Dr. Venkatesan and her class in a Hindu temple in Ottawa
Asian Studies - Major/Minor
Dr. Venkatesan and her class in a Hindu temple in Ottawa
The combined major in Asian Studies makes it possible to earn a major in history, government or religious studies that incorporates courses in several departments to ensure an integrative approach to the study of Asia. The combined major appears on transcripts as history/Asian Studies, government/Asian Studies or religious studies/Asian Studies, depending on the disciplinary emphasis a student chooses.
Requirements
For the combined major, students must take a minimum of two foundational courses and five electives from the list below, including one course with a research component. They must also fulfill requirements for the disciplinary major. The history, government and religious studies departments have agreed that their courses listed for Asian Studies credit may also count for the departmental major.
For the minor in Asian Studies, students must take two foundational courses and four electives from the list below, including one course with a research component.
Foundational Courses:
These are courses which cover broad themes and geographical regions of Asia, and are designed to give students a good introduction to Asian Studies. For the current list of foundational courses offered, check the course listings for each semester, or contact the Asian Studies coordinator, Dr. Erin McCarthy, Philosophy Department, 111 Piskor Hall, x 5224.
Anthropology
208 - Ancient Civilizations
238 - The Pacific Islands
Biology
258 - Ethnobotany
Fine Arts
217 - Buddhist Art and Ritual
218 - Arts of South Asia
Global Studies
222 - Asian Political Economy in the Global Age
Government
105 - Introduction to Comparative Politics
History
105 - Early East Asian Civilization
106 - Modern East Asia
261 - History of Islamic Civilization
Religious Studies
222 - Buddhist Religious Tradition, or
223 - Religious Life of China
Elective Courses
No more than two electives from a single discipline or focusing upon the same country can count as part of the minimum of five. Electives may be taken either at St. Lawrence University or, for students who participate in the Japan Program, at Nanzan University in Nagoya or International Christian University (ICU) in Tokyo, in India as part of the New York State Independent College Consortium for Study in India, or in China on the semester program in Shanghai. Please see the University Catalog for more information on non-SLU based elective courses.
Departmental Offerings
Chinese
101, 102- Elementary Mandarin Chinese
Government
273 - The Politics for Human Rights in Asia
290 - Research Seminar: East Asia
322 - Government and Politics in the People’s Republic of China
History
105 - Early East Asian Civilization
106 - Modern East Asia
282 - History of Modern Japan
292 - Revolutionary China
377 - Colloquium in Asian History
Japanese
101, 102 - Elementary Japanese
103, 104 - Intermediate Japanese
490 - Independent Study
Modern Languages and Literatures
224 - Modern Japanese Literature and Film*
226 - Japanese Drama*
*Literature in Translation courses
Philosophy
103 - Philosophy East and West: An Introduction
223 - Asian Philosophy
Religious Studies
221 - Religious Life of India
222 - Buddhist Religious Tradition
223 - Religious Life of China
226 - Religious Life of Japan
370 - Asian Religions in the Modern World
380 - Mythology and Popular Religious Thought in India
450, 451 - Directed Studies in Religion
Please see the SLU catalog for subject-specific combined major requirements.