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 and consult with their advisor(s).
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 to achieve a greater understanding of the continuities and discontinuities between them.
- To arrive at some understanding of the continuities and discontinuities between Asian communities in Asia and their diasporic communities, particularly in the United States.
Double-Counting Restriction for Interdisciplinary Minors
Only 4 semester hours of this minor may be double-counted toward the student’s major.
Requirements for Asian Studies Minor
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
- CHNS-202 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 the topic is 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 when the topic is Rise of China
- 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.
