Roughly 2500 years after his death, Confucius still has significant, widespread influence in contemporary society. This course will focus on the nature of Confucian thought and practice, and look to understand the variety of ways Confucianism impacts modern Asian societies. It will do this by first studying early Confucian thinking, as well as the development of Neo-Confucianism. Then the course will turn to highlight the presence of Confucianism in the modern world, both as it appears in contemporary Asian literature, and in the political and social lives of countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, and Taiwan.