All East Asian Study Track courses are taught in English, offering a wide variety of topics related to contemporary Japan and East Asia. Students may choose one course from each group shown below for a total of 6 credits. Students enrolled in these courses will be both international students and KGU students. Classes are held Monday through Friday, with frequent activities and excursions. Some field trips may be on the weekends.
Group A:
International Relations of East Asia (3) - This course provides an overview of international relations in the East Asian region while introducing students to the leading theories and debates about regional cooperation in the field of international relations. It examines the various tensions between the establishment of closer ties among the nations in East Asia and the preservation of national sovereignty. The central question is whether the East Asian region is heading towards greater peace and cooperation or war and conflict in the twenty-first century. For the purpose of this course, East Asia is defined as the region encompassing the Russian Far East, China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. Because it has been extensively involved in the region since the 1850s, we also discuss the role of the United States in the region. We may make occasional reference to India, but South Asia and Central Asia are not a primary focus of this course.
Religions of China and Japan (3) - This course is an introduction to the significant religious traditions found within China and Japan. These traditions include Tibetan Buddhism and Bon, Chinese Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism, as well as Japanese Buddhism and Shinto. We will explore the origins and evolution of these religions through a combination of lectures, readings, discussions, films, and individual field research. We will also examine the intersections of these beliefs within each cultural milieu and learn about the lived experience of religious members in the modern world. This course will give particular attention to the philosophical, biographical, ritual, and doctrinal texts of these religious traditions in order to engage with them more directly.
Japanese Politics and Society (3) - As the first non-Western nation to become a major industrial power, Japan provides many lessons for economic development and growth. From the devastation of WWII, how did Japan become the fourth largest economy in the world behind China, the U.S., and India? Since the "Bubble Economy," Japan has faced enormous challenges with an aging population, declining workforce, mounting government debt, monetary policy and exchange rates issues, labor market reforms and productivity growth. What can we learn from the Japanese experience?
Group B:
Political Economy of East Asia (3) - This course examines the interplay between politics and economics in East Asia. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: (1) understand political and economic history of the East Asian region; (2) reconcile the region's success with the difficulties experienced in East Asian countries more recently; and (3) analyze in what ways and to what degree the growth experiences of the high-performing economics in East Asia shed light on the prospects for long-term outcomes of reforms currently underway in China.
Japanese Economy and Business (3) - The purpose of this course is to give students an overview of the Japanese Economy and Japanese Business. Starting with the development of the Japanese economy from 1945 until today, this seminar first gives an overview of the changes that occurred during that time, investigates to what extent the Japanese employment system has transformed and discusses recent developments in the Japanese labor market. In the second part of this course, students will learn about Japanese management by using real world case studies, which will help them to develop cross-cultural communication and management shills that are beneficial for their future careers.