Teaching
The following teaching portfolio provides a guide to my experience as a primary instructor, graduate student instructor (GSI), and workshop leader. Teaching in the classroom and teaching workshops appear as two different sections. Courses and events are provided chronologically and include titles and descriptions.
For examples of pedagogy and public engagement, please browse my Padlet collection by clicking the paper crane image to the right.
Courses
Course: JPN 191C - Current Trends and Scholarship in Medieval Japanese History
Course Type: upper-division undergraduate/graduate historiography seminar
Institution: University of California, Los Angeles
Primary Instructor: Paula R. Curtis
Course Description:
What are the current trends in scholarship on medieval Japanese history, and whose work has guided them? This course will introduce a variety of publications from the last decade on Japan’s medieval period (roughly 12th to 16th centuries), exploring their topics, themes, and research methods as we ask why and how scholars approach their subjects through certain lenses, whether social history, gender, materiality, environment studies, or others. What are the choices writers make when crafting a research topic? How do they situate themselves in relation to foundational work in Japanese and Medieval Studies? How can a more sophisticated understanding of the present state of the field in medieval Japanese history inform our own research and analytical skills? This seminar, focused on reading, writing, discussion, and professional development, will be shaped by critical analyses of how researchers do what they do as well as applications of those lessons. Some previous knowledge of premodern Japan highly recommended. Instructor permission required.
Course: HIST 171 - The Written Word in Japan: Prehistory to 1600
Course Type: upper-division undergraduate/graduate lecture
Institution: University of California, Los Angeles
Primary Instructor: Paula R. Curtis
Course Description:
In premodern Japan, text and writing had the power to imbue swords with ritual meaning, evoke the pathos of cherry blossoms, or reveal means of salvation. People from all walks of life produced and consumed the written word in different ways, whether they hoped to shape military regimes or simply send messages to loved ones. In what ways did textuality (or, in some cases, its absence or conscious rejection) shape Japan’s social, political, economic, and religious development? What is a “text”? How does understanding its use by diverse peoples across centuries challenge our underlying assumptions about how documents, writing, and communication function in society? Surveying these issues from prehistory to 1600, this course will use writing traditions and documentary culture as a lens through which to understand Japanese history and ways of being in Japan’s premodern world. Students will use primary and secondary readings to discuss core issues in writing and textual culture, such as language, orality, transmission, translation, gender, genre, communication, and visuality. A complementary emphasis on how we, as modern readers, writers, and scholars, interpret and use written materials will provide new strategies for thinking about how history is recorded, consumed, and evaluated. No previous knowledge of Japanese/Japanese history is required for this course.
Course: EAS 910: Economic, Environmental, and Digital Perspectives on Premodern Japan
Course Type: independent study, MA level
Institution: Yale University
Primary Instructor: Paula R. Curtis
Course Description:
An independent study focusing on Japan's premodern economic and environmental history, with complementary readings on spatial and digital history methodology. The course is designed to provide a broad overview of English-language historiography on Japan while integrating historical and digital humanities knowledge into ongoing research projects. It places emphasis on critical reading and interpretation skills and professional development, with the final project being an online portfolio showcase aimed at a non-specialist, public audience.
Course: HIST 307/EAS 404: The Written Word in Japan: Prehistory to 1600
Course Type: upper-level undergraduate/graduate seminar
Institution: Yale University
Primary Instructor: Paula R. Curtis
Course Description:
In premodern Japan, text and writing had the power to imbue swords with ritual meaning, evoke the pathos of cherry blossoms, or reveal means of salvation. People from all walks of life produced and consumed the written word in different ways, whether they hoped to shape military regimes or simply send messages to loved ones, as we might today. In what ways did textuality (or, in some cases, its absence or conscious rejection) shape Japan’s social, political, economic, and religious development? What is a “text”? How does understanding its use by diverse peoples across centuries challenge our underlying assumptions about how documents, writing, and communication function in society? Surveying these issues from prehistory to 1600, this course will use writing traditions and documentary culture as a lens through which to understand Japanese history and ways of being in Japan’s premodern world. Students will use primary and secondary readings to discuss core issues in writing and textual culture, such as language, orality, transmission, translation, gender, genre, communication, and visuality. A complementary emphasis on how we, as modern readers, writers, and scholars, interpret and use written materials will further provide students with new strategies for thinking about how history is recorded, consumed, and evaluated. No previous knowledge of Japanese or Japanese history is required for this course.
Course: HIST 393: Looking for Asian Americans at UM and in Michigan: Capturing 150 years of Lived Experiences and Raw Voices
Course Type: undergraduate History Lab research course
Institution: University of Michigan
Primary Instructor: Hitomi Tonomura
Teaching Assistant & Digital Consultant: Paula R. Curtis
Course Description:
This is a project-based course that explores the two centuries of history and legacy of Asians, Asian-Americans and the Pacific-Islanders in the state of Michigan, especially at the University of Michigan. Despite the impressive presence and fascinating life stories of various AAPI residents in Michigan, relatively little is known. Students in this course will help to showcase some of their stories. The goals of this class are to discover, analyze, interpret, and represent the histories of Asians, Asian Americans and the Pacific Islanders, who made the state of Michigan their home in the last two centuries. Many were involved in the University of Michigan, as students, teachers, and administrators, while some were concentrated in urban areas and started a business, or worked in industries. Still others, the most difficult to locate, dispersed and settled in the quiet countryside without the notice of the media or the community. Students work with classmates to research in the archives, contact local organizations, interview people if appropriate, and contextualize their findings to create a meaningful narrative and visual representations in a digital format. Students will come to "own" the project outcomes as a highly relevant and meaningful experience, that can be shared with the public.
Course: HIST 195: Swords, Axes, and Spades: Writing Social Diversity into Medieval Japan
Course Type: freshman writing seminar
Institution: University of Michigan
Primary Instructor: Paula R. Curtis
Course Description:
Medieval Japan has long been seen through lenses of popular culture: samurai warfare, bushidō, castles, and, more broadly, comparisons to feudal Europe and the knights that defined it. Beyond these stereotypes, however, is a far richer and more complex society than seen in most two-hour films at the box office. From the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries, Japan underwent vast transformations at all levels of society, from the rapid developments in agriculture and the expansion of the warrior class to the diversification of commercial professions and the economic decline of court nobility. Society teetered uneasily on the brink of something new with each passing century, making medieval Japan much more than simply “The Age of the Warrior.” This course will examine not only the contexts that produced these changes in society, but also the historical and scholarly frameworks within which they have been examined. What about medieval Japan is, in fact, ‘medieval’? Was Japan a ‘feudal’ society like Europe and what does that mean? How do we incorporate farmers, artisans, merchants, religious figures, women, and others into narratives supposedly defined by a “world of warriors”? This course aims to turn a critical eye on our ways of understanding history by questioning our present knowledge of Japan’s medieval past.
Course: HIST 205: Modern East Asia
Course Type: undergraduate survey
Institution: University of Michigan
Primary Instructor: Pär Cassel
Graduate Student Instructor: Paula R. Curtis
Course Description:
This course is an introduction to modern China, Korea, and Japan from 1600 to the present, with emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It covers the following topics: China's progressive decline and rejuvenation, the impact of imperialism, the rise and development of the PRC; the struggles of Korea, its colonization by Japan; liberation and division into the two Koreas, and the rising economic status of the South; and the end of feudalism in Japan, the building of a modern state and economy, Japanese imperialism, postwar recovery, and the rise to super-power status. Taking a broad comparative perspective on East Asia, the course explores the inter-relations between political economy, society, and culture in each country within an emerging modern world system.
Course: HIST 210: Early Medieval Europe, 300-1000
Course Type: undergraduate survey
Institution: University of Michigan
Primary Instructor: Paolo Squatriti
Graduate Student Instructor: Paula R. Curtis
Course Description:
The course covers the period when the first true 'Europe' was born. It covers the disintegration of the Roman Empire in the western Mediterranean, and the development of successor states in northwestern Europe, like the 'barbarian' monarchies, and the multiethnic empires of Charlemagne and the Ottonians up to 1000. Main themes are the development of new kinds of community among European people (Christian monasticism, feudalism, ethnic solidarity), new economic systems, and relations with the earliest Islamic states and with the Byzantine empire.
Course: HIST 205: Modern East Asia
Course Type: undergraduate survey
Institution: University of Michigan
Primary Instructor: Pär Cassel
Graduate Student Instructor: Paula R. Curtis
Course Description:
This course is an introduction to modern China, Korea, and Japan from 1600 to the present, with emphasis on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It covers the following topics: China's progressive decline and rejuvenation, the impact of imperialism, the rise and development of the PRC; the struggles of Korea, its colonization by Japan; liberation and division into the two Koreas, and the rising economic status of the South; and the end of feudalism in Japan, the building of a modern state and economy, Japanese imperialism, postwar recovery, and the rise to super-power status. Taking a broad comparative perspective on East Asia, the course explores the inter-relations between political economy, society, and culture in each country within an emerging modern world system.
Course: HIST 204: East Asia: Early Transformations
Course Type: undergraduate survey
Institution: University of Michigan
Primary Instructor: Christian de Pee
Graduate Student Instructor: Paula R. Curtis
Course Description:
This course offers an overview of more than three thousand years of East Asian history, from ca. 1600 BCE through ca. 1800 CE. Since every such survey must be selective, this course will emphasize political, social, and cultural transformations. Aided by the course textbook, we will inquire into the nature of political power, the succession of dynasties and military regimes, the growth and spread of religions, and the transformation of family structures, economies, and diplomatic relations. The course will introduce the different, distinct histories of China, Korea, and Japan, but will also chart the interactions between these cultures, following the travels of monks and merchants, diplomats and conquerors, across the islands and continents. The primary-source readings for the lectures, and especially for the discussion sections, will offer an opportunity to see these changing cultures and landscapes through the eyes of contemporaries: early Chinese philosophers, Korean royal officials, Japanese court ladies, even European travelers. The primary-source readings will also give occasion to reflect on the origins and nature of historical knowledge, thereby making this course not only an introduction to East Asian history, but also an introduction to history as an academic discipline.
Workshops and Short Courses
Dream Lab: Digital Humanities Training Institute
Course: Dream Labs Leiden: East Asian Studies & Digital Humanities
Type: Multi-session Training Workshop
Institution: Leiden University
Primary Instructors: Paula R. Curtis & Paul Vierthaler (Princeton)
Description:
This multi-day, in-person workshop focuses on current and emerging digital projects and methods for East Asian studies, which use primary sources written in classical and modern Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages. Held over 8 sessions, this workshop is for faculty, librarians, information specialists, graduate students, and other instructors in East Asian Studies who wish to incorporate digital methodologies into their research, teaching, or curricular development.
The workshop will include a broad overview of the state of the field, presentations of methods and hands-on sessions with tools and projects, and active discussion about pedagogy, self-directed learning, and future directions for DH research and projects in East Asian studies. Because East Asian studies encompasses a wide range of methods, we will cover topics ranging from corpus preparation and text analysis to OCR, IIIF, network analysis, and digital resources relevant to materials in these languages. This is an introductory workshop geared toward those with little to no DH training and prioritizes applications according to experience level, the (un)availability of digital humanities specialists at their institutions, and project/teaching-oriented needs.For Dream Lab Participants: Workshop Materials
Course: Dream Lab Plus: East Asian Studies & Digital Humanities
Type: Multi-session Training Workshop
Institution: University of Pennsylvania, Price Lab for Digital Humanities
Primary Instructors: Paula R. Curtis & Paul Vierthaler (William & Mary)
Description:
This workshop focuses on current and emerging digital projects and methods for East Asian studies, which use primary sources written in classical and modern Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages. While it is open to all disciplines and areas of interest, it is recommended that participants have reading knowledge of at least one of these languages specific to their own work. Held over 7 sessions, this all-virtual workshop is intended for faculty, librarians, information specialists, and other instructors in East Asian Studies who wish to incorporate digital methodologies into their research, teaching, or curricular development.
The workshop will include a broad overview of the state of the field, presentations of methods and hands-on sessions with tools and projects, and active discussion about pedagogy, self-directed learning, and future directions for DH research and projects in East Asian studies. Because East Asian studies encompasses a wide range of methods, we will cover topics ranging from corpus preparation and text analysis to OCR, IIIF, network analysis, and digital resources relevant to materials in these languages. This is an introductory workshop geared toward those with little to no DH training and prioritizes applications according to experience level, the (un)availability of digital humanities specialists at their institutions, and project/teaching-oriented needs.For Dream Lab Participants: Workshop Materials
Course: Dream Lab: East Asian Studies & Digital Humanities
Type: 4-day Training Workshop
Institution: University of Pennsylvania, Price Lab for Digital Humanities
Primary Instructors: Paula R. Curtis & Paul Vierthaler (William & Mary)
Description:
This workshop focuses on current and emerging digital projects and methods for East Asian studies, which use primary sources written in classical and modern Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages. While it is open to all disciplines and areas of interest, it is recommended that participants have reading knowledge of at least one of these languages specific to their own work. The workshop will include a broad overview of the state of the field, presentations of methods and hands-on sessions with tools and projects, and active discussion about pedagogy, self-directed learning, and future directions for DH research and projects in East Asian studies. Because East Asian studies encompasses a wide range of methods, we will cover topics ranging from corpus preparation and text analysis to OCR, IIIF, network analysis, and digital resources relevant to materials in these languages. This workshop is an introductory one geared toward those with little to no DH experience and prioritized applications from graduate students, postdocs, contingent faculty, and faculty developing departmental curricula.
For Dream Lab Participants: Workshop Materials
Course: Dream Lab Plus: East Asian Studies & Digital Humanities
Type: Multi-session Training Workshop
Institution: University of Pennsylvania, Price Lab for Digital Humanities
Primary Instructors: Paula R. Curtis & Paul Vierthaler (William & Mary)
Description:
This workshop focuses on current and emerging digital projects and methods for East Asian studies, which use primary sources written in classical and modern Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages. While it is open to all disciplines and areas of interest, it is recommended that participants have reading knowledge of at least one of these languages specific to their own work. Held over 7 sessions, this all-virtual workshop is intended for faculty, librarians, information specialists, and other instructors in East Asian Studies who wish to incorporate digital methodologies into their research, teaching, or curricular development.
The workshop will include a broad overview of the state of the field, presentations of methods and hands-on sessions with tools and projects, and active discussion about pedagogy, self-directed learning, and future directions for DH research and projects in East Asian studies. Because East Asian studies encompasses a wide range of methods, we will cover topics ranging from corpus preparation and text analysis to OCR, IIIF, network analysis, and digital resources relevant to materials in these languages. This is an introductory workshop geared toward those with little to no DH training and prioritizes applications according to experience level, the (un)availability of digital humanities specialists at their institutions, and project/teaching-oriented needs.For Dream Lab Participants: Workshop Materials
Course: Dream Lab: East Asian Studies & Digital Humanities
Type: 4-day Training Workshop
Institution: University of Pennsylvania, Price Lab for Digital Humanities
Primary Instructors: Paula R. Curtis & Paul Vierthaler (William & Mary)
Description:
This workshop focuses on current and emerging digital projects and methods for East Asian studies, which use primary sources written in classical and modern Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages. While it is open to all disciplines and areas of interest, it is recommended that participants have reading knowledge of at least one of these languages specific to their own work. The workshop will include a broad overview of the state of the field, presentations of methods and hands-on sessions with tools and projects, and active discussion about pedagogy, self-directed learning, and future directions for DH research and projects in East Asian studies. Because East Asian studies encompasses a wide range of methods, we will cover topics ranging from corpus preparation and text analysis to OCR, IIIF, network analysis, and digital resources relevant to materials in these languages. This workshop is an introductory one geared toward those with little to no DH experience and prioritized applications from graduate students, postdocs, contingent faculty, and faculty developing departmental curricula.
For Dream Lab Participants: Workshop Materials
Course: Dream Lab: East Asian Studies & Digital Humanities
Type: 4-day Training Workshop
Institution: University of Pennsylvania, Price Lab for Digital Humanities
Primary Instructors: Paula R. Curtis & Paul Vierthaler (William & Mary)
Description:
This workshop focuses on current and emerging digital projects and methods for East Asian studies, which use primary sources written in classical and modern Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages. While it is open to all disciplines and areas of interest, it is recommended that participants have reading knowledge of at least one of these languages specific to their own work. The workshop will include a broad overview of the state of the field, presentations of methods and hands-on sessions with tools and projects, and active discussion about pedagogy, self-directed learning, and future directions for DH research and projects in East Asian studies. Because East Asian studies encompasses a wide range of methods, we will cover topics ranging from corpus preparation and text analysis to OCR, IIIF, network analysis, and digital resources relevant to materials in these languages. This workshop is an introductory one geared toward those with little to no DH experience and prioritized applications from graduate students, postdocs, contingent faculty, and faculty developing departmental curricula.
For Dream Lab Participants: Workshop Materials
Course: Dream Lab: East Asian Studies & Digital Humanities
Type: 4-day Training Workshop
Institution: University of Pennsylvania, Price Lab for Digital Humanities
Primary Instructors: Paula R. Curtis & Paul Vierthaler (William & Mary)
Description:
This workshop focuses on current and emerging digital projects and methods for East Asian studies, which use primary sources written in classical and modern Chinese, Japanese, and Korean languages. While it is open to all disciplines and areas of interest, it is recommended that participants have reading knowledge of at least one of these languages specific to their own work. The workshop will include a broad overview of the state of the field, presentations of methods and hands-on sessions with tools and projects, and active discussion about pedagogy, self-directed learning, and future directions for DH research and projects in East Asian studies broadly. Because East Asian studies encompasses a wide range of methods, we will cover topics ranging from corpus preparation and text analysis to APIs, IIIF, and digital resources relevant to materials in these languages. Please note that this workshop is intended for graduate students, postdocs, and contingent faculty with little to no DH experience. Advanced scholars are kindly asked to allow those with less experience to register first.
For Dream Lab Participants: Workshop Materials
Other
Course: An Introduction to Digital Humanities: Methods, Tools, & Questions
Type: 2-day Faculty Workshop
Institution: BINUS University
Primary Instructor: Paula R. Curtis
Description:
This two-part workshop will will provide an introductory overview of the field of Digital Humanities (DH). What is DH? What are some of its core methods? We will discuss the fundamentals, including a range of practices and commonly used tools. Drawing on examples from her own early experiences breaking into the digital field, Dr. Curtis will address why one might choose to integrate (or not integrate) digital humanities in their research and teaching.
Course: Digital Humanities Fundamentals & East Asian Studies
Type: Faculty Workshop
Institution: BINUS University
Primary Instructors: Paula R. Curtis & Paul Vierthaler (William & Mary)
Description:
This eight-session workshop will introduce the fundamentals of digital humanities methods through the lens of East Asian Studies. Meetings will cover a broad overview of the state of the field in East Asian Studies digital scholarship, presentations of methods and hands-on sessions with tools and projects, and active discussion about pedagogy, self-directed learning, and future directions for DH research and projects in East Asian studies broadly. Because East Asian studies encompasses a wide range of methods, we will cover topics ranging from corpus preparation and text analysis to network analysis, IIIF, and digital resources relevant to materials in these languages. No previous knowledge of the digital humanities is expected or required.
Course: Japanese Language Text Mining
Course Type: graduate student & faculty workshop
Institution: University of Chicago
Primary Instructors: Paula R. Curtis, Hoyt Long, Mark Ravina
Course Description:
The workshop brings together researchers working across a variety of disciplines who are interested in learning methods for text analysis on Japanese language materials. The workshop will focus on the unique challenges of digital analyses of Japanese texts while introducing foundational methods and principles of text analysis. Students should come away with the ability to create, annotate, and analyze Japanese text collections using programming languages like R or python. No prior experience with programming is required. Topics covered include:
- Finding and using web-based text collections
- Using web-based analytical tools
- Creating digital collections with OCR software
- Basic programming fundamentals
- Metadata preparation and pre-processing tasks (e.g., word segmentation)
- Principles of text mining (e.g., word counts, collocations, document term matrices, document similarity measures, distinctive word analysis)
- Overview of advanced techniques (e.g., topic models, word-embedding)
For Workshop Participants: Course Materials
Course: Japanese Language Text Mining
Course Type: graduate student & faculty workshop
Institution: University of Chicago
Primary Instructors: Paula R. Curtis, Hoyt Long, Mark Ravina
Course Description:
The workshop brings together researchers working across a variety of disciplines who are interested in learning methods for text analysis on Japanese language materials. The workshop will focus on the unique challenges of digital analyses of Japanese texts while introducing foundational methods and principles of text analysis. Students should come away with the ability to create, annotate, and analyze Japanese text collections using programming languages like R or python. No prior experience with programming is required. Topics covered include:
- Finding and using web-based text collections
- Using web-based analytical tools
- Creating digital collections with OCR software
- Basic programming fundamentals
- Metadata preparation and pre-processing tasks (e.g., word segmentation)
- Principles of text mining (e.g., word counts, collocations, document term matrices, document similarity measures, distinctive word analysis)
- Overview of advanced techniques (e.g., topic models, word-embedding)
For Workshop Participants: Course Materials
Course: Digital Humanities and East Asian Religions
Course Type: graduate student workshop
Institution: McMaster University
Primary Instructors: Paula R. Curtis, Jason Protass (Brown University), Jonathan Pettit (University of Hawai'i)
Course Description:
The workshop provides hands-on training in mapping and networking tools. The workshop couples instruction on the basic skills related to making maps and network graphs with their use in a student’s own research project. At the end of the two-day workshop, students will gain a basic literacy in how to develop a database, import these into software such as Google Maps, QGIS, Palladio, and Cytoscape and export maps and graphs to be used in a variety of publications. The presenters will explore both conceptual and practical dimensions of how mapping and network analysis can reveal new insights into East Asian religions.
