by Rylie Yeager ’25

At Pace, one of the many opportunities students have in the classroom is to expand their knowledge within very specialized and intricate courses. I remember receiving my fall semester schedule in August after my advisor created it for me and thinking, “What is this?” As a Communication Studies major, a few of the courses seemed wildly unrelated to my field of interest. I couldn’t understand why Mohini chose them for me. One of them was Nonviolent Activism in Modern Asia, a history course taught by Professor Joseph Lee. Now, as we approach the end of the semester, I can safely say it is one of my favorite classes I have ever taken.

In terms of the benefits of taking the course, Nonviolent Activism fulfills many requirements for graduation. It is an Honors course, which all Honors students must take eight of to graduate, and it also fulfills one of two AOK III and Writing Enhanced Courses (WEC) required for all students. In terms of enjoyment, everything about the class is great. We learn and debate about Asian activist movements and their nonviolent strategies, including those in China, Tibet, Hong Kong, and India. Many of the movements that we  touched on were completely unfamiliar to me, such as the Tiananmen Student Protests and the subsequent massacres. For those that would love to learn more about Asian politics and internal resistance, this class would be a great fit. The class consists of several in-class debates and written speeches, both of which are not too difficult, and the course is heavy on reading and writing as it is a WEC.

Professor Lee is truly one of the best teachers I have ever had. He is so kind and supportive of his students and always makes us laugh. Halfway throughout the three hour lecture he always pauses and says, “Okay, let’s go get some tea and coffee and return in fifteen minutes”. Every single time. Whenever he assigns us work, he asks, “Would that be okay?” to ensure that each of us feels we can accomplish the task. I handed in an assignment a few days late due to a family emergency and Professor Lee was so kind and receptive and even came up to me during the next class’s break to ask how I was doing. He also possesses a genuine mastery of Asian history and politics and is a true joy to learn from. Even though he knows his information very comprehensively, he always considers our perspectives and validates our opinions on any subject he teaches. I do not have enough good words to say about Professor Lee and his course. If you’re on the fence and looking for something new and exciting, I highly recommend that you take this course!