ASIAN 101 Study Guide - Spring 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Confucianism, Soul, Indian Subcontinent
ASIAN 101
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
ASIAN 101 – THE IDEA OF ASIA
The Idea of Asia
o Asia as a continent
o Asia is everything that Europe is not
▪ Eurocentric
▪ Because “these people” are not like us, they are Asia not
Europe
▪ Separation not only Eurocentric, Asian people describe
themselves with their culture and all
• Separations still present. The people who do the
differentiations are comparing themselves to other parts
of the world. (Vantage point)
▪ Europe / Asia from Greek
▪ Occident / Orient (West / East)
o Orientalism by Edward Said
▪ Discourse: The way we talk about and represent a group of
people or race
▪ Orientalist Discourse: Depicting “Eastern” places and cultures
as uncivilized and exotic (different from Europe)
• By calling Eastern peoples uncivilized, it allows the
europeans to say that they are civilized
• Justification for colonization
▪ Othering
• Differentiation
• Not just Eurocentric, Asian centric is a thing too
(community/family vs. individual, etc.)
• Saying what makes you an American, as well as it is not
being Canadian, etc. Disparaging
▪ Said’s Arguments about Orientalism
• 1. Orientalism depicts people of Orient as less than
fully human
• 2. Representations, taken together, create a discourse
about the Orient
• 3. Orientalist discourse has been used to justify the
superior position of the West
• 4. Superior position has been used to justify
Western intervention into Asian countries
(colonization, financial, military intervention)
• Orientalism still present in pop culture - GoT
o Paint a homogenous picture of Asia, when it is
truly a diverse place
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
ASIAN 101 – THE IDEA OF ASIA
o Language, ethnicities, food, daily routines,
traditions, etc.
o Regions of Asia
▪ Western Asia (Eurocentric: Middle East)
▪ Central Asia
▪ North Asia - Russia
▪ South Asia - India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Maldives
▪ East Asia - China, Mongolia, Taiwan, Koreas, Japan
▪ South East Asia - Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand,
Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, East
Timor
• Italics are where Asian 101 is concerned
▪ Geological features
• Himalayan Mountains
o Affect weather patterns, block cold/warm air from
transferring across
o Tallest mountains in the world
• Tibetan Plateau
• Gobi Desert
o North East of Tibetan Plateau
• Taklamakan Desert (means: go in and you’ll never
come out)
o North West of Tibetan Plateau
• India moves north at 2.4 inches/year
▪ Monsoon Asia
• A weather pattern - summer
• Originally an arabic word, meaning seasons or seasonal
wind
• Rain during one season of the year
• Flooding
• Monsoon = very good for rice growing
▪ Silk Road
• 130 BC
• Lasted for 1500 years
• Interactions with Eastern Asia and Europe
• Silk, gunpowder, paper, plants, livestock, grain, leather,
artwork, religion, philosophies, etc. traded across this
path
▪ Rivers
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
A sia n 1 01 t h e i d e a o f a s ia. The idea of asia: asia as a continent, asia is everything that europe is not, eurocentric, because these people are not like us, they are asia not. Europe: separation not only eurocentric, asian people describe themselves with their culture and all, separations still present. Orientalism depicts people of orient as less than fully human: 2. Representations, taken together, create a discourse about the orient: 3. Orientalist discourse has been used to justify the (cid:1688)superior(cid:1689) position of the west: 4. (cid:1688)superior(cid:1689) position has been used to justify. Western intervention into asian countries (colonization, financial, military intervention: orientalism still present in pop culture - got, paint a homogenous picture of asia, when it is truly a diverse place. Bangladesh, maldives: east asia - china, mongolia, taiwan, koreas, japan, south east asia - philippines, indonesia, myanmar, thailand,
