MAJOR IN ASIAN STUDIES (PROPOSED)
Director: Dr. Wenshan Jia, Professor at jia@chapman.edu; (714) 997-6725 (o)
The Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies
The Bachelor of Arts Degree Program in Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary and
international/intercultural subject matter of inquiry with regard to Asia countries/regions. The
major is a creative infusion of various disciplines such as Asian languages, literatures and
communication, philosophies and cultures, histories, arts, and religions, economics, and
businesses, science and technologies, education, society, and cultural/media industries and so on
within the Asia-Pacific contexts. This interdisciplinary study of Asia provides students with an
array of both the humanistic and social scientific approaches to facilitate comparative analysis,
enhance the level of effectiveness of intercultural understanding and communication, and
sharpen the international problem-solving skills during their engagement with Asia. The
curriculum below lays a foundation of knowledge which allows students to create a course study
which meets their career goals. With a unique sequence of courses in the major, students can
prepare for careers in a variety of for-profit and non-profit sectors related to Asia such as
business and trade, media and entertainment industry, education and diplomacy, consulting and
tourism, and many other related service industries. The students with BA in Asian Studies who
would like to go to graduate school would find a close affinity in many graduate degree
programs such as MBA programs, law degree programs, MPA programs as well as International
Relations/Public Diplomacy graduate programs and many other graduate programs in humanities
and social sciences.
Academic Bundling
Students who major in Asian Studies can double major in a variety of all other majors of
humanities and social sciences within Wilkinson College such as communication, political
science, literature, history, sociology, and so on. They can also double major in School of
Business and Economics, College of Performing Arts, College of Film and TV Arts, even
College of Sciences as well as College of Education. They could also minor in any of the
academic programs which offer minor programs.
Asian Studies Major Program Requirements
Substitutions for required courses are only allowed after the written approval of the program
director.
Majors must maintain a GPA of 2.500 or higher in Asian Studies courses. All courses in the
major must be taken for a letter grade and passed with a "C" or higher.
All incoming freshmen who declare Asian Studies as their major are admitted to the program on
condition that they understand and agree that by the semester in which they attain 60 college
education credits, they will have completed AS150, AS191, AS250, AS 290, AS291. Neither
internal nor external transfer students will be excused from the prerequisites. Transfer students
who have completed courses professionally judged comparable to the required courses and
prerequisites with a grade of "C" or higher from an accredited institution will be waived from
that requirement in the major by the approval of the program director.
All Asian Studies majors are required to study related Asian Studies courses in an Asian country
of your own choice for at least one semester during the sophomore or junior year.
Major Core Curriculum Requirements (51 credits)
Content Core Requirements (27 credits)
AS150
Asian Connections: Introduction to Asian Studies
AS191
Asian Cultural Traditions
AS250
Asian Studies Research Methods
AS290
Asian Art: Traditional & Modern
AS291
Asian Histories in Global Contexts
AS390
Asian Literatures: Traditional and Modern
AS391
Contemporary Asian Societies
AS491
Politics and International Relations in Modern and Contemporary Asia
AS 498
Directed Senior Thesis in Asian Studies
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
Language Requirements (12 credits)
CH100
CH200
CH300
CH400
Chinese Language Level I
Chinese Language Level II
Chinese Language Level III
Chinese Language Level IV
3
3
3
3
Japanese Language level I
Japanese Language Level II
Japanese Language Level III
Japanese Language Level IV
3
3
3
3
Or
JPN100
JPN200
JPN300
JPN 400
Two of the following (6 credits)
Lower Division
REL 115
Living Religions of the World
HIS190
East Asian History and Popular Culture
ART 216
Ceramics in China, Korea and Japan: History, Culture and Practice
ART 264
Art of India, the Himalayas and Southeast Asia
ART 265
Exchange and Evolution in the Arts of China, Korea and Japan
HIS 220
The Vietnam Wars
HIS 262
The History of the Samurai
HIS 264
Empire and War in East Asia: History and Memory
AS251
Film and TV Arts in Contemporary Asia
AS252
Interpersonal and Intercultural Communication in and with Asia
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
AS253
Asian Media, Law & Society
Two of the following: (6 credits)
Upper Division
ART 372
Change & Exchange in the Contemporary Arts of China, Korea & Japan
ART 375
Change & Exchange in the Contemporary Arts of
South Asia, the Middle East and Southeast Asia
COM 411
Communication in the Global Work Place
HIS 352
Chinese Civilization
HIS 354
From Samurai to Pokemon: A social History of Modern Japan
HIS 355
Disease, Power and Sex: Medicine and the Body in East Asia
JPN 478
Japanese History and Civilization (conducted in Japanese)
ENG 326
Asian American Literature
POSC 324
Asian Politics
REL 335
Hinduism and the Religions of India
REL 336
Buddhism
FTV 443a/543a Advanced Topics in World Cinema: Asian Cinema
AS444
Global Communication Strategies: Asia vs. US and EU
FTV445
Films of Akira Kurosawa by Michael Philips
ECON 441
Economic Development by Donald Booth
AS446
Doing Business in Asia
AS 447
Managing Ethnic Diversity in China
Total Credits:
51
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3