Skip to main content
Indiana University Bloomington

Korean Language Program
College of Arts and Sciences East Asian Languages and Cultures
Pictures

Korean Studies at IU

Faculty

Roger Janelli [Retired] Korean folklore and society; modern Korean business culture

Michael Robinson (Retired) Modern Korea; the colonial period; popular culture

Seung-Kyung Kim Korea Foundation Endowed Chair/Director of Institute for Korean Studies; Gender and society in contemporary Korea.

Hyo Sang Lee Functional approach to syntax and morphology, typology, semantics/pragmatics, discourse/conversation analysis; comparative study of East Asian languages; language pedagogy

Susan Hwang Modern Korean literature and cultural studies

John Finch Lecturer/Associate Director of Institute for Korean Studies; Family, migration and education; gender, culture and cinema; globalization and inequality; and household and community ethnography

Jiyoung Kim Lecturer; Korean language

Wenling Liu (East Asian Librarian) East Asian bibliography, Chinese/Japanese/Korean database development

Courses

Korean language courses

Courses taught about Korea, in English

E233 Survey of Korean Civilization An introduction to the major cultural, social, and political features of Korean society from its prehistorical past to contemporary times. Focuses on how Koreans blended Chinese civilization and, in the twentieth century, institutions from the West and Japan, with indigenous traditions to produce a unique civilization.

E305 Korean Language and Culture A survey of cultural, conceptual, and philosophical patterns and the structure of Korean society, as reflected by the Korean language.

F305 Korean Folklore Forms and functions of folklore in the traditional and developing societies of Korea. Folklore as a reflection of culture. Relationship between folklore forms and belief systems.

G372 Modern Korea Early Modern, Colonial, and Era of Division periods of Korean history, focusing on transformation of politics, economy, education, religion, and though, as the nation splits into two states as a result of internal ideological division and the Cold War.

E342 Modern Korean History Modern Korean history 1876-2010. Major themes: Korea's inclusion in world system, intrusion of capitalism and transformation from agrarian to industrialized/consumer society. Course will explore modern systems (colonialism/neocolonialism, capitalism, social revolution/socialist economic experiments, Cold War, and globalization) through the study of Korean history. 

EALC-E 356 Understanding Two Koreas: Politics, Society, and U. S. Policy Exploration of the patterns and complexities of the relationship between two Koreas and the U.S., with a focus on the division of Korea, domestic politics of two Koreas, the changes and continuities of U. S. policies toward the Korean Peninsula, and post-Cold War developments including the North Korean nuclear crisis.

K421/520 Introduction to Korean Linguistics, Survey of the linguistic structure of Korean language including word order, basic sentence structure, semantics, pragmatics of noun particles, clause connectors, sentence-final modal suffixes, the temporal system, causatives and passives, conversational styles, speech styles and honorifics. Focuses more on comparative and function-oriented perspectives rather than on formal structures. 

COURSES ON EAST ASIA

E100 East Asia: An Introduction Basic introduction to China, Japan, and Korea. Intended to help students understand the unique character of each of these three cultures within the general framework of East Asian civilization, comprehend the historical importance of the three countries, and appreciate the crucial role they play in the world today.
E101 The World and East Asia Exploration of cultural interaction between the West and East Asia. Depending on the instructor, focus may be on the Asian-American experience, literary or media images of Western and Eastern cultures, Americans who have influenced Asia, or other aspects of cultural exchange.

E251 Traditional East Asian Civilizations A chronological and comparative survey of the traditional civilizations of East Asia through lectures and readings of source materials (in translation) in literature, history, philosophy, and the arts, with emphasis on the interrelationship among the cultures of East Asia from ancient times to the early modern era.

E252 Modern East Asian Civilization Contrasting patterns of indigenous change and response to Western imperialism in East Asia during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. China and Japan receive primary consideration; Korea and Vietnam, secondary. Emphasis on the rise of nationalism and other movements directed toward revolutionary change.

E256 Land and Society in East Asia Lands and societies of East Asia, principally China and Japan. Environmental conditions, human use and misuse of the environment, urbanization and its relationship with the building of modern institutions, and future prospects.

EALC-E 300 Studies in East Asian Literature  Selected issues and problems of importance to the understanding of East Asian literature, film or linguistics.

E384 East Asian Nationalism and Cultural Identity Exploration of the impact of the metaphor of nation and Western nationalism theory on Western literature dealing with modern East Asia. Emphasis on how Western notions of political identify shape and, sometimes, obscure our understanding of East Asian cultural and political identity.

E385 Asian Americans: Cultural Conflict and Identity An examination of the historical, cultural, and racial dynamics underpinning the evolution of contemporary Asian American identity. Students learn not only about cultural theory and also how cultural identities are constructed within AmericaÕs multi-ethnic/cultural society, but also about themselves.TAUGHT IN ENGLISH, AND CROSSLISTED IN EALC