Sixty percent of the world’ s people live in Asia, in countries as different from each other as India, China, Japan, Korea,
Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines . With 44 countries, Asia is sometimes divided into East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia,
Central/Inner Asia, and Southwest Asia, extending into parts of the Middle East . Most of the fastest-growing economies in the world
are Asian. Every major law and accounting firm has branches in Asia. All of the world’ s major religions originated in some part
of Asia, if we include Asia Minor in the scope of “Asia.” All forms of political system can be found in Asia — from democracies
to military dictatorships to socialist and post-socialist countries to monarchies — and many political struggles of global importance
have taken place in Asia. Nobel laureates in literature and science have come from Asia; popular cultural forms such as karaoke and
martial arts films have Asian origins. The world’s second- and third-largest economies are Asian; the second- and third-most polluting
nations are Asian. More than half of the world’s biodiversity lies in Asia . Three of the four most populous nations in the world are
Asian ( China, India, Indonesia ), as are three of the four largest cities ( Tokyo, Mumbai, Shanghai ). Asians contribute substantially
to contemporary medical research, while preserving noteworthy alternative medical traditions. In the United States, Asians are the
fastest growing minority group.
The program in Asian Studies introduces students to the complexity of the continent of Asia, as they select courses in a wide variety
of fields, such as Anthropology, East Asian Languages and Literatures, Economics, Film, Television, and Theatre, History, Political
Science, and Psychology. The Center for Asian Studies also provides lectures, films, gatherings, and grant opportunities to
undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty interested in Asia . The Center hosts many prominent speakers each year. Students in the
program in Asian Studies will be able to avail themselves of the connection to the larger world offered by the program.
Students with the Supplementary Major or the Minor in Asian Studies will be very desirable employees of international business or
accounting firms, non-governmental organizations, and service organizations; they will be very well prepared for graduate school in a
discipline, or for professional school such as law or business. Many prospective employers have indicated a need for broadly trained
experts on an area, who can live comfortably, respectfully, and gracefully in an Asian setting. The Supplementary Major and the Minor
in Asian Studies provide recognition of students’ training in a broad region of the world.
Supplementary Major in Asian Studies
Minor in Asian Studies
Classes Offered
