Asian Studies

Faculty
The Major
Honors
Minor In East Asian Studies
Minor In South Asian Studies

Minor In Southeast Asian Studies
Minor In Sanskrit Studies
Minor in Global Asia Studies
Study Abroad
First-Year Writing Seminars

The Department of Asian Studies and associated faculty members in other departments encompass the study of East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia and offer courses in most of the disciplines of the social sciences and the humanities. Over 40 faculty members specialize in topics arranged under our rubrics of “Literature and Linguistics ,” “Religion ,” and “Society and Culture ,” as well as offering more broad courses under our “General Education ” heading. Asian Studies courses through the 4400-level (ASIAN is the prefix) are taught in English and are open to all students in the university. Some of these courses may be counted toward majors in other departments; others fulfill various distribution requirements.

Website: asianstudies.cornell.edu

Faculty

R. McNeal, chair (350 Rockefeller Hall, (607) 255–5095); H. Acharya, N. Admussen, E. Akamatsu, A. Blackburn, D. Boucher, A. Campana, R. Chowdhury, S. Divo, C. Formichi, A. Fuhrmann, W. George, G. Green, B. Herath, S. Ichikawa, N. Jagacinski, Y. Khaing, H. Kim, N. Larson, J.M. Law, R. Liu, J. Lu, L. McCrea, D. McKee, J. Pandin, H. Phan, T. Savella, S. Singh, S. Son, M. Song, M. Suzuki, Q. Teng, T. Tranviet, D. X. Warner; I. Yi; Emeritus: B. de Bary, D. Gold, E. Gunn, T. L. Mei, N. Sakai, K. Taylor, J. Wolff; Associated Faculty: A. Carlson, Z. Chen, A. Cohn, M. Fiskesjo, T. J. Hinrichs, T. Loos, T. Lyons, K. McGowan, H. Miyazaki, S. Mohanty, V. Munasinghe, V. Nee, A. Nussbaum, A. Pan, P. Sangren, E. Tagliacozzo, J. Whitman, A. Willford

The Major:

Students are encouraged to apply to the major shortly after successfully receiving a minimum grade of B in at least two Asia content courses. These may include one language course, but writing seminars do not fulfill the requirement. The major must be declared no later than the second semester of the junior year. Admission to the major after the start of the seventh semester will be by petition only. Applications to major in Asian Studies must be approved by the director of undergraduate studies. For further information and application, please visit asianstudies.cornell.edu/undergraduate.

Note: In addition to the major requirements outlined below, all students must meet the college graduation requirements .

Completion of the major requires 30 credits at the 2200-level and beyond with a minimum grade of B (S-U grades not accepted), including:

one ASIAN course must be at the 3300-level
one ASIAN course must be at the 4400-level
a maximum of 6 credits of language study beyond those required for proficiency may be used
at least one course each from two of the Asian Studies course categories (RL, SC, LL)
demonstration of two-year proficiency in an Asian language:

♦ testing into and completing the second semester of the second year of that language

♦ obtaining a two-year proficiency test result

♦ testing into a language course beyond the 2200-level

a written entry statement of roughly 750 words describing your core academic interest and your objective in choosing the Asian Studies Major.

1100 level courses about Asia offered in other departments and cross-listed with Asian Studies may be accepted for credit toward the major, e.g., HIST 1910 /CAPS 1910 /ASIAN 1191 .

Other courses on Asia at the 2200 level and above, but not cross-listed with Asian Studies, may be considered for satisfying major requirement upon petition and approval by the Department of Asian Studies.

Category Key: Courses in Asian Studies are broken into different categories. To determine which category a course falls in, please note the reference at the end of each course description. The key is as follows: GE = General Education, LL = Literature and Linguistics, RL = Religion, and SC = Society and Culture.

Honors:

To be eligible for honors in Asian Studies, a student must have a cumulative GPA of 3.7 in all Asian Studies area courses and must successfully complete an honors essay during the senior year. Students who wish to be considered for honors should apply to the director of undergraduate studies during the second semester of their junior year. The application must include an outline of the proposed project and the endorsement of a supervisor chosen from the Asian Studies advising faculty. During the first term of the senior year, the student does research for the essay in conjunction with an appropriate Asian Studies course or ASIAN 4401 . By the end of the first term, the student must present a detailed outline of the honors essay and have it approved by the project supervisor and the director of undergraduate studies. The student is then eligible for ASIAN 4402 , the honors course, which entails the writing of the essay. At the end of the senior year, the student has an oral examination (with at least two faculty members) covering both the honors essay and the student’s area of concentration.

The Asian Studies Minors:

The Department of Asian Studies offers five minors open to any undergraduate student at Cornell. Students must declare the minor no later than the second semester of the junior year; after the start of the seventh semester will be by petition only. Students should prepare a coherent research statement to attach to the application. For further information and application, please visit the Department of Asian Studies website: asianstudies.cornell.edu/undergraduate.

East Asian Studies

A minor in East Asian Studies may be achieved by meeting these requirements:

Complete at least five courses for the required minimum of 18 credits. One of the East Asian Intro Courses (ASIAN 2211 , ASIAN 2218 , ASIAN 2230 , ASIAN 2231 , or ASIAN 2232 ) is required.
Students normally take courses in East Asian Studies (China, Japan, Korea) bearing subject heading ASIAN or its cross-listings. Other courses with relevant East Asian content may also count, pending approval by the Department of Asian Studies. Typically, non-language courses are selected at the 2200-level or above.
The following courses may also count towards the minor: two courses (of at least three credits each) in an East Asian language at the 1100-level or above and East Asian graduate courses. Language study is strongly encouraged; credits awarded for language cannot exceed six credits.
Take at least one class at the 3000-level or above.
A maximum of 8 transfer credits from courses taken outside of Cornell may be applied to the minor.
A minimum grade of B– must be received for all courses counted towards the minor. S/U courses are ineligible.

South Asian Studies

A minor in Southeast Asian Studies may be achieved by meeting these requirements:

Complete at least five courses for the required minimum of 18 credits. A 2200-level Asian course on a South Asian topic is required.
Students normally take courses in South Asian Studies bearing subject heading ASIAN or its cross-listings. Other courses with relevant South Asian content may also count, pending approval by the Department of Asian Studies. Typically, non-language courses are selected at the 2200-level or above.
The following courses may also count towards the minor: two courses (of at least three credits each) in a South Asian language at the 1100-level or above and South Asian graduate courses. Language study is strongly encouraged; credits awarded for language cannot exceed six credits.
Take at least one class at the 3000-level or above.
A maximum of 8 transfer credits from courses taken outside of Cornell may be applied to the minor. For students in the Nigiris Field Learning Center (NFLC) off-campus program only: non-seniors may apply up to three NFLC courses toward the fulfillment of the five-course requirement, and the minor application should be submitted prior to leaving for South Asia. Graduating seniors with a new interest in this minor after attending the NFLC program may apply up to four courses.
A minimum grade of B– must be received for all courses counted towards the minor. S/U courses are ineligible.

Southeast Asian Studies

A minor in Southeast Asian Studies may be achieved by meeting these requirements:

Complete at least five courses for the required minimum of 18 credits. ASIAN 2208 - Introduction to Southeast Asia is required.
Students normally take courses in Southeast Asian Studies bearing subject heading ASIAN or its cross-listings. Other courses with relative Southeast Asian content may also count, pending approval by the Department of Asian Studies. Typically, non-language courses are selected at the 2200-level or above.
The following courses may also count towards the minor: two courses (of at least three credits each) in a Southeast Asian language at the 1100-level or above and Southeast Asian graduate courses. Language study is strongly encouraged; credits awarded for language cannot exceed six credits.
Take at least one class at the 3000-level or above.
A maximum of 8 transfer credits from courses taken outside of Cornell may be applied to the minor.
A minimum grade of B– must be received for all courses counted towards the minor. S/U courses are ineligible.

Sanskrit Studies

A minor in Sanskrit Studies may be achieved by meeting these requirements:
Demonstrate language proficiency by completing SANSK 2251 - Intermediate Sanskrit I or any higher-level Sanskrit course.
Take a minimum of five Sanskrit or Sanskrit-related courses, including at least one 3000-level or higher-level course, and totaling no fewer than 18 credits.
Courses which may be used to satisfy the Sanskrit Studies minor include (but additional courses may be accepted in consultation with the minor advisor):

5. A minimum grade of B– must be received for all courses counted towards the minor. S/U courses are ineligible.

Global Asia Studies

A minor in Global Asia Studies may be achieved by meeting these requirements:

Complete five courses with a minimum of 18 credits.
Students are required to take either a 2200-level or above ASIAN course that covers more than one Asian sub-region or at least 2 x 2200-level (or above) courses treating different but related sub-regions. Consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) is advised.
Students normally take courses bearing subject heading ASIAN or courses cross-listed with ASIAN. Courses chosen towards the Global Asia Studies minor may address various sub-regions of Asia, interconnectedness within Asia, or Asia’s connections with other areas of the world. Typically, non-language courses are selected at the 2200-level or above.
The following courses may also count towards the minor: two courses (of at least three credits each) in a single Asian language at the 1100-level or above. Language study is strongly encouraged; credits awarded for language cannot exceed six credits.
Take at least one class at the 3000-level or above.
A maximum of 8 transfer credits from courses taken outside of Cornell may be applied to the minor.
A minimum grade of B- must be received for all courses counted towards the minor. S/U courses are ineligible.

Study Abroad:

There are many strong options for study abroad in Asia. The Office of Global Learning helps students plan a year or semester abroad as part of their Cornell undergraduate degree. Cornell has affiliations with several programs and institutions in Asia and sends students to those and others.

Cornell is affiliated with IUP, the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies in Beijing (at Tsinghua University) and is a member of CIEE and IES, organizations sponsoring study abroad programs offering Chinese language instruction at several levels as well as courses in Chinese studies in the humanities and social sciences. Students may also study at other programs in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Cornell is a member of the consortium of the Kyoto Center for Japanese Studies, an undergraduate semester or year program in Japanese language and Japanese studies. Cornell students have attended CIEE and IES programs as well as other programs and institutions in Japan.

Cornell is a member of the American Association of Indian Studies, which offers fellowships for intensive study in India for Hindi, Bengali, and Tamil. There are study abroad options in universities or other organizations in various regions of India, including the Nilgiris Field Learning Center. There are also other South Asian language opportunities available, e.g. The Intercollegiate Sri Lanka Ed (ISLE).

Students may spend a semester or year in Mongolia, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, or the Philippines or choose to study about Asia at such institutions as the School of Oriental and African Studies in London or the Faculty of Asian Studies at the Australian National University. Undergraduates should consult the Office of Global Learning; graduate students should inquire at the East Asia Program, Southeast Asia Program, or South Asia Program offices.

Students may apply up to 15 credits from abroad to the major and 8 credits to the minor.

First-Year Writing Seminars:

Consult the John S. Knight Institute website for times, instructors, and descriptions.