Minor in Asian Studies
Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary minor designed for students with an interest in any part of Asia. In addition to the requirements of the student's major department, the minor consists of 21 credits selected from such disciplines as anthropology, art history, economics, geography, history, linguistics, literature, philosophy, political science, religious studies, speech, theatre arts, and appropriate Asian languages.
Minors in Asian Studies can choose to focus on a specific Asian region (East, South, Southeast, or West Asia), or can range broadly across geography and time. Minors may wish to build clusters of courses focused on specific disciplines or problems, e.g., modern colonial history, historical linguistcs, the Silk Road, comparative religion, South Asian literature, and so on.
Study Abroad in Asia: Charlotte Eubanks has developed a Powerpoint presentation that outlines options for Penn State undergraduates who want to major or minor in Asian Studies programs and go abroad. Find it here.
Requirements
The Asian Studies minor requires a total of 21 credits, divided as follows:
Core courses: ASIA 100, What is Asia? You must also select 3 credits from the following choices: RLST 003, HIST 174, HIST 175, or HIST 176.
Related coures: 15 credits, at least 6 of which must be at the 400 level. Any course that is part of the East Asian Studies major counts. You may include up to 15 credits of language study in any Asian language.
You may also count any course that deals with any part of Asia. You must contact the professional advisor responsible for the minior (currently Rebekka Egger) for approval of such courses. This approval process is not complex and can be done via e-mail.
You can apply for an Asian Studies minor online.
Courses in South & Southeast Asia
Students particularly interested in these areas may have trouble finding a comprehensive list of curricular options--hence the list here, which may prove helpful.
ARCH 312. CRITICAL POSTCOLONIAL AND CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES IN SOUTH ASIAN ARCHITECTURE (3)
ARTH 120. ASIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE (3)
ART H 330. ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE AND ART (3)
ART H 496. SPECIAL TOPICS: COLONIAL URBANISM IN ASIA (3)
ARTH 597B. SEMINAR IN ASIAN ARCHITECTURE (Fall 2008: A Historiogrpahy of Asian Architecture, Urbanism and Art) (3)
HIST 083S: GANDHI (3) (Offered occasionally; other 083S courses will have different topics)
HIST 176. SURVEY OF INDIAN HISTORY (3)
HIST 475Y. THE MAKING AND EMERGENCE OF MODERN INDIA (3)
HIST 587: TOPICS IN SOUTH ASIAN HISTORY (3)
LANG 196A. HINDI 001 (4)
LANG 197A. HINID 002 (4)
LANG 296A. HINDI 003 (4)
LANG 297A. HINDI 004 (4)
PLSC 458. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS OF EAST ASIA (3).
RLST 103. INTRODUCTION TO HINDUISM (3)
RLST 408. HINDU STUDIES (3)
Advising
Advising for the major in East Asian Studies and the minor in Asian Area Studies is handled by Dr. Rebecca Egger <rme13@psu.edu>. You can make an appointment to meet with Dr. Egger using this web-based calendar.
