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ASIAN

Asian Languages and Cultures

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The department at a glance

All recorded grades
average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades

How grades break down

Grades over time

Red: department · Gray: UW–Madison

About these statistics

GPA and percentages are weighted by recorded letter grades. UW comparisons use the same terms. Cross-listed courses count once within this department and once across UW; department totals should not be added together. Grade counts are not unique students. Offering counts reflect captured records, not a complete historical schedule.

Spring 2027

Recorded this term
courses with offerings
instructors recorded

Grades have not been recorded for this term. Historical results remain in the overview above.

Across course levels

Recorded this term

No released grades for this term.

Recorded offerings over time

Find your next class

33 courses

Historical overview of the built environment of Asian cities from antiquity to the present, exploring their architectural and urban legacy in social and historical context across diverse regions.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2023–Fall 2025 · limited sample

Studies visual cultures of India across art, photography, cinema, architecture, and urban planning, examining themes like sexuality, patronage, modernism, and nationalism.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2024–Spring 2026 · limited sample

Gateway to Asia: Special Topics offers a comparative, interdisciplinary introduction to multiple Asian cultures, with possible topics including travelogues, languages, and food cultures.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Adam Kern

The course required extensive reading of manga, with students noting that even reading one volume fully was sufficient to ace the open-internet quizzes.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Introduction to ancient Tibetan cultural beliefs, practices, and motifs, including gender roles, folklore, astrology, art, medicine, and religious traditions.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Jampa Khedup

Assessment consisted of two open-note online exams, bi-weekly reading reflections, and one final essay. Attendance was mandatory, but students noted it was easy to do other homework during class.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2026

The course examines selected topics in Asian Languages and Cultures.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Hieyoon Kim

One student reported minimal weekly assignments, typically consisting of one movie and one reading, with only three writing assignments and no exams.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Introduction to Comics and Graphic Novels explores the theory and history of comics, graphic novels, and related media from around the world.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Adam Kern

Opinions on difficulty varied; one student described the class as easy with manageable quizzes, while another stated it was not an easy A.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2023–Fall 2023 · limited sample

Survey of Modern Chinese Literature introduces Chinese-language prose fiction and poetry from the late 19th century through today.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Anatoly Detwyler

One student was not expected to have two or more 10-page stories every week, but noted that students had to remember every detail for the oral midterm and final exam.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2026

Overview of Edo-period Japanese literature (1600-1868), covering genres like comic books, novellas, essays, poetry, and theater to explore cultural development.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

No recorded grade history

Topics in Asian Literature explores specific themes, works, periods, or genres across Asia using translations as principal texts.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Anatoly Detwyler

As a literature course, students were required to read for every discussion session.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2024–Fall 2025

Explores the themes, structure, and reception history of Japan's The Tale of Genji (ca. 1008), focusing on love and politics.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Fall 2024 · limited sample

A literary or cultural study of a particular theme, work, period, or genre in Chinese literature, covering topics like Confucian Analects or Traditional Chinese Drama.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Fall 2024

Interdisciplinary examination of foodways and food cultures in East, Southeast Asia, and global Asian diasporas to develop critical understanding of Asian societies.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

No recorded grade history

Introduction to Southeast Asian societies, politics, and cultures through modern literature, reading fiction, poetry, and ephemeral materials alongside literary analysis to explore writing's role in social transformation.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2025

An extensive overview of literature from Japan's Edo period (1600-1868), focusing on readings in the original early modern Japanese language.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2024–Fall 2024 · limited sample

Reads and discusses modern Japanese literature while improving the ability to translate from Japanese to English through translation theory and practice.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Adam Kern

Students reported a decent amount of reading and effort required for theory and translation, while describing the instructor as lenient.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2026 · limited sample

Proseminar covering advanced topics in Asian studies, focusing on cultures, historiography, and comparative analysis of societal narratives.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Studies in Chinese Linguistics explores rotating topics in the Chinese language, including phonetics, syntax, and pragmatics, focusing on contemporary scholarly perspectives.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Weihua Zhu

Assessment consisted of simple weekly discussion posts and one final project, which the reviewer found manageable despite the challenging reading material.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2026 · limited sample

Seminar in Chinese Literature covering rotating subjects, including the post-Mao cultural renaissance through literature and film.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2026–Spring 2026 · limited sample

Explores human flourishing through science and humanities, focusing on resilience, compassion, and community to build self-awareness and meaningful engagement in life and career.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Tony Chambers

The workload included weekly journals and quizzes, which students found super easy and interesting.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Examines the disintegration of traditional Chinese society under Western imperialism, the rise of nationalism, and revolutionary movements in modern China (1800-1949).

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Fall 2022 · limited sample

Multidisciplinary and historical survey of East Asian civilizations (China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, and Mongolia) from prehistory to the present, covering philosophy, economy, governance, social structure, kinship, and geography.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Anatoly Detwyler

Attendance was mandatory and a big factor in the grade. Quizzes were straightforward, testing whether students read the assigned material.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026

Explores Asian concepts of the monstrous, ghostly, and divine through religious studies, literature, anthropology, and history perspectives.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · Jamal Jones

Grades relied on two short papers, two brief projects, and a lecture attendance question. Reviewers noted papers were graded lightly and did not assess knowledge of readings.

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2026