East Asian Cultures OpenCourseWare: A Free Bachelor Level Course by MIT on the Study of East Asian Culture

Published Jan 27, 2009

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Discover the modern and pre-modern East Asian cultures through this free OpenCourseWare offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 'East Asian Cultures' explores the Korean, Japanese and Chinese culture through their literature, languages and major belief systems. This course has no prerequisites, but will be ideal for those studying East Asian cultures or languages.

East Asian Cultures: Course Specifics

Degree Level Free Audio Video Downloads
Undergraduate Yes No No Yes

Lectures/Notes Study Materials Tests/Quizzes
Yes Yes No

East Asian Cultures: Course Description

'East Asian Cultures' is a free course that helps students identify factors that connect the various East Asian cultures, despite geographical, political and historical differences. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)'s School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences in Cambridge, MA, offers this OpenCourseWare to cover overlapping aspects of East Asian cultures, including shared philosophies, like Confucianism and Buddhism. Students learn the differences and similarities of foods, celebrations, animation and literature in the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese cultures. The course also spends time focusing on traditions that are specific to one culture, such as Korean wedding traditions. This MIT course is designed for students studying foreign languages or cultures and ideal for those interested in East Asia. The globalization and westernization of these cultures are also discussed. Sample assignments include writing a journal that formulates the basis of group discussion.

Some assignments and a list of course readings are available online. To learn more, visit the East Asian Cultures course page.

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