Asian Studies

WELCOME

Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary major. The field of Asian studies covers the huge and diverse area stretching from Japan to the Mediterranean, from the Siberian tundra to the southeast and south Asian tropics. It thus must encompass the wide variety of methods we may use to study any particular part of the world. The Asian studies major allows students to focus on a specific language, to travel abroad for intensive language and cultural study, and to delve deeply into Asian cultures using the tools of a number of disciplines. Course which count toward the Asian Studies major and minor may be found in the departments of anthropology, art, economics, English, geography, history, international relations, philosophy, politics, religion, and women's studies. This interdisciplinary approach demands that students take an active and conscious part in designing their majors by choosing courses appropriate to their own skills and interests.

At the core of an Asian Studies major lies the study of the culture and language of one (or more) Asian region. Mount Holyoke currently offers instruction in Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and Sanskrit, so Asian Studies majors may concentrate on the culture areas defined by those languages.

Asian Studies chair, Professor Indira Peterson (left) and Hari Krishnan, Wesleyan University, at a dance performance held on March 2, 2007 in conjunction with the Love in India symposium.

Asian Studies at Mount Holyoke College
50 College Street, South Hadley, MA 01075
Telephone: 413-538-2885