Freshman Seminar

Seminar designed to acquaint beginning students to some of Asia's chronic problem areas. We begin with a broad overview that considers some of the political and cultural characteristics of this vast and diverse continent in general.  We then attempt to focus on one basic problem, illustrated by three cases.  That basic problem is that despite the impressive economic performance of Asia as a whole, there are several chronic political flash points over territorial, ideological, or
ethno-national issues that inhibit normal relations in the region and threaten at times to erupt into violence.   Three of the most persistent and apparently insoluble cases are those of
China/Taiwan, North/South Korea, and India/Pakistan.  All three of these situations remain consistent regional sources of tension that threaten to trigger a crisis implicating many other
countries, perhaps including the US--and all three cases now could conceivably involve nuclear weaponry.