Asian Studies Major

Language Requirement

Students are required to gain a functional level of literacy in the language of their area of specialization. Students specializing in China or Japan must complete at least the equivalent of intermediate Chinese or Japanese at Clark plus at least one semester in China or Japan as part of Clark’s Study Abroad Program. A student studying Southeast Asia is required to study a major Southeast Asian language, either through locally available instructors or as part of a Study Abroad Program. Asian language courses above the beginning level (101-102) can be counted as part of the required 12 courses for the major. Students specializing in China or Japan must take at least three courses on countries or regions of Asia different from their country of specialization.

This language requirement can be fullfilled at Clark by taking:

CHIN 103 - Intermediate Chinese I   & CHIN 104 - Intermediate Chinese II  

or

JAPN 103 - Intermediate Japanese   & JAPN 104 - Intermediate Japanese II  

Complementary Minor or Second Major

Since Asian Studies is interdisciplinary by definition, we require that all students majoring in Asian Studies also fulfill a minor (or a second major) in an established department that is closely related to the student’s area of interest. This is to ensure that Clark Asian Studies majors also have basic competence in an established discipline, which will improve their chances for employment, admission to post-graduate programs, and/or other international career opportunities.

Five Electives

Students must take five electives from these options.  A minimum of four of these courses must be at the 200-level. (Directed study projects, under the supervision of an Asian Studies faculty member, in their area of interest or specialization, may be taken. Students individually approach faculty members to consult on their research and study plans.)

• CHIN 103 - Intermediate Chinese I  
• CHIN 104 - Intermediate Chinese II  
• CHIN 105 - Advanced Chinese  
• CHIN 299 - Directed Study  
• ENG 275 - Fictions of Empire: Studies in Global English Literature  
• ENG 279 - Fictions of Asian America  
• GEOG 107 - Miracles of Asia: Economic Growth in Global Contexts  
• HIST 080 - Introduction to Modern East Asia  
• HIST 181 - Chinese Civilization  
• HIST 182 - Modern China  
• HIST 233 - Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism: Intellectual History of China  
• HIST 253 - Beauty, Gender, and Power around the World, 1800 to the Present  
• HIST 281 - China since 1949: State, Economy and Family in the People’s Republic  
• HIST 286 - The Vietnam War  
• ID 235 - Trafficking: Globalization and Its Illicit Commodities  
• ID 243 - Seeing Like a Humanitarian Agency  
• IDND 200 - Advanced Topics in Gender, Race, and Area Studies  
• AS 210 - Disability in East Asia and Beyond  
• AS 299 - Directed Study  
• JAPN 103 - Intermediate Japanese  
• JAPN 104 - Intermediate Japanese II  
• JAPN 110 - Japanese Pop Culture: Narratives of National Identity  
• JAPN 190 - Japanese Women Writers  
• JAPN 220 - Remaking Japan: Hollywood and Japanese Cinema  
• JAPN 275 - The Japanese Warrior Tradition  
• JAPN 280 - Memory and National Identity in Post-War Japanese Fiction and Film  
• JAPN 299 - Directed Study  
• PHIL 165 - Asian Philosophy  
• PSCI 179 - Asian Politics  
• PSCI 232 - Chinese Politics  
• WGS 201 - Sex, Love and Intimacy Across the Color Line  

Note: Students may be able to count CHIN 101 or CHIN 102 if they fulfilled the launguage requirement in Japanese or may be able to count JAPN 101 or 102 if they fulfilled the language requirement in Chinese.

Study Abroad

Asian Studies majors are required to study abroad for at least one semester in a Clark approved program in Asia.  Currently, these include, but are not limited, to the following programs:

• Kansai Gaidai University near Osaka, Japan,
• CET Language Program in Beijing, China,
• CET Internship Program in Shanghai, China, or
• CET in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Interested students should inquire with the Study Abroad and Study Away Programs offices about the language prerequisites and availability of appropriate programs, in discussion with their advisor.

Capstone Requirement

The Asian Studies capstone serves as the major’s intellectual culmination, integrating the student’s area of specialization with a disciplinary interest. Students may fulfill the capstone requirement in several ways, as determined in consultation with the student’s adviser. A 200-level course may be designated as the capstone, with a research paper or project in which the student connects theory and methodology presented in the course to a specific issue in the student’s area of specialization; a Directed Study project may also serve as a capstone; and for double majors, a joint capstone, with permission of program heads of both majors, may also fulfil the requirement. For students in the Honors program, the honors thesis serves as the capstone. As an interdisciplinary major, Asian Studies strives to be open to students’ capstone proposals, and we encourage early and regular consultation with the student’s adviser.

Honors Program (Optional)

To be eligible, students must:

• Have a 3.5 GPA in Asian Studies and a 3.3 overall GPA;
• Submit a detailed research proposal to the Director of Asian Studies by April 1st of the Spring Semester of their Junior Year and a letter from a potential Honors Thesis advisor in support of your application;
• Complete two semesters of Honors 297;
• Complete an oral defense (with first and second readers); and
• Present on Academic Spree Day.