Technology & Society in Modern Asia

Catalog description

Role of technology in modernization, national identity, and foreign relations of one or more Asian countries from 19th century to present day. ASIA 401 Technology & Society in Modern Asia (3) (IL)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. The countries of Asia are often seen (or imagined) in the West today in terms of their technological capabilities. This course will examine the role of technology in the modernization, national identities, and foreign relations of one or more countries of East, South, or Southeast Asia from the mid-19th century to the present day. Specific content will vary according to individual instructor, but topics may include the relationship between technological development and international relations, national power, leisure, domestic political and aesthetic movements, war, empire, and trade, as well as the impact of technology on interconnected images of self and other on the part of the peoples of Western and Asian countries.The objectives of the course are not only to learn about the role of technology in modern East Asia, but also to encourage us to rethink the way we view other countries and the factors that go into those perceptions (as well as developing a new way of understanding of what contributes to the views other peoples hold of their own countries). Students will also consider the changing role that technology has played (and continues to play) in all modern societies.