, Fujian, Ganges River, Goa, Guangzhou (Canton), Hangzhou, Honshu, Indus River, Java, Kyoto, Kyushu, Luoyang, Malacca, Nanjing, Nepal, Pyongyang, Shanghai, Seoul, Sichuan, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Thailand (Siam), Tokyo, Vietnam, Yangzi River, Yellow River.
¾ Mid-term exam (20%): May 12
¾ Final exam (30%): May 27
¾ Two Research Essays (1st essay: 20%, 2nd essay: 25%): 6-8 pages, double spaced, 12pts, Letter-size paper (1500-2000 words) each. These research essays, which are described in a separate handout, should be on one of the topics listed there. It is also strongly encouraged to discuss the topic of your choice with the instructor prior to the writing.
The first essay will be due Monday, May 16th and the second one will be due Tuesday, May 24th. All essays should be submitted to the instructor on the due day
Late Policy: Overdue essays will only be accepted with a documented medical excuse or on the basis of a serious personal crisis. For other circumstances, a penalty (losing 10% of the paper’s grade per day) will be applied.
Grades: A+ 85%+ C+ 65-69% A 80-84% C 60-64% B+ 75-79% D 50-59% B 70-74% F <50%
Since this is a course that meets the University Senate’s W requirement, students must complete all essay assignments with a passing grade to pass the course.
Evaluative feedback will be provided prior to the Voluntary Withdrawal date May 18.
Students who wish to appeal a grade given for term work must do so within 10 working days after the grade for the term work has been made available to them. Uncollected term 3 / 5
work will become the property of the Faculty of Arts and will be subject to confidential destruction.
Course Policy:
Students are reminded that the University of Manitoba strictly enforces its policy with respect to academic dishonesty. Students should acquaint themselves with the University's policy on ‘plagiarism and cheating’ found in the University Undergraduate Calendar (Section 8):
Plagiarism or any other form of cheating in examinations, term tests or academic work is subject to serious academic penalty (e.g. suspension or expulsion from the faculty or university). Cheating in examinations or tests may take the form of copying from another student or bringing unauthorized materials into the exam room (e.g., crib notes, pagers or cell phones). Exam cheating can also include exam impersonation. (Please see Section 4.2.8 on Exam Personation). A student found guilty of contributing to cheating in examinations or term assignments is also subject to serious academic penalty.
To plagiarize is to take ideas or words of another person and pass them off as one’s own. In short, it is stealing something intangible rather than an object. Plagiarism applies to any written work, in traditional or electronic format, as well as orally or verbally presented work. Obviously it is not necessary to state the source of well known or easily verifiable facts, but students are expected to appropriately acknowledge the sources of ideas and expressions they use in their written work, whether quoted directly or paraphrased. This applies to diagrams, statistical tables and the like, as well as to written material, and materials or information from Internet sources.
To provide adequate and correct documentation is not only an indication of academic honesty but is also a courtesy which enables the reader to consult these sources with ease. Failure to provide appropriate citations constitutes plagiarism. It will also be considered plagiarism and/or cheating if a student submits a term paper written in whole or in part by someone other than him/herself, or copies the answer or answers of another student in any test, examination, or take-home assignment.
Explanations of plagiarism are also available at: http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/student/student_responsibilities.html
Disruptions such as talking, late arrivals or early departures are especially distracting. Please be considerate of the needs and rights of others. The use of cell phones, smart phones, or other mobile communication devices is disruptive, and is therefore not welcomed during class. It is worth noting that students are permitted to use computers during class for note-taking and other class-related work only. 4 / 5
COURSE SCHEDULE
Week 1 May 2 Introduction & Geography of Asia Murphey, Introduction
May 3 Origins of Civilization and the Early States in India and China Murphey, Chapter 1: Prehistoric Asia
May 4 The Zhou Dynasty: the Spring & Autumn Period and the Warring States Period Online reserve: Hansen
May 5 Hinduism and Buddhism Murphey, Chapter 4: Asian Religions and Their Cultures
May 6 Confucianism and Daoism: A Comparison (Map Quiz) Murphey, Chapter 4: Asian Religions and Their Cultures Online reserve: Ivanhoe
Week 2 May 9 Ancient India Murphey, Chapter 2: The Civilization of Ancient India
May 10 Chinese Qin and Han Empires Murphey, Chapter 3: The Civilization of Ancient China Online reserve: Sima Qian
May 11 The Great Division of China (220-618) and the Neo-Daoism Online reserve: Lewis
May 12 Medieval India (Midterm) Murphey, Chapter 5: Medieval India and Southeast Asia
May 13 High Tang Culture and Society Murphey, Chapter 6: China, Korea, and Japan: A Golden Age
Week 3 May 16 Silk Road, Central Asia, and Cross-Cultural Connections (First Essay Due) Whitfield, Life Along the Silk Road
May 17 Early Korea and Ancient Japan Murphey, Chapter 6: China, Korea, and Japan: A Golden Age
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May 18 Heian and Feudal Japan Online reserve: Meyer
May 19 Mughal India Murphey, Chapter 7: Mughal India and Central Asia
May 20 Song China: Economic Revolutions, Reforms, and the Rise of Neo- Confucianism Online reserve: Kuhn
Week 4 May 23 Victoria Day (No Class)
May 24 The Mongol Empire & Ming China (Second Essay Due) Murphey, Chapter 8: New Imperial Splendor in China
May 25 India and Southeast Asia in the 15th Century/Reflections of Asian History from a Global Perspective
Final Examination: Friday, May 27/9:00 am