Asian Studies Minor | Courses
Home to over half of the world's population and the source of some of its most influential cultures, religions, and countries, Asia is a region of immeasurable significance to contemporary global society. The Asian Studies program provides students with opportunities to focus on this region through an interdisciplinary minor inclusive of course work and individual research. As a means to complement work in a student's major field, the Asian Studies curriculum allows students to investigate Asia from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and enables them to cultivate useful analytical tools. Through an Asian Studies minor, students can therefore add an area studies dimension to their disciplinary expertise. Students pursuing the minor need to designate a minor advisor from the Asian Studies faculty early in their program. As course offerings permit, students are strongly encouraged to design their course programs to address both historical and contemporary topics while being inclusive of East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. (East Asia: China, Japan, and the Korean peninsula. South Asia: India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan. Southeast Asia: Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and The Philippines.) Students are also encouraged to study abroad in Asia through internationally recognized programs or Albertson College off-campus courses.
The minor consists of at least 18 credits that must span at least three disciplines. Required course work includes a capstone senior project (ASN-494 Independent Study). In consultation with an advisor, students must design, propose, and present an original project to be formally presented to Asian Studies faculty and students. The advisor and Asian Studies faculty will jointly evaluate the project . Students choose 15 credits from the courses listed below in at least three disciplines: