Primary instructor:
Prof. Ben Stavis
  439 Gladfelter Hall
  tel:  215-204-7793   bstavis@temple.edu

Other faculty in the Asian Studies program are available to help you define your research topics, identify literature, and review your paper. Any other Asian Studies faculty member may do the final reading and recommend a grade for this course.

 Kurt Behrendt, Art History
 Richard Chalfen, Anthropology, Japan
 Roman Cybriwsky, Geog and Urban Studies, Asia (at TUJ this term)
 Thomas Dean, Religion
 Robert Kidder, Sociology
 Louis Mangione, Critical Languages, Chinese
 John Means, Critical Languages
 Shigenori Nagatomo, Religion, Asia, Japan
 Dieu Nguyen, History, South East Asia
 Denise O'Brien, Anthropology, Japan
 Howard Spodek, History, South Asia
 Barbara Thornbury, Critical Languages, Japan
 Kathy Uno, History, Japan
 Kathy Walker, History, China
 Sydney White, Anthropology
 Ellen Zhang, Religion

OBJECTIVES

This course is the capstone writing course in the Asian Studies Program. It is designed primarily for Asian Studies majors but is open to other students seeking an in-depth research and writing experience.  While there are no formal prerequisites, students are expected to have taken several Asian Studies courses already and to have reasonably defined interests so that they can identify research projects at the beginning of the semester.

A key part of writing is identifying the best research material to use.  Thus a substantial part of the course involves exercises to become familiar with research tools.  The web has become so convenient and powerful that there is now a threat that students will bypass the resources in the classic, paper library.  The course will require students to (re)familiarize themselves with these classic resources.
 

OFFICE HOURS

Ben Stavis:   439 Gladfelter Hall,
email consultation is always available   bstavis@temple.edu

Office hours:  Monday, Friday 1:00-2:00 and sometimes on Wednesday
 and at other times by appointment
  office tel: 215-204-7793
  email:      bstavis@temple.edu

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Each student will be responsible for one major research project dealing with some aspect of Asia.  The first step will be to complete a series of exercises that will help the student locate resources and present them properly.  Students are required to bring to class the written exercise on the date specified by the schedule below.  Students will give brief oral reports about their projects in class and will write high quality papers, properly referenced, at a "professional standard" of presentation.  Later in the syllabus explanations for "proper referencing" and "professional standard" of presentation are given.

In addition, we will discuss a variety of important themes in Asian Studies.

Regular attendance and participation in discussion is required.
 

GRADES

Grades will be based on the following nine assignments, of which the term paper is by far the most important.
 

These assignments are described below.  ALL ASSIGNMENTS MUST BROUGHT TO CLASS ON THE DUE DATE.  THEY WILL BE DOWN-GRADED IF DONE LATE.  THEY MUST BE DONE AT A PROFESSIONAL LEVEL OF PRESENTATION.  THIS MEANS TYPED/WORD PROCESSED.  SEE FULL DISCUSSION BELOW ABOUT PRESENTATION STANDARDS.
 

COMPUTER USE

This course requires students to be comfortable with computers to:
 - use email to supplement class communication.
 - search data bases to help develop bibliographies for term papers.
 - read materials on the internet for term papers.
 - do word processing.

Students can use computers at any of the numerous computer labs on campus.  The computer center offers frequent training classes on various types of software.

If you are using a computer and modem at home, be sure you can access Paley Library's special, restricted resources.  You can do this in two ways.  If you  access the university computers by telephone modem and PPP, you will have no problem.  Alternatively,  you can access the proxy server "http://gate.temple.edu:8080" and you will be prompted for your PPP logon and password.  For details on configuration, check http://www.temple.edu/cs/connect/proxy/contents.html.

The Asian Studies Home Page   (http://www.temple.edu/asian_studies) provides links to a variety of resources about Asia.
 

ASSIGNMENTS:

1. Five possible themes

Students should make a list of five themes about Asia that seem interesting, significant, and researchable.

2. Web Search Tools

Students should start research using common web searching tools:

http://www.google.com
http://alltheweb.com
http://www.amazon.com

3. Library searching tools

Then students should use bibliographic searching tools that are not restricted to the web:

Diamond On-line Catalog          http://diamond.temple.edu/search/
Bibliography of Asian Studies       http://www.library.temple.edu/ELECRES/ysocsci.htm
FirstSearch                          http://www.library.temple.edu/fsrch/
    includes ArticleFirst, ECO, and WorldCat
Social Science Citations Index      http://www.library.temple.edu/ELECRES/ysocsci.htm
DigitalDissertations               http://www.library.temple.edu/ELECRES/ysocsci.htm#PQDD

4.  Foreign Press Resources

Students should review translations of the world press and prepare a brief analysis of the distinctive aspects of various resources.

Foreign newspaper web sites    http://www.newslink.org
                                       http://washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/asia.htm

World News Connection          http://www.library.temple.edu/ELECRES/yBusines.htm

Students must prepare two pages, one with properly formatted footnotes on the bottom of the page, the other with proper citations and a citation list.

Two styles of footnotes/references are common in academic publishing.  Each is excellent, but don't mix up the two systems.

 

Footnotes:

In this system you make your citations with footnotes at the bottom of the page or at the end.  Author's names are presented first name first, last name second.  The footnote is separated by commas, and ends in a period.  Here are examples of proper citation for a newspaper,¹ a book,² and a journal article.³

1. Craig Whitney, "After Decade of Thatcherism, British Values have Changed," New York Times, May 2, 1989, p. 1, 5.

2. James Fallows, Looking at the Sun, The Rise of the New East Asian Economic and Political System (New York: Pantheon, 1994), p. 234.

3. Abram Bergson, "Development Under Two Systems," World Politics 23:4 (July 1974), p. 579.

When you refer again to the same materials, you can use a few standard ways of simplification:

To refer to the previous footnote, at the same page:⁴

4. Ibid.

To refer to the previous footnote, but a different page:⁵
5. Ibid., p. 582.

To refer to a previously used source (but not the one immediately before), you have two ways, one using Latin, the other using an abbreviated reference:^{6, 7}

6. Fallows, Op. Cit., p. 235.   Note: Op. Cit. means the opus (work) previously cited.

7. Fallows, Looking at the Sun..., p. 235.

If there is no author, don't worry; just begin with the title of the article.⁸

8. "Fresh Produce to Flow Across Strait," Beijing Review, Vol. 48 No. 10 (March 10, 2005), p. 19.

A reference to a chapter in a book is done this way.⁹

9. C. S. Eliot Kang, "North Korea's International Relations: The Successful Failure," in The International Relations of Northeast Asia, ed. Samuel S. Kim (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2004), p. 290.

For material found on the web, if the material exists in a "classic" paper format and is in libraries, give the paper reference first, and then an indication of where you found it on the web.¹⁰

10. Li Zhi, "Rural Dilemmas," Beijing Review No. 10, 2005.  Available at http://www.bjreview.com.cn/En-2005/05-10-e/10-china-1.htm.

Even if you don't have the full source for the paper document, at least indicate the organization that published the document.  Also give your date of access.¹¹

11. World Bank, <http://www.worldbank.org/wdi/cdrom/cd-tabls.htm#book> Oct. 19, 1998.

When you are referencing translations of materials, the footnote should include full, normal citations, first  to the original publication and second for the translated versions.¹²

12. Sun Xueyu,  “The Legal System and Rule of Law Under the Leadership of the Communist Party,” She ko Xinxi [Social Science Information], Beijing, Issue 11, 1997, pp. 36-38.  Inside China Mainland, Taipei, 20:4 (April 1998), pp. 3-6.

For translations from the World News Connection, here is an example.¹³

13. Zhu Huajun, "The United States Should Actively Understand China," Beijing Renmin Ribao (Overseas Edition - Internet Version),  Sept. 27, 2000, p. 5.  http://wnc.fedworld.gov  FBIS-CHI-2000-0927, Article Id: CPP20000927000049.

Internet References -- If the internet citation is previously published (on paper) material , give the full citation to the original paper document, followed by "available on the web at (give URL)."¹⁴

14. Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Country Studies, "Country Profile -- Thailand" (Washington: Library of Congress, September 2005).  Available at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Thailand.pdf.

15.  Alice Donald, "Can Laos Keep AIDS at Bay?" BBC News, Oct. 30, 2003.  Available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2372307.stm.  Also available at http://www.utopia-asia.com/aidslao.htm.

If the internet citation has not been previously published and exists only on the web, give full URL, information about the ownership of the website, and the date accessed.

For more suggestions on making electronic citations, check: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.html
 

In this system a bibliography is normally optional.  The bibliography is arranged alphabetically, by surname of author.  The entries are presented last name first, and separated by periods.

Fallows, James. Looking at the Sun, The Rise of the New East Asian Economic
        and Political System. New York: Pantheon, 1994.
 

References:

In this system, references are placed in the text.  Generally, they give in parentheses the author's surname, the year of publication and the page number (Fallows, 1994, p. 17).

At the end, a list of references is critical.  It is arranged alphabetically by surname of the author.  Generally, the author's name is followed by the year of publication, as this is used in the citation.  These entries are separated by periods.

Fallows, James. 1994
    Looking at the Sun, The Rise of the New East Asian Economic and Political
    System.  New York: Pantheon.

Follow either style PRECISELY (including commas, periods, etc.) unless you have an extremely good reason to do otherwise.  You are strongly urged to buy a style book that will give you complete rules for preparing papers for this course and all others you will do at Temple and beyond.  Two excellent ones are Kate Turabian, Student's Guide for Writing Papers or Chicago Manual of Style.  Both are available at the book store.
 

7. Prospectus

The prospectus (1-2 pages) is the key to starting off on a sound research project.  While it is short, it requires substantial thought.  It has the following three aspects:

1. A concise statement of the theme of the paper.  This might be a couple of sentences.  A well defined theme has clear boundaries; you can say what is within and what is outside your paper.  It is broad enough to raise an interesting question, but narrow enough to be researchable.  It also specifies the data you will use to illuminate  your theme.

2. A preliminary bibliography for the paper.  You should have  located a book or two and a journal article or two.  You should have identified at least one important author in this field.

3. The prospectus must be presented in proper format.  This means typed, double spaced, one side of the paper, reasonable margins (around 1 1/4" left and right), neat, accurately spelled, page numbers on the pages, and stapled together, etc.  If you get the formatting and referencing accurate on the prospectus, then your paper is well on the road towards proper standards in presentation.

7. First Draft

Hand in a first draft (8-22 pages) and be prepared to discuss it in class.  Explain your key question and key insight; describe the data that were available.  Aim for a high quality of written presentation.

Although very private and personal, writing is also a social process.  Your writing responds to questions other people have raised, incorporates ideas that others have developed, and is presented in a way to be accessible to others.  Feedback from others is the fuel that keeps the iterative process between you and your community of readers moving in a productive direction.
 

8. Final Draft

Utilizing the feed back you have gotten on the first draft, make corrections and improvements.  Aim for professional standard of presentation, and somewhere between 10 and 20 pages.
 
 

PROFESSIONAL STANDARD OF PRESENTATION:

"Professional standard" of presentation means typed, double spaced, one side of the paper, reasonable margins (around 1 1/4" left and right), neat, accurately spelled, page numbers on the pages, and stapled together, etc.  The final draft should, if at all possible, be printed on a laser printer.  If you are using a dot matrix printer, print the final draft using "high print density."  Do not use a plastic covers for your report; the covers just get in the way.

 Professional level of presentation requires proper grammar, including agreement between subject and verb, consistency in verb tense, etc.  Poor spelling and typographic errors must be avoided.  Avoid confusion of the plural (...s) with the possessive singular (...'s) and possessive plural (...s').  Misuse of homonyms such as their-there-they're, its-it's, to-too-two, whether-weather, due-do-dew, principle-principal, site-sight-cite, red-read, son-sun, capitol-capital, steel-steal, brake-break etc., are unacceptable.  "Spell-checker" misses these errors.  You must proofread carefully.  see: http://nimbus.temple.edu/~bstavis/spell.htm
 

In the long run, writing is one of the most valuable skills you will learn in college.  If you need additional help in writing, please visit the Writing Center (B19 Weiss Hall) (204-5611) and arrange for specialized instruction (free).
 

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

We learn in a group environment, but we must demonstrate our mastery of materials on an individual basis.  Misrepresenting other people's work as one's own is a serious breach of academic integrity.  I manage the class on the basis of trust in each student's academic integrity, and this enables our class to be informal and flexible.  The other side of the coin is that any act that undermines this trust in academic integrity is a serious matter.

Written assignments must be based on the student's own research and writing specifically for this course.  If you like what another author says and wish to use that material, you must use quotation marks and footnotes to show clearly the line between your own insights and the insights of someone else.  Failure to make this distinction clear constitutes plagiarism, which is a very serious violation of the principles of academic integrity.

Papers written for other courses can not be submitted again for this course.  One paper may not be submitted to two courses unless there is prior approval from both professors.

These guidelines are explained in greater detail in the University's Statement on Academic Integrity, printed in the Undergraduate Bulletin.
 

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
 

DUE DATE  BRING THIS EXERCISE TO CLASS

Jan 23   COURSE INTRODUCTION

       Introductions and self introductions
       The concept of a writing course
        Sources
        Writing:
         Interplay between hypothesis and data, theory and practice
              defining a important, feasible project
         Newton standing on shoulders of giants
         Michelangelo making a statue of marble
         Mental process
         Social Process

Jan 30     1. list 5 possible topics

Feb 6      2. Web Searching tools

Feb 13    3. Library Searching tools

Feb 20    4. Foreign Press Resources

Feb 27    5. Footnote/Citation exercise

Mar  6     6. Prospectus

Mar 13    Spring break

Mar 20

Mar 27

Ap 3          First Draft

Ap 10        student report

Ap 17        student reports

Ap 24       Final Draft

May 1      last class