Asian Studies Curriculum

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Combined Major

Combined majors are offered in Asian studies with history, government and religious studies. These departments have agreed that their courses listed for Asian studies credit may also count for the departmental major.

In addition to fulfilling requirements for the disciplinary major, students must complete seven Asian studies courses distributed as follows:

1.             At least one multi-regional course.

2.             One semester-long course in an Asian language.

3.     Five electives, including at least one course at the 300 or 400 level. No more than three of these courses can be selected from a single department or focus on a single region (East Asia/South Asia/Southeast Asia).

Asian Studies–Government

Government majors pursuing a combined major in Asian studies must take a minimum of seven government courses distributed as follows:

1.     Core Courses (3): Government majors must complete GOVT 103 Introduction to American Politics and GOVT 105 Introduction to Comparative Politics. Additionally, students must take either GOVT 108 Introduction to International Politics or GOVT 206 Political Theory. One of these three introductory courses must be designated writing-intensive and should be completed before the end of the sophomore year. These three introductory courses must be taken in residence on the St. Lawrence campus.

2.     Research Seminar (1): During the sophomore or junior year, ideally after completion of the writing-intensive course, students must take one of the government Research Seminars (290, 291, 292, 293). Students may take only one research seminar. 

3.     Asian Politics Course (1): Majors will take either GOVT 322 Chinese Politics, GOVT 324 Asia: Beyond the Great Wall, or a special topics course on Asia within the government department.

4.     Elective Courses (2): These may be upper division elective courses. Students may count up to one unit of internship coursework or one unit of independent study toward the elective requirements. No more than one of the elective courses may be taken off campus. Two of the five required Asian Studies electives must be outside the government department. One of the electives must include a research component.

Asian Studies–History

History majors pursuing a combined major with Asian studies must fulfill the regular history major requirements, though they must take a minimum of nine history courses rather than the standard ten. The nine required history courses must include a research seminar and at least one course each in European history, North American history and Asian history.

Two of the five required Asian Studies electives must be outside the history department. One of the electives must include a research component.

Asian Studies–Religious Studies

Religious studies majors pursuing a combined major with Asian studies must fulfill the regular religious studies major requirements, though they must take a minimum of nine courses rather than the standard ten.

Two of the five required Asian Studies electives must be outside the religious studies department. One of the electives must include a research component.

Minor

For the minor, students must take five Asian studies courses as follows:

1.   At least one multi-regional course.

2.   Four electives, in which One semester-long course in an Asian language is suggested.

3.  Courses should be selected in consultation with the minor advisor. Electives must be courses taken at St. Lawrence University and/or full-credit courses offered in China, India, Japan or Thailand. Students must maintain a minimum GPA of 2.0 in courses submitted for the minor.