COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course is an introduction to classical social theory and an exploration of new directions in social theory in contemporary historical and social science texts on East Asia. Weber’s constructions of capitalism, Durkheim’s notion of society, and Marx’s concept of ideology all continue to inform contemporary East Asian studies; East Asian studies has also been central to demonstrating the Euro-centrism of many of these theories. We will explore these conversations, moving between theoretical and ethnographically and historically-oriented texts. Throughout the course we return to the questions of how individuals come to believe and accept the social systems they live within, the workings of power and conflict in these processes, and the embeddedness of social systems in culture and history.