Courses of Study 2012-2013 
    
    May 12, 2025  
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Courses of Study 2012-2013 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Asian Studies|

Courses:

 

Asia—General Education Courses:

 

Asia—Literature and Linguistics Courses:

The following courses are taught entirely in English and are open to any Cornell student.

Asia—Religion Courses:

 

Asia—Society and Culture Courses:

 

Asia—Graduate Seminars:

For complete descriptions of courses numbered 6000 or above, see www.lrc.cornell.edu/asian.

Asia—Honors and Supervised Reading Courses:

 

Bengali:

 

Burmese:

Note: Contact E. Knuutila in 350 Rockefeller Hall before classes begin for placement or other testing and organizational information.

Cambodian:

See “Khmer.”

Chinese:

Note: Testing for placement, including those with near-native abilities, takes place in registration week, before classes begin. Time and place will be posted at lrc.cornell.edu/asian/programs/placement and on the bulletin board outside 350 Rockefeller Hall.

Chinese FALCON (Full-Year Asian Language CONcentration):

For full information, brochures, etc., see the FALCON Program coordinator in 388 Rockefeller Hall or e-mail: falcon@cornell.edu or lrc.cornell.edu/falcon

FALCON is designed to help students develop “copability” in Mandarin Chinese by bringing them to the level where they can make progress on their own even with no further instruction. The full-year program provides over 1,800 hours of language exposure—which exceeds even the exposure that students living in China typically receive. This allows students to develop levels of fluency, accuracy, and control that are not achieved in other academic settings. By taking the entire full-year sequence, students can complete as much Chinese in one calendar year as they would complete in three or more years of regular study at most academic institutions. The full-year sequence is CHIN 1159  or CHIN 1160  (summer), CHIN 2260  (fall), and CHIN 3360  (spring). Students typically take the entire sequence, but they may take any portion of the program if they have the necessary background as determined by a placement interview. This course sequence also serves to fulfill the language requirement for the M.A. in Asian Studies and the joint M.B.A./M.A. in Asian Studies. For more information and application forms, please contact the FALCON program office. Some students do choose to apply only to the summer portion. The spring semester of the Chinese program will be offered in Beijing at the School of International Studies at Peking University. In the summer and fall, three small interactive classes per day are conducted entirely in Chinese, and one lecture is conducted in both Chinese and English. In the spring semester, all four classes are conducted entirely in Chinese. In the summer and fall, students are also required to spend at least two one-hour sessions per day in the language lab. Additional preparation time in the language lab of up to three hours is necessary in the evenings. The demands of this 16-credit program do not normally permit students to take other courses simultaneously.

Students must formally apply to the program. To guarantee course availability and scholarship eligibility, applications must be received by March 1. After that, applicants are reviewed on a rolling basis and acceptance is contingent on the availability of spaces. Applications are available in 388 Rockefeller Hall or at lrc.cornell.edu/falcon/apply.

Chinese Literature:

 

Hindi:

 

Indonesian:

 

Japanese:

 

Japanese FALCON (Full-Year Asian Language Concentration):

Web site: lrc.cornell.edu/falcon

Director: R. Sukle, 388 Rockefeller Hall, (607) 255-0734 or rjs19@cornell.edu.

Program coordinator: 388 Rockefeller Hall, (607)255-6457 or falcon@cornell.edu.

FALCON is designed to develop “copability” in students by bringing them to the level where they can make further progress on their own even with no further instruction. The full-year program provides over 1,800 hours of language exposure—which exceeds even the exposure that students living in Japan typically receive. This intensive work in Japanese allows students to develop levels of fluency, accuracy, and control of the language that is not achieved in any other type of academic setting. The full-year FALCON sequence is JAPAN 1160  (summer), JAPAN 2260  (fall), and JAPAN 3360  (spring). By taking this entire sequence, students can complete as much Japanese in one calendar year as they would complete in three or more years of regular study at most academic institutions. This course sequence also serves to fulfill the language requirement for the M.A. in Asian Studies and the joint M.B.A./M.A. in Asian Studies. For more information and application forms, please contact the FALCON program office. Because of FALCON’s intensive nature, graduate students can complete their language work in minimal time. Undergraduates, including freshmen, achieve levels of competency that far exceed what is normally achieved in a four-year program, provided that they continue studying Japanese after FALCON. Three small interactive classes per day are conducted entirely in Japanese, and one lecture is conducted in both Japanese and English. The interactive classes are conducted by experienced and highly trained teachers, and the lecture is taught by an expert in the structure of the Japanese language. In addition to time spent in these classes, students are required to spend at least two one-hour sessions per day in the language lab. Additional preparation time in the language lab of up to three hours is necessary in the evenings. One must formally apply to the program to take the courses. The deadline for application is March 1 in a given year, but applications will be considered after that date if space is still available. The degree of intensity of this program makes it impossible to simultaneously take other courses or work except possibly on weekends.

Japanese Literature:

 

Khmer (Cambodian):

 

Korean:

 

Korean Literature:

 

Nepali:

 

Cornell Nepal Study Program:

Cornell and the central campus of Tribhuvan National University (in Kirtipur, Kathmandu) cosponsor a semester or year in Nepal at the Cornell Nepal Study Program for both undergraduate and graduate students. North American students live and study with Nepali students at the Cornell program houses near the university, taking courses taught in English by faculty from Tribhuvan University. After an intensive orientation, semester courses include intensive spoken and written Nepali language, Contemporary Issues in Nepal, and Research Design and Methods in a wide variety of fields in the social and natural sciences and the humanities. (Language instruction in Tibetan and Newari may also be arranged.) There is a 10-day study tour and field trip during the semester, and students execute their research proposal during four weeks of guided field research, writing up their findings for presentation at the end of the semester.

Juniors, seniors, and graduate students from any field may apply. Students should have a desire to participate in a program featuring relatively intense cultural immersion and to undertake rigorous field research. Instruction is in English, but prior study of Nepali language is strongly recommended for Cornell students. Those interested in the program should consult Cornell Abroad (cuabroad@cornell.edu).

Intensive Nepali:

Nepali, the official language of Nepal, will be offered in the Summer Session at both beginning and continuing levels. Taught by faculty from Cornell University and the Cornell–Nepal Study Program at Tribhuvan University, this summer program provides an unusual opportunity to develop competence in Nepali. Emphasis will be on the spoken colloquial language, in dialogues, exercises, and conversational practice. In addition, special attention is given to assisting students in developing vocabularies and skills appropriate to their unique professional needs. Reading and writing practice use both popular and scholarly materials in the Nepali (Devanagari) script. Students will spend five hours per day in class and two further hours working with recorded materials in addition to the time required for daily preparation. Films and guest lecturers complement the summer program. The program lasts six weeks and meets five days a week. Students must formally apply to the program. Applications are available at lrc.cornell.edu/asian/programs/summer/nepali during the spring semester. For more information, please see Kim Scott in 350 Rockefeller Hall or e-mail: kp16@cornell.edu.

Pali:

 

Sanskrit:

 

Sanskrit Literature:

 

Sinhala:

 

Tagalog:

 

Thai:

 

Urdu:

 

Vietnamese:

 

Vietnamese Literature:

 

Related Courses:

Courses in other colleges will count as College of Arts and Sciences credit only for Asian Studies majors. Courses from other departments and/or colleges generally count toward the Asian Studies major (even though not cross-listed), as long as the course content is 50 percent or more focused on Asia. Such courses typically fall under the heading of Society and Culture (SC) and must be approved by the major advisor and director of undergraduate studies.

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