Spring 2026 Asia - Related Classes
ASIA 2000ÌýGateway to Modern Asia: Exploring Regional Connections
Lauren Collins (Lauren.Collins@colorado.edu)
Introduces main themes, intellectual approaches used in Asian Studies through a transdisciplinary perspective that focuses on interactions and links between geographic regions and national boundaries. Presents Asia as a concept, a powerful imaginary geography, and historically dynamic construct that has shaped / been shaped by global patterns of economic development, nation building, war and diplomacy, colonialism and aspirations for better lives.
ASIA 2852ÌýContemporary Southeast Asia: Environmental Politics
Shae Frydenlund (shfr8297@colorado.edu)
Examines globally pressing questions of environmental sustainability, regional inequality and development in the dynamic and heterogeneous landscapes of contemporary Southeast Asia. Focuses on interactions between histories of uneven development and contemporary debates over energy and infrastructure, food security, governance and access to land, forest and water-based resources.
ASIA 4100ÌýChina's Space Dream: Long March to the Moon and Beyond
Lauren Collins (Lauren.Collins@colorado.edu)
Examines globally pressing questions of environmental sustainability, regional inequality and development in the dynamic and heterogeneous landscapes of contemporary Southeast Asia. Focuses on interactions between histories of uneven development and contemporary debates over energy and infrastructure, food security, governance and access to land, forest and water-based resources.
ASIA 4650ÌýArt and Science of Meditation
Dan Hirshberg (dan.hirshberg@colorado.edu)
Broadly interdisciplinary and skill-based, this course offers an in-depth theoretical, practical, and experiential exploration of meditation informed by cutting-edge scientific studies. Students read traditional contemplative masterworks in translation, survey current neuroscientific and psychological research on meditation, and employ critical subjectivity in the application of evidence-based contemplative techniques.
INDO1120Ìý
Beginning Indonesian 2
MWF 2:30-3:20pm
Alifia Moci Maritta (Alifia.Maritta@colorado.edu)
Classes are offered in person or remotely using the Directed Independent Language Study method. Classes will employ "flipped" task-based learning approaches. Coursework includes reading, listening, grammar, answering questions, and speaking practice. Grades are based on demonstrated proficiency of written and spoken Indonesian through in-class performance and examinations.
INDO 2120Ìý
Intermediate Indonesian 2
MWF 10:10am-11am
Alifia Moci Maritta (Alifia.Maritta@colorado.edu)
In the second year, students will be exposed to more active communication The structure, vocabulary and language features and the four language skills are embedded within various topics. Throughout the semester, students will be exposed to Indonesian vocabulary, structure, and culture.
TBTN 1120ÌýBeginning Tibetan II - DILS
MWF 8am-8:50am Meets Remotely
Dan Hirshberg (dan.hirshberg@colorado.edu)
Continuation ofÌýTBTN 1110; provides a thorough introduction to the colloquial and literary Tibetan language, emphasizing speaking and listening in the Lhasa dialect. Trains students in basic conversations and the idiomatic and syntactical features of Tibetan through drills and dialogues.
ANTH 4760ÌýEthnography of Southeast Asia
Carla Jones (carla.jones@colorado.edu)
This class introduces students to the vibrant cultural and political landscape of Southeast Asia, with a focus on urban and consumer culture, religion, and gender. Readings will situate phenomena like celebrity preachers, death, fashion, commodity subcultures, and state violence through the perspective of anthropological fieldwork conducted in Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
CHIN 3363ÌýWomen and the Supernatural in Chinese Literature
Antje Richter (antje.richter@colorado.edu)
In this course, we explore the relationship between the worlds of women and the supernatural as they are represented in Chinese literature and culture. We'll be discussing narratives about female ghosts, fox spirits, goddesses, women warriors, and human lovers.
GEOG 3832ÌýLove & War Geographies: Imperialism, Militarism, and Development in South Asia
T/Th 12:30-1:45 pm
Taneesha Mohan (Taneesha.Mohan@colorado.edu)
Experience the diverse societies and cultures of India, Nepal, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. Learn about the different belief systems, cultural practices, and environments in this region and how international relations and politics in this region influence global trade/economics, politics, conflict, and security.
HIND 1011ÌýIntroduction to South Asian Civilization
Nidhi Arya (Nidhi.Arya@colorado.edu)
This course offers a dynamic and immersive introduction to South Asia’s rich and multifaceted civilization. Beyond a mere geographical definition, South Asia encompasses a vibrant tapestry of cultures, histories, and traditions.
M-Th 10:10 am
Nidhi Arya
(Nidhi.Arya@colorado.edu)
Continuation of HIND 1010. Provides a thorough introduction to the modern Hindi language, emphasizing speaking, listening, reading and writing skills.
HIND 2120ÌýIntermediate Hindi 2
M-Th 12:20-1:10 pm
Nidhi Arya
(Nidhi.Arya@colorado.edu)
Continuation of HIND 2110. Enhances students’ speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills and culturally appropriate language use.
HIST 4648ÌýInventing Chinese Modernity
Tim Weston (weston@colorado.edu)
This course covers the continuous revolutionary change that China underwent from 1800 to the successful Communist Revolution of 1949.
JPNS 3331 Business Japanese
Yumiko Matsunaga (Yumiko.Matsunaga-1@colorado.edu)
Designed to teach Japanese with emphasis on using Japanese for professional purposes. The course aims to foster the skills and the knowledge of effective cross-cultural and interpersonal communication in Japanese and to develop intercultural competence in business contexts.
JPNS 3321ÌýJapanese Sci-Fi and Speculative Fiction
Daryl Maude (daryl.maude@colorado.edu)
Examines the genres of fantasy and sci-fi across Japanese media, including literature, film, anime, and manga. We will consider what the Japanese speculative imagination about different worlds can teach us, and consider subgenres of cyberpunk, space opera, mythological fantasy, cli-fi, and feminist speculation. Taught in English.
RLST 1810ÌýIslamic Spain: Land of Three Religions
Brian Catlos (Brian.catlos@colorado.edu)
For nearly a thousand years Muslim Spain – al-Andalus – was the home to communities of Christians, Muslims and Jews who lived together in both cooperation and conflict. Explore the politics, culture and society of Islamic Spain and how it influenced the course of European history.
RLST 3550Ìý[Death and Rebirth in] Tibetan Buddhism
Dan Hirshberg (dan.hirshberg@colorado.edu)
Explores Tibetan Buddhist theories and practices of dying and death to survey its diverse contemplative techniques, philosophical principles, and ultimate objective of total liberation from suffering. With its elaborate descriptions of the experience of death, the so-called Tibetan Book of the Dead has been an object of Western fascination for a century–but we will survey its complete form, not only as a manual for dying but for living, while placing it within its historical, textual, and literary contexts as a religious scripture and ritual liturgy.
RLST 3801ÌýMuslims, Christians, Jews & the Mediterranean Origins of the West
Brian Catlos (Brian.catlos@colorado.edu)
This course provides a historical foundation for the study of western Modernity, including the Anglo-European and Islamic worlds. It focuses on the Mediterranean region in the long Middle Ages (650-1650), emphasizing the role of Christian, Muslim and Jewish peoples and cultures, in Europe, Africa and West Asia in both conflict and collaboration.
Tibet has a vast literary heritage in which Buddhist texts hold a prominent place. In creating this literature, Tibetan authors adopted a number of literary models from India and also integrated Buddhist concerns into indigenous Tibetan oral styles. This course takes a thematic approach to the study of Buddhist literature in Tibet. This semester we pay special attention to the interplay between literary style and doctrinal content in texts related to devotion and the teacher-student relationship in Buddhist tantra. This will include devotional poetry, doctrinal texts on the three vows, ritual manuals and their commentaries, as well as contemporary fiction, allowing us to explore how literature and associated practices can shape, transform, and critique social worlds, associated worldviews, and embodied experience. Throughout the course, we think critically about rhetorical strategies, genre conventions, and ways of reading Buddhist literature in Tibet.