Saturday, April 25, 2020

South Asia: Independence, Political Division, and Development

For Monday, please read Chapter 20 and be prepared to answer the following questions:
  1. Over what issues did India and Pakistan divide in 1947? What were the roles of Nehru, Gandhi, and Mohammad Ali Jinnah in this partition? What is the legacy of the partition, relative to continuing disagreements between the two nation-states--as in the example of Kashmir?
  2. Why and how did Bangladesh declare its independence from Pakistan in 1971? What has happened in Pakistan's political system since then? Why is the military so powerful in Pakistan--and how does this contribute to America's problems with neighboring Afghanistan? Why did the United States develop a close relationship to Pakistan's authoritarian governments rather than India's democracy?
  3. What have been the major features of Sri Lanka and Nepal politics since the 1990s?
  4. What have been the major transitions in Indian politics since its independence in 1947? What are the roles of caste and religion in contemporary Indian politics?
  5. How do you explain India's remarkable economic growth since 1990? What problems persist in India? To what extent can India's rural sector share in the new prosperity?
  6. Has India moved on the path that Mahatma Gandhi envisioned?
  7. Why does the text conclude that "India will not break up into warring factions or regional conflict"? What contributes to this conclusion? What could be argued against it?
For Wednesday's class, please read Chapter 20 and be prepared to answer the following questions:
  1. Since World War II, Asian nations have often been praised as the new economic forces in the world, especially post-1980. Is this a valid analysis?
  2. What are the social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental problems still facing Asia? Address this question relative to the entire region as well as for individual countries.
  3. Many Westerners think of Asia as a single homogeneous unit. Is this a valid representation?
  4. What has been Asia's evolving relationship with the United States and the West in the post-Cold War era? What initiatives have Asians made to promote their own interactions and interdependencies as alternatives to those with the West?
  5. How is the growing wealth and power of the People's Republic of China Affecting international relations in Asia?
  6. In what parts of Asia has Islam played a prominent role in the post-WWII era?
  7. How have historical legacies been used for nation-building in Asia in recent decades?

Friday, April 17, 2020

Revival & Revolution

We will cover two chapters this week.
For Monday's class discussion, please read Chapter 18, "Revival and Revolution in Japan and China," and prepare, in writing, answers to the following questions:
  1. Evaluate the American occupation of Japan and how it shaped Japan's future. How did the Cold War change America's interests in postwar Japan?
  2. What were the reasons for Japan's economic success between 1950 and 1990? What contributed to Japan's economic stagnation in the 1990s?
  3. What explains the distinctiveness of postwar Japanese culture amid its rapid industrialization?
  4. Why were the Communist forces successful in replacing the Guomindang as China's rulers in 1949? Compare China in 1949 to China at present.
  5. Which aspects of Mao's policies were successful and which were not--and why? How has China changed since Mao's death, first during the tenure of Deng Xiaoping, and then in the post-Deng era?
  6. Why did Taiwan and Hong Kong do so much better economically between 1950 and 1990? How have the governments of both changed since 1990, and with what consequences?
For Wednesday's class discussion, please read Chapter 19, "Korea and Southeast Asia," and prepare, in writing, answers to the following questions:
  1. Why does it make sense to discuss Korea together with Southeast Asia in a chapter on post-WWII history? In what ways are their histories similar? What problems are there with this approach?
  2. How did Japanese rule affect the development of a modern Korean economic and social infrastructure? How did Japanese occupation of Korea differ from its rule over Taiwan in the pre-WWII era?
  3. Was the Korean War necessary? What has been its legacy in Korea since 1953? Compare and contrast the evolution of South Korea's democracy to that of Communist rule in North Korea? What are the prospects of the resolution of hostilities between the two Koreas today?
  4. Was the war in Vietnam an international war, a war for independence, or a civil war? Why did the French and then the Americans return to Vietnam after World War II? How has Communist rule of Vietnam changed during the postwar era?
  5. Explain the origins of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Why did the Vietnamese intervene in the late 1970s? What is the aftermath of 30 years of conflict in contemporary Cambodia?
  6. Compare and contrast the differences in the development of Myanmar, Thailand, and Singapore in the post-WWII era. Why is the military so influential in Myanmar and Thailand? How does Singapore's democracy differ from that of the United States? In what ways do all three countries have to respond to clashes or potential clashes between differing ethnic groups?
  7. What have been the similarities and differences in the development of Indonesia and the Philippines since World War II? Is there a case to be made that big, multicultural nation-states--in contrast to smaller, single-ethnic nation-states--stand in the way of global stability?

Thursday, April 9, 2020

Japan and the Struggle for Asia, 1894-1945

For Monday's and Wednesday's class discussions, please read Chapter 17, and prepare, in writing, answers to the following questions:
  1. Trace the rise of Japanese militarism in the post-WWI era. How did this counter te successes of Taishō democracy in the 1920s and early 1930s? What role did Manchuria assume in these transitions?
  2. How did Japanese fascism differ from that of Germany and Italy?
  3. Was a Japanese war against the United States inevitable?
  4. Why was China unable to resist the Japanese advance effectively?
  5. How did the war with Japan affect the fighting between the Chinese Nationalists and the Chinese Communists?
  6. Why was nationalism late to develop in Southeast Asia? How did the assorted Southeast Asian nationalist movements differ from those of India and China?
  7. What were the broad consequences of Japan's World War II military aggression for Asia's postwar future? How did Japanese rule alienate non-Japanese Asians?

The due date for the second film paper is Friday, 4/17/20. The editable list of films for this paper can be found as a Google Doc.

Sunday, April 5, 2020

Nationalism and Revolution in China and India

For Monday's and Wednesday's class discussions, please read Chapter 16, and prepare, in writing, answers to the following questions (1-5 for China on Monday and 6-9 for India on Wednesday):

  1. What were the goals of the Chinese "self-strengthening movement," and why did they ultimately fail in their efforts to reform China?
  2. Sun Yat-sen is hailed as China's "man of ideas." What was Sun Yat-sen's vision of China's future? Why was he unable to bring it about?
  3. What was the May Fourth Movement, and what were its goals? What did it achieve?
  4. Lu Xun was the most prominent among the May Fourth Movement authors. How did his character Ah Q personify what he considered wrong with China?
  5. What were the achievements and the failures of the Nanjing decade? How did the Chinese Communist Party interact with the Guomindang, and how and why did it change its strategy after 1927? 
  6. How does the map showing the growth of India's railway network illustrate the text's assertions that these lines were built to support "a drainage economy" as well as to reinforce British military interests in India? 
  7. What were the economic changes that took place under the British raj, and how were these both beneficial and detrimental to India's future?
  8. How did Gandhi brig together the division between the gradual liberal reformer and the radical activist factions of the Indian National Congress How did his political and social goals draw upon India's philosophical and religious traditions? How did his tactics of passive resistance and mass protest change the nationalist movement? What was his broader impact on other Asian nationalist movements?
  9. Did Gandhi's efforts actually defeat the British and his political opponents or was it something else that helped to drive out the British and create an independent India? If Gandhi's actions were responsible, specifically how did his concept of nonviolence achieve this? 


Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Film Paper 2

Creating the List Together

Please find the document listing good films for consideration and add your contributions. It would be helpful if you add your initials to the items that you put on the list so that you get full marks for participation. Remember that the films' subjects should fall in the period between European advances into Asia and the end of WWII.

Saturday, March 28, 2020

The Triumph of Imperialism in Asia

For next week, please read Chapter 15, and be prepared to answer the following questions:

  1. Define and explain the concept of imperialism. What were the attitudes of the British, French, Duitch, and Americans toward it? Did their policies in establishing colonial control differ much? did this imperialism advance or hinder the development of local cultures and economies?
  2. What is "gunboat diplomacy"? The term developed in the context of nineteenth-century
    China. Can it be applied in other contexts discussed in this chapter?
  3. How did the Boxer Rebellion represent the final failure of nineteenth-century Chinese efforts to respond to the incursive policies of the Europeans? What were its consequences in terms of increased Western presence in China as well as Chinese reactions?
  4. How did Chosŏn Korea's geography and history influence its reactions to the expansion of imperial powers in the late nineteenth century?
  5. How did the achievements of Meiji Japan counter the Western imperialist characterizations of Asians? How and why did Japan follow the lead of the West in becoming an imperialist power? What was the nature of Japanese imperialism in Korea and Taiwan?
  6. How does Kipling's poem "Mandalay" reflect late-nineteenth-century Western romantic visions of the imperial mission?
  7. How were Asian and European women's lives affected by imperialism?

Sunday, March 22, 2020

The European Advance into Asia

I think we should start creating and preparing for the final exam right away. If we know the question(s), you will be looking for examples to support your answers as we read and discuss the textbook. Thoughts?
Chapter 13, The European Advance into Asia
Questions for Monday, 3/23:
  1. How, why, and when did the Europeans arrive in Asia? What was the state of Asia's political, social, and economic development at that time? What does the phrase "gunpowder empire" imply about European aggression--and how did this differ from the normal characteristics of Indian Ocean trade?
  2. What did Asia contribute to the European knowledge base and economic situation? What European behaviors shaped the views of Asians toward the West?
  3. Why did the Europeans treat China and Japan differently from the Indonesians?
  4. What were the characteristics of the Portuguese empire during the sixteenth century? The Portuguese intended to impose their monopoly of Asia's maritime trade. Why were they unable to do so? Why did their larger imperial enterprise ultimately fail, while they were able to retain their bases in Goa, Macao, and East Timur well after their European competitors had relinquished their centers of authority?
  5. What was the Jesuit impact on China and Japan? What were the reasons for their initial successes and also their consequent failures? What was the Church's relationship with the early Spanish enterprise in the Philippines? What impact did the Jesuit accounts have on European society?
  6. Why were the Dutch ultimately more successful in their Asian enterprise than their Portuguese predecessors? What was the focal point of their initial Asian interests and why? What was their initial relationship with the local political systems?
  7. Why did the English East India Company have only limited success in the seventeenth century?
Chapter 14, British India
Questions for Wednesday, 3/25:
  1. How did the pattern of British behavior in India change from their first encounters through the nineteenth century?
  2. Why did the British attempt to rule through local power elites instead of directly?
  3. Why did the Indian population fail to unite against British expansion? What did the British offer that the previous system did not?
  4. How and why did the British eliminate French oper in India? What were the consequences relative to the transition in the British East India Company's presence in India?
  5. How did the development of Orientalism affect early British colonial experiences in India? In contrast, how did this colonial presence begin to change Indian society? What impact did British utilitarianism have on the development of the British colonial administration?
  6. How did India play a role in the Opij War between Qin China and the British?
  7. What were the causes of the 1857 "Sepoy Mutiny?" Why did it fail? How did the revolt mark a transition in the British relationship with India?
  8. How did British behavior in India subsequ3n5ly contribute to the development of a.s sense of Indian national identity?
  9. Why did the British move their capital from Calcutta to Delhi? Was this a good choice? What were its consequences? How did New Delhi embody the ideal of the colonial Metropole, in contrast to neighboring Old Delhi?

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Online Class Friday

Well, it's a brave-ish new world, so here we go! Online classes start Friday. We'll use this Friday's Zoom meeting to get ourselves oriented, work out the details, and explore ways to make this really fruitful. We might even make it a welcome distraction from our cares. It will mean a break for me from home-schooling and refereeing my kids. Thanks for that!

Time-permitting, we'll go over blog posts, movie papers, and the midterm exam. Next week, we'll continue with discussions of our readings in Murphey, starting with Chapter 13 (European Advance into Asia). Please send me a note if you don't have access to the textbook or if you know of an online source for it.

Ready to take a virtual museum or site tour? Extra credit anyone? Here are a few that might interest you:


Here are the details for our Zoom meetings:
Madeleine Fitzgerald is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

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Monday, February 24, 2020

Midterm Exam Planning & Film Papers Prompt

Film Papers

For this course, there will be two 1000-word reflection papers on films of your choice from a list of important Asian films. Your response/reflection paper should make specific connections between our readings and the film.

The due dates are 2/28 (for a film set before major European advances into Asia) and 4/24 (films set in the period following). Please use MLA format.

Part I Films (examples):
Part II Films (examples):
  • To Live
  • 1947: Earth
  • Kung Fu Hustle (not easy to connect to course readings)
  • Monsoon Wedding
  • Eat Drink Man Woman

Midterm Exam 

Our midterm exam is on Friday, 3/6. It will be a take home exam, due before midnight, on TurnItIn (via the Moodle).

Please answer in outline or bulleted list format the following question:

How do India, China, and Southeast Asia relate and connect to each other?

Details to follow.




Friday, February 21, 2020

Ming & Early Qing China; Tokugawa Japan

Chapter 11 (China's Ming and Early Qing Dynasties)
  1. Why did so many rebel groups adopt a non-Confucian religion?
  2. In what ways did the Ming modify the Chinese administrative system?
  3. Why did the Ming court decide to end its maritime voyages after China had asserted its dominance over the Asian seas?
  4. What were the characteristics of Ming elite culture? How did Ming elite culture differ from that of the Song era?
  5. What are the benefits and deficiencies of the rigid examination system implemented by the Ming?
  6. Describe the Chinese economy in Ming times. Some have argued that there were ample foundations for capitalist development, especially in the late Ming era. What is the evidence to support such a characterization? What restrained its further development?
  7. How can it be argued that, although the Ming tried to centralize their authority and standardize Chinese culture, Chinese civilization was still substantially decentralized? How is this specifically demonstrated in the development of Chinese popular culture?
  8. What explains the tripling of China's population under the Qing?
  9. What factors shaped relations between Manchu and Hang in the Qing times?
  10. How do the reigns of Kangxi and Qianlong contribute to and demonstrate China's stability in the late eighteenth century?
Chapter 12 (Tokugawa Japan)
  1. How did the Tokugawa political system that was based in family alliances differ from Chinese bureaucratic rule during the Ming and Qing? How did these different systems affect economic and political development?
  2. Was Japan really "closed" in the Tokugawa period? What were the effects of the Tokugawa restrictions on interactions with the outside world?
  3. In what ways did the Tokugawa shogunate develop Japan's political, social, economic, and educational infrastructures--the foundations for Japan's rapid modernization after 1869?
  4. How did Japanese move from their prior feudal order to a more mobile society?

Friday, February 14, 2020

Central Asia and Mughal India

Reminder: Your first film paper is due on Friday, 2/28. You might consider watching the film Jodhaa Akbar in conjunction with reading this chapter.

Chapter 10 (Central Asia and Mughal India)
  1. In what ways were the Mughals connected to Iran and the CentralAsia? How similar and different were China's and India's historic connections with Central Asia?
  2. How did the differing administrative styles and values of Akbar and Aurangzeb have different political results?
  3. How did the rule of the Mughals reflect their Central Asian roots? How was this both an advantage and disadvantage in India? How was this specifically demonstrated in repeated Mughal succession crises and their consequences?
  4. In what ways did Mughal architecture reflect a merging of native Indian and Persian cultures, along with the influence of Islam?
  5. Why were the Rajputs, Sikhs, and Marathas effective against Aurangzeb?
  6. How did commerce at the Mughal port of Surat reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the Asian economic system in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?

Friday, February 7, 2020

China's Golden Age; Early Japan & Korea

Chapter 8 (China: A Golden Age)
  1. In what ways did the Sui recapitulate the Qin as they reasserted dynastic control over China?
  2. How do the Du Fu and Li Bai poetry selections reflect Tang-era society and culture? Is there a difference between these selections and that of the Song poet Su Shi and the Yuan-era selections that appear later in the chapter? How do these poems reflect either Confucian or Buddhist ideas as well as the differing concerns of Chinese literati during each of these eras?
  3. The Tang era is portrayed as China's "cosmopolitan age." How did life at the Tang capital of Chang'an support this characterization? What was the impact of Tang achievement on the future of China?
  4. During the Tang dynasty, China's rulers repeatedly tried to address the proper relationship between Buddhism and Confucianism. What are some examples of the fortunes of Buddhism under the various Tang rulers? Why was Buddhism perceived as a threat to the traditional Chineses political order? In what ways did Buddhism ultimately change Chinese culture, including its impact on what became known as Neo-Confucianism?
  5. Some cite the Song dynasty as the prime example of misguided Chinese leadership. Others regard it as China's golden age. What evidence does either side use in support of their argument? How does this debate focus on inconsistencies--or even a bipolarity--in the administration of the Chinese dynastic system? Why do some argue that had Song rule continued, especially under the Southern Song, China could have had its own industrial revolution?
  6. How did Mongol/Yuan rule of China have a lasting impact on Chinese civilization?
  7. What were the changing Chinese relationships with international trade under the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties?
Chapter 9 (Early Japan and Korea)
  1. How have mountains had an impact on the historical development of both Korea and Japan?
  2. How do the Kojiki and Nihongi reflect early Japanese society and culture?
  3. What did Chinese civilization offer to Japan, as Prince Shōtoku began to innovate at the Japanese court? How does Japan's localization of the Chinese tradition differ from Chinese practice?
  4. How may the power of Buddhist temples be linked to the move of the Japanese court from Nara to Heian (Kyoto)? How did Buddhism develop in Japan thereafter, and what was its impact ion Japanese culture?
  5. How do the writings of Lady Murasaki reflect both the best and the worst of early Japanese court culture? How does  what she descries relate to the development of shōen and the collapse if the Heian order?
  6. When were connections among Korea, Japan, and China strongest? Why did they strengthen and waken when they did?
  7. Why did the Koreans try to reproduce Chinese culture so faithfully? How did their efforts compare with those of their Japanese neighbors? How were they also selective in their localizations of the Chinese system?

Friday, January 31, 2020

Medieval India & Early and Medieval Southeast Asia


Chapter 6 (Medieval India)
  1. The Delhi sultanate created a hybrid culture in northern India. What were the major sources of this culture?
  2. Why was Delhi selected as the political center of Muslim authority in India? Why was northern India unable to mount a successful defense against the Turko-Afghan warriors?
  3. Who were the Rajputs and Marathas and what may have contributed to their success in resisting incorporation into the Muslim states of northern India?
  4. How did the Islamic Qur'an provide religious justification for the forced conversion of India's Hindu populations by the Delhi sultans? How did this contribute to the character of Muslim rule over Hindus?
  5. Who were the mamluks, and what was their significance in the Turkish military system?
  6. What was the role of temples in the southern Indian Chola state? Why is our knowledge of Chola society so limited?
  7. Explain why Muslim rule did not significantly extend into southern India?


Chapter 7 (Early and Medieval Southeast Asia)
  1. How did geography determine the rise of early political and societal centers in Southeast Asia?
  2. To what extent is the literate culture of Southeast Asia imported from India and China?
  3. How would you characterize the rise and fall of Angkor? What was the significance of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom in the Angkor political system?
  4. How did the polical systems of the
    Angkor and Majapahit kings compare with those of their contemporaries in medieval Europe, India, and China?
  5. What role did Southeast Asia assume in the early Indian Ocean trae networks, and what were the consequences both to Southeast Asia as well as the remainder of Asia? What was the normal relationship between China and maritime Southeast Asia as reflected in the Mongol naval expedition to Java in the late thirteenth century--as well as in the Tang-era poem in the next chapter? What products did Southeast Asia have that attracted the later sixteenth-century voyages of the Portuguese and Spanish?
  6. What was the initial appeal of Islam in Southeast Asia, and how did its spread there differ from its introduction to South Asia?
  7. The Philippines were largely characterized by tribal societies that were isolated from other regional developments prior to the coming of the Spanish in the early sixteenth century. Why didn't all the Philippines convert to Islam?

Friday, January 24, 2020

Ancient Civilizations of India and China


Chapter 4 (The Civilization of Ancient India)
  1. What can we learn about Vedic society from its classical texts? What are their limitations as historical sources?
  2. Why was the Mauryan king Ashoka successful in his rule over India's diverse populations?
  3. How has the repeated conquest of northern India by foreign warriors contributed to the South Asian worldview?
  4. What evidence shows that India was in regular contact with the West following the Invasion of Alexander the Great, in the Mauryan and post-Mauryan eras? What was the nature of these contacts, and what was their result--from both an Indian and a Western perspective?
  5. Why is the Gupta era frequently regarded as India's "classical age?" What were the contributions of the Gupta era top Asian civilizations, both in India and beyond?

Chapter 5 (Ancient China)
  1. What does the Shang era  contribute to the Chinese dynastic tradition? What changes in Chinese society took place during the Zhou era that followed?
  2. How do the beliefs of Confucius and Mencius reflect the circumstances of their times?
  3. What ere the Qin solutions to the divided political landscape if China? What did the Qin dynasty have such a brief reign? What was the legacy of the Qin to China's future?
  4. What was the difference between Qin Legalism and the teachings of Confucius and Mencius? What aspects of Qin Legalism continued under the Han? What changed?
  5. Han Wudi is often viewed as China's greatest emperor. Is this warranted? What were his accomplishments, and what was his legacy to China's future?
  6. What might have changed had the Han and imperial Rome met?
  7. What recurring problems in the Chinese imperial social system did Wang Mang try to address during his reign?
  8. How does Chinese history in the period up to the fall of the Han compare to Indian history over the same period?

Friday, January 17, 2020

Asian Religions & Asian Societies

Next week's readings are absolutely foundational for everything we do going forward, so please take time to read carefully and thoughtfully. If you still don't have the textbook, a scanned copy of Chapter 2 is posted it on the Moodle for our class. There are also two copies of the textbook on reserve in the library.

Have an excellent long weekend--see you Wednesday!


Chapter 2 (Asian Religions and their Cultures)
  1. Even though all major religions originated in Asia, including Christianity and Islam, those that have remained dominant in Asia show clear difference from the Christianity and Judaism dominant in the West. How does the phrase "Eden was preserved in the East" reflect these differences?
  2. What are the fundamental differences between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism; Daoism and Confucianism; Hinduism and Buddhism; Buddhism and Confucianism; Shintō and Buddhism; Islam and Hinduism; Sunni/Shi'a and Sufi Islam?
  3. Is Confucianism  a religion or is it better thought of as a moral code?
  4. What do Sufi Islam and Bhakti Hinduism have in common? What were the features of Sufi Islam, in contrast to the Shi'a and Sunni traditions, which initially made it the most appealing version of Islam and the basis of early conversions among already well-established Asian societies?
  5. What role do female divines assume in Asian religious tradition?
“The Living Chinese”
Exhibited under the auspices of P.T. Barnum, proprietor of American and Chinese museums New York and Barnum’s Museum Philadelphia.
From L to R: Miss Pwam-Ye-Koo, aged 17 years a young lady with feet 2-1/2 inches long.  Miss Lum-Akum, aged 23 years her maid servant. Miss Amoon, aged 7 years, Master Mun-Chung, aged 5 years, son and daughter of the professor. Mr. Aleet-Mong, aged 18 years an interpreter.  Mr. Soo-Chune, aged 32 years, professor of Music. 
Library of Congress, control number 2002708598 
Chapter 3 (The Societies of Asia)
  1. Why did the Indian caste system develop? What was its appeal among South Asians?
  2. Why do Indians, Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese stress the importance of the birth of sons? Why is this less an issue in Southeast Asia?
  3. Why did Asian societies widely discriminate against women? What social factors would encourage the practice of foot-binding in China?
  4. Why might some have seen Asian families sometimes as  the greatest threat to the modern Asian nation-state? Is there support fort the argument that Asian emphasis on family continuity facilitates economic development?
  5. How are issues of poverty, social order, education, corruption, wealth, and conflict dealt with among traditional Asian societies?
  6. What patterns of banditry and piracy are apparent in Asian Societies?

Monday, January 13, 2020

Welcome to Monsoon Asia

Your first dangerous assignment is to create your own dedicated Asian Studies blog, preferably with blogger.com, and send me the URL (e.g., http://xx.blogger.com).

For Wednesday's class, please read the introduction and first chapter of our textbook, and answer in writing the chapter questions:
Introduction
  1. What are monsoons, and what are their impact on Asian society and culture? What are Asia's monsoon seasons?
  2. What distinguishes "monsoon Asia" from the remainder of Asia? What are the consequent differences between the two?
  3. How has Chinese civilization linked monsoon Asia to Central Asia over time?
  4. According to the text, what is "exceptional" about south Indian and Southeast Asian civilizations in relation to the rest of monsoon Asia?
  5. What are the social consequences of an irrigation wet-rice society?
  6. Where did the most populous early Asian societies form and why?
  7. What is a "vegetable civilization"? What are its consequences?
  8. What are the common features among monsoon Asia's societies and cultures?
Chapter 1 (Prehistoric Asia)
  1. What is the Neolithic revolution" and what are its distinguishing features? Why are pottery fragments important in telling us about earliest societies?
  2. What factors help explain the rise and fall of the Indus Valley civilization? What is known about its relationship to Sumer and the Aryan culture?
  3. Although Southeast Asia is a distinct cultural region, it continues to share much with both China and India. How did this blending occur? What made Southeast Asia distinct from its Asian neighbors? What did it share with them? How did Southeast Asia potentially contribute tot the development of Chinese civilization?
  4. What role did the migrations of populations by land and by sea into already settled regions play in the development of Asia's civilizations?
  5. Why did China's initial center of civilization develop in north China? What did the Yellow River contribute to these developments?
  6. How were Korea and Japan connected in prehistoric times?
  7. What were the characteristics of Japan's Jōmon culture?