October 22 – November 19 2025

This course will study the influences from East to West, and West to East, on the East Asian cultures of Cambodia and Vietnam, Japan and China, from Classical times to the Modern era.  China was the most influential culture in East Asia. Its influence is seen everywhere, from the complex writing system to its elegant paintings, ceramics, literature and architecture, and its role in society is equal to that of Greece and Rome in the Western world.

We will study the highest culture of the court in these specific countries, as that determined the language, culture and character of the nations that supported them, giving each the particular expression of their arts, religion and creative output.

How these influences were established, and how they changed with the incoming Western traders that brought new ideas and arts to the traditional ways will be explored in depth.