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Course 21G: Global Languages |
 | | | Taught in English | | | Chinese | | | French | | | German | | | Japanese | | | Portuguese | | | Russian | | | Korean | | |
| | | Arabic | | | Spanish & Special Subjects | | |  |
First Year Discovery21G.013 Discovering Multilingual Boston: Voices of Immigrant Communities
 ( ); partial termNot offered regularly; consult department Prereq: None Units: 1-0-2 [P/D/F] 
This discovery subject will expose first-year students to the 21G curriculum through exposure to the importance of global languages in our local community. Introduces Boston's multilingual richness and vibrant immigrant communities through an exploration of the city's diverse cultures and neighborhoods. Readings and films provide an overview of Boston's recent immigrant profile, document key issues within immigrant communities, and provide testimonies of lived experience. Field trips and guest speakers allow students to learn from organizations working with immigrants in Boston neighborhoods. Students have the option to produce a blog to document their findings and report on an immigrant community, struggle, or testimony. Class meets every other week over the course of the term. Subject can count toward the 6-unit discovery-focused credit limit for first-year students. Limited to 16; preference for first-year students. Staff 21G.014 Introduction to Russian Politics and Society
(); partial term
Prereq: None Units: 1-0-2 [P/D/F]  First meeting 9/11. Meets every other week. Meets 9/11 to 12/4. Lecture: R2.30 (E40-418)
Introduces students to contemporary Russia through analysis of major political, social, and cultural trends and addresses how they have developed due to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Considers the role of identity, state propaganda, civil society — including those in exile — and music both as an instrument of political power and popular resistance. Study materials include academic and media articles, recent documentaries, and video interviews with prominent figures in Russian science and culture. Subject can count toward the 6-unit discovery-focused credit limit for first year students. Limited to 15. E. Zabrovski No textbook information available 21G.015 Introduction to Buddhism, Mindfulness, and Meditation
(); second half of termNot offered regularly; consult department Prereq: None Units: 1-0-0 [P/D/F]
Companion to the Fitness and Meditation class offered through MIT's Wellness program. Introduces students to the basic ideas of Buddhism, the history of Buddhism's transmission through East Asia, and core aspects of the philosophy of Humanistic Buddhism, including the role of meditation and mindfulness in Buddhist practice. Meets with the MIT Wellness Fitness and Meditation class; students must enroll in both to receive credit. Subject can count toward the 6-unit discovery-focused credit limit for first-year students. Limited to 18. E. Teng Studies in International Literatures and CulturesStudies in International Literatures and Cultures make various modes of intercultural discourse available in English. Those subjects that deal with works from more than one nation give students the opportunity to pursue comparative studies. A significant number of subjects also allow students to study works from a single country. 21G.011 Topics in Indian Popular Culture
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Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Overview of Indian popular culture over the last two decades, through a variety of material such as popular fiction, music, television and Bombay cinema. Explores major themes and their representations in relation to current social and political issues, elements of the formulaic masala movie, music and melodrama, ideas of nostalgia and incumbent change in youth culture, and questions of gender and sexuality in popular fiction. Taught in English. Enrollment limited. Staff 21G.022[J] International Women's Voices
() Not offered regularly; consult department (Same subject as 21L.522[J], WGS.141[J]) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Introduces students to a variety of fictional works by contemporary women writers. International perspective emphasizes the extent to which each author's work reflects her distinct cultural heritage and to what extent, if any, there is an identifiable female voice that transcends national boundaries. Uses a variety of interpretive perspectives, including sociohistorical, psychoanalytic, and feminist criticism, to examine texts. Authors include Mariama Ba, Isabel Allende, Anita Desai, Maxine Hong Kingston, Toni Morrison, Doris Lessing, Alifa Riyaat, Yang Jiang, Nawal Al-Saadawi, and Sawako Ariyoshi. Taught in English. Staff 21G.024[J] The Linguistic Study of Bilingualism
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(Same subject as 24.906[J]) Prereq: 24.900, 24.9000, or permission of instructor Units: 3-0-9 Lecture: MW1-2.30 (66-144)
Development of bilingualism in human history (from Australopithecus to present day). Focuses on linguistic aspects of bilingualism; models of bilingualism and language acquisition; competence versus performance; effects of bilingualism on other domains of human cognition; brain imaging studies; early versus late bilingualism; opportunities to observe and conduct original research; and implications for educational policies among others. Students participate in six online web meetings with partner institutions. Taught in English. Enrollment limited. S. Flynn No textbook information available 21G.025[J] Africa and the Politics of Knowledge
() Not offered regularly; consult department (Same subject as 21A.135[J]) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Considers how, despite its immense diversity, Africa continues to hold purchase as both a geographical entity and meaningful knowledge category. Examines the relationship between articulations of "Africa" and projects like European imperialism, developments in the biological sciences, African de-colonization and state-building, and the imagining of the planet's future. Readings in anthropology and history are organized around five themes: space and place, race, representation, self-determination, and time. Enrollment limited. Staff 21G.026[J] Global Africa: Creative Cultures
() Not offered regularly; consult department (Same subject as 21A.136[J]) (Subject meets with 21G.326) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Examines contemporary and historical cultural production on and from Africa across a range of registers, including literary, musical and visual arts, material culture, and science and technology. Employs key theoretical concepts from anthropology and social theory to analyze these forms and phenomena. Uses case studies to consider how Africa articulates its place in, and relationship to, the world through creative practices. Discussion topics largely drawn from Francophone and sub-Saharan Africa, but also from throughout the continent and the African diaspora. Taught in English. Limited to 18. A. Edoh 21G.028[J] African Migrations
() Not offered regularly; consult department (Same subject as 21A.137[J]) (Subject meets with 21G.328) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Examines West African migration to France and to the United States from the early 20th century to the present. Centering the experiences of African social actors and historicizing recent dynamics, students consider what migration across these three regions reveals about African projects of self-determination, postcolonial nation-building, and global citizenship. Students also comparatively analyze the workings of contemporary French and American societies, in particular, the articulations of race and citizenship in the two nations. Taught in English. Limited to 18. A. Edoh 21G.029[J] City Living: Ethnographies of Urban Worlds
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(Same subject as 21A.402[J]) (Subject meets with 21G.419) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Introduces the ways in which anthropologists have studied cities. Addressing the question of what constitutes the boundaries of life in the city, students familiarize themselves with key themes - such as the relation between city and countryside, space and place, urban economies, science, globalization, migration, nature/culture, kinship, and race, gender, class and memory - that have guided anthropological analyses of cities across the world. Via engagement with case studies and their own small fieldwork projects, students gain experience with different ethnographic strategies for documenting urban life. Taught in English. Limited to 25 across 21A.402 and 21G.419. B. Stoetzer 21G.030[J] Introduction to East Asian Cultures: From Zen to K-Pop
()
(Same subject as WGS.236[J]) (Subject meets with 21G.193) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9 Lecture: TR1-2.30 (14E-310)
Examines traditional forms of East Asian culture (including literature, art, performance, food, and religion) as well as contemporary forms of popular culture (film, pop music, karaoke, and manga). Covers China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, with an emphasis on China. Considers women's culture, as well as the influence and presence of Asian cultural expressions in the US. Uses resources in the Boston area, including the MFA, the Children's Museum, and the Sackler collection at Harvard. Taught in English. E. Teng Chung No required or recommended textbooks 21G.036[J] Advertising and Media: Comparative Perspectives
() Not offered regularly; consult department (Same subject as CMS.356[J]) (Subject meets with 21G.190, CMS.888) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Compares modern and contemporary advertising culture in China, the US, and other emerging markets. First half focuses on branding in the old media environment; second half introduces the changing practice of advertising in the new media environment. Topics include branding and positioning, media planning, social media campaigns, cause marketing 2.0, social TV, and mobility marketing. Required lab work includes interactive sessions in branding a team product for the US (or a European country) and China markets. Taught in English and requires no knowledge of Chinese. Students taking graduate version complete additional assignments. Staff 21G.038 China in the News: The Untold Stories
(, ) Not offered regularly; consult department (Subject meets with 21G.194) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Examines issues and debates crucial to understanding contemporary Chinese society, culture, and politics. Discusses how cultural politics frames the way in which China is viewed by mass media around the world and by China scholars in the West. Topics include the Beijing Olympic Games; Mao in post-Mao China; the new patriotism; leisure and consumer culture; the rise of the internet and web culture in urban China; media censorship, remix, and creative online culture. Analyzes the central debate over progress and the role played by the state, the market, and citizen activists in engineering social change. Uses documentaries and feature films to illustrate the cultural, social and political changes that have taken place in China since the 1980s. Includes two short writing assignments and a final paper. Taught in English. Staff 21G.039[J] Gender and Japanese Popular Culture
() Not offered regularly; consult department (Same subject as 21A.143[J], WGS.154[J]) (Subject meets with 21G.591) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Examines relationships between identity and participation in Japanese popular culture as a way of understanding the changing character of media, capitalism, fan communities, and culture. Emphasizes contemporary popular culture and theories of gender, sexuality, race, and the workings of power and value in global culture industries. Topics include manga (comic books), hip-hop and other popular music, anime and feature films, video games, contemporary literature, and online communication. Students present analyses and develop a final project based on a particular aspect of gender and popular culture. Several films screened outside of regular class meeting times. Taught in English. I. Condry 21G.040 A Passage to India: Introduction to Modern Indian Culture and Society
()
Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Introduction to Indian culture through films, short-stories, novels, essays, newspaper articles. Examines some major social and political controversies of contemporary India through discussions centered on India's history, politics and religion. Focuses on issues such as ethnic tension and terrorism, poverty and inequality, caste conflict, the missing women, and the effects of globalization on popular and folk cultures. Particular emphasis on the IT revolution, outsourcing, the new global India and the enormous regional and subcultural differences. Taught in English. Staff 21G.041[J] Foundations of East Asian Literature and Culture: From Confucius to the Beats
()
(Same subject as 21L.040[J]) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9 URL: https://lit.mit.edu/21l-040-foundations-of-east-asian-literature-and-culture-from-confucius-to-the-beats/ Lecture: MW9.30-11 (2-103)
Studies foundational works from East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam) with a focus on their cultural context and contemporary relevance and asks how "Literature" looks different when conceived through some of the world's oldest literatures beyond the West. Explores philosophical texts, history writing, poetry, stories and diaries, tales, and novels. Hones skills of reading, writing, and speaking with a sense of cultural sensitivity, historical depth, and comparative contemplation. Students who have taken this topic under 21L.007 cannot also receive credit for 21L.040. W. Denecke No textbook information available 21G.042[J] Three Kingdoms: From History to Fiction, Comic, Film, and Game
()
(Same subject as 21H.352[J], 21L.492[J], CMS.359[J]) (Subject meets with 21G.133) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9 Lecture: TR11-12.30 (14E-310)
Analyzing core chapters of the great Chinese epic novel, Three Kingdoms, and its adaptations across diverse media, considers what underlies the appeal of this classic narrative over the centuries. Through focus on historical events in the period 206 BC to AD 280, examines the representation of power, diplomacy, war, and strategy, and explores the tension among competing models of political authority and legitimacy. Covers basic elements of classical Chinese political and philosophical thought, and literary and cultural history. Final group project involves digital humanities tools. Readings in translation. Films and video in Chinese with English subtitles. E. Teng No required or recommended textbooks 21G.043[J] From Yellow Peril to Model Minority: Asian American History to 1968
()
(Same subject as 21H.107[J]) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Provides an overview of Asian American history between the 1830s and 1968 and its relevance for contemporary issues. Covers the first wave of Asian immigration in the 19th century, the rise of anti-Asian movements, the experiences of Asian Americans during WWII, the 1965 immigration reform, and the emergence of the Asian American movement in the 1960s. Examines the role these experiences played in the formation of Asian American ethnicity. Addresses key societal issues such as racial stereotyping, xenophobia, ethnicity and racial formation, citizenship, worker activism, immigrant community building, the "model minority" myth, and anti-Asian harassment and violence. Taught in English. Consult E. Teng 21G.044[J] Classics of Chinese Literature in Translation
()
(Same subject as 21L.494[J], WGS.235[J]) (Subject meets with 21G.195) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Introduction to some of the major genres of traditional Chinese poetry, fiction, and drama. Intended to give students a basic understanding of the central features of traditional Chinese literary genres, as well as to introduce students to the classic works of the Chinese literary tradition. Works read include Journey to the West, Outlaws of the Margin, Dream of the Red Chamber, and the poetry of the major Tang dynasty poets. Literature read in translation. Taught in English. Staff 21G.045[J] Global Chinese Food: A Historical Overview
() Not offered regularly; consult department (Same subject as 21H.156[J]) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Introduces the history of Chinese food around the world. Illustrates how the globalization of Chinese food is deeply connected to Chinese migration patterns, expansion of Western influence in Asia, Chinese entrepreneurship, and interethnic relations in places of Chinese settlement. With an overview of earlier periods in Chinese history, focuses on the 18th through 20th centuries, specifically on major events in modern world history that affected the availability and demand for Chinese food. Considers environmental issues in relation to China's changing food systems. Includes a mandatory field trip to Boston Chinatown. Taught in English. Limited to 30. Staff 21G.046 Modern Chinese Fiction and Cinema
() Not offered regularly; consult department (Subject meets with 21G.192) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Covers major works of Chinese fiction and film, from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Focusing on the modern period, examines how Chinese intellectuals, writers, and filmmakers have used artistic works to critically explore major issues in modern Chinese culture and society. Literature read in translation. Taught in English. Enrollment limited. Staff 21G.048[J] Images of Asian Women: Dragon Ladies and Lotus Blossoms
()
(Same subject as 21A.141[J], WGS.274[J]) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Explores some of the forces and mechanisms through which stereotypes are built and perpetuated. In particular, examines stereotypes associated with Asian women in colonial, nationalist, state-authoritarian, and global/diasporic narratives about gender and power. Students read ethnography, fiction, and history, and view films to examine the politics and circumstances that create and perpetuate the representation of Asian women as dragon ladies, lotus blossoms, despotic tyrants, desexualized servants, and docile subordinates. Students are introduced to debates about Orientalism, gender, and power. M. Buyandelger 21G.049[J] French Photography
() 
(Same subject as 4.674[J], 21H.145[J]) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Introduces students to the world of French photography from its invention in the 1820s to the present. Provides exposure to major photographers and images of the French tradition and encourages students to explore the social and cultural roles and meanings of photographs. Designed to help students navigate their own photo-saturated worlds; provides opportunity to gain practical experience in photography. Taught in English. Enrollment limited. C. Clark 21G.050[J] Looking East/Looking West
()
(Same subject as 21H.247[J]) Prereq: None Units: 3-0-9
Examines how objects and images mediate encounters between people and helped define the "Orient" and the "Occident." Explores the visual and material culture as well as textual accounts produced by and consumed during encounters between European and Asian travelers, diplomats, artists, writers, and tourists since the seventeenth century. Considers the frameworks scholars have used to understand these encounters and how we might deploy those frameworks ourselves. Employs historical thinking to work on our skills of visual and cultural analysis. Questions how these legacies of material and visual exchange have shaped the community within Boston area. Staff 21G.052 French Film Classics
() Not offered regularly; consult department Prereq: None Units: 2-2-8
History and aesthetics of French cinema from the advent of sound to present-day. Treats films in the context of technical processes, the art of narration, directorial style, role of the scriptwriter, the development of schools and movements, the impact of political events and ideologies, and the relation between French and other national cinemas. Films shown with English subtitles. Taught in English. Staff 21G.053[J] Understanding Contemporary French Politics
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| | | Taught in English | | | Chinese | | | French | | | German | | | Japanese | | | Portuguese | | | Russian | | | Korean | | |
| | | Arabic | | | Spanish & Special Subjects | | | |
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