Course Syllabus

Asian 381, Junior/Senior Research Seminar for Majors

Winter 2016

Tues./Thurs. 11:30-1:00, 2011 MLB

Prof. Christopher Hill (hillcl@umich.edu)

Office hours Mon. 1-2, Wed. 10-11 and by appointment, 5125 South Thayer Bldg.

The Junior-Senior Research Seminar aims to provide students with first-hand experience in designing, executing, and presenting original research projects in Asian Studies. The course is divided into four parts. In the first part students read articles in various fields associated with Asian Studies to learn their research method, organization, and style. Students develop proposals for their own research projects. In the second part students do research on their projects and begin to outline a paper that will present their findings. In the third, students write their first drafts, and in the fourth they present their first drafts and revise to end with a polished research paper. The goal of the class is not only to help students develop skills for original research and writing in the humanities, but also to expose them to the different paradigms and methodologies associated with the field of Asian Studies. In addition, the class is intended to foster the development of intellectual communities among undergraduates in Asian Studies.

This course fulfills the University's Upper Level Writing Requirement. The course requirements include a substantial amount of writing. A grade of C- or higher is necessary to fulfill the ULWR.

 Course Requirements

• Active attendance and participation, including feedback on other students' work (10%)
• Response papers on assigned readings, submitted via Canvas by midnight the day before class (500-600 words each; total 10%)
• Three-paragraph prospectus of your project topic, research question, and preliminary sources (5%)
• In-class presentation of your project proposal (5%)
• Project proposal (5 double-spaced ), including an annotated bibliography of around 10 major sources on your topic (15%)
• Reverse outline of one of the articles read for class (5%)
• Outline of your paper (to the I.A. level; 5%)
• Two paragraphs from the body of your paper, for the writing workshops on Mar. 8 and 10 (5%)
• First draft of the paper (10 double-spaced; 10%)
• Presentation of your first draft (5%)
• Final draft of the paper (15 pp. double-spaced; 25%)

Submit all written assignments via Canvas by midnight unless otherwise noted. (Reading responses are due by midnight the day before class.)

Texts

Purchase William Strunk and E.B. White, The Elements of Style. (Any edition is fine.) All other course readings are available on Canvas.

Laptop Policy

Please print the required readings and bring them to class for reference during class meetings. No use of laptops or phones will be permitted in class. Research shows that reading comprehension and retention is higher when you read on paper. I recommend that you read on paper rather than on a screen.

Weekly Schedule

Jan. 7                 Course introduction

Jan. 8 (Fri.)        Project assignment: Self-introduction

From Topic to Proposal

Jan. 12               Fernandes, Leela. "Nationalizing 'The Global': Media Images, Cultural Politics and The Middle Class in India." Media, Culture & Society 22:5 (2000): 611-28.

Jan. 14               Library visit; meet in Gallery Lab Room 100, Hatcher Library

Jan. 19               De la Cruz, Deirdre. "The Mass Miracle: Public Religion in The Postwar Philippines." Philippine Studies 62 3-4 (2014): 424-44.

Jan. 21               Alexy, Allison. "What Can Be Said: Communicating Intimacy in Millennial Japan." Forthcoming in Allison Alexy and Emma E. Cook, eds., Intimate Japan. (In-class visit by Prof. Alexy)

Jan. 26               Chanchani, Nachiket. "The Jageshwar Valley, Where Death is Conquered." Archives of Asian Art 63:2 (2013): 133-54.

Jan. 28               Strunk, William, and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan, 1979. Cha. 2.

Jan. 29 (Fri.)      Project assignment: Topic, question, and preliminary sources

Feb. 2                 Meetings with instructor

Feb. 4                 Zwicker, Jonathan. "Playbills, Ephemera, and the Historical Imagination in Nineteenth-Century Japan." Journal of Japanese Studies 35:1 (2009): 37-59. (In-class visit by Prof. Zwicker)

Feb. 9                 Proposal presentations

Feb. 11               Proposal presentations

From Proposal to Outline

Feb. 15 (Mon.)   Project assignment: Revised proposal

Feb. 16               Florida, Nancy K. "A Proliferation of Pigs: Specters of Monstrosity in Reformation Indonesia." Public Culture 20:3 (2008): 497-530. (In-class visit by Prof. Florida)

Feb. 17 (Wed.)   Project assignment: Reverse outline

Feb. 18               Outlining workshop

Feb. 23               Independent research and outlining

Feb. 25               Strunk and White, The Elements of Style, cha. 5

Feb. 26 (Fri.)      Project assignment: I.A.-level outline

From Outline to First Draft

Mar. 7 (Mon.)    Project assignment: Two body paragraphs

Mar. 8                Writing workshop (peer review of your paragraphs)

Mar. 10              Writing workshop (peer review of revised paragraphs)

Mar. 15              Independent writing (you will be in regular contact with the instructor)

Mar. 17              Independent writing

Mar. 22              Independent writing

Mar. 24              Independent writing

Mar. 25 (Fri.)     Project assignment: First draft

Re-Reading and Revising

Mar. 29              Frankfurt, Harry G. "On Bullshit." Raritan 6:2 (1986): 81-100.

Mar. 31              Writing workshop (peer review of first drafts)

Apr. 5                First draft presentations

Apr. 7                First draft presentations

Apr. 12              First draft presentations

Apr. 14              First draft presentations

Apr. 19              First draft presentations

 

Apr. 21              Final draft due at 5:00 p.m.