Asian Studies Major, B.A.–Interdisciplinary Concentration
Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
New West 113, CB# 3267
(919) 962-4294
Dwayne Dixon, Interdisciplinary Program Advisor
Morgan Pitelka, Chair
Pamela Lothspeich, Associate Chair and Fall 2020 Director of Undergraduate Studies
Robin Visser, Spring 2021 Director of Undergraduate Studies
Ash Barnes, Student Services Specialist
The interdisciplinary major within the Department of Asian Studies provides an intellectual challenge as well as sound training for students who intend to go on to graduate school in the social sciences or humanities and focus their research on Asia. It also provides an essential background for students who are contemplating professions such as business, law, or journalism with the intent of doing extensive work in Asia.
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
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
- attain a final cumulative GPA of at least 2.0
- complete a minimum of 45 academic credit hours earned from UNC–Chapel Hill courses
- take at least half of their major course requirements (courses and credit hours) at UNC–Chapel Hill
- earn a minimum of 18 hours of C or better in the major core requirements (some majors require 21 hours).
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 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 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 foreign language can count toward the General Education Foundations 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 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.
Of the eight major courses, at least six must be passed with a grade of C (not C-) or better.
Department of Asian Studies Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARAB 150 | Introduction to Arab Cultures | 3 |
| ARAB 151 | Arabic Literature through the Ages | 3 |
| ARAB 214 | Medicine and Modernity in the Arab World | 3.0 |
| ARAB 250 | Introduction to the Languages of Morocco | 3 |
| ARAB 253 | Contemporary Moroccan Literature | 3 |
| ARAB 337 | Borders and Walls in the Arab World | 3 |
| ARAB 350 | Women and Leadership in the Arab World | 3 |
| ARAB 353 | Science and Society in the Middle East | 3.0 |
| ARAB 434 | Modern Arabic Literature in Translation | 3 |
| ARAB 453 | Film, Nation, and Identity in the Arab World | 3 |
| 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 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 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 72 | First-Year Seminar: Transnational Korea: Literature, Film, and Popular Culture | 3 |
| ASIA 73 | First-Year Seminar: Popular Culture in the Arab World | 3.0 |
| ASIA 89 | First Year Seminar: Special Topics H | 3 |
| ASIA 106 | Israeli Popular Culture: The Case of Music | 3 |
| ASIA 124 | Iranian Post-1979 Cinema | 3 |
| ASIA 126 | Introduction to Persian Literature | 3 |
| ASIA 150 | Asia: An Introduction | 3 |
| ASIA 151 | Literature and Society in Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ASIA 152 | Survey of South Asian Cultural History | 3 |
| ASIA 163 | Hindi-Urdu Poetry in Performance | 3 |
| ASIA 211 | The Silk Road: Markets, Metaphysics, and Music | 3.0 |
| 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 |
| ASIA 233 | Drugs, Sex, and Sovereignty in East Asia, 1800-1945 | 3 |
| ASIA 252 | Popular Culture in Modern Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ASIA 262 | Nation, Film, and Novel in Modern India | 3 |
| ASIA 332 | The Story of Rama in India | 3 |
| ASIA 333 | The Mahabharata: Remembered and Reimagined | 3 |
| ASIA 358 | Religion and Tradition in Israeli Cinema, TV, and Literature | 3 |
| ASIA 431 | Persian Sufi Literature | 3 |
| ASIA 453 | Global Shangri-La: Tibet in the Modern World | 3 |
| ASIA 522 | The Beauty and the Power of the Classical Indian World | 3 |
| ASIA 350/AMST 352 | The Asian American Experience | 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/CMPL 359 | Literary Diasporas of the Middle East | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 442 | Postcolonial Literature of the Middle East | 3 |
| ASIA 427/CMPL 527/PWAD 427 | Cold War Culture in East Asia: Transnational and Intermedial Connections | 3 |
| ASIA 331/HIST 335/PWAD 331 | Cracking India: Partition and Its Legacy in South Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST 60 | First-Year Seminar: Israeli Culture and Society: Collective Memories and Fragmented Identities | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST 436 | Language, Exile, and Homeland in Zionist Thought and Practice | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST/PWAD 235 | Israeli Cinema: Gender, Nation, and Ethnicity H | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST 357/PWAD 362 | The Arab-Jews: Culture, Community, and Coexistence | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST/PWAD 425 | Beyond Hostilities: Israeli-Palestinian Exchanges and Partnerships in Film, Literature, and Music | 3 |
| ASIA/MUSC 164 | Music of South Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/PWAD 69 | First-Year Seminar: Wars and Veterans: Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan | 3 |
| ASIA/PWAD 435 | The Cinemas of the Middle East and North Africa | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 382 | The Story of Rama in Indian Culture–Experiential | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 383 | The Mahabharata: Remembered and Reimagined--Experiential | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 56 | First-Year Seminar: Writing Women in Modern China H | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 127 | Iranian Women Writers | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 329 | Middle East Women Writers | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 471 | Gender and Sexuality in Middle Eastern Literature | 3 |
| CHIN 150 | Introduction to Chinese Civilization | 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 255 | Bandit or Hero: Outlawry in Chinese Literature and Films | 3 |
| CHIN 342 | The Rise of China: A Global and Multidisciplinary Approach | 3 |
| CHIN 346 | History as Fiction or Fiction as History? Early Chinese History in Film and Literature | 3 |
| CHIN 354 | Chinese Culture through Calligraphy | 3 |
| CHIN 356 | Chinese Environmental Literature | 3 |
| CHIN 361 | Chinese Traditional Theater | 3 |
| CHIN 367 | Illustration and the Animation of Text | 3 |
| CHIN 463 | Narrative Ethics in Modern China | 3 |
| CHIN 464 | The City in Modern Chinese Literature and Film | 3 |
| CHIN 551 | Chinese Poetry in Translation | 3 |
| CHIN 552 | Chinese Prose in Translation | 3 |
| CHIN 562 | Contemporary Chinese Urban Culture and Arts | 3 |
| HIST 271/JAPN 231 | Ancient and Medieval Japanese History and Culture | 3 |
| HNUR/RELI 592 | Religious Conflict and Literature in India | 3 |
| JAPN 160 | Introduction to Japanese Literature in Translation | 3 |
| JAPN 162 | Japanese Popular Culture | 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 |
| JAPN 363 | Samurai, Monks, and Pirates: History and Historiography of Japan's Long 16th Century | 3 |
| JAPN 375 | The Culture of Modern, Imperial Japan, 1900-1945 | 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 |
| KOR 150 | History, Memory, and Reality in Contemporary Korea | 3 |
| KOR 151 | Education and Social Changes in Contemporary Korea | 3 |
| KOR 327 | Korean Diasporas | 3 |
| KOR/CMPL 232 | Imagining the City in Modern Korea: Text, Image, Space | 3 |
| KOR/WGST 237 | Rebel, Lover, Martyr: Gender and Sexuality in North and South Korean Screen Cultures | 3 |
| KOR 346/CMPL 246 | Body Politics in Modern Korean Literature H | 3.0 |
| KOR 447/CMPL 547 | Documenting Diasporas: Korean Diasporas in Films and Documentaries | 3.0 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|
| AAAD 301 | Contemporary China-Africa Relations | 3 |
| ANTH/ASIA 365 | Chinese Diaspora in the Asia Pacific | 3 |
| ANTH/ASIA 545 | The Politics of Culture in East Asia | 3 |
| ANTH/ASIA 574 | Chinese World Views | 3 |
| ANTH/ASIA 682 | Contemporary Chinese Society | 3 |
| 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 65 | First-Year Seminar: Philosophy on Bamboo: Rethinking Early Chinese Thought | 3 |
| ASIA 453 | Global Shangri-La: Tibet in the Modern World 1 | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 133 | Introduction to Chinese History | 3 |
| ASIA 303/RELI 288 | Chinese Religions | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 56 | First-Year Seminar: Writing Women in Modern China H | 3 |
| CHIN 150 | Introduction to Chinese Civilization | 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 |
| CHIN 342 | The Rise of China: A Global and Multidisciplinary Approach | 3 |
| CHIN 346 | History as Fiction or Fiction as History? Early Chinese History in Film and Literature | 3 |
| CHIN 354 | Chinese Culture through Calligraphy | 3 |
| CHIN 356 | Chinese Environmental Literature | 3 |
| CHIN 361 | Chinese Traditional Theater | 3 |
| CHIN 367 | Illustration and the Animation of Text | 3 |
| CHIN 463 | Narrative Ethics in Modern China | 3 |
| CHIN 464 | The City in Modern Chinese Literature and Film | 3 |
| CHIN 551 | Chinese Poetry in Translation | 3 |
| CHIN 552 | Chinese Prose in Translation | 3 |
| CHIN 562 | Contemporary Chinese Urban Culture and Arts | 3 |
| GEOG 270 | Geography of Contemporary China | 3 |
| HIST 284 | Late Imperial China | 3 |
| HIST 285 | 20th-Century China | 3 |
| HIST 550 | Gender in Chinese History | 3 |
| POLI 237 | The Politics of China | 3 |
| SOCI 418 | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH/ASIA 330 | Melancholy Japan: Myth, Memory, and Everyday Life | 3 |
| ANTH/ASIA 586 | The Gardens, Shrines, and Temples of Japan | 3 |
| ASIA 63 | First-Year Seminar: Japanese Tea Culture | 3 |
| ASIA 233 | Drugs, Sex, and Sovereignty in East Asia, 1800-1945 | 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 |
| ASIA/CMPL 483 | Cross-Currents in East-West Literature | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 281 | The Pacific War, 1937-1945: Its Causes and Legacy | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 287 | Japan's Modern Revolution | 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 |
| 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 |
| HIST 271/JAPN 231 | Ancient and Medieval Japanese History and Culture | 3 |
| JAPN 160 | Introduction to Japanese Literature in Translation | 3 |
| JAPN 162 | Japanese Popular Culture | 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 |
| JAPN 363/HIST 370 | Samurai, Monks, and Pirates: History and Historiography of Japan's Long 16th Century | 3 |
| JAPN 375 | The Culture of Modern, Imperial Japan, 1900-1945 | 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 |
| JAPN/LING 563 | Structure of Japanese | 3 |
| RELI 73 | First-Year Seminar: From Dragons to Pokemon: Animals in Japanese Myth, Folklore, and Religion H | 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 327 | Korean Diasporas | 3 |
| KOR/CMPL 232 | Imagining the City in Modern Korea: Text, Image, Space | 3 |
| KOR 346/CMPL 246 | Body Politics in Modern Korean Literature H | 3.0 |
| KOR 447/CMPL 547 | Documenting Diasporas: Korean Diasporas in Films and Documentaries | 3.0 |
| KOR/CMPL/WGST 237 | Rebel, Lover, Martyr: Gender and Sexuality in North and South Korean Screen Cultures | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ARAB 150 | Introduction to Arab Cultures | 3 |
| ARAB 151 | Arabic Literature through the Ages | 3 |
| ARAB 214 | Medicine and Modernity in the Arab World | 3 |
| ARAB 250 | Introduction to the Languages of Morocco | 3 |
| ARAB 253 | Contemporary Moroccan Literature | 3 |
| ARAB 337 | Borders and Walls in the Arab World | 3 |
| ARAB 350 | Women and Leadership in the Arab World | 3 |
| ARAB 353 | Science and Society in the Middle East | 3 |
| ARAB 434 | Modern Arabic Literature in Translation | 3 |
| ARAB 453 | Film, Nation, and Identity in the Arab World | 3 |
| ARAB/ASIA/RELI 681 | Readings in Islamicate Literatures | 3 |
| ASIA 73 | First-Year Seminar: Popular Culture in the Arab World | 3 |
| ASIA 106 | Israeli Popular Culture: The Case of Music | 3 |
| ASIA 358 | Religion and Tradition in Israeli Cinema, TV, and Literature | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 359 | Literary Diasporas of the Middle East | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 442 | Postcolonial Literature of the Middle East | 3 |
| ASIA/GEOG 447 | Gender, Space, and Place in the Middle East | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 138 | History of Muslim Societies to 1500 | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 139 | HIstory of Muslim Societies since 1500 | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 276 | The Modern Middle East | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 277 | The Conflict over Israel/Palestine | 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/JWST 60 | First-Year Seminar: Israeli Culture and Society: Collective Memories and Fragmented Identities | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST 436 | Language, Exile, and Homeland in Zionist Thought and Practice | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST/PWAD 235 | Israeli Cinema: Gender, Nation, and Ethnicity H | 3 |
| ASIA/JWST 357/PWAD 362 | The Arab-Jews: Culture, Community, and Coexistence | 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/RELI 180 | Introduction to Islamic Civilization | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 181 | Modern Muslim Societies | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 584 | The Qur'an as Literature | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 329 | Middle East Women Writers | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 471 | Gender and Sexuality in Middle Eastern Literature | 3 |
| FREN 617 | Framing Identities: Franco-Arab Transvisual Transcultural Contexts | 3 |
| GEOG 59 | First-Year Seminar: Space, Identity, and Power in the Middle East | 3 |
| GEOG 448 | Transnational Geographies of Muslim Societies | 3 |
| RELI 110 | The Archaeology of Palestine in the New Testament Period | 3 |
| RELI 185 | Women/Gender/Islam H | 3 |
| RELI 503 | Exploring the Dead Sea Scrolls H | 3 |
| RELI 585 | Religion and Culture of Turkey | 3 |
| SOCI 60 | First-Year Seminar: Sociology of the Islamic World | 3 |
| SOCI 419 | Sociology of the Islamic World | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 361 | Community in India and South Asia | 3 |
| ARTH 153 | Introduction to South Asian Art | 3 |
| 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 124 | Iranian Post-1979 Cinema | 3 |
| ASIA 126 | Introduction to Persian Literature | 3 |
| ASIA 152 | Survey of South Asian Cultural History | 3 |
| ASIA 163 | Hindi-Urdu Poetry in Performance | 3 |
| ASIA 228 | Contested Souls: Literature, the Arts, and Religious Identity in Modern India | 3 |
| ASIA 231 | Bollywood Cinema | 3 |
| ASIA 262 | Nation, Film, and Novel in Modern India | 3 |
| ASIA 332 | The Story of Rama in India | 3 |
| ASIA 333 | The Mahabharata: Remembered and Reimagined | 3 |
| ASIA 431 | Persian Sufi Literature | 3 |
| ASIA 453 | Global Shangri-La: Tibet in the Modern World 1 | 3 |
| ASIA 522 | The Beauty and the Power of the Classical Indian World | 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/COMM/RELI 386 | Dance and Embodied Knowledge in the Indian Context | 3 |
| ASIA/GEOG 267 | South Asia | 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/HIST 272 | Contemporary India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 440 | Gender in Indian History | 3 |
| ASIA 441/HIST 442 | Religion, Co-existence, and Conflict in Pre-Colonial India | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 557 | Bandits, Rebels and Storytellers: Fiction and History in India | 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 | 3 |
| ASIA/MUSC 164 | Music of South Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/PWAD 69 | First-Year Seminar: Wars and Veterans: Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 280 | Hindu Gods and Goddesses H | 3 |
| ASIA 300/RELI 283 | The Buddhist Tradition: India, Nepal, and Tibet | 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/RELI 582 | Islam and Islamic Art in South Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 583 | Religion and Culture in Iran, 1500-Present | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI/WGST 482 | Sex, Gender, and Religion in South Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/WGST 127 | Iranian Women Writers | 3 |
| HIST 74 | First-Year Seminar: Emperors, Courts, and Consumption: The Mughals of India | 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 |
| ANTH/ASIA 375 | Memory, Massacres, and Monuments in Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ANTH/ASIA 429 | Culture and Power in Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ASIA 151 | Literature and Society in Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ASIA 252 | Popular Culture in Modern Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 131 | Southeast Asia to the Early 19th Century | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 539 | The Economic History of Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 570 | The Vietnam War | 3 |
| ASIA/LING 260 | Languages of Southeast Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/MUSC 240 | Performance in Southeast Asia: Gongs, Punks, and Shadow Plays | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 285 | The Buddhist Tradition: Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka | 3 |
| GEOG 64 | First-Year Seminar: Vietnam | 3 |
| GEOG 266 | Society and Environment in Southeast Asia | 3 |
Other Courses
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ASIA 57 | First-Year Seminar: Dis-Orienting the Orient | 3 |
| ASIA 89 | First Year Seminar: Special Topics H | 3 |
| ASIA 150 | Asia: An Introduction | 3 |
| ASIA 211 | The Silk Road: Markets, Metaphysics, and Music | 3.0 |
| ASIA 229 | Breakdancers, Vocaloids, and Gamers: East Asian Youth Cultures | 3 |
| ASIA 241 | Asian Literature/Study Abroad Program | 3-6 |
| ASIA 242 | Asian Fine Arts/Study Abroad Program | 3-6 |
| ASIA 243 | Asian Societies/Study Abroad Program | 3 |
| ASIA 244 | Asian History/Study Abroad Program | 3-6 |
| ASIA 692H | Senior Honors Thesis II | 3 |
| ASIA 350/AMST 352 | The Asian American Experience | 3 |
| ASIA/CMPL 255 | The Feast in Film, Fiction, and Philosophy H | 3 |
| ASIA 427/CMPL 527/PWAD 427 | Cold War Culture in East Asia: Transnational and Intermedial Connections | 3 |
| ASIA/ECON 469 | Asian Economic Systems | 3 |
| ASIA/ENGL 360 | Contemporary Asian American Literature and Theory | 3 |
| ASIA/GEOG 265 | Eastern Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/HIST 134 | Modern East Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 183 | Asian Religions | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 284 | The Buddhist Tradition: East Asia | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 387 | Disciplining the Body and Mind: The Martial Arts of East Asia in Religion, History, and Culture | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 445 | Asian Religions in America | 3 |
| ASIA/RELI 581 | Sufism | 3 |
| DRAM 291 | Re-Playing Shakespeare in East Asia | 3 |
| ENGL 79 | First-Year Seminar: Globalization/Global Asians | 3 |
| ENGL 270 | Studies in Asian American Literature | 3 |
| ENGL 371 | The Place of Asian Americans in Southern Literature H | 3 |
| FREN 383 | Franco-Asian Encounters | 3 |
| GLBL 281 | Phillips Ambassadors Program | 3 |
| GLBL 484 | History and Politics of Central Asia | 3 |
| HIST 163 | Modern Central Asia | 3 |
| HIST 274 | History of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1923 | 3 |
| PHIL 213 | Asian Philosophy | 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 |
| RELI 184 | East Asian Religions | 3 |
| RELI 206 | Prophecy and Divination in Ancient Israel and Judah H | 3 |
| RELI 343 | Religion in Modern Israel | 3 |
| RELI 480 | Modern Muslim Literatures | 3 |
| RELI 481 | Religion, Fundamentalism, and Nationalism | 3 |
| RELI 512 | Ancient Synagogues | 3 |
| RELI 602 | What Is Scripture? Formations of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Canon | 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. |
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 or Chinese 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 or Chinese 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.
