Coursework

During my time as a student at the University of Pittsburgh, I have continuously sought out courses and learning opportunities to develop my global perspective, as well as courses relevant to my passion in Asian Studies. By completing a variety of courses across numerous departments within my major and outside of my main field of study, my mind has been challenged to recognize and analyze issues from multiple viewpoints while building professional skills and knowledge in various disciplines.

My regional focus within Asia is South Korea and I have had the opportunity to take courses about Korean studies both at the University of Pittsburgh and during my time abroad at Yonsei University.

Course Descriptions

Korean Language, Years 1-4

I have rigorously pursued Korean language studies during my time as a student at Pitt. Beginning in my freshman year, I have completed First Year through Fourth Year Korean courses while also pursuing learning opportunities outside of the classroom. Upon graduation, I was the first student at Pitt to have successfully completed levels 1 through 4 of Korean language courses in the history of the program.

My language studies culminated in the Fourth Year Korean course taught in the fall and spring semesters of the 2016-2017 academic year. Fourth Year Korean focused primarily on building professional writing skills and development of knowledge of societal and political issues in South Korea. The course culminated into the publication of a semester-long project, the Korea Today newsletter, featuring articles related to Korean politics, economy, health, society, and culture.

Click here to view the Korea Today newsletter.

Global East Asia

This course, Global East Asia, served to solidify my interest in Asian Studies and motivate me to pursue further knowledge in the areas of politics, economics, and education.

The body of the course focused on capitalism in East Asia, with particular emphasis on thinking about key issues and trends in the region through various lenses.

In my final project for this course, I presented research on the recent increase in Korean language learners, which examined their motivations and goals for language learning. As a Korean language student myself, I gained valuable insight into the various backgrounds of students and how their personal histories impacted their motivations, and the project prepared me to better recognize the unique needs of every student.

Global Strategy & Competitive Advantage

A capstone course for the Global Management major, Global Strategy and Competitive Advantage focuses on honing students’ strategic thinking and ability to analyse industries, companies, and external factors when preparing strategic plans.

This course may not sound like an Asian Studies course from its basic explanation above. However, the instructor of this course, Ravi Madhavan, structures the material in such a way that the semester centers around the Large Aircraft Manufacturing Industry in China as a sample industry.

The course culminated in a semester-long research project by each student, focusing on numerous facets of China’s entry into this industry and their long-term chances for success. I chose to focus my research on the impacts of collective will in Chinese state-owned enterprises and whether this element would hinder or help the main Chinese competitor succeed in the industry.

Click here to learn more about my project in this course: China’s Collective Will Advantage. 

Politics & Society of North Korea

Politics & Society of North Korea is a course which I elected to take at Yonsei University in the fall semester of 2015.

This course covered a wide range of topics about North Korea, including the political structure of North Korea based on the Juche ideology, international humanitarian efforts, economic analysis of the new trend of black markets (장마당), and nuclear programs.

A unique attribute of this course was the variety of students. Since the course was particularly targeted to exchange students, the material of the course was supplemented by the diverse perspectives on the topic of North Korea based on the unique backgrounds of each student.

As a final project for this course, I completed a group project focused on research and theory surrounding the nuclear weapons program in North Korea and presented potential steps for denuclearization on the Korean peninsula.

Global Supply Chain Management

This course, Global Supply Chain Management, took an integrative approach to analyzing how companies procure goods and how global trends such as population shifts and political uncertainty affect this process over time. Throughout this course, I worked with a team of 6 other students to complete case studies on numerous companies who compete in a global context.

In our final project for this course, our team prepared an hour-long presentation on Li & Fung, a Chinese supply chain management firm, and took a multi-disciplinary approach to identifying the firm’s key competencies and suggesting steps to remain competitive in the future.

International Economics for Managers

International Economics for Managers is a course offered to Global Management majors and MBA students at the Katz School of Business.

The course prepared me for applying economic theory and concepts in a real-world context. Topics included trade conflicts, international economic organizations, foreign direct investment, governmental policy, globalization, and regional economic integration.

I elected to research a WTO trade conflict between the United States and South Korea as my final project for this course. This case focused on anti-dumping regulations in the steel industry.

Click here to view more on my final project for this course.

Introduction to Asian Art

I elected to take Introduction to Asian Art in my freshman year of university and this course served to inform my knowledge throughout my four years at Pitt. The course covered ancient art from Korea, China, Japan, and India, and incorporated religious and social factors into our analysis.

During my time as an exchange student in South Korea, I was able to travel to many historic sites which house the works of art I studied, and I was able to fully appreciate the historical and social context of these pieces thanks to my participation in this course.

Introduction to Korea Through Film

Introduction to Korea Through Film is a key course within the Korean Studies program at Pitt and introduces students to modern and pre-modern topics about North and South Korea.

My takeaways from this course go beyond understanding of filmography and artistic choices made by the directors of each film. The context of each film served to inform my knowledge of the political and social structure of South Korea and the representation of key historical events in South and North Korea helped me to analyse these issues through a different perspective.