Major Requirements
**No minor is offered in Asian and Middle Eastern Cultures
East Asian Track
The major requires a minimum of 10 courses (if student has already satisfied the language requirement from the beginning)
or more (if she starts the language requirement from the beginning).
The requirements include:
Language:
3 years of Chinese, Japanese, or Korean, or the proficiency equivalent (to be demonstrated by a placement examination).
*Note that in all East Asian language courses, the minimum grade required to advance from one level to the next is B-.
Core Courses:
Asian Humanities V3400 Colloquium on Major Texts
and 2 of the following survey courses:
Asian Civ. V2001 Introduction to Major Topics in Asian Civ.: The Middle East and India
Asian Civ. V2002 Introduction to Major Topics in Asian Civ.: East Asia
Asian Civ. V2359 Introduction to the Civilizations of China
Asian Civ. V2361 Introduction to the Civilizations of Japan
Asian Civ. V2363 Introduction to the Civilizations of Korea
Asian Civ. V2365 Introduction to Tibetan Civilization
Disciplinary Courses:
Three courses in either history, literature, philosophy, religion, art history, anthropology, political science, or economics. Typically, one of these courses will be basic introductory or methodology course, and the other two will be in East Asia-related courses in the discipline. For further information, consult the Barnard
online catalog or a departmental advisor.
Majors specializing in history should take Historiography of East Asia (East Asian W4103y), those specializing in literature should take Literary and Cultural Theory East and West (East Asian W 4101y), and those specializing in Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, and Economics should take Critical Approaches to East Asia in the Social Sciences (EAAS W4102y). These three courses are offered in the Spring term and should normally be taken in the junior year.
Elective Courses:
Two courses related to East Asia, to be chosen in consultation with the adviser.
Research in East Asian Studies V3999y:
To be taken in the junior year.
Senior Thesis:
Each student is expected to prepare a research paper or an annotated English translation of an East Asian text. The paper should be in the chosen disciplinary field and will be written in the senior year in Senior Thesis (East Asian W 3901x or y) in consultation with an appropriate faculty adviser. All students, except those on study leave in Autumn, should enroll for the Autumn term. Under special circumstances, with the adviser's approval, the senior paper may be written in conjunction with Asian Studies BC 3999, Independent Study.
Middle East or South Asian Track
A minimum of 13 courses are required. These include:
Core Courses:
Asian Humanities V3399 Colloquium on Major Texts
Middle East & South Asia MDE W 3000y Theories of Culture: Middle East and South Asia
Language:
Four to six courses of an appropriate language (Akkadian, Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Hebrew, Hindi-Urdu, Panjabi, Persian, Sanskrit, Tamil, Tibetan, or Turkish), selected in consultation with the advisor.
Core Courses:
Two of the following courses:
Asian Civ.-Middle East V2001y Introduction to Major Topics in Asian Civ.: The Middle East and India
Asian Civ.-Middle East V2003x Introduction to Islamic Civilizations
Asian Civ.-Middle East V2008y Contemporary Islamic Civilizations
Asian Civ.-Middle East V2357x Introduction to Indian Civilizations
Disciplinary Courses:
A minimum of five courses, in the culture of the chosen language, chosen as a concentration. The concentration may be in the languages and cultures of ancient Semitic, Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, Indic, Iranian, Persian, or Turkish.
Senior Thesis:
A senior thesis, to be written under the supervision of a faculty member chosen in consultation with the adviser. If the student desires, she may prepare for this thesis by taking a half-or full-year Independent Study (V3999) with her advisor or an appropriate faculty member.