The Ramayana, the famous Hindu epic, is retold here in words and illustrations by "The Golden Eagles," Loretta Hopper's Grade 2 class from Ephesus Elementary in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Agha Ibrahim Akram was a lieutenant general who served in the Pakistan Army during the 1965 and 1971 wars with India. In this video segment, Akram recalls 1974 as the watershed year when India detonated a nuclear explosive and took one step toward becoming a nuclear power in hopes of enhancing its global status. That moment also coincided with skyrocketing oil prices, which stiffened Pakistan's resolve to develop nuclear energy for electricity and, if need be, weapons. The interview Akram conducted for War and Peace in the Nuclear Age: 'The Haves and Have-Nots' concentrates on the history of tension and conflict between Pakistan and India. He reviews the three wars: the devastating bloodshed that followed partition in 1947, the pride he felt in 1965 as chief of staff of an infantry division along the West Pakistan border, and his bitterness toward India over the Bangladesh war in 1971. Despite the persistence of tension between Pakistan and India, Akram recognizes circumstances in which their perspectives and geopolitical positions meet. For instance, he fully supports India's critique of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: that the major nuclear powers only selectively enforce and adhere to its provisions. He wishes that South Asia could be a nuclear-weapons-free zone but is willing to settle for India and Pakistan's interdependence: 'The two countries are the protagonists of South Asia. We'll actually cross the threshold together or not cross it at all.'

This course serves as an introduction to the major pre-Modern artistic traditions of India, China, and Japan. It first examines Indian Art, focusing on Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic art and architecture. Then, the student will cover the arts of China, detailing the interaction between art, politics, and culture throughout Chinese dynastic history. Lastly, the course discusses Japanese Art, exploring the effects that various sub-traditions and sub-cultures had on the art of Japan. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: identify major pre-modern Indian, Chinese, and Japanese works of art and architecture; identify the major art historical time periods in India, China, and Japan and the important artistic developments that occurred during each of them; recognize how art and architecture can be used to understand the politics, history, and culture of India, China, and Japan; look at, analyze, and compare and contrast different types of Asian art. (Art History 305)

This course will introduce the student to the international relations of the Asia-Pacific region. Globalization, economic ties, national security issues, and politico-military alliances with the U.S. make an understanding of this region important to any political science student or participant in American government. This course will examine the differences between Western political thought and the general philosophical outlooks of the Asian population, which have been molded by societal forces for thousands of years. It will also address politics in Asia by examining pre-colonial systems of government, Western imperialism, national liberation movements, and proxy wars fought by the Superpowers in the Cold War. This course is important because the Asia-Pacific has given rise to several of the U.S.'s major security concerns: financial support of the U.S. economy by China and Japan through the purchase of U.S. government debt securities, conflict with China over Taiwan, North Korea's nuclear weapons program, separatist movements in several of the smaller Pacific Rim nations, and the growth and support of transnational terrorism within the region. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: explain how religion and culture impact government and political systems in Eastern Asia; discuss philosophies of government in Eastern Asia from ancient times to the present; identify the ways in which Western imperialism has impacted Eastern Asia; demonstrate an understanding of systems of governance currently in existence in Eastern Asia; analyze contemporary political and security issues in Eastern Asia that may impact U.S. national interests; assess the relationship that exists between economic development, systems of governance, and political stability of a Third World nation. (Political Science 322)

SeaWiFS false color data showing seasonal change in the oceans and on land for Asia. The data is seasonally averaged, and shows the sequence: fall, winter, spring, summer, fall, winter, spring (for the Northern Hemisphere).

Over two dozen lessons address stories, letters, and folk tales that focus on Peace Corps Volunteer experiences in Asia and the Pacific islands. Topics include arranged marriages, learning a new language and culture, different cultural perspectives, rural Mongolian nomadic culture, cultural and economic complexities in China, learning to speak Chinese, what constitutes a good job, resolving contrasting values between cultures (Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea).

The lesson integrates both Social Sciences and Language Arts in a research and a creative writing component. The student will further understand inventors or inventions from Asia, Africa, and Australia, the focused continents in the 7th grade Social Sciences curriculum, as well as have the opportunity to develop his/her writing, reading, and oral communication skills. The project also incorporates mathematics with an emphasis on percentages and graphing.

Students will use drawing and writing to study characters in Asian art, focusing on the potential stories hinted at by the many details depicted in the art examples. This lesson draws on the richly detailed and expressive human and animal characters depicted in the arts of Asia. Is there a reason why Durga has so many arms? What about Ganesha and that elephant head?

This web article discusses the history of evolutionary genetics. The article highlights important contributors such as Sewall Wright and Dobzhansky as well as current ideas in evolutionary genetics. From this webpage, users can read and download the article and follow links to other useful websites.

Bruce Kent, ordained a Catholic minister in 1958, became general secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in 1980 and chairman in 1987, the year he resigned from the ministry. In this video segment, he challenges the damaging spin that secretary for defense Lord Michael Heseltine used to undermine CND rather than engage in public debate about nuclear policy. Kent also refutes accusations that CND was in support of 'one-sided,' full unilateral disarmament. Instead, he argues for 'sufficiency' to replace 'parity' of nuclear forces. In the interview Kent conducted for War and Peace in the Nuclear Age: 'Zero Hour,' he describes the forces that converged to revive CND and the rallies that drew hundreds of thousands of marchers to the center of London in the early 1980s. He recounts the spread of peace movements to other Western European capitals, the partnership among protest leaders from these other countries, and some of the differences in their national agendas. The 1983 Conservative Party's rise to power on the heels of the Falklands War, coupled with its forceful campaign to mischaracterize CND, halted the movement's momentum. At this point, Kent recalls, CND shifted its agenda to 'the long haul,' prioritizing long-term, international public education over large demonstrations. Kent critiques 'flexible response' what he calls 'the Achilles' heel' of the Western alliance. Nuclear war is so clearly unwinnable, he maintains, that 'parity' must yield to 'sufficiency.' As Kent sees positions like these echoed in public discourse and arms negotiations, he concludes that CND's key contribution is helping 'some serious rethinking of the basics of the whole business.'

The third term in the streamlined sequence. Students who have completed Chinese II streamlined admitted; others should check with the Chinese coordinator. This course is the intermediate level of the streamlined curriculum, which is intended for students who, when they began streamlined I, had some background in the language, whether it be comprehension with limited speaking ability or quite fluent speaking ability. The focus of the course is on standard pronunciation and usage, on reading in both complex and simplified characters, and on writing. It is presupposed that students in Chinese III have already learned the pinyin system of representing pronunciation sufficiently well to be able to read texts in pinyin accurately. (If not, there are pinyin tutorials to assist you to learn the system..

This subject is the second semester of two that form an introduction to modern standard Chinese, commonly called Mandarin. Though not everyone taking this course will be an absolute beginner, the course presupposes only 21F.101/151, the beginning course in the sequence. The purpose of this course is to develop: (a) basic conversational abilities (pronunciation, fundamental grammatical patterns, common vocabulary, and standard usage); (b) basic reading skills (in both the traditional character set and the simplified); (c) an understanding of the way the Chinese writing system is structured, and the ability to copy and write characters; and (d) a sense of what learning a language like Chinese entails, and the sort of learning processes that it involves, so students are able to continue studying effectively on their own. The main text is J. K. Wheatley's Learning Chinese: A Foundation Course in Mandarin, part II (unpublished, but available online). (Part I of the book forms the basis of 21F.101/151, which is also published on OpenCourseWare..

Continuation of 21F.101. For full description, see 21F.101. For graduate credit see 21F.152.

This course, along with 21F.107 / 21F.157 Chinese I (Streamlined) offered in the previous fall, form the elementary level of the streamlined sequence, which is intended for students who, when they began the sequence at beginning level, had basic conversational skills (gained, typically, from growing up in a Chinese speaking environment), but lacked a corresponding level of literacy. The focus of the course is on learning standard usage of expressions for everyday use, on reading in both traditional and simplified characters, and on writing.

This subject is the first semester of two that form an introduction to modern standard Chinese, commonly called Mandarin. Though not everyone taking this course will be an absolute beginner, the course presupposes no prior background in the language. The purpose of this course is to develop: (a) basic conversational abilities (pronunciation, fundamental grammatical patterns, common vocabulary, and standard usage); (b) basic reading skills (in both the traditional character set and the simplified); (c) an understanding of the way the Chinese writing system is structured, and the ability to copy and write characters; and (d) a sense of what learning a language like Chinese entails, and the sort of learning processes that it involves, so students are able to continue studying effectively on their own.

The main text is Wheatley, J. K. Learning Chinese: A Foundation Course in Mandarin. Part I. (unpublished, but available online). (Part II of the book forms the basis of 21F.102 / 152, which is also published on OpenCourseWare.)

This subject is the first semester of two that form an introduction to modern standard Chinese, commonly called Mandarin. Though not everyone taking this course will be an absolute beginner, the course presupposes no prior background in the language. The purpose of this course is to develop: Basic conversational abilities (pronunciation, fundamental grammatical patterns, common vocabulary, and standard usage); Basic reading and writing skills (in both the traditional character set and the simplified); and An understanding of the language learning process so that you are able to continue studying effectively on your own.

The main text is Wheatley, J. K. Learning Chinese: A Foundation Course in Mandarin. Part I. (unpublished, but available online). (Part II of the book forms the basis of 21F.102 / 152, which is also published on OpenCourseWare.)

Designed for students who already speak some basic Chinese but who have no, or very little reading and writing ability. Focuses on standard pronunciation and usage, on reading both in full form and simplified characters, and on basic composition. For graduate credit see 21F.157.

Photographs and text describe contemporary life in Vietnam and the impact of economic and social reforms since the 1980s.

This course examines cultural performances of Asia, including both traditional and contemporary forms, in a variety of genres. Students will explore the communicative power of performances with attention to the ways performers, media, cultural settings, and audiences interact. The representation of cultural difference is considered and how it is altered through processes of globalization. Performances are viewed live when possible, but the course also relies on video, audio, and online materials as necessary.