Infusing Asia & South Asia into the Curriculum at Rio Hondo College

1. Infusing Asia & South Asia into the Curriculum at Rio Hondo College ASDP Institute – July 29, 2010 Colin Young & Mike Mehrban Javanmard

2. Demographics of the College • ~20,000 students served/semester • Males: 51.9% Females: 48.1% • Ethnicity: • African-American – 4.0% • Asian/Pacific Islander – 11.2% • Hispanic – 67.5% • Other Non-White – 2.0% • White Non-Hispanic – 15.3%

3. Politics of Curriculum At Rio Hondo • currently, Rio Hondo has three Humanities classes on Mexico and zero covering the rest of the world, including Asia • neither of our current Humanities instructors were interested in a creating a class on Asia, so we did it and Mike volunteered to teach it • as the student body demographics show, over 11% of our students are of Asian descent and the other 89% need to be aware of Asia and its widely diverse cultures • Asian Studies at Rio Hondo would be extremely educational not only for students but for administrators and elected officials who don’t seem to understand that there is a world beyond North America

4. Splendors of Asia – The Beginning of Asian Studies at Rio Hondo • last year, we created a Humanities class to fill the vacuum about Asia at Rio Hondo • the class is Splendors of Asia, and will provide a broad survey of Asian art, architecture, music, culture, politics, and history

5. Making The Class Interesting to Appeal to Students • Since this is the beginning of Asian studies there is a need to make this class as accessible and interesting as possible to students.

6. Stealing Arindam’s Idea • Asia is huge • Maps are traps • Instead of covering Asia through geography or regions, the class will be structured on the five physical senses and the sixth of the mind • This will make the class unique in its approach and will engage the students

7. Tastes Smell Hearing Touch Vision The Mind Food Herbs and Spices Music, Language Textiles, Yoga, and Martial Arts, physical environment Art and Film Politics, Philosophy and Religion 6 Senses

8. Tastes and Smells • A natural blend • Food taste is based on the smells • Chili peppers from the Americas • Tie in with history and trade • Black Peppers from South Asia • Tie in with history and trade • Did the Portuguese change the Curry?

9. Hearing • Interdisciplinary with Music • Languages • Chinese and Japanese Calligraphy • Mix of Hearing and seeing • Increase the level of interest in the Asian Language Classes at Rio

10. Vision • Interdisciplinary with Art • Also when studying film it will reinforce the hearing aspect of the course • Movies from around Asia • Various movies from around South Asia • Chinese • Japanese film

11. Touch • Interdisciplinary with Physical education • Yoga • Tai Chi • Karate • Textiles (ex. Silk) • Tie in with History and international trade • Kama sutra • Fear this is not interdisciplinary but intermural

12. The Mind • This was interwoven as students went through the various senses during the course • However, after the students have used their senses to come to their own conclusions they will be given an insight into philosophy from an Asian viewpoint. • This will sum up everything they have learned through the standard 5 senses.

13. Criticism of this Approach • This set up will be criticized for lacking rigor • Counter argument in support of this approach is students have to be intrigued before they agree to study something in a serious fashion

14. Asian Religions in Practice: An Introduction Ed. Donald S. Lopez Jr. Princeton University Press, 1999 ISBN: 978-0-691-00513-3 Chan Buddhism (Dimensions of Asian Spirituality) By Peter D. Hershock University of Hawaii Press, 2004 ISBN: 978-0824828356 Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India By Diana Eck Columbia University Press ISBN: 978-0231112659 White Tiger by Aravind Adiga Free Press, 2008 ISBN 978-1416562597 The Art of War By Sun-Tzu The Book of Five Rings By Miyamoto Musashi Shambhala, 2005 ISBN: 978-1590302484 Books by Haruki Murukami Reading Materials for Students

15. *The Complete Asian Cookbook By Charmaine Solomon Lansdowne Publishing, 2002 ISBN: 0-8048-3757-0 Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300 by Romila Thapar University of California Press, 2004 ISBN 978-05200242258 Introducing Eastern Philosophy By Richard Osborne Totem Books, 2001 ISBN 978-1840467864 Recentering Globalization: Popular Culture and Japanese Transnationalism By Koichi Iwabuchi Duke University Press, 2002 978-0822328919 A History of India By Burton Stein Wiley-Blackwell, 1998 ISBN: 978-0631205463 *The God of Small Things By Arundhati Roy Harper-Perennial, 1998 ISBN: 978-0060977498 may be assigned to students Columbia Project on Teaching in the Core Curriculum: A Guide for Teaching Masterworks of Asian Literature in Comparative Perspective Ed. Barbara Stoller-Miller ISBN 1-56324-257-5 Feltwell, John. The Story of Silk. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1991. Reading Materials for Instructor Preparation

16. Relevant Websites South Asian Literature: Resources for Study • http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00litlinks/index.html Asian Art http://www.asianart.com/ Asian Music http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/view/page.basic/region/content.region/asia_2 http://guides.lib.washington.edu/ethnomusicology Anthony Bourdain: No Reservation Required Travel Channel, 2009 http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Anthony_Bourdain/Video/Homemade_Indian_Cuisine

17. Creation of Asian Studies • Beyond our new Humanities course, we also currently have courses on: • Asian art • World Religions • World Dance • Languages of the World (linguistics) • Anthropology – Religion, Magic, Witchcraft, and Supernatural • Political Science – Comparative Government & International Relations

18. How to Create More Courses & Infuse Existing Courses with ASDP Material International Political Economy • a combined Political Science & Economics course, it will look at: • how countries like India have both developed & deal with the struggles of caring for over 1 billion people • how the center of the economic world has shifted to Asia and what this means for the future • how North Americans can understand Asia and successfully interact with countries in that region

19. How to Create More Courses & Infuse Existing Courses with ASDP Material History of Asia • in order to understand and interact with Asian cultures, students must know how countries in regions like South Asia came to be what they are today • need to highlight the development of religion and culture and the effects of colonial rule on much of Asia

20. Infusing Asia into Political Science Comparative Government • examining the uniqueness of the caste system in India and its effect on the Indian political system International Relations • examination of the effects of partition on Indian-Pakistani relations • economic and military development in South Asia

21. Long Term Goals • with both existing and new courses, we would like to create an Asian Studies A.A. degree International Weeks – broaden students’ horizons about the world with interactive presentations (and food) from various world cultures • promote the ASDP program for other faculty to attend (art, anthropology, history) so that several people can run and expand Asian Studies at Rio Hondo