Asian Studies Concentration

For students entering fall 2021

Students majoring in International and Global Studies may choose to pursue a concentration in Asian Studies by:

1) taking five courses focused on Asia and the Asia Pacific regions in fulfilling requirements (3) and (4) of the IGS major with at least two Asia-related courses from each; and

2) fulfilling a language proficiency: Japanese 202 or equivalent in another Asian language appropriate to the student’s study program. The Asian Studies faculty and the Director of the International & Global Studies Program will determine when language proficiency other than Japanese will be appropriate within a student’s program.

Minor sequence in Asian Studies:

Six courses including (at least two courses must be at the 300-400 level):

INST 240 Thinking Globally: An Introduction (CHC, G)
One Asia-related experiential learning experience (academic internship or off-campus study experience) approved by the IGS director.
Language proficiency: Japanese 202 or equivalent in another Asian language.
Three courses focused in the Asia and Asia Pacific areas.

The Asian Studies program provides students with a wide variety of courses taught by faculty who have demonstrated an enthusiastic commitment to teaching about Asia. Whether your curiosity lies in traditional Asian philosophy and religion, the histories of Asian civilizations and their modern transformations, Asian language and culture, or contemporary Asian politics and economics, the program allows you to follow your interests toward scholarly mastery of your chosen subject.

Asian Studies Colloquium - In addition to offering a wide variety of courses, each year the Asian Studies faculty sponsor the Asian Studies Colloquium Series, a program of academic lectures in which IWU professors share with students and colleagues the findings from their specialized research on Asia. Faculty members have presented talks on topics ranging from gender and female leadership in a Japanese corporation to poets and mystics of 19th century India; from observations of social norms and values among children in Indonesia to the environmental price China has paid for membership in the World Trade Organization; and from cross-cultural communication between Japanese and American youth to the complexities of the mid-20th century revolution in the Chinese countryside. A special Colloquium presentation each year is given by IWU students after their return from the Technos International Program in Japan, and future Colloquium lectures will include presentations by students of their own original research on Asia.

Asian Studies Student Programming Committee - Students interested in Asia are also encouraged to join the Asian Studies Student Programming Committee. This Student Senate-funded organization offers opportunities for students to plan such events as the annual Chinese New Year's Celebration, field trips, films, speakers, and other cultural events.

Technos International Week: All-Expense-Paid Study Tour of Japan - Each year, IWU sends a delegation of two students and one faculty member to join similar groups from colleges in the U.S., New Zealand and England, to participate as guests of Technos College (Tokyo) in Technos International Week. The all-expense-paid, two-week tour includes visits to a number of cities and historical sites, to the Japanese Alps and a retreat center in the countryside, and to high schools and colleges. A special feature of the tour is the opportunity to meet and interact with Japanese students at Technos College, a school with cordial ties to our university. All interested freshmen and sophomores who are U.S. citizens (these requirements have been established by Technos College) are encouraged to apply through the office of the Director of International and Global Studies.

The Asian Studies WWW Monitor: provides virtually daily abstracts and reviews of new/updated online resources of significance to research, teaching and communications dealing with Asian Studies. This site is sponsored by the The Australian National University and was established in April 1994.