Asian Studies

The Asian Studies minor at Texas A&M University offers an interdisciplinary study of the societies, cultures, and languages found throughout Asia. It has become increasingly clear that Texas A&M students need the opportunity to further study this vital region of our world. The Asia Pacific region currently contributes approximately 45 percent of the world’s gross domestic product, and Texas A&M students will of necessity be engaged in travel, commerce, and other forms of exchange with Asia. Moreover, of all the states in the U.S. in the year 2000, Texas has the 4^th largest number of Asians, over 560,000 persons, or almost 3 percent of the population of the state of Texas (this is an increase from 312,000 or almost 2 percent in Texas in the year 1990). Students minoring in Asian Studies can fulfill their degree requirements from courses in history, political science, sociology, communication, Chinese, Japanese, English, geography, and psychology.

Course Requirements for the Minor in Asian Studies
Students must successfully complete 15 credit hours including at least 6 hours at the upper-division (300 and 400) level, plus a capstone course, as follows:

3 hours, Capstone course (see below)
6 hours Asian Studies humanities courses (from list below or as approved by the Director of Asian Studies)
6 hours Asian Studies social sciences courses (from list below or as approved by the Director of Asian Studies)
3 hours Asian Studies electives (from list below or as approved by the Director of Asian Studies)

Capstone Course in Asian Studies

This course will be taken after the student has completed 12 hours of Asian Studies courses toward the minor. It will be an upper division Asian Studies course (from the list below or as approved by the Director of Asian Studies). It will involve a contract between the student and the Instructor (that is approved before the start of the course by the Instructor and the Director of Asian Studies) in which the student, in addition to the requirements of the course, will complete a seminar paper or some other substantive work.

Asian Studies courses may be chosen from the following:

Note: several of the courses listed below (in Communication, History, Sociology, Religious Studies, and Geography) are “489” courses. Most of these are new courses that are now being developed under a Department of Education grant awarded in 2005 to the College of Liberal Arts. After these new courses are completed and then offered for the first time, they will receive unique course numbers.

Humanities
ENGL 396, Asian American Women Writers (this topic only)
HIST 349, The Vietnam War/The American War
HIST 350, Asia During World War II
HIST 351, Traditional East Asia
HIST 352, Modern East Asia
HIST 354, Imperial China
HIST 355, Modern China
HIST 356, Twentieth Century Japan
HIST 481, Chinese Popular Culture since 1600
HIST 489, Communism in Asia
HIST 489, Revolutions and Reforms in Twentieth-Century China
RELS 304, Indian and Oriental Religions: Religions of South and East Asia
RELS 489, Chinese Religions and Philosophy


Social Sciences
COMM 335, Intercultural Communication
COMM 458, Global Media
COMM 460, Communication and Contemporary Issues: Asian Popular Culture
COMM 489, Political Communication in South Asia
COMM 489, Special Topics in China, Communication & World Affairs
GEOG 326, Geography of East Asia
GEOG 489, Geography of China
POLS 365, Asian Governments and Politics
SOCI 329, Pacific Rim Business Behavior
SOCI 463, Gender in Asia
SOCI 489, Gender in Contemporary East Asia
SOCI 489, Population and Society of Modern China
SOCI 489, Sociology of Asian Americans
SOCI 489, Race and Ethnicity in East Asia

Asian Language Courses
The student may count toward the completion of the Asian Studies minor up to 6 hours of upper division Asian language courses (300 level or higher). If the student includes 6 hours of language courses toward the minor, the student’s required hours in Asian Studies humanities and social sciences courses will be reduced from 12 hours to nine hours (see above), giving the student 6 hours of Asian Studies electives; the 6 hours of language will be included as Asian Studies elective hours.

Asian Studies Courses, Resident Hours
The student must complete a minimum of six hours of Asian Studies courses toward the minor at the 300 or 400 level in residence at Texas A&M University.