Asian Studies Major, B.A.–Interdisciplinary Concentration
Stretching from Japan to the Arab world, Asia is the largest and most populous continent in the world and home to an array of diverse cultures and political structures. An interdisciplinary major within the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies offers students the opportunity to study a broad range of topics, building the global awareness that will be useful in government employment; internationally oriented business, journalism, law, and teaching; as well as graduate study in a range of humanistic and social science disciplines.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the Asian studies program, students should be able to:
- Identify or analyze significant aspects of the target cultures by interpreting texts and media
- Demonstrate proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in the target language
- Demonstrate experience in the use of the target language outside the language classroom
Requirements
In addition to the program requirements, students must
- earn a minimum final cumulative GPA of 2.000
- complete a minimum of 45 academic credit hours earned from UNC–Chapel Hill courses
- take at least half of their major core requirements (courses and credit hours) at UNC–Chapel Hill
- earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the major core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for major or specific courses.
For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| The major consists of eight courses which must include the following: 1 | 24 | |
 Asia: An Introduction | ||
At least one other course (other than a language course or senior honors thesis course) taken within the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and chosen from the list below 2 | ||
At least one course each from any two other departments | ||
At least one course numbered 400 or above 3 | ||
At least two courses each from any two of the six geographic regions: China, Japan, Korea, Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia (see lists below) | ||
| Additional Requirements | ||
| Any Asian or Middle Eastern language through level 4 4 | 4 | |
| Total Hours | 28 | |
- 1
The same courses can be used to fulfill multiple requirements within the major.
- 2
May not substitute a study abroad course.
- 3
May not be a language course.
- 4
The first three levels of a global language can count toward the General Education requirement and have not been included as additional hours for the major.
No more than one first-year seminar may be counted among the eight major courses.
With the approval of the associate chair of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, a student may substitute a course in directed readings (ASIA 496) for one of the major courses. To register for ASIA 496, a student must obtain the approval of the associate chair and the faculty member who will supervise the project.
Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ASIA 52 | First-Year Seminar: Food in Chinese Culture | 3 |
| ASIA 55 | First-Year Seminar: Kung-Fu: The Concept of Heroism in Chinese Culture | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 56 | First-Year Seminar: Writing Women in Modern China H | 3 |
| ASIA 57 | First-Year Seminar: Dis-Orienting the Orient | 3 |
| ASIA 59 | First-Year Seminar: Media Masala: Popular Music, TV, and the Internet in Modern India and Pakistan | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST 60 | First-Year Seminar: Israeli Culture and Society: Collective Memories and Fragmented Identities | 3 |
| ASIA 61 | First-Year Seminar: India through the Lens of Master Filmmakers | 3 |
| ASIA 63 | First-Year Seminar: Japanese Tea Culture | 3 |
| ASIA 65 | First-Year Seminar: Philosophy on Bamboo: Rethinking Early Chinese Thought | 3 |
| ASIA/PWAD 69 | First-Year Seminar: Wars and Veterans: Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan | 3 |
| ASIA 72 | First-Year Seminar: Transnational Korea: Literature, Film, and Popular Culture | 3 |
| ASIA 73 | First-Year Seminar: Popular Culture in the Arab World | 3 |
| ASIA 74 | First-Year Seminar: Imagining Palestine | 3 |
| ASIA 89 | First Year Seminar: Special Topics H | 3 |
| ASIA 124 | Iranian Post-1979 Cinema | 3 |
| ASIA 126 | Introduction to Persian Literature | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 127 | Iranian Women Writers | 3 |
| ARAB 150 | Introduction to Arab Cultures | 3 |
| ASIA 150 | Asia: An Introduction | 3 |
| CHIN 150 | Introduction to Chinese Civilization | 3 |
| KOR 150 | History, Memory, and Reality in Contemporary Korea | 3 |
| ARAB 151 | Arabic Literature through the Ages | 3 |
| ASIA 151 | Literature and Society in Southeast Asia | 3 |
| KOR 151 | Education and Social Changes in Contemporary Korea | 3 |
| ASIA 152 | Survey of South Asian Cultural History | 3 |
| JAPN 160 | Introduction to Japanese Literature in Translation | 3 |
| JAPN 162 | Japanese Popular Culture | 3 |
| ASIA 163 | Hindi-Urdu Poetry in Performance | 3 |
| ASIA/MUSC 164 | Music of South Asia | 3 |
| ARAB 211 | Arab Comics | 3 |
| ASIA 211 | The Silk Road: Markets, Metaphysics, and Music | 3 |
| ARAB 214 | Medicine and Modernity in the Arab World | 3 |
| ASIA 228 | Contested Souls: Literature, the Arts, and Religious Identity in Modern India | 3 |
| ASIA 229 | Breakdancers, Vocaloids, and Gamers: East Asian Youth Cultures | 3 |
| ASIA 231 | Bollywood Cinema | 3 |
| JAPN 231/HIST 271 | Ancient and Medieval Japanese History and Culture | 3 |
| KOR/CMPL 232 | Imagining the City in Modern Korea: Text, Image, Space | 3 |
| ASIA 233 | Drugs, Sex, and Sovereignty in East Asia, 1800-1945 | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST/PWAD 235 | Israeli Cinema: Gender, Nation, and Ethnicity H | 3 |
| KOR/WGST 237 | Rebel, Lover, Martyr: Gender and Sexuality in North and South Korean Screen Cultures | 3 |
| CHIN 242 | Chinese Qin Music | 3 |
| CHIN 244 | Introduction to Modern Chinese Culture through Cinema | 3 |
| JAPN 246 | Early Modern Japanese History and Culture | 3 |
| ASIA 252 | Popular Culture in Modern Southeast Asia | 3 |
| CHIN 252 | Introduction to Chinese Culture through Narrative | 3 |
| ARAB 255 | Arab World Photography | 3 |
| CHIN 255 | Bandit or Hero: Outlawry in Chinese Literature and Films | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 256 | Love in Classical Persian Poetry | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 258 | Iranian Prison Literature | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 261 | India through Western Eyes | 3 |
| ASIA 262 | Nation, Film, and Novel in Modern India | 3 |
| JAPN 277 | Empire of Sex: Eroticism, Mass Culture, and Geopolitics in Japan, 1945-Present | 3 |
| KOR 327 | Korean Diasporas | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 329 | Middle East Women Writers | 3 |
| ASIA 331/HIST 335/PWAD 331 | Cracking India: Partition and Its Legacy in South Asia H | 3 |
| ASIA 332 | The Story of Rama in India | 3 |
| ASIA 333 | The Mahabharata: Remembered and Reimagined | 3 |
| ARAB 337 | Borders and Walls in the Arab World | 3 |
| CHIN 346 | History as Fiction or Fiction as History? Early Chinese History in Film and Literature | 3 |
| KOR 346/CMPL 246 | Body Politics in Modern Korean Literature H | 3 |
| ARAB 350 | Women and Leadership in the Arab World | 3 |
| ASIA 350/AMST 352 | The Asian American Experience | 3 |
| ARAB 354 | Everyday Lives in the Middle East: Anthropological Perspectives | 3 |
| CHIN 356 | Chinese Environmental Literature | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST 357/PWAD 362 | The Arab-Jews: Culture, Community, and Coexistence | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST 358 | Religion and Tradition in Israeli Cinema, TV, and Literature | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 359 | Literary Diasporas of the Middle East | 3 |
| CHIN 361 | Chinese Traditional Theater | 3 |
| CHIN 367 | Illustration and the Animation of Text | 3 |
| JAPN 375 | The Culture of Modern, Imperial Japan, 1900-1945 | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 382 | The Story of Rama in Indian Culture--Experiential | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 383 | The Mahabharata: Remembered and Reimagined--Experiential | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST/PWAD 425 | Beyond Hostilities: Israeli-Palestinian Exchanges and Partnerships in Film, Literature, and Music | 3 |
| ASIA 427/CMPL 527/PWAD 427 | Cold War Culture in East Asia: Transnational and Intermedial Connections | 3 |
| ASIA 431 | Persian Sufi Literature | 3 |
| ARAB 432 | Science and Society in the Middle East | 3 |
| ARAB 434 | Modern Arabic Literature in Translation | 3 |
| ASIA/PWAD 435 | The Cinemas of the Middle East and North Africa | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST 436 | Language, Exile, and Homeland in Zionist Thought and Practice | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 442 | Postcolonial Literature of the Middle East | 3 |
| KOR 447/CMPL 547 | Documenting Diasporas: Korean Diasporas in Films and Documentaries | 3 |
| JAPN 451 | Swords, Tea Bowls, and Woodblock Prints: Exploring Japanese Material Culture | 3 |
| ARAB 453 | Film, Nation, and Identity in the Arab World | 3 |
| ASIA 453 | Global Shangri-La: Tibet in the Modern World | 3 |
| CHIN 463 | Narrative Ethics in Modern China | 3 |
| CHIN 464 | The City in Modern Chinese Literature and Film | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 471 | Gender and Sexuality in Middle Eastern Literature | 3 |
| JAPN 482 | Embodying Japan: The Cultures of Beauty, Sports, and Medicine in Japan | 3 |
| ASIA 522 | Beauty and Power in the Classical Indian World | 3 |
| CHIN 545 | Chinese Science Fiction | 3 |
| CHIN 551 | Chinese Poetry in Translation | 3 |
| CHIN 552 | Chinese Prose in Translation | 3 |
| CHIN 562 | Contemporary Chinese Urban Culture and Arts | 3 |
| HNUR/RELI 592 | Religious Conflict and Literature in India | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
China Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ASIA 52 | First-Year Seminar: Food in Chinese Culture | 3 |
| ASIA 55 | First-Year Seminar: Kung-Fu: The Concept of Heroism in Chinese Culture | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 56 | First-Year Seminar: Writing Women in Modern China H | 3 |
| ASIA 65 | First-Year Seminar: Philosophy on Bamboo: Rethinking Early Chinese Thought | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 133 | Introduction to Chinese History | 3 |
| CHIN 150 | Introduction to Chinese Civilization | 3 |
| POLI 237 | The Politics of China | 3 |
| CHIN 242 | Chinese Qin Music | 3 |
| CHIN 244 | Introduction to Modern Chinese Culture through Cinema | 3 |
| CHIN 252 | Introduction to Chinese Culture through Narrative | 3 |
| CHIN 253 | Chinese Language and Society | 3 |
| CHIN 255 | Bandit or Hero: Outlawry in Chinese Literature and Films | 3 |
| GEOG 270 | Geography of Contemporary China | 3 |
| HIST/ASIA 283 | Chairman Mao's China in World History | 3 |
| HIST 284 | Late Imperial China | 3 |
| HIST 285 | 20th-Century China | 3 |
| AAAD 301 | Contemporary China-Africa Relations | 3 |
| ASIA 303/RELI 288 | Chinese Religions | 3 |
| CHIN 346 | History as Fiction or Fiction as History? Early Chinese History in Film and Literature | 3 |
| CHIN 356 | Chinese Environmental Literature | 3 |
| CHIN 361 | Chinese Traditional Theater | 3 |
| ANTH/ASIA 365 | Chinese Diaspora in the Asia Pacific | 3 |
| CHIN 367 | Illustration and the Animation of Text | 3 |
| SOCI 418 | Contemporary Chinese Society | 3 |
| ASIA 453 | Global Shangri-La: Tibet in the Modern World 1 | 3 |
| CHIN 463 | Narrative Ethics in Modern China | 3 |
| CHIN 464 | The City in Modern Chinese Literature and Film | 3 |
| ANTH/ASIA 545 | The Politics of Culture in East Asia | 3 |
| CHIN 545 | Chinese Science Fiction | 3 |
| HIST 550 | Gender in Chinese History | 3 |
| CHIN 551 | Chinese Poetry in Translation | 3 |
| CHIN 552 | Chinese Prose in Translation | 3 |
| CHIN 562 | Contemporary Chinese Urban Culture and Arts | 3 |
| ANTH/ASIA 574 | Chinese World Views | 3 |
| ANTH/ASIA 682 | Contemporary Chinese Society | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
- 1
ASIA 453 may be counted for either the China or South Asia region, but not both.
Japan Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ASIA 63 | First-Year Seminar: Japanese Tea Culture | 3 |
| RELI 73 | First-Year Seminar: From Dragons to Pokemon: Animals in Japanese Myth, Folklore, and Religion H | 3 |
| JAPN 160 | Introduction to Japanese Literature in Translation | 3 |
| JAPN 162 | Japanese Popular Culture | 3 |
| JAPN 231/HIST 271 | Ancient and Medieval Japanese History and Culture | 3 |
| ASIA 233 | Drugs, Sex, and Sovereignty in East Asia, 1800-1945 | 3 |
| JAPN 246 | Early Modern Japanese History and Culture | 3 |
| JAPN 277 | Empire of Sex: Eroticism, Mass Culture, and Geopolitics in Japan, 1945-Present | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 281 | The Pacific War, 1937-1945: Its Causes and Legacy | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 287 | Modern Japan | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 288 | Japan in the 20th Century | 3 |
| ASIA 301/RELI 286 | Premodern Japanese Religions | 3 |
| ASIA 302/RELI 287 | Modern Japanese Religions | 3 |
| ANTH/ASIA 330 | Melancholy Japan: Myth, Memory, and Everyday Life | 3 |
| JAPN 375 | The Culture of Modern, Imperial Japan, 1900-1945 | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 379 | Cowboys, Samurai, and Rebels in Film and Fiction H | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 380 | Almost Despicable Heroines in Japanese and Western Literature | 3 |
| JAPN 451 | Swords, Tea Bowls, and Woodblock Prints: Exploring Japanese Material Culture | 3 |
| JAPN 482 | Embodying Japan: The Cultures of Beauty, Sports, and Medicine in Japan | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 483 | Cross-Currents in East-West Literature | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 487 | Mountains, Pilgrimage, and Sacred Places in Japan | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 488 | Shinto in Japanese History | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 489 | Animals in Japanese Religion | 3 |
| JAPN/LING 563 | Structure of Japanese | 3 |
| RELI 586 | Women and Gender in Japanese Religions | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
Korea Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ASIA 72 | First-Year Seminar: Transnational Korea: Literature, Film, and Popular Culture | 3 |
| KOR 150 | History, Memory, and Reality in Contemporary Korea | 3 |
| KOR 151 | Education and Social Changes in Contemporary Korea | 3 |
| KOR/CMPL 232 | Imagining the City in Modern Korea: Text, Image, Space | 3 |
| KOR/CMPL/WGST 237 | Rebel, Lover, Martyr: Gender and Sexuality in North and South Korean Screen Cultures | 3 |
| KOR 327 | Korean Diasporas | 3 |
| KOR 346/CMPL 246 | Body Politics in Modern Korean Literature H | 3 |
| KOR 447/CMPL 547 | Documenting Diasporas: Korean Diasporas in Films and Documentaries | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
Middle East Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| GEOG 59 | First-Year Seminar: Space, Identity, and Power in the Middle East | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST 60 | First-Year Seminar: Israeli Culture and Society: Collective Memories and Fragmented Identities | 3 |
| SOCI 60 | First-Year Seminar: Sociology of the Islamic World | 3 |
| ASIA 73 | First-Year Seminar: Popular Culture in the Arab World | 3 |
| ASIA 74 | First-Year Seminar: Imagining Palestine | 3 |
| RELI 110 | The Archaeology of Palestine in the New Testament Period | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 138 | History of Muslim Societies to 1500 | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 139 | HIstory of Muslim Societies since 1500 | 3 |
| ARAB 150 | Introduction to Arab Cultures | 3 |
| ARAB 151 | Arabic Literature through the Ages | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 180 | Introduction to Islamic Civilization | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 181 | Modern Muslim Societies | 3 |
| RELI 185 | Women/Gender/Islam H | 3 |
| ARAB 211 | Arab Comics | 3 |
| ARAB/ANTH 214 | Medicine and Modernity in the Arab World | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST/PWAD 235 | Israeli Cinema: Gender, Nation, and Ethnicity H | 3 |
| ARAB 255 | Arab World Photography | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 276 | The Modern Middle East | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 277 | The Conflict over Israel/Palestine | 3 |
| RELI/ASIA 279 | Islamic Law, Ethics, and Practice | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 329 | Middle East Women Writers | 3 |
| ARAB 337 | Borders and Walls in the Arab World | 3 |
| ARAB 350 | Women and Leadership in the Arab World | 3 |
| ARAB 434 | Modern Arabic Literature in Translation | 3 |
| ARAB 354 | Everyday Lives in the Middle East: Anthropological Perspectives | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST 357/PWAD 362 | The Arab-Jews: Culture, Community, and Coexistence | 3 |
| ARAB 432 | Science and Society in the Middle East | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST 358 | Religion and Tradition in Israeli Cinema, TV, and Literature | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 359 | Literary Diasporas of the Middle East | 3 |
| SOCI 419 | Sociology of the Islamic World | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST/PWAD 425 | Beyond Hostilities: Israeli-Palestinian Exchanges and Partnerships in Film, Literature, and Music | 3 |
| ASIA/PWAD 435 | The Cinemas of the Middle East and North Africa | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST 436 | Language, Exile, and Homeland in Zionist Thought and Practice | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 442 | Postcolonial Literature of the Middle East | 3 |
| ASIA/GEOG 447 | Gender, Space, and Place in the Middle East | 3 |
| GEOG 448 | Transnational Geographies of Muslim Societies | 3 |
| ARAB 453 | Film, Nation, and Identity in the Arab World | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 471 | Gender and Sexuality in Middle Eastern Literature | 3 |
| RELI/ASIA 485 | Gender and Sexuality in Islam | 3 |
| RELI/ASIA 486 | Islam and Feminism/Islamic Feminism | 3 |
| RELI 503 | Exploring the Dead Sea Scrolls H | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 536 | Revolution in the Modern Middle East | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 537 | Women in the Middle East | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 538 | The Middle East and the West | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 584 | The Qur'an as Literature | 3 |
| RELI 585 | Religion and Culture of Turkey | 3 |
| RELI/ASIA 587 | Islam and Sexual Diversity | 3 |
| FREN 617 | Framing Identities: Franco-Arab Transvisual Transcultural Contexts | 3 |
| ARAB/ASIA/RELI 681 | Readings in Islamicate Literatures | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
South Asia Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ASIA 59 | First-Year Seminar: Media Masala: Popular Music, TV, and the Internet in Modern India and Pakistan | 3 |
| ASIA 61 | First-Year Seminar: India through the Lens of Master Filmmakers | 3 |
| ASIA/PWAD 69 | First-Year Seminar: Wars and Veterans: Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan | 3 |
| HIST 74 | First-Year Seminar: Emperors, Courts, and Consumption: The Mughals of India | 3 |
| ASIA 124 | Iranian Post-1979 Cinema | 3 |
| ASIA 126 | Introduction to Persian Literature | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 127 | Iranian Women Writers | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 135 | History of the Indian Subcontinent to 1750 | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 136 | History of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh: South Asia since 1750 | 3 |
| ASIA 152 | Survey of South Asian Cultural History | 3 |
| ARTH 153 | Introduction to South Asian Art | 3 |
| ASIA 163 | Hindi-Urdu Poetry in Performance | 3 |
| ASIA/MUSC 164 | Music of South Asia | 3 |
| ASIA 228 | Contested Souls: Literature, the Arts, and Religious Identity in Modern India | 3 |
| ASIA 231 | Bollywood Cinema | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 256 | Love in Classical Persian Poetry | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 258 | Iranian Prison Literature | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 261 | India through Western Eyes | 3 |
| ASIA 262 | Nation, Film, and Novel in Modern India | 3 |
| ASIA/GEOG 267 | South Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 272 | Modern South Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 280 | Hindu Gods and Goddesses H | 3 |
| ASIA 300/RELI 283 | The Buddhist Tradition: India, Nepal, and Tibet | 3 |
| ASIA 304/HIST 331 | Sex, Religion, and Violence: Revolutionary Thought in Modern South Asia | 3 |
| ASIA 331/HIST 335/PWAD 331 | Cracking India: Partition and Its Legacy in South Asia H | 3 |
| ASIA 332 | The Story of Rama in India | 3 |
| ASIA 333 | The Mahabharata: Remembered and Reimagined | 3 |
| ANTH 361 | Community in India and South Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 381 | Religions of South Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 382 | The Story of Rama in Indian Culture--Experiential | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 383 | The Mahabharata: Remembered and Reimagined--Experiential | 3 |
| ASIA/COMM/RELI 386 | Dance and Embodied Knowledge in the Indian Context | 3 |
| ASIA 431 | Persian Sufi Literature | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 440 | Gender in Indian History | 3 |
| ASIA 441/HIST 442 | Religion, Co-existence, and Conflict in Pre-Colonial India | 3 |
| ASIA 453 | Global Shangri-La: Tibet in the Modern World 1 | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI/WGST 482 | Sex, Gender, and Religion in South Asia | 3 |
| ASIA 522 | Beauty and Power in the Classical Indian World | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 557 | Fiction and History in India | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 582 | Islam and Islamic Art in South Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 583 | Religion and Culture in Iran, 1500-Present | 3 |
| HNUR/RELI 592 | Religious Conflict and Literature in India | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
- 1
ASIA 453 may be counted for either the China or South Asia region, but not both.
Southeast Asia Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 52 | First-Year Seminar: Asian Cultures, Asian Cities, Asian Modernities | 3 |
| GEOG 64 | First-Year Seminar: Vietnam | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 131 | Southeast Asia to the Early 19th Century | 3 |
| ASIA 151 | Literature and Society in Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/MUSC 240 | Performance in Southeast Asia: Gongs, Punks, and Shadow Plays | 3 |
| ASIA 252 | Popular Culture in Modern Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/LING 260 | Languages of Southeast Asia | 3 |
| GEOG 266 | Society and Environment in Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 285 | The Buddhist Tradition: Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka | 3 |
| ANTH/ASIA 375 | Memory, Massacres, and Monuments in Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ANTH/ASIA 429 | Culture and Power in Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 539 | The Economic History of Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 570 | The Vietnam War | 3 |
Other Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ASIA 57 | First-Year Seminar: Dis-Orienting the Orient | 3 |
| ENGL 79 | First-Year Seminar: Globalization/Global Asians | 3 |
| ASIA 89 | First Year Seminar: Special Topics H | 3 |
| RELI 103 | Introduction to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Literature H | 3 |
| RELI 106 | Introduction to Early Judaism | 3 |
| RELI 107 | Introduction to Modern Judaism | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 134 | Modern East Asia | 3 |
| ASIA 150 | Asia: An Introduction | 3 |
| HIST 163 | Modern Central Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 183 | Asian Religions | 3 |
| RELI 184 | East Asian Religions | 3 |
| RELI 206 | Prophecy and Divination in Ancient Israel and Judah H | 3 |
| ASIA 211 | The Silk Road: Markets, Metaphysics, and Music | 3 |
| PHIL 213 | Asian Philosophy | 3 |
| ASIA 229 | Breakdancers, Vocaloids, and Gamers: East Asian Youth Cultures | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 255 | The Feast in Film, Fiction, and Philosophy H | 3 |
| ASIA/GEOG 265 | Eastern Asia | 3 |
| ENGL 270 | Studies in Asian American Literature | 3 |
| HIST 274 | History of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1923 | 3 |
| GLBL 281 | Phillips Ambassadors Program | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 284 | The Buddhist Tradition: East Asia | 3 |
| DRAM 291 | Re-Playing Shakespeare in East Asia | 3 |
| RELI 343 | Religion in Modern Israel | 3 |
| ASIA 350/AMST 352 | The Asian American Experience | 3 |
| ASIA/ENGL 360 | Contemporary Asian American Literature and Theory | 3 |
| ENGL 371 | The Place of Asian Americans in Southern Literature H | 3 |
| FREN 383 | Franco-Asian Encounters | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 387 | Disciplining the Body and Mind: The Martial Arts of East Asia in Religion, History, and Culture | 3 |
| ASIA 427/CMPL 527/PWAD 427 | Cold War Culture in East Asia: Transnational and Intermedial Connections | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 445 | Asian Religions in America | 3 |
| ASIA/ECON 469 | Asian Economic Systems | 3 |
| RELI 480 | Modern Muslim Literatures | 3 |
| RELI 481 | Religion, Fundamentalism, and Nationalism | 3 |
| GLBL 484 | History and Politics of Central Asia | 3 |
| RELI 512 | Ancient Synagogues | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 581 | Sufism | 3 |
| RELI 602 | What Is Scripture? Formations of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Canon | 3 |
| ASIA 692H | Senior Honors Thesis II | 3 |
| One language course beyond level 4 or a course at level 2 or above in a second Asian language may count as a major course. | ||
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
Sample Plan of Study
Sample plans can be used as a guide to identify the courses required to complete the major and other requirements needed for degree completion within the expected eight semesters. The actual degree plan may differ depending on the course of study selected (second major, minor, etc.). Students should meet with their academic advisor to create a degree plan that is specific and unique to their interests. The sample plans represented in this catalog are intended for first-year students entering UNC–Chapel Hill in the fall term. Some courses may not be offered every term.
This plan is for a student who is just starting an Asian or Middle Eastern language.1
| First Year | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| First-Year Foundation Courses | ||
| IDST 101 | College Thriving | 1 |
| ENGL 105 or ENGL 105I | English Composition and Rhetoric or English Composition and Rhetoric (Interdisciplinary) | 3 |
| First-Year Seminar or First-Year Launch | 3 | |
| Triple-I and Data Literacy | 4 | |
| Major Courses | ||
| ASIA 150 | Asia: An Introduction (fall only; foundation course for the major; strongly recommended to take in first year) | 3 |
| Language 101 (fall only) | 3-4 | |
| Language 102 (spring only) | 3-4 | |
| Other major course 2, 3 | 3 | |
| Hours | 23-25 | |
| Sophomore Year | ||
| Language 203 (fall only) | 3-4 | |
| Language 204 (spring only) | 3-4 | |
| Two major courses 3 | 6 | |
| Hours | 12-14 | |
| Junior Year | ||
| Major course or Language 305 3,4 | 3 | |
| Major course numbered 400 or above 3 | 3 | |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Senior Year | ||
| Two major courses 3 | 6 | |
| Hours | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 47-51 | |
- 1
This major requires four semesters of an Asian or Middle Eastern language, but this additional requirement can also be wholly or partly met by placement for students who already have knowledge of one of these languages.
The Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies requires that all students with prior knowledge of a language take a placement test. The beginning language course at UNC is decided by the placement (not by test credit or transfer credit). Almost all language courses are only offered in fall or spring, but not both. Some languages are sometimes offered in summer.
- 2
No more than one FY-SEMINAR course may be taken or count toward the major.
- 3
This major has a lot of flexibility and courses for it are abundant, but it also has several specific (and potentially overlapping) requirements that must be met, and more course offerings available in some areas than others. Careful course planning is important to make sure all the requirements are being met. Students are also strongly encouraged to start taking the required language courses in their first semester. Departmental advising is required every fall, and available throughout the year.
- 4
One language course above 204 may be counted as one of the eight required major courses. Students who wish to pursue further language study may be interested in combining a language minor with this major.
Special Opportunities in Asian Studies
Honors in Asian Studies
A candidate for honors in Asian studies will write a substantial paper under the guidance of a faculty member. While researching and writing the honors paper, the student will enroll in ASIA 691H and ASIA 692H. ASIA 692H may count as one of the interdisciplinary courses for the major; ASIA 691H will count for elective credit only. In the case of the concentrations in Arab cultures, Chinese, Japanese, Korean studies, and South Asian studies, ASIA 692H may count toward the major in the concentration.
A committee composed of at least two faculty members will examine the candidate. To be accepted as an honors candidate, a student must meet the University’s requirement of a minimum overall grade point average of 3.3, secure the consent of a faculty member in the Asian studies field to act as advisor for the project, and submit a proposal to the associate chair of Asian studies for approval.
Departmental Involvement
The department sponsors a variety of cultural events — lectures, film series, performances, and more — as well as social and informational events where students can get to know each other and faculty members in an informal setting. Faculty members in the department serve as advisors to some of the many Asia-related student organizations on campus, such as the Japan Club, Chinese Conversation Club, Hebrew Table, and more.
Languages across the Curriculum
The department participates in the Languages across the Curriculum (LAC) program, offering a one-credit-hour discussion section that is conducted in Arabic, Chinese, or Hindi-Urdu but associated with a variety of courses offered in English, both in Asian studies and in such other departments as history or religious studies. This LAC recitation section offers students the opportunity to use their Arabic, Chinese, Hindi-Urdu, or Korean language skills in a broader intellectual context.
Libraries
The University has rich collections of books and periodicals on Asia in the relevant Asian languages, as well as in English and other Western languages. Experts in the collection development department for Davis Library are available to help students locate the materials they need. The University also has an outstanding collection of Asian films and other audiovisual materials, housed in the Media Resource Center at House Library.
Speaker Series
The department sponsors an annual speaker series. These events include lectures by prominent artists, scholars, and writers and are often cosponsored by other units on campus.
Study Abroad
UNC–Chapel Hill sponsors several study programs (summer, semester, and yearlong) in China, Egypt, India, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. Asian studies majors are strongly encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities to live and study in an Asian setting; UNC-approved study abroad programs also satisfy the experiential education requirement. For further information on these programs and other study abroad opportunities in Asia, contact the UNC Study Abroad Office.
Undergraduate Research
The department actively encourages undergraduate student research. Through classes, advising, and office hours, faculty members guide students toward defining areas of interest, conceptualizing research questions, identifying sources, and writing academic papers. Students may pursue research through independent studies, the senior honors thesis, and study abroad research opportunities such as the Burch Fellowship. Asian studies students have received a variety of competitive research support and travel awards, won regional contests for undergraduate papers, published papers in academic journals, and presented their work at such events as the Senior Colloquium in Asian Studies and the campuswide Annual Celebration of Undergraduate Research in the spring.
Department Programs
Majors
- Asian Studies Major, B.A.–Interdisciplinary Concentration
- Asian Studies Major, B.A.–Arab Cultures Concentration
- Asian Studies Major, B.A.–Chinese Concentration
- Asian Studies Major, B.A.–Japanese Concentration
- Asian Studies Major, B.A.–Korean Studies Concentration
- Asian Studies Major, B.A.–South Asian Studies Concentration
Minors
- Arabic Minor
- Asian Studies Minor
- Chinese Minor
- Modern Hebrew Minor
- Hindi-Urdu Minor
- Japanese Minor
- Korean Minor
- Middle Eastern Languages Minor
- Persian Minor
Graduate Programs
Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
New West 113, CB# 3267
(919) 962-4294
