2
Explorations in Modern Asian Cultures
Humanities 1924, CRN XXXXX
First Summer, 2008
* Class time and location: To Be Arranged
* Instructor: G. Rodney Thompson
* Office: 1025 Pamplin Hall
* Phone: 231-6523
* E-mail:
Course Description
This class is only available to students who register for Finance 2954 or 3954 and travel with Professor Thompson to Asia during first summer term 2008. This program allows the students a unique opportunity to make first-hand observations of four of Asian countries. The countries visited include Hong Kong (a special administrative district of The Peoples Republic of China), China, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The program visits some of the most well-known sites in the world such as the Great Wall, Forbidden City, and the temples around Angkor Wat Cambodia. During these travels students will determine a topic for their project to be completed for the class.
Curricular Value of Course
This course has no prerequisites. It is intended for students from all disciplines with no or little systematic knowledge of any Asian civilizations. It is an approved Area 2 (Ideas, Cultural Traditions, and Values) course in the Curriculum for Liberal Education. It can also be used towards fulfilling an 18-hour minor in Asian Area Studies (see instructor for details).
Objectives
Through this course students should develop an understanding of:
*a variety of Asian cultural experiences from the four countries visited
*how various Asian cultures have responded to the challenges of development while retaining their unique national identities
*markets, pricing, and product delivery systems in the various countries
*differences and similarities between modern Asian and Western cultural norms such as food, dress, religion
*differences between the lives of Asian university students and the lives of students here in the U.S
*current Asian cultural issues/dilemmas in an historical context – Ho Chi Minh’s Vietnam and Mao’s China versus the WTO member countries we encounter today
This course aims to instill greater appreciation of and sensitivity towards Asian cultures.
This course provides various opportunities to develop skills in critical thinking, writing, and oral communication.
Nature/Organization of Course
Humanities 1924 is the second half of a basic introductory sequence in Asian cultures, the preceding course being Humanities 1914, Explorations in Traditional Asian Cultures. We will be concerned particularly with pursuing how various Asian cultures and traditions have responded to the development and urbanization they now face. Are the Asian countries we visit prepared to achieve peaceful, consistent, and sustainable growth? To gain diverse perspectives, various types of readings are required before departure and numerous visits are planned during the co-requisite program.
This course will be conducted in accord with the terms of the Virginia Tech Honor System. The student should especially acknowledge and properly document sources (including the World Wide Web) employed in the writing assignment. Please consult the professor if clarification is needed. The professor will not hesitate to forward cases of cheating and plagiarism to the Honor Court.
Requirements and Evaluation
During the co-requisite program the students will determine a topic about which they will write their papers. These topics will be discussed with and approved by the professor. Upon approval of their topics the students will begin to accumulate information for writing their papers which will be written upon return to the U.S. This paper must follow these guidelines:
1. The paper must be professional-looking and at least 20, but not more than 28, pages. This includes the references, but not the one-page executive summary which must be the cover of the paper. If there are more than two pages of references, the paper may/must be adjusted for each page over 2. This same adjustment will hold for graphs and/or tables.
2. The paper must be double spaced, 12 point font, with normal margins.
3. Number the pages of the paper.
4. Do not use contractions.
5. Use any widely accepted reference system, but be sure to give credit for all ideas and quotes.
6. If your professor sees a verbatim quote from another source, without quotation marks, the paper will receive a zero.
7. Longer verbatim passages may be used, inset, if they are no more than 8 or 10 lines if they are properly referenced and if they add significantly to the work. These should be single spaced.
8. Your professor will take away credit for poor presentation, bad grammar, and unprofessional looking work. Do not be careless or sloppy.
9. Staple the paper. Do not place it in a folder of any kind.
10. Wikipedia is not an acceptable reference.
Required Readings – to be provided (these are the 2007 readings, the list will be updated for 2008)
The following readings must be completed before departure on the co-requisite travel program (other readings will be added):
“The Sky Isn’t Falling in China,” Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek, March 12, 2007, p.39.
“Ancient Temples Face Modern Assault,” washingtonpost.com, 6 February 2007.
“One Billion, Three Hundred Million: The New Chinese Consumer,” Knowledge@Wharton, 16 October 2006.
“Navigating the Labyrinth: Sales and Distribution in Today’s China,” Knowledge@Wharton, 16 October 2006.
“McDonald’s Is Loving It in Asia,” businessweek.com, 24 January 2007.
“The People’s Bank of China is the world’s most profitable bank,” The Economist,
25 January 2007.
“Tired of Laughter, Beijing Gets Rid of Bad Translations,” Wall Street Journal online, 5 February 2007.
“Inflated by the Olympic spirit,” The Economist, 1 March 2007.
“Dollars to Spare in China’s Trove,” The New York Times, 6 March 2007.
“A colourful gem that shines as the city sleeps,” South China Post, 2007.
“China’s congress follows the script, literally,” The Christian Science Monitor, Circa 10 March 2007.
“Nike Goes For the Green,” BusinessWeek, 25 September 2006.
“Will growth trample Vietnam’s charm?” The Christian Science Monitor, 15 March 2007.
“”China Backs Property Law, Buoying Middle Class,” The New York Times, 16 March 2007.