2023 Summer Courses

UNC-Chapel Hill boasts not only a thriving Asian Studies department but also a wide variety of interdisciplinary courses with Asia-related content. The Carolina Asia Center maintains a list of all graduate and undergraduate courses on campus that contain Asia content. You can search this list below by academic subject or geographic region. Each listing notes the department abbreviation, course number, course title, last name of the course instructor, meeting days and meeting time.

We strive to keep this list as accurate and up-to-date as possible. If a course listing is incorrect or missing from this page, please contact cac@unc.edu. To view requirements for Asian Studies majors, visit our partners at the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

First Session 2023:

ANTH 102 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (3): MAYMESTER. Online. An introduction to non-Western cultures studied by anthropologists. Includes an in-depth focus on the cultural and social systems of several groups.
ANTH 142 Local Cultures, Global Forces (3): Globalization as a cultural and economic phenomenon, emphasizing the historical development of the current world situation and the impact of increasing global interconnection on local cultural traditions. Honors version available.
ASIA 69 First-Year Seminar: Wars and Veterans: Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan (3): In this seminar, we will explore the various ways that Iran-Iraq, United States-Iraq, and United States-Afghanistan wars have been portrayed in literature, film, and photography. We will deepen and enrich our understanding of war experienced by both veterans and civilians. We will also read articles on war criticism and psychology. Online, remote synchronous.
ASIA 150 Asia: An Introduction (3): Maymester. The course introduces Asia’s historical, cultural, and political diversity by examining some of the global forces that have shaped Asian societies (e.g., colonialism, orientalism, and neoliberalism). Online, remote synchronous.
ASIA 228 Contested Souls: Literature, the Arts, and Religious Identity in Modern India (3): An analysis of how historical interactions between Hinduism and Islam have inspired the creation of philosophies and great works of literature and art that continue to inform Indian society today. Online, remote asynchronous. Meeting synchronously one day a week, the rest asynchronous.
ASIA 425 (PWAD 425) (JWST 425) Beyond Hostilities: Israeli-Palestinian Exchanges and Partnerships in Film, Literature, and Music (3): Maymester. Focuses on the various collaborations, exchanges, and mutual enrichment between Israelis and Palestinians in the realm of culture, particularly literature and cinema. These connections include language (Israeli Jewish authors writing in Arabic and Palestinian writers who choose Hebrew as their language of expression), collaborating in filmmaking, and joint educational initiatives. Course flyer.
CHIN 111 Elementary Written Chinese (3): For students who already understand and speak some Chinese; entry to this course is by placement only. The course focuses on reading and writing. Writing Chinese characters is required. Three hours per week. Students may not receive credit for both CHIN 101 or CHIN 102 and CHIN 111. Online, remote synchronous.
CHIN 203 Intermediate Chinese II (4): Prerequisite, CHIN 102. Second-year level of modern standard Chinese. Writing Chinese characters is required. Four hours per week. Online, remote synchronous.
CHIN 242 Chinese Qin Music (3): This course offers students an opportunity to learn the aesthetics, culture, and history of qin, and study the music through learning the beginning levels of qin pieces.
CHIN 356 Chinese Environmental Literature (3): Maymester. Introduces students to Chinese and Taiwanese cultural understandings of human relations to the natural environment. Analyzes classical and modern environmental literature (poetry, essays, fiction, and philosophy) and evaluates how contemporary building practices, governmental policies, and green technologies may be influenced by diverse Chinese philosophical traditions. Online, remote synchronous.
JAPN 101 Elementary Japanese I (4): Introduction to modern Japanese with text and supplementary materials. Hiragana, katakana, and basic kanji are introduced. Weekly class hours devoted to basic sentence pattern exercises, speaking and writing practice, and creative application. Participation in relevant extracurricular activities encouraged.
KOR 101 Elementary Korean I (4): Introduction to the basics of modern Korean, including the pronunciation of spoken Korean, the writing system of Hangul, communication and reading skills in controlled contexts, and fundamentals of grammar. Online, remote synchronous.
HIST 277 The Conflict over Israel/Palestine (ASIA 277, PWAD 277) (3): ONLINE. Explores the conflict over Palestine during the last 100 years. Surveys the development of competing nationalisms, the contest for resources and political control that led to the partition of the region, the war that established a Jewish state, and the subsequent struggles between conflicting groups for land and independence.
PWAD 425 (ASIA 425) (JWST 425) Beyond Hostilities: Israeli-Palestinian Exchanges and Partnerships in Film, Literature, and Music (3): Maymester. Focuses on the various collaborations, exchanges, and mutual enrichment between Israelis and Palestinians in the realm of culture, particularly literature and cinema. These connections include language (Israeli Jewish authors writing in Arabic and Palestinian writers who choose Hebrew as their language of expression), collaborating in filmmaking, and joint educational initiatives.

Second Session 2023:

ASIA 164 (MUSC 164) Music of South Asia (3): This course provides a comprehensive overview of the music of South Asia, focusing on India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The entire spectrum of musical genres will be covered. Online, remote synchronous.
CHIN 204 Intermediate Chinese II (4): Prerequisite, CHIN 203. Second-year level of modern standard Chinese. Writing Chinese characters is required. Four hours per week. Students may not receive credit for both CHIN 204 and CHIN 212. Online, remote synchronous.
CHIN 212 Intermediate Written Chinese (3): Prerequisite, CHIN 111. For students who already understand and speak some Chinese. The training course focuses on reading and writing. Writing Chinese characters is required. Three hours per week. Students may not receive credit for both CHIN 204 and CHIN 212. Online, remote synchronous.

JAPN 102 Elementary Japanese II (4): Prerequisite, JAPN 101. Continued beginning course of modern Japanese with text and supplementary materials. Approximately 150 additional kanji are introduced. Focus on basic sentence pattern exercises, speaking and writing practice, and creative application. Participation in relevant extracurricular activities encouraged.
KOR 102 Elementary Korean II (4): Prerequisite, KOR 101. Develops speaking and listening skills for everyday communication, reading skills for simple narratives and descriptive texts, and understanding for core grammatical patterns. Online, remote synchronous.
ENGL 141 World Literatures in English (3): This course will be a basic introduction to literatures in English from Africa, the Caribbean, South Asia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other Anglophone literary traditions. Offered asynchronously.
HIST 105 Empires in World History (3): This course explores and compares premodern and/or modern empires on a global scale, inquiring into rulers’ strategies and subject peoples’ experiences. Empires studied will depend on instructor’s area of expertise, but may include Greeks, Romans, Chinese, Incas, West Africans, Mughals, and Ottomans, among others.