Courses

We read together in translation the entirety of the 120-chapter novel, arguably the most celebrated fiction in Chinese. Students learn about the novel's eighteenth-century context and its publication history. We visit the Yale University Art Gallery to look at and handle objects much like those described in the novel. We also visit the Beinecke to see early copies of the novel. This class is an introduction to Chinese and literary studies.

This first-year seminar in the Six Global Perspectives series offers an introduction to college-level Humanities courses. We read six poems that are considered among the greatest in their very different cultural traditions. By filling in how each of these traditions understood the art of poetry, we consider the ways that verse, across cultures and historical eras, has allowed authors to navigate the challenging relationship between the universal and the particular. We make extensive use of Yale’s rich manuscript archives, historical object collections, and art galleries, and we devote sustained attention to improving academic writing skills. Friday lab sessions alternate between writing workshops and field trips to Yale collections. 

An introduction to the literature, culture, and thought of premodern China, from the beginnings of the written record to the turn of the twentieth century. Close study of textual and visual primary sources, with attention to their historical and cultural backdrops.

This course represents an introduction to the most important philosophical thinkers and texts in Chinese history, ranging from roughly 500 BC–1500 AD. Topics include ethics, political philosophy, epistemology, and ontology. We discuss the basic works of Confucian and Daoist philosophers during the Warring States and early imperial eras, the continuation of these traditions in early medieval “dark learning,” Buddhist philosophy (in its original Indian context, the early period of its spread to China, and in mature Chinese Buddhist schools such as Chan/Zen), and Neo-Confucian philosophy. The course emphasizes readings in the original texts of the thinkers and traditions in question (all in English translation). No knowledge of Chinese or previous contact with Chinese philosophy required.

Recent headlines about China in the world, deciphered in both modern and historical contexts. Interpretation of new events and diverse texts through transnational connections. Topics include China's international relations and global footprint, language and script, Chinese America, science and technology, and science fiction. Special topic for AY 2025-2026 with guest speakers: AI, U.S.-China futurism, and tech policy.

This course is an introduction to Japanese literature from the 1880s to 1980s. Our reading is guided by a different “ism” each week, from 19th-century eroticism and exoticism, through mid-century cosmopolitanism and colonialism, to second-wave feminism and existentialism in the wake of World War II. These distinct moments in the development of Japanese modernism (modanizumu) are shaped by encounters with foreign cultures, and by the importing of foreign ideas and vogues. All the same, we question—along with modernist writer Y­ū Ryūtanji–the “critique that says modanizumu is nothing more than the latest display of imported cosmetics” (1930). We seek to develop a correspondingly nuanced picture of the specific and changing ways in which Japan understood and figured its relationship to the rest of the world through the course of a century. 

A research course designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate students working on early, imperial or modern China in preparation for their theses. Students use their own research topic as a focus to explore and utilize the wealth of primary sources and tools available in China, Japan, and the West. As a group, we learn about the history of Chinese book collecting, classification of knowledge, the compilation of the encyclopedia Gujin tushu jicheng and the canon Siku quanshu, as well as the darker aspects of censorship from ancient times to the present. For native speakers of Chinese, the course includes secondary literature in English and instruction in professional writing in English about China. Other topics include Chinese bibliographies, bibliophiles’ notes, specialized dictionaries, maps and geographical gazetteers, textual editions, genealogies and biographical sources, archaeological and visual materials, major Chinese encyclopedias, compendia, and databases, and evaluating variations and reliability. The course is supplemented by materials from the Beinecke rare books collection. 

This course is an introduction to Japanese literature from the 1880s to 1980s. Our reading is guided by a different “ism” each week, from 19th-century eroticism and exoticism, through mid-century cosmopolitanism and colonialism, to second-wave feminism and existentialism in the wake of World War II. These distinct moments in the development of Japanese modernism (modanizumu) are shaped by encounters with foreign cultures and by the importing of foreign ideas and vogues. All the same, we question—along with modernist writer Yū Ryūtanji—the “critique that says modanizumu is nothing more than the latest display of imported cosmetics” (1930). We seek to develop a correspondingly nuanced picture of the specific and changing ways in which Japan understood and figured its relationship to the rest of the world through the course of a century. Creative and comparative perspectives are especially welcome, and assignments can accommodate a range of media and presentation formats to suit.

A research course in Chinese studies, designed for students with background in modern and literary Chinese. Students explore and evaluate the wealth of primary sources and research tools available in China and in the West. For native speakers of Chinese, introduction to the secondary literature in English and instruction in writing professionally in English on topics about China. Topics include Chinese bibliographies; bibliophiles’ notes; specialized dictionaries; maps and geographical gazetteers; textual editions, variations, and reliability of texts; genealogies and biographical sources; archaeological and visual materials; and major Chinese encyclopedias, compendia, and databases.

An in-depth examination of one of the great masterworks of ancient philosophy. Topics vary according to student interest but include: the interpretation of the text, its formation and history, its reception in the commentarial and scholarly literature, and its role in the modern construction of classical Chinese philosophy. This seminar is designed primarily for students who can read classical Chinese but is also open to students reading the text in translation. In that event, we hold separate sessions for students working in the original language.

An introduction to modern Chinese history spanning from the fall of the Qing Empire to the present. Examines the factors that led to the end of China’s dynastic system, the political and social divisions that emerged after the Qing Dynasty’s collapse, and the various alternative visions for China’s future that have arisen from the late nineteenth century onward. Focuses on aspects of political, economic, and social history.

Archaeology asks who we are, and how did humanity get to where it is today. This course explores the subfield of archaeobotany that is dedicated to understanding the same questions through the analysis of plant remains from archaeological sites. Students gain foundational knowledge of archaeobotanical methods, the kinds of plant remain studied, and key research themes including climate and ecology, subsistence economies, plant domestication and spread, and non-food plant uses. There is a long history of research on archaeological plant remains in East Asia. We examine how ancient peoples interacted with their environments mainly through macro plant evidence, i.e. seeds and fruits. We discuss the social impact of choices people made about different kinds of domesticated and wild plants for foods and for production of objects for daily life. The course also highlights contemporary advancements in theories and methodologies within the discipline, supported by case studies from around the globe, with a particular emphasis on East Asia.