When you enroll at Susquehanna, you’ll be paired with an advisor and application tool to guide you in your course planning and scheduling. The following is an excerpt from the complete course catalog. Enrolled students follow the requirements of the course catalog for the academic year in which they declare each major and/or minor, consult with their advisor(s) and the Academic Planning Tool.
Learning Goals:
- To initiate an in-depth study of Asia, including its cultures, literatures, history, religion, philosophy, businesses, media practices, arts and languages.
- To compare various Asian cultures with each other in order to achieve a greater understanding of the continuities/discontinuities between them.
- To arrive at some understanding of the continuities/discontinuities between Asian communities in Asia and their diasporic communities, particularly in the U.S.
Double-counting restriction for interdisciplinary minors
Only 4 semester hours of this minor may be double-counted toward the student’s major.
Requirements for the Minor in Asian Studies
The Asian studies minor requires 20 semester hours, with grades of C- or better, including four elective courses (with at least three to be chosen from courses exclusively on Asia) and a required final course. Study abroad is highly recommended but not required.
Electives
Students take a total of 16 elective semester hours. Not more than eight semester hours may be taken at the 100 level, and at least four semester hours must be taken at the 300 level. No more than four semester hours of language at the 100-level may be counted toward an elective.
At least 12 semester hours must be taken from the following courses exclusively on Asia:
CHNS-101 Beginning Chinese I
CHNS-102 Beginning Chinese II
CHNS-201 Intermediate Chinese
Beginning Japanese I-II (transferred from another institution)
HIST-151 Traditional East Asia
HIST-152 Modern East Asia
HIST-252 History of China
CHNS-202 Intermediate Chinese
ENGL-390 when taught as Asian Literatures and Cultures
ENGL-205 Literature Studies, with Indian Literature and Film as the topic
ENGL-205 Literature Studies, with Asian Literature as the topic
ENGL-365 Studies in Literature and Gender, with Asian Women’s Literature as the topic
POLI-300 Seminar, with Rise of China as the topic
RELI-117 Introduction to Asian Religions
RELI-208 Buddhism
RELI-316 Daoism, Zen, and Authenticity
RELI-318 Confucian Ethics
4 semester hours may be taken in the following comparative courses:
ENGL-205 Literature Studies, with Asian-American Literature as the topic
RELI-105 World Religions
RELI-305 Topics in Religion, with Asian Religions as the topic
RELI-315 Being Awesome at Life
Minors are strongly encouraged to fulfill the university’s Central Curriculum language requirement with an Asian language and to continue the language study beyond the first year. Features of Chinese and Japanese culture are closely associated with the uniqueness of the language. (For example, the evolution of Chinese characters is directly connected to the evolution of Chinese culture.) Chinese is currently offered at Susquehanna at both the 100 and 200 levels. Students who wish to take another Asian language not offered at Susquehanna may satisfy this requirement by taking language classes through off-campus programs or summer language study programs that have been approved for Susquehanna credit.
Required Final Course
Students pursuing a minor are required to take an upper-level four-semester-hour final course that offers an exploration of broad comparative issues that relate to Asia as a whole. Courses such as RELI- 208, ENGL-205, ENGL-365, ENGL-390 or other courses approved by the program coordinator will satisfy this requirement.
